raspberry and rose jam

I am on the preserve train at the moment. It’s pretty fun and rewarding, but my advice would be NOT to do it in the heat of Summer (in Australia) – because man does it get hot in the kitchen over a boil pot of bubbling jam! This jam is super delicious on scones, fresh toast or in your favourite jam drop biscuit recipe.

Ingredients:
- 1.5kg raspberries (I used frozen ones because they are quite expensive fresh)
- juice of 2 lemons
- 1.3kg of caster sugar
- 1/4 cup of rosewater
- 1 tablespoon of vanilla bean paste

1. Put all the berries, lemon juice, vanilla and sugar into the biggest pot you have. Chuck it on the stove and slowly bring to the boil – remembering to stir as you go.
2. Boil for 15-20minutes or until the hot jam reaches setting point (105-107*C) – if you don’t have a sugar thermometre you can check this by placing a small dollop of jam on a cold plate placing it in the fridge for a few minutes, then placing plate on an angle to see if the jam sets on the outside but ripples when the plate is moved.
3. Remove the pan from the heat and add the rosewater. Skim off any frothy skum and allow to cool for a while before bottling.
4. Pour into warm sterilized jars, seal, label and store.

- Makes 900g of jam. If you like fruit jelly more than jam, strain away the seeds using a sieve. At Christmas I bottled up some jam, tomato chilli chutney and lemon vanilla curd and made hampers for edible gifts for people