Do you buy home made jam?

juneg

Do you buy home made jam at farmers markets for example?
What varieties do you like?

My favourite is Damson or victoria plum

vicwatson

Not a chance, there are amazing Irish made jams, albeit not homemade, in Aldi for cheap. Just as good as rip off farmers markets ones in my experience

juneg

I like the Aldi jams but there is something special about a home made jam

vicwatson

Yeh, the cost !! Ah no in fairness horses for courses

marozz

Lucky enough a friend of mine makes jam, and gives me a few jars free of charge. I wouldn't buy it at a farmers market as they tend to ask for rip off prices.

florawest

Hi all, I make homemade jams all the time but just for ourselves, family and friends. If you make them you would know the costings also much better taste, yea I buy ones that I don't make, got blackcurrant at SMA open day few weeks back, just made strawberry today, blueberry and marmalade during the week and most of them given away and few apple tarts too, wouldn't buy or eat shop tart, I like to support local producers, get eggs locally too bit more expensive but taste

Lisha

Ballymaquirke raspberry jam is simply lush. Highly recommended

katydid

juneg wrote: »

Do you buy home made jam at farmers markets for example?
What varieties do you like?

My favourite is Damson or victoria plum

I make loads of jam. I wish someone would buy it...there's only so much jam one person can eat.

katydid

marozz wrote: »

Lucky enough a friend of mine makes jam, and gives me a few jars free of charge. I wouldn't buy it at a farmers market as they tend to ask for rip off prices.

I did a calculation as to how much you'd need to charge at a market (I make lots of jam) and if you pay for the jar and the sugar, and the time and gas/electricity and want to make a profit, you need to charge a bit more than what you'd pay in Lidl or Aldi.

vicwatson

Ah yeh but that's not the point. We are (still) in recession and it's so hard to justify buying a product for 3 times the price for pretty much equal quality/taste

katydid

vicwatson wrote: »

Ah yeh but that's not the point. We are (still) in recession and it's so hard to justify buying a product for 3 times the price for pretty much equal quality/taste

True enough. But you're not paying three times the price for the same thing; the cheap jams in the supermarkets are definitely not the same.

pwurple

vicwatson wrote: »

Ah yeh but that's not the point. We are (still) in recession and it's so hard to justify buying a product for 3 times the price for pretty much equal quality/taste

Ahem. We are officially out of recession since September 2013.

Anyway, look at the ingredients. Shop jam has added colours, pectin, and can be up to 60% added sugar. It's like saying sliced pan ('bread' made from chemicals and fresh air) is the same as handmade sourdough bread. It just ain't.

We don't eat that much jam, but I buy raspberry jam in shops alright for cakes. We make our own blackberry jam... I don't think you can get that in shops? If I do buy jam at a market, it's a fruit I can't get in a shop.like greengage.

vicwatson

katydid wrote: »

True enough. But you're not paying three times the price for the same thing; the cheap jams in the supermarkets are definitely not the same.

Well I think they taste pretty much the same

pwurple wrote: »

Ahem. We are officially out of recession since September 2013.

Anyway, look at the ingredients. Shop jam has added colours, pectin, and can be up to 60% added sugar. It's like saying sliced pan ('bread' made from chemicals and fresh air) is the same as handmade sourdough bread. It just ain't.

We don't eat that much jam, but I buy raspberry jam in shops alright for cakes. We make our own blackberry jam... I don't think you can get that in shops? If I do buy jam at a market, it's a fruit I can't get in a shop.like greengage.

Out of recession? Perhaps thats the case in your household.;) Yes you can get blackberry jam in shops, I know a place in wexford that makes it "homemade" and it sells for 2.99 which is an ok price for what it is....but I still think the range of jams aldi have are unbeatable at the price.

jester77

Hard to beat making your own and it is so easy. My favourite would be Reine Claude plum jam.

Shenshen

Depends on what kind of jam it is.

I greatly miss the selection of different jams you could buy in any shop back in Germany, so if they're selling more "exotic" varieties, I might buy some. Gooseberry, elderberry, apple&grape, rosehip, those kind of jams.

If it's your standard raspberry, strawberry, blackberry stuff I wouldn't bother.
I have started making my own jams a few years back (as a way of not wasting fruit from the garden), and I do make a rather yummy spiced plum jam.
And a good loganberry and amaretto.

quaalude

I was given 750g of homegrown rhubarb last week, so I made jam for the first time.

I'd never made jam before - I always though it one of those very difficult things, and assumed it needed thermometers, special sugar and hours of boiling.

But I looked until I found the easiest-sounding rhubarb and ginger jam recipe with the fewest ingredients, this one on Tesco: http://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/rhubarb-and-ginger-jam.html - all it is is rhubarb, normal sugar, lemon juice, and grated ginger.
The boiling only took 10 minutes, I was so surprised.

I used various jars I'd saved over the last while, I washed them in the dishwasher beforehand, they were hot when I put the jam in them.

The result was brilliant, made 4 jars of gorgeous jam, sweet but with a gingery bite. So I would love to make more jam - but only with a very cheap or free fruit.

Any other suggestions for an easy jam, using a cheap fruit?

Shenshen

quaalude wrote: »

I was given 750g of homegrown rhubarb last week, so I made jam for the first time.

I'd never made jam before - I always though it one of those very difficult things, and assumed it needed thermometers, special sugar and hours of boiling.

But I looked until I found the easiest-sounding rhubarb and ginger jam recipe with the fewest ingredients, this one on Tesco: http://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/rhubarb-and-ginger-jam.html - all it is is rhubarb, normal sugar, lemon juice, and grated ginger.
The boiling only took 10 minutes, I was so surprised.

