In the past I have literally made jams and chutneys from scratch using a huge old fashioned jam kettle and spending hours panicking in the kitchen with a jam thermometer.  My autumn chutney in 2012 went down particularly well and is still going strong.  I have usually made blackberry and apple jam (using the fruits of the neighbourhood) but last year I tried blackcurrant jam using a recipe from a book of collected recipes from older people.  It seemed to turn out fine but the blackcurrants had burnt and turned into hard stones so in the end I had to dump the last few jars (usually I give jars to both our mothers etc but that wasn’t possible with this problem).  I have also made strawberry jam before.  By the way always use Silver Spoon preserving sugar for decent results every time and a branded higher priced vinegar for chutneys.

Anyway the breadmaker comes with a jam setting so this weekend I tried raspberry and apple jam.  200 grams of frozen raspberries,  124 grams of peeled , cored and chopped apple 220 grams of preserving sugar and 4 table spoons of lemon juice.  Jam setting on the breadmaker.  It takes 1 and 1/2 hours and makes only 1 jar of jam (regrettably) but it is absolutely delicious.  I made 2 lots and split it between 4 jars so family could all have some!

IMPORTANT TIP always warm the jars before putting the hot jam in them because otherwise the jar will crack.