Easy Microwave Jam

I’ve never made any preserves before, until I discovered this way of making easy microwave jam. Fiddling around with a thermometer and fussing over setting points isn’t really my style – I’m just too impatient for conventional jam making.

When I picked twice as many blackberries as I needed for a crumble, though, I thought why not see what I could come up with? I found various microwave jam recipes, which I then experimented with and adapted. You can of course make strawberry jam, blackberry jam, or use other berries to make microwave raspberry jam, microwave blueberry jam, microwave cherry jam, microwave blackcurrant jam… there is a long list of possibilities.

While it’s not a 3 minute no sugar microwave jam, this microwave plum jam recipe (or whatever fruit you choose) took under 10 minutes to cook and it was made. So the cooking time is minimal with this recipe for jam. There are just two ingredients – fruit and jam sugar, with no need for pectin, lemon juice or anything else. Just put jam sugar on your food shopping list, plus of course fruit. Peaches if making microwave peach jam, for instance, or perhaps try microwave apricot jam.

It cost me around £1 to fill 4 jars, as I foraged the fruit for free. So why not impress your nearest and dearest by presenting them with their own jar of the finest, freshly made preserve? Just don’t tell them how simple it was. Of all kinds of home cooking, making jam always seems to impress people. That and making my own Christmas pudding.

This is how to make jam – the easiest possible way.

Makes about 4 jars

Easy microwave jam ingredients

• Fruit (e.g. blackberries), 500g
• Jam sugar, 500g

Equipment

• Glass casserole dish
• Tablespoons (for spooning and stirring)
• Ladle
• Jam jars (sterilised)

How to make microwave jam

• If required, stone and chop the fruit into small pieces.
• Put the fruit and jam sugar into a large bowl that can be used in the microwave (I used a large glass Pyrex casserole dish with a lid).
• If you want to, mash the fruit up a little with a fork.
• Stir well, then cover and microwave on high for 4 minutes. Stir well, then repeat.
• After cooking then stirring, decant the jam (I used a soup ladle) into sterilised jars (see how to do this below) and seal straightaway. It may look very liquid at this stage, but don’t worry – mine certainly did, but it set really well.
• The jam is ready when it has completely cooled and set in the jar.

How to sterilise jam jars

To sterilise the jars, first wash in hot, soapy water, rinse, then place in an oven heated to 120°C (fan), until they are completely dry. 10 minutes, or a little more, will suffice. Once dry, they are ready to use.

Related recipes:

• Fruit crumble recipe
• No bake blueberry cheesecake
• Microwave Nutella fudge
• Slow cooker Xmas pudding
• Fruity sticky toffee pud

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