I used various jars I'd saved over the last while, I washed them in the dishwasher beforehand, they were hot when I put the jam in them.

The result was brilliant, made 4 jars of gorgeous jam, sweet but with a gingery bite. So I would love to make more jam - but only with a very cheap or free fruit.

Any other suggestions for an easy jam, using a cheap fruit?

Blackberries spring to mind, they'll be free and in abundance shortly
There's rosehip jam on Germany, but it's so nasty to make, most people buy it in the shop (you have to de-seed the rosehips, and those seeds get absolutely everywhere. They itch like the proverbial, too).
You could check if you can find recipes for sloe jelly, or hawthorn?

quaalude

Shenshen wrote: »

Blackberries spring to mind, they'll be free and in abundance shortly
There's rosehip jam on Germany, but it's so nasty to make, most people buy it in the shop (you have to de-seed the rosehips, and those seeds get absolutely everywhere. They itch like the proverbial, too).
You could check if you can find recipes for sloe jelly, or hawthorn?

Thanks Shenshen! When we were kids used to pick blackberries in Santry Woods and make pies with them, but never jam.

I might call out to my da, see if he want to relive the old days and go blackberry picking sometime soon!

pawrick

If I see gooseberry jam I'll usually buy it and I've planted some bushes this year to make my own eventually. Had some great blackberry jam last year which my brother made and picked from around my home, way better than any other home made or store bought jam i had before, a lot depends on the quality of berries I guess.

pwurple

vicwatson wrote: »

Out of recession? Perhaps thats the case in your household.;) Yes you can get blackberry jam in shops, I know a place in wexford that makes it "homemade" and it sells for 2.99 which is an ok price for what it is....but I still think the range of jams aldi have are unbeatable at the price.

Recession isn't a fuzzy feeling, it's a technical defined economic concept. You can be as thrifty as you like in recession, Upturn, boom etc. Nobody stopping that, but saying it's still a recession 2 years later is inaccurate/silly.

I don't think a 3.5 hour each way drive to Wexford for a pot of jam is particularly sensible for me.

Dizzyblonde

I got a lone pot of jam from the gooseberrry bushes I planted last year. It's not much but it tastes great

Making jam is a labour of love and I like to make it now and then, or to get a gift of some. I don't think I'd pay the prices charged for it at markets etc though because I also love the jams and marmalades from Aldi and Lidl.

vicwatson

pwurple wrote: »

Recession isn't a fuzzy feeling, it's a technical defined economic concept. You can be as thrifty as you like in recession, Upturn, boom etc. Nobody stopping that, but saying it's still a recession 2 years later is inaccurate/silly.

I don't think a 3.5 hour each way drive to Wexford for a pot of jam is particularly sensible for me.

As you didn't seem to understand my post............the point was that one can get "homemade" jam at 2.99 in a shop (doesn't really matter the hell where - I was merely saying I happen to know of a place in Wexford) which is an ok price, and you dont have to go spending mental money at a farmers market, the tendancy is that they are far higher priced than "homemade" shop bought, and euro for euro the jams in Aldi and Lidl are equally as good, if not better, as what you'd get in a farmers market imo.

Shenshen

Shenshen wrote: »

Blackberries spring to mind, they'll be free and in abundance shortly
There's rosehip jam on Germany, but it's so nasty to make

Rose hip jam seemed to be more popular years ago in Ireland, I don't remember it ever being widespread as a commercial product but was definitely one of the traditional standards for homemade jam.

Dizzyblonde

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

I got a lone pot of jam from the gooseberrry bushes I planted last year. It's not much but it tastes great

Making jam is a labour of love and I like to make it now and then, or to get a gift of some. I don't think I'd pay the prices charged for it at markets etc though because I also love the jams and marmalades from Aldi and Lidl.

I love the lidl jams as they remind of french style conserves served at breakfast while on holiday!

I think anyone getting a pot of homemade jam as a gift would be delighted with so personal a gift!

Jellybaby1

I usually go for Blackcurrant Jam or Damson if available at food markets. I think I saw Medlar jam once, but never tasted it.

Spanish Eyes

Aldi rhubarb and vanilla jam is my favourite jam EVER.

But if I am around a market or Summer fair etc. I will pick up a jar or two of the homemade. Wouldn't make it myself though, I would never have the jars!

juneg

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

Aldi rhubarb and vanilla jam is my favourite jam EVER.

But if I am around a market or Summer fair etc. I will pick up a jar or two of the homemade. Wouldn't make it myself though, I would never have the jars!

+ 1to the aldi and vanilla jam but nice as it is, it wouldn't compare to my own homemade rhubarb and ginger.

heldel00

Raspberry and tiramisu jam anyone?!
This jam was a big hit at the taste of cavan festival. Made by a company called Morans. The rest of their jams are delicious too. They have a black currant and amaretto one that is beautiful.
If it's nice then I don't mind paying the bit extra for homemade jams. Handy staple to have in the fridge and lasts well.

Spanish Eyes

juneg wrote: »

+ 1to the aldi and vanilla jam but nice as it is, it wouldn't compare to my own homemade rhubarb and ginger.

Of course your own home made will be fantastic. And I know it is. And all those who have tasted it know it is, but I DIDN'T, AND I WANT SOME! It sounds great.

I am just saying, as someone who doesn't make their own, that the Aldi jam is great!

the beer revolu

I'd never be without homemade rhubarb and ginger jam.
Used in lots of sauces too.

heldel00

the beer revolu wrote: »

I'd never be without homemade rhubarb and ginger jam.
Used in lots of sauces too.

Tell on. You have my interest now. What kinds of sauces? I love rhubarb and ginger mmmmmmmmmm