Barberry Jam
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the syrup
Pick ripe barberries, discarding any that are spotted.
In a pot, combine sugar and water; boil until it reaches a white, thick consistency that falls in masses from the spoon.
Cook and jar
Add the barberries and stir over a brisk fire for 6 minutes.
Remove any scum that forms and pour the jam into jars or glasses.
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.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Barberries
- Provide the fruit body and tart flavour that define the jam.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the jam and, when boiled, thickens the syrup and helps it set.
- Water
- Dissolves the sugar so it can be boiled into a syrup before the fruit is added.
The step that matters
Boiling the sugar and water to the right consistency. The syrup must reach a thick, mass-forming stage so the jam sets properly. Sugar boiled to a higher concentration holds more pectin and gel-forming structure, so stopping too early can leave the jam runny.
“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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