Sunday, October 13, 2013

In the Kitchen: Blackberry Lime Jam

For whatever reason, jam and jelly are crazy expensive here. I've refused to buy it, in fact. But I've been getting these berries called mora every week in my veg delivery, and I've been at a loss as to what to do with them. They are kind of like a blackberry, but the local variety is pretty sour.  They are much too sour to eat raw. They work well in very sweet baked goods, like banana bread, but I can only do so much of that. I read online that they are high in pectin and good for jam, so I figured it was worth a shot. I had TWO deliveries of mora in the fridge, and one was about to go bad. Surprisingly enough, the jam was easy and came out perfect. Regular blackberries could work, perhaps with less sugar.

1 3/4 cups ripe mora
1 3/4 cups white sugar
Zest of one lime, finely chopped
Juice of one lime

Put mora and sugar in large heavy-bottomed pot. Mash berries and sugar together with potato masher. Bring to boil over medium heat; continue cooking until mixture reaches 220*F, stirring regularly to keep bottom from burning. Just before it reaches temperature, add lime zest and juice; mix well. Transfer to containers and refrigerate.  (I'm using one cup Pyrex containers with plastic lids; it filled about 1 1/2 of them).

The girls love it, and have been eating slice after slice of toast since I made it.  Moras are quite seedy, so next time I may try to put them through the food mill to cull out some of the seeds.  I might also try a dash of nutmeg in the jam.

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