Here are a few hints on ensuring success with your preserving.

Ingredients

Method

1. Always make sure you have enough of everything before you start.
2. Use unblemished fruit or vegetables with no bruises or moulds
3. Use good quality fruits. Products sold as jam fruit can often be second grade and give you a poor taste or set. Also make sure the fruit is neither under or over-ripe for the same reason.
4. It is best to make quantities smaller than 2 kgs to get best results. It also ensures you\'re not eating mountains of the same jam all year!
5. Use a large saucepan with plenty of room for the preserve to boil. Use only wooden spoons for stirring.
6. Adding a knob of butter will help bring any froth to the surface and the edges of the saucepan and this can be easily lifted off with a shallow spoon .
7. Store jam in a cool, dry, dark place where the temperature is even, and use within the year.

Potting and Sealing

1. Pot jam into warm, dry, sterilised jars and have them standing on a wooden board (not cold tiles) when filling to prevent any cracking from the hot jam.
2. Cover while very hot with vacuum seal lids, or if you are using cellophane jam covers, dampen them slightly and cover damp side out. If you are not sealing preserves while hot, lay a sheet of clean greaseproof paper over the jars and leave until quite cold. Then cover with lids or wax and cellophane.