Making Jelly by steaming

[CarolineW]

Some of you may remember that a couple of years ago I asked if anyone knew how to extract the juice from fruit using the thermomix so that it could then be turned into jelly rather than jam.  I asked this because the Lakeland jam maker can do this, and I couldn't see that it did anything different to what the tmx would do.  I hate the straining method, so loved the idea of steaming out the juice instead.

Anyway, 2 years on I finally had some blackberries which had taken us no time or effort to pick, so I was willing to risk them being ruined (the thing which always held me back before).

I put 500ml water into the jug, and popped the washed blackberries into the internal steamer basket.  It was under half full, but more than a quarter full - let's say about a third (didn't weigh them, sorry).

I did varoma and speed 3 for 20 minutes (as the lakeland jam maker steams for 20 mins as far as I remember).  At the end of this time I had washed out, red looking collapsed blackberries squashed down in the basket, and rich black juice below.  I discarded the ex blackberries, and weighed the juice, added an equal amount of jam sugar plus the juice of half a lemon, and made jam as usual (15 mins at 100, then 5 mins at varoma). 

The result was excellent!  We all love it, and can't tell any difference between this and strained jelly.  Possibly the nutritional value is slightly lower because of the water?  No idea, but I do know that it was easy, no hassle at all, and the the taste was great.  This is definitely the way for me to make jellies from now on.

Just thought I'd share in case anyone else wanted to try this.

[Cornish Cream]

Sounds a lovely recipe to get jelly without all the hassle of a jelly bag Caroline.There are masses of elderberries and blackberries this year in the hedgerows, so I will give your method a go when they are ripe

[CarolineW]

Hi CC. We've picked some more blackberries today and I plan to make more jelly tomorrow. Maybe try some cordial too.  And I've got my eye on elderberries for when they ripen too 

I'm going to take a look at Hip recipes tonight, as we saw lots of ripe hips on our walk today.

[Carine]

Well done CarolineW!  I'll have to give your method a go this spring!  How firm was the jelly and do you think I could use less sugar?

[CreamPuff63]

I have never been to the UK but now I have a picture in my mind, green rolling countryside, hedgehogs, and bountiful berries growing wild among the hedgerows. (one day I'll get there...)

[cookie1]

I hope to get there one day too CP63. Imagine being able to pick wild blackberries. Here we pay a small fortune for them. (in West Aust).
Caroline that sounds a lovely way to do the jelly. I can almost taste it.

[Cuilidh]

Do you think this method would work with the haws off our hawthorn trees as well?  Last autumn we had masses of them and it seemed a shame not to use them, but they are so small I wonder if it's worth the work?

By the way ladies, there is a suggestion out there that we should not call these fruits haws any more as it is demeaning to womankind!  I'm sorry, but I think that that is taking political correctness just a tad too far (probably suggested by the same people that feel Father Christmas should no long say HO HO HO - for the same reason).

[Chelsea (Thermie Groupie)]

I hope to get there one day too CP63. Imagine being able to pick wild blackberries. Here we pay a small fortune for them. (in West Aust).
Caroline that sounds a lovely way to do the jelly. I can almost taste it.

You can save some dollars and come to my house and pick them Cookie.  There are masses of them down the lane next to our property. Hubby always knows when the boys and I have been down there picking our afternoon tea - the stains on our hands give us away every time.

[achookwoman]

Caroline W,  this is great.  I make lots of Jelly.  Always use apple as a base for the Blackberry Jelly.  Think I would like to try your method with skins and pips from apples and blackberries.  Plenty of free blackberries here.  The council has been poisoning them so we let some grow on our place where they can't see them.   Lots of possibilities here.  Thanks

[cookie1]

Thanks Chelsea. Haven't been over your way for a few years.

[CarolineW]

Do you think this method would work with the haws off our hawthorn trees as well?  Last autumn we had masses of them and it seemed a shame not to use them, but they are so small I wonder if it's worth the work?

By the way ladies, there is a suggestion out there that we should not call these fruits haws any more as it is demeaning to womankind!  I'm sorry, but I think that that is taking political correctness just a tad too far (probably suggested by the same people that feel Father Christmas should no long say HO HO HO - for the same reason).

When I wrote hips I was having a brain blip, 'cos I meant haws!!  I thought it was worth a try with a few, as they're so plentiful at the moment so it's no skin of my (or your  ) nose if it doesn't work.  'cos for sure I can't be bothered to faff about with them, but if I can just wash and stick them in the steamer basket, that's no problem.

Ah, PC, my favourite thing.  Perhaps hips will change their name too, in case that's considered sexist too (do I look big in these leaves?)

[CarolineW]

Well done CarolineW!  I'll have to give your method a go this spring!  How firm was the jelly and do you think I could use less sugar?

The jelly was as firm as usual, absolutely perfect.  I guess you could use less sugar as it's the pectin that sets it, not the sugar - just add some extra pectin.  On the other hand, if you reduce the sugar too much then it won't keep out of the fridge.  Not a problem if you're just doing a couple of jars, as if our house is anything like ours they won't be around for long!

[CarolineW]

I used a full basket of blackberries today with 1 ltr of water.  It bubbled out of the top a bit, so I'd recommend using a bit less than 1 ltr to keep things clean.

It also needed 25 mins rather than 20 because of the extra water to heat up.

The jelly was as perfect as the first one (yum).  It produced 1 ltr of juice, half of which I turned into 4 jars of jelly, and half of which I turned into cordial.

[Cuilidh]

Hi Caroline - if you do do the experiment with the hippy haws, could you let me know how it goes please.  Thanks.

[Carine]

Well done CarolineW!  I'll have to give your method a go this spring!  How firm was the jelly and do you think I could use less sugar?

The jelly was as firm as usual, absolutely perfect.  I guess you could use less sugar as it's the pectin that sets it, not the sugar - just add some extra pectin.  On the other hand, if you reduce the sugar too much then it won't keep out of the fridge.  Not a problem if you're just doing a couple of jars, as if our house is anything like ours they won't be around for long!

We go through a fair a bit of jam too    Will just have to experiment with the amount of sugar & lemon...  We grow some youngberries and they usually set well.