Barberry Jam
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Strip the barberries from the stalks, discarding any that are spotted.
In a pot, combine 18 ounces of sugar with 1 pint of water for every 4 pounds of fruit.
Boil the mixture until it becomes white and falls in thick 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 and tartness that give the jam its flavour and body.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the jam and, when boiled, helps it set into a thick, spoonable texture.
- Water
- Dissolves the sugar so it can be boiled into a syrup before the fruit is added.
The step that matters
Boiling the sugar syrup to the thick stage. Sugar syrup must reach a high enough concentration to set. Stop too early and the jam stays runny; boil too long and it can turn stiff or taste caramelised.
“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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