It's jam, not rocket science.

I've been cleaning the cooker after another day of messy creative preserving thinking about a blog post from Rosie Makes Jam. The more I thought about it the more frustrated & annoyed I became. Not about Rosie, but about the whole nonsense of this Nanny State we appear to be living in.

New DEFRA regulations appear to be poised, set at reducing the overall sugar content of jam and similar products and have, seemingly, totally missed the point.
We have to have a certain amount of sugar in the jam to PRESERVE the fruit. We've been doing it for hundreds of years.

Part of the trouble is, I feel, that the articles written on the subject are, hopefully unintentionally, misleading and try to appeal your conscience fooling you into thinking that DEFRA are doing right by you.

In order for jam to last it needs to have a sugar content of 60%. That's science. Proven science.
But, before you panic, that's the TOTAL sugar content including the naturals sugars from the fruit.
Let me give you an example. Jam typically its made with 50% fruit and 50% added sugar but will have an overall sugar content of between 60-69% on average, depending on the fruit & the time of year.
Half the content of that jam is fruit.
Doesn't that make you feel better?
It should. It's true, traditional jam. Preserved fruit.

So, if these regulations go through it seems I will have two options:

•  reduce the amount of added sugar (which will give a sloppy product with reduced shelf life & less value for money)
• call my 'jam' something else

Quite frankly I think DEFRA are going about this the wrong way. 

The regulations should follow, surely, that those companies who want to make reduced sugar products, those with the technology for mechanical filling and sealing that allow for long life, those that add artificial preserving agents & chemicals, should not be allowed to call their product 'JAM'.*

Yes, there IS a market out there for reduced sugar jam but keep it separate. 

Stop making choices for us.

This is bureaucracy at it's most idiotic and, while seemingly not terribly important to the majority of people, it seems to me that once again the 'little people' are losing out in the name of commercialism.

Wake up & smell the jam people!

Suggested reading:

The Daily Mail have a good article about the new regulations, featuring Vivien LLoyd and you can sign Vivien's petition for real jam here

Please read Rosie's blog and have a look at the links she provides

*(Having reached this conclusion, I've just read an open letter by Rosie to DEFRA here and she says the same thing at the bottom of her letter.)

From the ashes of disaster...

Thought for the day here in the Jammy Cow kitchen, super tune from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and pretty much how are things with me.
Anyhoo, before I go off on one again, let me explain.

A while ago I made some Spiced Rhubarb & Orange Chutney. It was lovely & sold really well. I came across the recipe again to day and, having some rhubarb left over from making Rhubarb & Ginger Jam, thought it would be a great choice for the Food Festivals & Fairs in June.

After standing over it AND still having it catch on the bottom of the pan (changed pans 3 times) for 4 hours and it still not being ready I was all for throwing it in the bin.

I hate waste but I didn't have the time or the energy for another 4 hours. It would've been a shame. It really tasted nice but it wasn't reducing.

Then, ta dah! 

I blended it & bottled it and invented my own 'Rhubarb Ketchup'!
I'd like to say it was on purpose. I'd like to say I'm a creative genius. But frankly...
I just wing it!

Beat me to it.

I bought some (more) new books. I like books. I like books on preserving. I keep being asked to write my own - not by folk who know anything about publishing, but nonetheless...

Some books are so annoyingly full of unnecessary complications. Take this one for example:

It's an American publication & they do things slightly different when it comes to preserving & I can make allowances BUT, by the time I'd got through 30 pages of introductions, contradictions, equipment, acknowledgements & 'before you starts', frankly I didn't give a monkey's about the recipes.

It's going on the bookshelf to gather dust.

This one however is the one I wish I'd written.

Friendly, simple, unpatronising and empowering...darn it.

It's a DK publication with all the great photographs you'd expect but with a slightly more grown up look.

There are some quirky recipes in there that appeal to my Jammy Cow head plus a fabulous idea for making pectin from leftover lemon shells (my compost bin won't thank me).

Darn it (again)! Now I'm going to have to rethink my master plan for world domination....