A combination of a bizarre desire to make jam and an accidental moment of early Christmas excitement led me to scouring the Internet for some kind of festive jam recipe. I was looking for a bit of a mulled wine spices inspired jam to have on my toast in the run up to December 25th. Turns out, there really isn’t much out there so I got creative (goodness knows what inspired me, I’ve never made jam before). After a quick trip to the supermarket and a slightly longer trip to Lakeland I was armed with everything I needed for my Christmas Jam creation.

So here’s how it goes:

What you need:

1 250g pack of frozen blackberries

1 250g pack of frozen cherries

1 250g pack of frozen raspberries

2 oranges

1 bottle of Certo pectin

4 cups (American measures) of sugar

1/2 cup (American measures) of water

1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

Yes I know - dodgy measurements, I took my inspiration from a mix of British and American recipes.
So its simple really..

1. Grate then peel and chop up the oranges.

2. Chop up the frozen (although slight thawed) fruit.

When I say “chop up” I mean like really small pieces, you could lightly blend instead even.

3. Put the zest and all the fruit into a big pan.

4. Add the water and sugar then cook over a low heat for 2 minutes.

5. Bring the mixture to the boil and add the whole bottle of pectin.

6. Bring to the boil again for 4 minutes, or for as long as it takes (check http://www.deliaonline.com/how-to-cook/preserves/ten-steps-to-jam-making.html - read point 5 for a great Delia top tip).

7. Pour into sterilised jars (I filled 6 and a half (a perfect little bit extra for tasting purposes!).

8. Wait for the jars to cool and then store in a cool dark cupboard.

So that’s it - Christmas Jam for beginners, and it tastes gorgeously festive. YUM