A Modern Mother makes jam (and by some freak miracle it sets!)

Forget about being a yummy mummy, now it’s all about being a jammy mummy. Yes, jam making is now officially cool; even Kate Moss is dipping her fingers into the pot.

I love eating jam, but am not so good at making it; it rarely sets properly and ends up a gooey (but tasty!) mess. The WI and Stoves put on Jam Making Master Class last week in London, in advance of the Real Jam Festival in November. Expert Kath Mepham and her hubby were on hand to help us novices perfect our jam making skills. Kath, who has been making jam for 40 years, was full of inside tips on how to make that award-winning pot. You could see my smile from Hawaii at the end of the session when she said my jam had a good set and real potential. Ace!

Kath’s Tips:

• Use a stainless steel pan– aliminium can leave a bad taste.
• Take a pectin test; which involves 1 tsp of jam juice and 3 tsp of methylated spirits (I didn’t know what that was either). Mix them together and see if it thickens. I think this takes some practice.
• Use clean jars; wash in warm soapy water and put in the dishwasher.
• Always use new lids; old ones may absorb the taste of previous contents and ruin your jam.
• Don’t wash soft fruit, it will add too much moisture; always wash hard fruit.
• Skim off foam (which is just residue). Then add the smallest amount of butter for clear jam.
• Warm sugar in oven before mixing with the fruit, the quicker sugar dissolves, the better the jam.
• Label jams between the seams, and put the day, month and year and type, or you’ll get marked down!
• Jam is judged, among other things, on seal, aroma, flavour, texture, set, and consistency.

And if you want to validate your new jammy skills, enter a pot at the WI Real Jam Festivalon 20-21 November 2010 at Denman College in Oxfordshire. The event is put on by the WI, Stoves, JamJarShop and Billington’s. I’ll be there!