Blackcurrant jam- how do you prepare your fruit?

[Nicos]

I made my first batch of blackcurrant jam yesterday and seemed to spend a rediculous amount of time de-stemming and topping and tailing the fruit ( like you do gooseberries)

3 hrs to prepare 1.5 kg fruit

Is this how it should be done for best results?
could I have left the flower bits on?

the lady I bought them from said cook them as they are - stems and all, and strain them to make a jelly.

I can see that would be much quicker- but do the green stems make it bitter?....is it tastier having the skins in it?

can you please share with me your preferred methods?

much appreciated

[scarey55]

I was going to suggest jelly I make jelly with most "pippy" fruit because I don't like the pips. I have never made blackcurrant jam with the bits in so I can't say if it is different but the jelly is usually very tasty. I just put the fruit, a few stalks and even a couple of leaves in the saucepan and cook it slowly with water (my trusty Margurite Patten (RIP) book says 2lbs fruit to one pint of water) then carry on as usual for jelly.

If you do decide to make whole jam Margurite says cook it slowly and don't add the sugar until the skin comes off very easily.

Save me a jar

[sparrow100]

I make jelly too. Except that I do squeeze the bag. It makes for a more textured jelly, but I like it. I do take off the worst of the flower ends, and my blackcurrants are mainly on long strings so easy to remove the stalks.

[scarey55]

I squeeze the bag too Sparrow, I don't care that it isn't perfectly clear and I can't usually wait for it to cool first either

[Bren In Pots]

I've bought a colander/sieve attachment for my Kenwood and its brilliant at getting rid of those pips so I gave up on making jelly jams. I've seen mouli sieve that would do the same thing.

[Nicos]

I'm thinking of doing blackcurrant and rasp jelly with what's left- seed free after having read your posts!

I do that sieve thing with blackberries cos I can't stand a mouth full of hard 'stuff'. It makes a wonderful jelly!

Thanks for that- I clearly overdid the topping and tailing!

[alldigging]

I cut the branches off and then sit on the back steps with a pan to throw the berries in.
I take the berries off and put them in a pan. The branches get turned into cuttings.

Pick the spiders out, but it's easy to get the stems off whilst they're on the branches.

[Nicos]

I cooked mine in the microwave before adding the sugar.
It was suggested in a recipe I found ages ago to help release the pectin the the fruit( any fruit)
I've realised now that blackcurrants already have loads of pectin in them!!!!

This jam/jelly making isn't as easy as it sounds to a numpty like me!

[scarey55]

Not a numpty at all, I was no good at jam making before I came here nor cakes but since I have been here, I have had more time to experiment. I am now the "go to" gal for jam/cakes around here so I guess practice makes perfect

You have got me started now and I am currently standing on the cold tiles with my shoes off in front of a fan I went out and collected a load of blackcurrants in the middle of the day in temps of 35°! I am going to make some jelly and creme de cassis, now...where's that vodka.

[muddled]

I made blackcurrant,redcurrant and cherry jam this year.
I did take every stalk off the currants and pulled the little shrivelled flower bit off the blackcurrants like you. Took ages but I did it in the front room while watching a film so no real hardship.
Now I come to think of it though, you can make blackcurrant and raspberry/blackberry leaf teas so we should have guessed that the leaves and stalks wouldn't make a bitter taste!

Still, we live and learn I s'pose

[alldigging]

we should have guessed that the leaves and stalks wouldn't make a bitter taste!

Still, we live and learn I s'pose

They don't spread very well though!

[roitelet]

I take the berries off the main stem, cook them, serve them as Bren does and then add 1lb sugar to 1 pint of fruit pulp. I do this with all soft fruit that has loads of pips. This way you get jam and not jelly 'cos I don't like the texture of jelly.

[Bren In Pots]

I think the jelly does look pretty in the jars but seedless jam is easier to spread on my bread.

[muddled]

At the risk of showing my ignorance....
I thought jelly WAS seedless jam, pulp passed through a jelly bag, mixed with sugar and reheated to setting point...no?

[sparrow100]

I use scissors to snip off the flower bits - it's just a bit less sticky/messy if I do it that way.

I though jelly was the clear, strained juice reheated, and seedless jam is probably what I make, with the bag relentlessly squoze to get as much as possible out.