4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[Nicola O]

Have decided that I want to have a go at making jam / chutneys etc.

 

Mum keeps telling me how complicated and time consuming it is but I have just seen the Tefal Jam Maker on the Lakeland website. It seems ideal as you just bung everything in and the machine does everything for you. Has anyone used it and what is their experience with it , the reviews on the Lakeland site look quite good.

 

Any opinions would be great before I part with £79.99 .

 

Nicola.

[Guest]

i make jam in my breadmaker but it only makes just over a 1lb of jam at a time. How many jars does the tefal one make in one go?

[hillfamily]

I started jam making last year, having been under the misapprehension that it was very difficult, only to find that it's very very easy

 

The one thing I would recommend you get that makes it very easy is, a Jam Thermometer. (Kate told me to get one- and she wasn't wrong ) You can get them from Lakeland. It ensures that you boil the jam at the right temperature so that it sets :D

 

Have a go first - you might surprise yourself and save yourself alot of money

[Nicola O]

Poet - Not sure, the video demo mentioned a kilo of fruit. This is the blurb if it's any help :-

 

"We just couldn’t believe how simple this machine was to use – there’s no need for thermometers or constant stirring as this clever pot automatically does everything for you and because it makes a relatively small amount of jam quickly, you can whip up a few jars whenever you like – so you can make a real selection, instead of having to bottle batch after batch of strawberry jam!

 

There are six programmes to choose from: Traditional, which takes about 45 minutes; Vital, for jams that are lower in sugar content; Quick – super speedy preserves if you use jam sugar with added pectin; Juice Extraction – steams the fruit to remove the juice for jellies (there’s no need to strain through a jelly bag); and Desserts – makes wonderfully comforting rice pudding. And the sixth... an auto-clean function that makes washing the non-stick bowl a breeze – just run it under the tap, whilst everything else goes in the dishwasher."

 

Hillfamily - is it really easy, perhaps I should be brave and give it a go - Mum & Dad have got a Blackberry bush covered in fruit, just ready to be made into jam .

 

Nicola

[The Dogmother]

Don't talk to me about Jam-making! As Kate knows, I've been busy and my kitchen is stacked with jam jars.. they all have homes; some are for sale as they've been pre-ordered and others are Christmas gifts for friends. I love 'jamming', just find it hard to make the time normally. I have two preserving pans on the go at the moment, One is an enormous old steel one that is a third generation hand-me-down in my family and the other is a smaller, Lakeland one.

 

Made so far:

 

Red currant jelly

Black currant jam

Rhubarb and ginger jam

Crab apple and clove jelly

 

Still to make:

 

More crabbie jelly

Hedgerow jelly

Bramble jam

Apple and rowan jelly

Apple and mint Jelly

Apple and lavender jelly

 

I haven't yet paid for any of the fruit either, which makes me feel even more smug!!!

[hillfamily]

Nicola - here's my recipe for Blackberry and Apple Jam :D Made some yesterday and it's really yummy and easy

 

500g Blackberries

500g cooking apples, peeled, cored and chopped

juice of 1 small lemon

1kg of jam sugar

 

put the blackberries and apples into a large heavy based or preserving pan with the lemon juice and 100ml of water. Place over a medium heat and simmer gently for 10 -15 mins until the apple is tender and reduced.

 

add the sugar to the pan and mix well until the sugar is all dissolved.

 

bring mixture to the boil, this is were I now use my Jam Thermometer. The mixture should boil at the 'Jam' temperature on the thermometer and must boil rapidly at this temp for 5 mins.

 

After the 5 mins pop a tsp of mix on a cold saucer and if it sets then you have jam. If it's not setting yet boil for a few more mins and test again.

 

Remove pan from heat and let it cool for 10 mins

 

Pour jam into sterlised jam jars (this mix makes about 6 -7 8oz jars)

 

Once cool enough, smother thick slices of bread with jam and enjoy :D

 

 

here's a link to the Jam Thermometer's at Lakeland - http://www.lakeland.co.uk/preserving-thermometer/F/keyword/jam/product/8776

 

Have a go - it really is easy

[abwsco]

I have wonderful memories of making jam and marmalade with my Mum when I was younger and we seemed to be able to find free blackberries easily. Not so happy memories of peeling all the cooking apples off our tree though -lol

 

I should really try it again as I know it's easy to do.

