Apple + Blackberries = Jam

settembre 9, 2010

Blackberry jam for me is THE jam, the one and only, its flavour must bring back to mind exclusively blackberry, pureed and closed in a jar. I can’t stand other flavours but blackberries, I love this jam in its purity. Adding apple was therefore a cautious thing, I’d say I was very suspicious at the beginning… what was so powerful to convince me? a book, The Flavour Thesaurus, a must have for curious foodies. If you are keen on experimenting new flavour matches but don’t want to trigger a chemical and bacteriological war in the kitchen, this is your book! It can be considered a paper version – much more in-depth and well thought-out – of the useful website Foodpairing.

The passage that has convinced me – and opened a new world in front of my eyes – was: like Simon and Garfunkel: perfectly respectable solo careers, can sell out Central Park together. Simon is the apple, by the way, the dominant partner. Blackberry does the high notes. Bòackberries have a spicy character, although not a specific spice. Isn’t it genius? after such a simile, I plunged  myself into the pantry looking for apples, I was ready to discover the new era of blackberry jam, my 2.0 blackberry jam!

Ingredients:

• blackberries just picked up from brambles
  
• Golden Delicious apples, same amount of blackberries
  
• caster sugar, 300 per kg of fruit puree
  

Wash the berries and remove the stalks. Peel apples and cut into large pieces. Add blackberries and apples in a large thick bottomed. Cook over medium heat for about 30 minutes, or at least until blackberries and apples are soft and begin to melt. Puree the fruit with a food mill using the disc with the smallest holes and collect the pulp of blackberries and apples in a saucepan.

Weight the fruit puree: for every kilogram of fruit puree add 300 grams of sugar and bring to a boil again (mind blackberries splashes!). Let it simmer slowly over low heat for about 30 minutes, until the jam will get firmer.

Sterilization. Pour jam into sterilized jars and close tight. Put the jars in a large pot and cover with water: bring to a boil. Let simmer for 20 minutes and then remove from the heat. Let the jars cool completely in the pan, then remove them from water. You can store them for several months in a dry, cool and dark place.

Tasting test. Black Velvet. A deep, intense, sharp, spicy and musty taste, resembling bramble and earth, thanks to blackberries. The apple adds instead the soft, creamy touch. My favorite way to eat this jam is on bread with a generous spread of Greek yogurt that creates an interesting chromatic contrast and enhances its sharp sweetness.

Black velvet and that little boy’s smile
Black velvet with that slow southern style
A new religion that’ll bring ya to your knees
Black velvet if you please

Are you craving for more blackberries recipes? Curious? Wait ’till tomorrow, a big surprise is coming, stay tuned!

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Posted in Books, Preserves