Hello and welcome Deedle. I'm not much of a jam maker but I would have thought that you could just substitute the currants for the berries. I guess you'd have to taste for sweetness before you put the syrup into jars. I'm sure that Shelley would be able to give you some hints when she gets here.
Good luck.
I'll try that again!
hi there
I would do a recipe similar to the blackberry one here on the site; but without the puréeing:
Thus for every 1kg of blackcurrants add 5OOg of peeled cored and finely chopped apple.
Add enough water until just below level of fruits and cook until the fruit is softish
Add around a kilo of sugar (start with 750g and dissolve and taste, then add more if not sweet enough;) The usual old fashioned ratio is 1:1 sugar to fruit but people often use less now.
Once sugar is dissolved bring to a boil and boil hard for around 10 ish minutes or until setting point is reached
Pour into sterilised jars and leave to cool.
Blackcurrants are high in pectin and so are apples; so there should be absolutely no problem getting this jam to set!
Hope this is a help; try not to double up the recipe as I have found it takes far longer to reach setting point and frankly it is quicker to cook a small amount twice than a larger amount for ages!
Welcome Deedle, and enjoy the chat here - we're a friendly bunch!
Shelley, would you cook the two together, or separately till softened then added together?
I had read somewhere that they cook better separately.
I must admit, I don't often mix the two flavours as the blackcurrant jam (or jelly) is hubby's favourite, and I make blackberry jelly for my son.
The apples I usually make apple jelly as a conserve, but mostly I cook apples for freezing and ready to use - for apple pies/crumbles etc.
Welcome on board, Deedle, and thanks for joining in.
Fiona does a version that I think is delicious. It also handles the blackberry seeds, which can get stuck between yer teeth on a wet Monday morning when you have the jam on toast.
Never knowingly underfed
No, Shelley, not caught out, but using your vast knowledge to assess the situation.
I would think that the slight difference is that blackcurrants are not as sweet as blackberries - but again, that is always dependent on your own taste in jams - my hubby likes his blackcurrant jam very tangy. As you say, Shelley, the blackcurrants have a high pectin content, so setting should be fairly good without too much extra sugar.
I also agree with you on the setting of smaller batches - the colour and flavour seems better when cooked in small batches, and is more manageable.
Good Luck Deedle, it would seem that combination is not too common !
Thank you everyone! Going to steal/pick the apples from the ministers tree this weekend and crack on with it, I shall let you know the results. Oh while I am here, what size are crab apples when theya re ready? The ones here are little, like marbles which is surely too small just yet? I am in North East Scotland where everything is at least a month later than England. If not two....!
Thanks again everyone
Hi deedle, the crab apples in my garden are also like marbles, and yes, it takes f o r e v e r to prepare them " all I do is cut each in half " oh and wear gloves, too, otherwise hands will look like smoker's hands!!
My trees are the variety "Evereste" I believe, and they turn to a golden colour, and then rosy bits on them " also, the blackbirds/wasps begin to find them!!
D'you know Shelley - I would if I could! Especially as hubby told me not to use ours this year, because we still have a long way to go in using up last year's bounty!!!
Even if we met up, the cost of driving each way rather defeats the object (profit). (Circa 350 kms)
Btw - has Rachel contacted you yet?
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