DIY Teacher’s Day Gift – Yummy Homemade Jam!

Yup, Dumpling and I did the unthinkable. We actually decided to make Jam. But that is not all, we made it without Pectin! Pectin basically is the gelling agent which gives it the sponginess and makes the jam less watery.

At the time of this post, I basically searched through for pectin at Giant (3 branches), Phoon Huat (OOS) and Cold Storage (2 branches) without avail. I know that it can be done without pectin but I was worried that I’d end up messing it up!

With Dumpling’s insistence (and vote of confidence I must add), we decided to take a plunge. Here’s how it turned out!

I made 2 batches. Batch 1 was Blackberries and Blueberries mix while Batch 2 was with Raspberries.

Tempted to try making your own?

Here's what you need:

1) The fruits of choice (below - blueberries and blackberries)
2) Lime / Lemon Juice (this is something which I always have in my fridge)
3) Sugar (not in picture but I had left over from the scrubs we made)
4) Honey (without the use of pectin, the honey helps to gel it better and gives it a really nice flavour)


 

Steps:

1) Wash and drain berries well

2) Blend it lightly (I prefer my jump to be a tad chunky)

3) Pour into pot

4) Add honey - I used about 4 to 5 tea spoonfuls

(based on the amount I have above - 2 boxes of 4.4oz + 1 box of 6oz) 

5) Add 2 teaspoons of lime/lemon juice

6) Add 4 - 5 tablespoons of sugar

(you will need to experiment with this as it depends on how sweet/sour you prefer your jam to be)

7) Cook over high heat for about 5 mins stirring constantly

(you can see it thicken slightly while bubbling)

8) Then simmer on low heat for about 15mins

9) For Raspberry Jam: I also added about 2 - 3 teaspoons of gelatin powder for the raspberry version as the fruit has very high water content and I found that it did not gel as well as blueberries

10) Scoop them into the bottles and cool down thoroughly before putting them into the refridgerator (this step is necessary for it to 'gel')

Note: all bottles need to be sterilized properly and dried thoroughly before use as it may turn mouldy otherwise)

And voila!

From this

to this:

Pretty them up in nice jars + ribbons :)

Looking for more yummy treats? Susan (my guest blogger for tomrrow's post BTW) from A Juggling Mom shares her recipe for cake pops here!

This is part of a DIY Teacher's Day Gift series. For the other gifts we made, click here!