Cranberry, Orange & Cinnamon Jam
As you may have noticed, Cranberry and Orange have been a festive favourite of mine. I don’t want to blow my own trumpet or anything but this jam was pretty darn good. The cranberries added a little tartness which is a welcome addition to an otherwise sweet conserve. The cinnamon taste is subtle, some may say too subtle, but as we are talking about jam here, I think, subtle enough! All in all, this jam is perfect for say, homemade croissants! It’s pretty easy to make as well. I did not have a jam thermometer at the time, so it involved a lot of guess work. Last summer I went to an Afternoon Tea cookery class at Waitrose Cooking School, where I learnt a few jam making tricks, which came in handy.
I made this jam in November but I couldn’t blog about it then as it was to be part of the Christmas Hamper I was making for my parents. I was pretty chuffed with the hamper I put together. Take a look…
Homemade items included; Jam, Ginger Biscotti, Chilli Oil and Croissants! The recipes for which ayet to come, bear with me! Shop bought items; Aniseed Balls, Liquorice, Pretzel Bites and Mixed Nuts (for the parrot, did I mention I have a parrot? I have a parrot.) I was very excited to give my parents and Granddad the hamper and I am pretty sure they liked it! It was hard to keep the croissant making a secret considering I was trying to make them on Christmas eve! As I mentioned before, I will get all the recipes out to you, hopefully by the end of January!
Back to the jam. Yes so I made up this recipe myself having not found the perfect one online. It’s a KB.eats original! Finally. Oh before I forget, the jam goes well with peanut butter, obviously!!
Before I get cracking with the recipe, I just wanted to say thanks to all those of you who read my blog and have liked my facebook page (if you haven’t, click here). I went to the pub the other day and had a few people mention my blog and ask for me to make them things! I always get a bit embarrassed thinking that people actually ready this! Thanks 🙂
Recipe
Makes: 7 8oz/227g jars (odd number I know)
Prep: 30 mins (to sterilise jars)
Cooking Time: 25-30 mins
Skill Level: Easy as 1, 2 , 3 (if you follow the steps)
Equipment
Jam Jars* (7- 8oz)
Mixing Bowl
Grater (for orange zest)
Medium-large Saucepan
Citrus Juicer
Ingredients
450g cranberries
2 oranges (juice and zest)
2 cinnamon sticks
1 star anise
250 ml water
1kg jam sugar (with pectin in)
½ tsp butter
½ tsp butter
Method
*Before you even think of making the jam, be sure to sterilise the jams jars:
- Wash in hot soapy water
- Allow to drip dry, upside down in an oven set to 140c/120c fan/ gas 1 for around 20mins.
- Leave to cool COMPLETELY before adding jam.
Now you may begin!
- In a med-large saucepan, mix cranberries, orange juice, orange zest, cinnamon sticks, star anise and water.
- Bring to boil over medium heat then simmer for 10 mins until cranberries are soft and squishy.
- Remove cinnamon and star anise (I chose to take the star anise out after 5 mins as I did not want to strong a taste to be left)
- Add the sugar and butter and simmer for about 15-20 mins, using the jam test to ensure it has simmered for long enough (see my jam test below)
- Ladle jam into cooled jars and allow to cool slightly before closing lids and putting in the fridge.
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Jam Test
Without using a jam thermometer it can be hard to tell when the jam is ready. Here is a method I learnt at the Waitrose Cooking School that seems to work quite well!
- Spoon a small amount of jam onto a cool plate.
- After a few moments, push the jam up with your finger; if it has set it will wrinkle (like when a skin forms on something)
- If it is still smooth and runny when pushed, continue to simmer and test again.
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ENJOY WITH A WARM CROISSANT OR ON A BUTTERY SLICE OF TOAST
KB x
omgomgomg Nigella Lawson sent me a DIRECT MESSAGE on twitter because I said she was on my list of “top babes”along with Jennifer Lawrence and Beyonce (cringe-worthy I know) OMGOMGOMG