Jammy-tastic!

I think there is almost nothing better than having a glut of something in your garden and deciding what to do with it. Chutney? Jam? Piccalilli? It's a joy.

At the time I almost have a little twang of guilt – taking all this wonderfully fresh produce and adding the likes of vinegar, sugar and boiling it to within an inch of it's life. But, come December, when the garden is cold, wet (and in the past couple of years covered in snow) there is such joy in opening a little pot of gold that was lovingly put together almost 6 months previous.

So it's the middle of June. And June = strawberries. And strawberries = jam. Now I'll be truthful, we don't actually eat a lot of jam but hey, what the heck, the great thing about preserves is well, as the name suggests they last for ages so we'll have plenty of time to work our way through the yumminess.

So first things first, go pick some strawberries. I started with a kilo and ended up with 2 big and 3 small pots of jam. You'll also need 500g of granulated sugar, 450g of sugar with added pectin. Strawberries are pretty low in pectin and that's the stuff that makes the jam set so you definitely need the added pectin sugar. It's pretty easy to find so shouldn't be too much trouble. Then lastly 150ml of lemon juice which you should be able to get from 3 good sized lemons. Prep your strawberries by washing and hulling them – any big ones halve or quarter.Start by putting 200g of the granulated sugar and 200g of the strawberries into a large pan. Mush up with a potato masher and then heat up the pulp slowly. Simmer very gently for around 5 minutes. Then add in the remainder of the strawberries and sugar. Once all the sugar has dissolved add the lemon juice. Turn the heat up and bring to the boil. You'll need to boil them for around 10 minutes, maybe longer – depending on how thick you want your jam.
This is the stage where you need to test the setting point. The best way I've found to do this is by using a cold tea saucer. Take a little of the jam and place on the saucer – let it cool for a few minutes and then push it with your finger. If the mixture ripples then you're there. If not, boil for a few more minutes and try again. Bear in mind that as your mixture cools down it will become thicker so take this into account.Let the mixture cool and pop into some sterilised jars.
It's as simple as that!