Blackcurrant jam that is lower in sugar than most traditional recipes

Picking blackcurrants in the garden

Some juicy specimens

Our untreated blackcurrant bushes, possibly organic?

Every year we are usually lucky enough to have a wonderful crop of the most gorgeous and juicy blackcurrants you have ever seen. These bushes have been here for years (as it was a former fruit farm) and to my knowledge have never been treated, they are left to their own devices and yield crop after crop. So over the last five or so years I have been perfecting my blackcurrant jam recipe in order to produce a conserve that is lower in sugar than the typically shop bought variety but contains an abundance of fruit and I think I have come up with the ideal recipe!
The lovely Delia Smith uses more sugar than fruit, but I have managed to come up with a recipe that uses more fruit than sugar so has a more tart yet fresh taste. One of the key differences is to use preserving sugar instead of normal granulated sugar, by doing so the extra pectin that is in this sugar helps to give you a set so you need less sugar. I have actually used even less sugar than what I'm going to specify here and managed to get a set which has created a jam which I feel confident my mother-in-law (who is diabetic) can indulge in and enjoy from time to time. Nevertheless, the following recipe has a nice balance of fruit and sugar which you'll find has gone in no time because it is so moreish!

Marianne's Blackcurrant Jam

3lb (1.3 kg) blackcurrants
2 1/2 lb (1.25 kg) Preserving sugar (Silver Spoon do a version which is recommended for blackcurrants)
1 1/2 pints (855 ml) water
5 or 6 jam jars with lids

Blackcurrants simmering in water

Boiling the jam

Checking for a set

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade. Place the sugar in a heat-proof bowl and allow to warm through in the oven. Also place the jam jars and lids in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes to sterilise. Place two or three saucers/small plates in the freezer.
2. Slowly cook the blackcurrants with the water for about 15 to 20 minutes until the fruit is tender.
3. Add the hot sugar from the oven to the blackcurrants and let it dissolve - this should take about 15 minutes.
4. As soon as the sugar has dissolved, turn the heat right up and boil rapidly for between 20 to 35 minutes. You can check for a set by getting a saucer from the freezer and spooning a little on to the plate. If you get a crinkly skin you know it is set.
5. When the jam is ready, add a knob of butter as this will remove any scum from the jam, you can also remove any with a slotted spoon



Yummy bread and jam, mum!



Jam-packed with fruit blackcurrant jam!

6. Leave the jam for 15 minutes to settle and then pour in the jars and seal with a waxed disc and the lid. Label the jars when the jam is cold.

   

   The finished article
   
   
   
   

   

   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   

   Next time: A lovely dinner party starter which uses blackcurrant jam: Warm Fig Blue Cheese and Hazelnut Salad from the Bonne Maman Cookbook.