Raspberry and Cacao Nibs Jam

 Raspberries and chocolate are a great combination. Cacao nibs add that hit of chocolate and a nice crunch to the jam.  I first tried this recipe at the Chocolate Museum in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.  This is the place to go for everything you ever want to know about chocolate!

To make 5 x 250 ml jars.

Ingredients

1.9 kg     Raspberries, gently washed and any leaves picked out.

60 ml      Lemon juice

700 gr     Sugar

1/4 tsp    Vanilla extract

1 tbsp      Cacao nibs

Directions

Place the raspberries in a large stainless steel saucepan, add 50 ml water and the lemon juice.  Soften the fruit over a medium-high heat for about five minutes, stirring frequently to it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.  

Slowly pour in the sugar, stirring until it dissolves completely, then add the vanilla and cacao nibs.  Increase the heat and boil over a high heat for about 10-15 minutes, until it reaches 220 degrees on a thermometer.  

You can also take the jam off the heat and do the wrinkle test by putting a quarter teaspoon of jam on a pre-frozen place and put in the fridge for a few minutes.  Remove from the fridge and push the jam with your finger- it should have a slight wrinkle on the surface.  If there is no wrinkle, put the pan back on a high heat, keep cooking and testing every few minutes until the wrinkle is achieved.

When the jam is ready, skim off and discard any froth on the surface, ladle the jam into hot, sterilized jars.  Clean the rim of the jar and place / tighten the lids.  Process in a steam canner for ten minutes.  When it’s done, turn off the heat, remove the lid and let sit for five minutes before removing.

Strawberry Honey Butter - Heavenly

 Looking for something different and heavenly to slather on your toast, scone?  Try this fruit butter- Strawberry Honey Butter to be precise.  Thanks to my neighbours Jenn and Darrel for  taste testing my first batch!  And thank you to Ball for the recipe.

This recipe makes 4 x 250 ml jars

Ingredients

3 lbs    Strawberries, washed and hulled

3/4 cup Honey

3/4 cup. Sugar

1 tbsp    Bottled lemon juice

2 tsp      Vanilla

1/4 tsp    Salt

Directions

Purée strawberries n the bowl of your food processor until smooth.

Combine strawberry purée with the remaining ingredients in a deep pot set over medium heat.  Bring the mixture to a boil stirring frequently to prevent scorching.  Lower the heat and simmer until the mixture is very thick, about 60-90 minutes, stirring frequently.  Any foam produced by the strawberries will disappear with the cooking process.  Strawberry butter is finished cooking when it holds shape on a spoon.

Ladle the hot butter in hot canning jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.  Remove air bubbles.  Wipe the rim of the jar and center the lid on the jar, apply the band and adjust to finger tip tight.  Place the jar in the steam canner.  Repeat for all the jars.

Process 10 minutes.  Turn off the heat, remove the lid carefully to avoid hot steam and let the jars stand for about five minutes before removing.