MORNING

The brambles are ripening in the hedgerows here and are ready for harvesting.

I came across an old family book. It probably dates from the 1920’s. It makes interesting reading.

This is from the jam pages

Bramble Jam 1

4lb. brambles
4 1/2lb sugar

Pick over the brambles carefully and weigh them.
Place them in a basin and crush with a wooden spoon.
Put the pulp and the sugar in a preserving pan and simmer gently until it sets when tested.
Pot and cover while it is still hot.

Bramble Jam 2

6lb brambles
6lb sugar
1/4 pint water
3 level teaspoonfuls tartaric acid or 4 tablespoonfuls of lemon juice.

Pick over the brambles and put them with the water and lemon juice or tartaric acid into the preserving pan.

Simmer very gently until the brambles are cooked and the contents of the pan reduced considerably.

Add the sugar, stirring while it dissolves and bring to the boil.

Boil hard for 10 minutes and then test on a cold plate for setting.

Put into hot sterilised jars and cover immediately.