[Guest]

Poet - Not sure, the video demo mentioned a kilo of fruit. This is the blurb if it's any help :-

 

 

right, well my BM takes approx 300g fruit and 200g sugar to make just slightly over 1lb so scaling up, I guess your kilo of fruit would make about 3lbs jam in one go, praps a little bit more, not much jam in one go, especially for spending £79.99!

 

I'd get a BM if I were you as you can make bread, cakes, jam, pizza dough etc in it- much more versatile!

[dogs and chickens]

Hi,

 

Which did a report on this machine last month:

 

Tefal's £79.99 Electric Jam Maker aims to take the fuss out of making home made preserves. It seems like a great idea, but we felt this product was let down by poor instructions and found it's cooking time optimistic.

The manual is badly laid out and our two amateur enthusiasts had to refer to three non-consecutive pages to make a handful of jars of strawberry jam.

Awkward translation made it difficult to know whether you were following the instructions correctly. But we have since learned that the product is to be sold with an updated recipe sheet, which should help matters.

It has several modes: 'traditional' which should take about 45mins, 'vital', which uses less sugar than standard jam making, and 'quick', which requires you to add pectin to speed up production.

We found that the 'traditional' mode took considerably longer than the 45mins specified and still produced a runny jam at the end of cooking time. The testers were disappointed with both the flavour and the texture of the jam.

Although no previous experiance of jam making is necessary to get the device working, we felt that it would help ensure that jam was cooked for long enough to gain a good texture.

Washing up is a lot easier than when using a jam kettle, as the pan is non-stick and a special mode rinses it first.

Some users will like the small batch sizes that allow you to make just three pots of jam at a time. However if your used to making batches for friends and family, the pan size will be too small.

VERDICT If you already own jam-making equipment, it's not worth replacing it with this device.

 

Hope that helps? Personally I make jam every couple of years, and have done so only about three - four times now. I have never had a problem making it and just use a very large non-stick saucepan which I picked up in a charity shop for £5! I don't have any other equipment and it always tastes great! Yummy strawberry jam made this year with strawberry's from own garden

[hillfamily]

I got 7 x 8oz jars of jam (so 3 1/2 lbs of jam) out of the 1kg of fruit I used making my blackberry and apple jam yesterday :D

[Lesley]

Pam - I've just added a little bit to your recipe above.........

 

....add the sugar and stir until all the sugar is dissolved

 

It is important to not bring the jam to the boil until the sugar is dissolved

[Cinnamon]

i make jam in my breadmaker but it only makes just over a 1lb of jam at a time. How many jars does the tefal one make in one go?

 

You can make jam in a breadmaker?

Does it need a special setting or anything?

 

That said,I have just bought a preserving pan on eBay.............

[hillfamily]

Pam - I've just added a little bit to your recipe above.........

 

....add the sugar and stir until all the sugar is dissolved

 

It is important to not bring the jam to the boil until the sugar is dissolved

 

Thanks Lesley :D Brain going quicker than fingers

 

Just enjoying a slice of toast with some lovely homemade Jam on

[Guest]

You can make jam in a breadmaker?

Does it need a special setting or anything?

 

.

 

a BM is only a mini oven with a paddle at the end of the day, there's a jam setting on mine so you just bung everything in and it stirs and boils it and beeps when it's ready

 

It makes the most divine madeira cake and perfect pizza dough too, I wouldn't be without mine. Oh and it makes gorgeous bread too!

[Cinnamon]

*scuttles off to see if hers has a jam setting *

[Sunshine]

I've never tried making jam but it looks easy enough to do so i think i will give it a go.But i have two questions that im hoping you will be able to answer:

 

Whats the difference between a preserving pan and a saucepan?

 

Can you use a large saucepan for making jam?

 

Thank You

[Egluntyne]

Can you use a large saucepan for making jam?

Yes! I made 5 jars of strawberry jam last week in a big saucepan. It is lovely.

 

I did, however dash out to Lakeland a week ago and bought a preserving pan.

