How To Make Hawthorn Jam

Homemade Jam Recipes

Ingredients: Hawthorn Jam Recipe

3 lb / 1,300 grams of hawthorn berries
3 lb / 1,300 grams of white sugar (try to use granulated instead of caster)
10 fl oz / 300 ml of tap water
1 lemon

Method - What To Do

Hedgerow foragers always love this recipe and why wouldn't they?! It makes good use of the abundance of hawthorns that make up the bulk of so many hedgerows and reliably crop well, year after year.

Wash all of the hawthorn berries and pick them over, removing any 'squashy' fruit and any remaining stems. Add the 3 lb of berries into a deep saucepan and pour on the water. Zest the lemon into a dish and then juice the lemon straight into the saucepan.

Bring the hawthorn berries to a strong simmer and allow them to cook for 20 minutes, stirring a little during this simmering time to encourage them to begin falling apart and concentrating their juices, as well as their pectin content. Briefly remove your jam mixture from the heat and mix in the sugar. Keep mixing until you can see that the sugar crystals have been entirely incorporated and dissolved, and then add the saved lemon zest from earlier.

Bring the hawthorn jam to a strong boil and keep boiling and stirring (intermittently) for around 15 minutes, until a more syrup-like consistency is adopted. Test your jam for its jelling potential by spooning some onto a plate that was chilled earlier. After a minute, tilt the chilled plate at a sharp angle to see how the jam reacts - does it run or remain fairly solid? Next, touch it with your finger to see if a skin has appeared, rippling when your fingertip is dragged through. If your jam fails these tests, boil it some more and test in another five minutes, and again if you feel the need.

When your hawthorn mixture has reached its setting point, remove the jam making pan from the stove and allow it to cool down for five minutes. Skim the surface to remove any impurities that remain floating and spoon into sterile hot jars.

Hawthorn Jam Recipe - More Jam Recipes.