Plum and Ginger Jam

I’ve been making jam this week and it’s absolutely perfect for a last-minute Christmas present.  (Another perfect last-minute present is one of my books, but I’ll leave that up to you!  As well as a Christie for Christmas what about a Haldean for the Holidays…?)

Anyway, back to jam.  I made it in the microwave, and the actual jam-boiling process was dead easy.  It needs to be left to cool down overnight, but once it has cooled, all it needs is a pretty label and there you go!  I “tweaked” a recipe for plum jam, adding some ideas of my own and the result was brilliant.  It’s got an adult, sophisticated taste with real depth to it.  (I know this sounds like dopey food talk, but it’s true!)

The whole process takes about an hour, including chopping the fruit.

Don’t double up the quantities.  If you want more, do the process twice!

To make two one pound jars of plum jam, you’ll need:

2 lbs or 1 kilo of plums.

2  lemons

1½ lbs of jam sugar

1 “finger” from a fresh ginger root



A microwave.

A food processor

2 1lb (or thereabouts) jam jars

Greaseproof/waxed paper circles to go on top of the jam



My microwave is 800 watt (E) but I’m sure any microwave will do.  For a lower wattage you might have to boil the jam for longer, but if it passes the “crinkle” test (described lower down) the jam is done.

Jam sugar is available from supermarkets.  It’s got added pectin, which makes the jam set.

Before you start, sterilise the jars.  Put a little bit of water in both jars and give them a minute or so in the microwave.  Then take them out – carefully! – and put them in a warm oven on a low temperature to dry out and warm up.  If you’re using metal lids, put them in a saucepan and boil them for a little while to sterilise.

Put two saucers in the freezer.  This is to test the jam when it’s cooked and you need two in case the first try doesn’t work

Take the stones out of the plums.  You don’t have to take the skin off but you do need to remove the stones.  Chop the plums into quarters.

Peel the “finger” of the ginger root.  I used the back of my potato peeler, but a blunt knife will do it easily.  The peel slides off and your hands smell wonderful afterwards! Chop the peeled ginger into bits and put it in the food processor.

Peel the lemons and keep the bigger bits of the rind.  Chop the lemons, take out the pips, then whiz up the lemon bits and the ginger together in the food processor.

Put all the fruit, including the lemon rinds, into the microwave (uncovered) for about 6 minutes or so to warm up and start cooking.

Add the sugar and cook, uncovered, on High for 20 to 25 minutes.

Drop a little bit of jam on one of the chilled saucers and leave it to cool for half a minute or so.  If it’s cooked, then it should crinkle and stay separate when you run your finger through it.  Do be careful – boiling jam is very, very hot.  If it’s not done, give it a few more minutes.

Then fill up the warmed jars, discarding the lemon rinds.  Put the paper circles on the top, put the sterilised lids on and turn the jars upside-down for a minute to help the seal along.  Then turn them the right way up and leave them to cool where no one can touch them, as they will be very hot.    If you’re lucky, there’ll be some left over, so put it in a dish, leave it to set, make some toast and enjoy it!

I labelled my jars, packed them in a decorated box on a nest of hay, and they look terrific.  Happy Christmas, everyone!

Off The Record

If you'd like to know more about what lies behind the story of my latest book, OFF THE RECORD, I'm delighted to say that my good friend, Jane Finnis, has invited me as her guest on her blog today to talk about the story behind the story.  Go to www.janefinnis.com

While you're there, do take a look at Jane's books, too.  They're an excellent series of mysteries set in Ancient Roman Yorkshire.  The background is terrific and the stories are gripping. The heroine of all three books, Aurelia, is someone you'll enjoy spending time with.

The picture, by the way, is one I love, depicting  just how attractive and warm those early Radio Days of the world of OFF THE RECORD were.  It's amazing how deceptive a picture can be....

Rudolf Buns And Seeds

You’re looking at a Rudolf bun.  I made about three dozen of them for our church Christmas Fair yesterday and – I’m glad to say – every one of them found a youthful owner!  As you can see, Rudolf has the requisite red nose, which is either due to severe cold (it’s parky up in Finland) or (and this is, perhaps, the reason for Rudolf being shunned by his fellow reindeer) he’s been a bit too free with the Christmas drinks.  Either way, old Rudy makes a very nice bun.

The antlers are made out of toffee. The antlers were bigger, but my Dad dropped the bun and poor old Rudolf suffered a bit. If I was making more Rudolf buns, and especially in the industrial quantities I churned them out, I think I’d use chocolate mint sticks, as the antlers were easily the hardest part. I know reindeers shed their antlers, but , even without Dad's help, Rudy did it a bit too enthusiastically for my liking!  Daughter Jessica roped herself in a fellow deer herdsman and she ran a sort of reindeer antler production line, as I melted the toffee in the microwave and she made antler shapes on a glass worktop with a wooden spatula.

Melting toffee in the microwave is dead easy.  A few toffees melt down in about 30 seconds or so, but put them in a glass Pyrex dish. I melted the bottom out of my plastic bowl very early on in the proceedings!

Still, it was all in a good cause.  I like the Christmas Fair.  It used to be called a Sale of Work years ago, which sounds a bit more earnest than a “fair” but it was always good fun, in that way things are fun when people have genuinely put some effort into things.   I and my friend Liz once starred as Santa’s fairies!  There’s still plenty of home-made stuff to buy, amongst the donations of unwanted gift, old books, DVD's and CD's, such as puddings, cakes and jams but the real money-spinners are the raffles and tombolas, of course.  One cert of a money maker is the whisky raffle, where a ticket is drawn when 20 tickets are sold.  Each ticket costs a pound, the whisky (bought wholesale) is about £10 or £11 a bottle, so that’s about 10 quid profit, there’s a good chance of winning and everyone’s happy!

It’s also a chance to catch up with old friends.  Joe was there, who I haven’t seen for a time.  He’s getting on a bit and has recently been in hospital.  He regaled everyone who would listen, as people are apt to do, with waaaay too much detail about having a camera inserted where the sun doesn't shine and the problems therein.  The trouble is, he’s been eating Healthy Bread.   You know the type – it’s organic and wholemeal and full of seeds.  The doctor operating the camera didn’t like the seeds.  The seeds were still all too visible and obscured the lens.  “All I can see,” said the doctor in reproof, “are seeds.”

“Never mind the seeds,” said Joe.  “Have you found the budgie yet?”