 

The preserving pan is very big, with sloping sides, a measuring line on the inside, which is handy and a lip for pouring.

 

It also has a very thick base.

 

Kate recommends a jam making thermometer to take the guesswork out of the setting point issue......so I got one of these too.

[WitchHazel]

I have been making jam for many years using a preserving pan, I find it really easy to do. Even so, a couple of months ago I bought the Tefal jam maker..

 

As an experienced jam maker, I got a bit frustrrated with it, but I think if I wasn't used to making jam already it would have been fab.

 

I found it hard to correlate the quanitites in the recipes with standard jam recipes (as I wanted to cook fruit that wasn't covered). In the end, I used Marguerite Patten's quanitities, and their "method", and it came out fine.

 

What I really like using it for is tto extract the juice from fruit, which I then either make into seedless jam (jelly), or into fruit cordial. I have made dozens of jars of blackcurrent jellym raspberryjelly, and tayberry jelly. I have bottles and bottles of cordial too. It has been absolutely fantastic for that, and has saved me leaving jam in muslin bags dripping tinto bowls overnight. Because it's so easy to extract the juice, I've made more than I ever would having to leave it to strain overnight and then wash out a berry filled muslin bag.

 

It also has a desserts sertting, which i was very dubious about. Normally a good rice pud takes a couple of hours in the over (I like a good skin), and this suggested it could make me a rice pudding in 20 mins. Actually, it's slightly longer than 20 mins, as it's 20 mins once it's reached temperature (about 10 mins). It actually does a really really good job!

 

And I like the cleaning cycle. It gets most of the gunge off, and then you just finish it off under a tap.

 

If the destructions are improved, I think it would make it even better.

[jomaxsmith]

I've always fancied making jam but I have always worried about getting the jars sterile and sealed and also what to seal them with!

 

I've got quite a collection of jars but how do I seal them? Just the original (well washed) lids? Those little plastic disks and paper over the top with a rubber band?

 

It's really basic but it's putting me off!

 

Jo

[WitchHazel]

I've always fancied making jam but I have always worried about getting the jars sterile and sealed and also what to seal them with!

 

I've got quite a collection of jars but how do I seal them? Just the original (well washed) lids? Those little plastic disks and paper over the top with a rubber band?

 

It's really basic but it's putting me off!

 

Jo

 

I absolutely hate waxed seals etc. It reminds me of when I was little and my mum used to make jam. It was OK until you opened it, then it was a nightmare.

 

I use proper jar lids. I started buy buying jars and lids from Lakeland, then I progressed to Ascott Smallholding supplies where you can just buy lids, but their postage is quite expensive.

 

Sterilising is easy. Wash the jars in hot soapy water and rinse well. I then put them in the oven (I use gas mark 4 or equivalent) and leave them in there while I am making the jam. I take them out just before the jam is ready to be potted, then pour the jam into the hot jars.

 

The lids: I put into a bowl or jug, then pour on BOILING water. Leave them for a few mins, then drain the water and put the hot lids on the jars. (with care, as they are hot).

 

Hope that helps

[Lesley]

That's exactly how I do mine as well.

[jomaxsmith]

Thanks for the advice on lids - can I use the collection of lids that fit my random jars or is there a reason for buying new?

 

Jo

[WitchHazel]

Personally I always use new lids, as I want to ensure there is a sterile seal and that there is no old flavour to taint the jam.

 

But I am probably overcautious.

[Guest]

Theres one on Ebay - looks like it may end up costing more than Lakeland - there is 9.99 delivery on this one - Lakeland do it free!

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=310078602704&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=021

[Nicola O]

Well, I've gone and done it - I've ordered the jam maker !!

 

I know now from all your postings that it's not as hard as Mum always made out, but this does seem an easier option with the machine doing everything for you. It's not cheap but I've decided that I deserve an early birthday present from myself and as I don't drink, smoke, go out, I thought why not (though I use thast excuse for just about anything I buy myself )

 

Can't wait for it to arrive, then I can go and raid Mum's blackberry bush, and get the ladder out and pick the elderberries on the tree in my garden.....my neighbour also mentioned elderberry wine, perhaps I should try that as well.

 

Nicola.