Words and images by Emma Galloway (My Darling Lemon Thyme)
If you have access to fresh boysenberries, make use of them in this delicious jam recipe, but if you don’t, New Zealand-grown frozen berries (find them at Vetro) work just as well too.
Boysenberry, Apple + Vanilla Jam
Bulking this jam out with apples not only gives it a lovely soft texture, but also helps to set the jam faster, thanks to their high pectin levels.
Makes approx. 7 x 200ml jars
500g boysenberries, fresh or frozen
500g (approx. 4–5) cooking apples (such as Granny Smiths), peeled, cored and finely diced
juice of 1 lemon
1kg caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
Pop a small side plate into the freezer. Place boysenberries in a large heavy-based saucepan, along with the diced apples, lemon juice and 100ml water. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, or until fruit is soft. Add sugar to the pan, and mix until dissolved. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer 20–30 minutes or until setting point is reached. To check this, 15–20 minutes into cooking, remove side plate from the freezer, drop a spoonful of jam onto it, run your finger through the centre, if the line remains without the jam seeping back into the centre, you’ve reached setting point, if not, cook for another 5 minutes before checking again. I think it’s best to undercook slightly and have a soft jam, then to overcook and have a super firm jam. When setting point is reached, remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour hot jam into sterilised jars (see note), screw on lids, tight, but not overly so, and set aside until cool. The lids should suck down as the jars cool, forming a tight seal. Any jars that don’t seal, store in the fridge and use within a month. Sealed jars will store in a cool, dark place for up to a year.
NOTE: If the foam that forms on the top of your jam is something that stresses you out, a little trick I learnt off my nana is to add a tiny pat of butter to the pan towards the end to dissipate the foam.
NOTE: To sterilise jars, place freshly washed and rinsed jars in a preheated oven at 120°C for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven carefully with a dry tea towel. To sterilise lids, immerse in boiling water for 5 minutes.