Got into a bit of a Jam

Ok, so I came into a lot of feijoas this morning (like, 60-odd) thanks to a friendly local trying to offload them. There is no way we are going to eat that many feijoas before they go gross (they are older produce to start with), so I thought I would tick another thing off my 101 Challenges list... Make jam. I have NEVER made jam before. Now, Chelsea Sugar make a jam setting sugar. I wasn't so smart as to  buy some this morning while I was at the supermarket. So I am doing it the old fashioned way!

Found this recipe here, seems easy enough yep? Well, lets see how I go!

Feijoa Jam

 1kg feijoas, peeled and sliced
 1/2 cup water
 Juice and zest of 1 lemon
 4 cups white granulated sugar, warmed

1. Place feijoas in a jam pan or a large, wide saucepan.

Add water, lemon juice and zest. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat and cook until fruit is soft – this should take about 15 minutes.

2. Add warmed sugar and stir until it dissolves. Bring jam to the boil, then let it boil without stirring for 20 minutes, or until the mixture reaches setting point.

A tad concerned it might boil over. That ended up being the least of my worries!

3. Pour jam into warmed, sterlised jars. When the jars are cool, seal them. The jam can be eaten straight away. Makes 6 to 8 cups

Had to do a bit of googling to find out what exactly "warmed sugar" is, had never heard of it before (having never made jam before - I have however made lemon curd previously but thats as far as my jam making knowledge goes!).

To warm sugar - http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080614065025AAzypB1

To warm sugar, spread it in an even layer in a deep-sided baking dish and warm in a slow oven 150C for about 10 - 15 minutes, or until warmed through. Do not overheat the sugar or it will start to lump together. To make sure, stir the sugar once or twice while it is warming.
And then to Sterilise Jars -

What I do is wash thoroughly in hot soapy water, then rinse thoroughly with clean water. Place upside down on a baking tray that is covered with a tea towel, and put into the oven (about 150*c) for 10-15mins. Turns out it worked in perfectly with the warming of the sugar, put them both in together, then just left the jars in an off oven until it was time to use them.

So, how did my jam turn out?

Well I bloody burnt it didn't I!!! Argh!!! NOT impressed with myself, that took a LONG time to prepare only to be side tracked by facebook and then suddenly my house was being smoked out. Luckily I used my good non stick deep sided frypan - at least the burnt on crap off the bottom came off easily.

Oh Shit!

Maybe I should stick with making lemon curd. I really must blog about that one day, I can make a mean curd thanks to a recipe my friend Nicola gave me (yes, she has given me a few good recipes!).

So, yeah, my house is still all smokey. And I have a burnt mess to somehow dispose of. I was kind of looking forward to my jam!