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Dessert

Barberry Jam

Barberry jam is a preserve made from ripe barberries, sugar, and water, boiled and jarred.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Eliza Acton · From a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg) · 7 ingredients
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Barberry Jam

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the fruit

  1. Strip barberries from stalks, discard spotted ones.

Cook the jam

  1. For each pound of fruit, add 18 ounces of refined sugar.

  2. Boil the mixture with one pint water per four pounds until it becomes white and thick.

  3. Add the fruit, stir over a brisk fire for six minutes.

Skim and jar

  1. Remove scum, pour into jars or glasses.

Finish

  1. Combine 2-1/4 lbs pounded sugar with 2 lbs fruit, boil for ten minutes.

By Eliza Acton. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Barberries (in the method)
Main fruit; its natural tartness gives the jam its characteristic sharp flavor.
Sugar (in the method)
Adds sweetness and, as it concentrates in boiling, helps the jam thicken and keep.

The step that matters

Boil until white and thick. Boiling drives off water so the sugar and fruit concentrate enough to set. Stopping too early leaves the jam runny, while overcooking can scorch the sugar and give a bitter, dark taste.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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