Loganberry Jam

The gooseberry jam didn't last long, so I made some loganberry jam last night.

3 pounds of loganberries made 5 jars of jam

Put all the loganberries in a big pan, no water, mash a few with a wooden spoon, boil for about 20 mins - the loganberries break down in their own juice
Turn the heat down, add 3 pounds of sugar, stir in well to ensure all the sugar is disolved properly
Bring to boil for another 20 mins and test for set with a cold plate - if it isn't ready, boil a bit more and keep testing
When it's ready, pour into hot, sterilised jam jars

I used ordinary jam jars, the same as those we get from the supermarkets - I washed them in the dishwasher before storing with lids on
To sterlise them, I poured boiling water in them and rinsed them out
I then put the jars in the oven on the lowest setting to warm them up - pouring hot jam in a cold jar could break the jar
I used the ordinary jam jar lids, sterilised in boiling water - as the lids have the smooth waxy coating underneath, no need for wax discs or any messing about - as the jam cools, the pop-up safety button should pop down

The jam is very good but it's a bit runnier than I'd like. That might be because it wasn't boiled enough or didn't reach a high enough temperature. Or it could be that it didn't have enough pectin to cause a set. Next time I'll add a spoonful of lemon juice to help the set.

Rain at last!

We've just had a week of badly needed rain. As I really only have potatoes, onions and sweetcorn on the allotment, and they only need watering, I haven't been up there for a week. However, I will go up there this week and pick all the redcurrants and gooseberries.

Fruit at home is doing well. I've picked about a pound of raspberries or loganberries per day from the garden - I have several pounds of each in the freezer, ready for making jam. The gooseberry jam at home has gone. I'll be making some more this week, along with either raspberry jam or loganberry jam.

The rhubarb crowns I split seem to be doing well. 3 of the crowns in the ground have new shoots, along with the one in the bucket. The other 3 are showing no signs of life at the moment. The big old crown in the old rhubarb bed is still doing well - it looks like that needs splitting into 3 crowns this winter.

I've picked some of the small Iceberg lettuces at home. Not sure if they were Mini Green or Little Gem, but they were good.

The seeds I sowed just over a week ago are doing fine - loads of seedlings showing, especially PSB. Hopefully will have time to build a frame and set up some netting for them this time. I'd rather feed me than the pigeons!