Perfect Preserves – Slow Jams

Extend the usefulness of your slow cooker with our easy sweet and savoury jams. They’re perfect for gifting or enjoying at your table.

Jars that aren’t sterilised properly can cause deterioration of the contents during storage.

The aim is to finish sterilising the jars and lids at the same time

Sterilising jars:

Put the jars and lids through the hottest cycle of a dishwasher without using any detergent.

Lie the jars down in a boiler with the lids, cover with cold water, then cover with a lid. Bring to the boil over high heat and boil the jars for 20 minutes. Stand the jars upright, without touching each other, on a wooden board on the lowest oven shelf. Turn the oven to the lowest possible temperature; leave jars to heat for 30 minutes.

Remove jars from the oven or dishwasher with a tea towel, or from the boiling water with tongs and rubber-gloved hands; the water will evaporate from hot wet jars quite quickly. Stand jars upright, and not touching each other, on a wooden board or a bench covered with a tea towel. Fill jars as directed in the recipe; secure the lids tightly, holding jars firmly with a tea towel or an oven mitt. Leave the jars at room temperature to cool before storing.

Chilli Jam

Really useful chilli jam MAKES 3 CUPS PREP AND COOK TIME 8 HOURS 25 MINUTES

12 fresh long red chillies 14 cup

(60ml) extra virgin olive oil

2 medium (400g) red capsicums, chopped coarsely

8 cloves garlic,

chopped 8 (200g) purple shallots,

chopped coarsely 8 kaffir lime leaves

1/2 cups (330g) firmly packed brown sugar

3 cup (100g) tamarind puree

1/2 tablespoons fish sauce

1. Cook capsicum, garlic, shallots and 2 lime leaves for 10 minutes or until softened.
2. Place chilli mixture, sugar, tamarind and 14 cup (60ml) water in a 6-litre (24-cup) slow cooker. Cook, covered, on low for 8 hours (or on high for 4 hours).
3. Discard lime leaves from jam. Finely shred remaining 6 lime leaves, add to a food processor with fish sauce and chilli jam; process until smooth.
4. Transfer the hot chilli jam into sterilised jars, seal while hot. Label and date jars when cold. Suitable to freeze. Not suitable to microwave.

TIP Serve the Chilli Jam with any dish where you’d like a gentle heat kick or in tacos, tortillas and sandwiches.

Fig and lemon marmalade

Fig and lemon marmalade MAKES 5 CUPS PREP AND COOK TIME 6 HOURS 15 MINUTES

1kg purple figs

500g green apples

1 small (160g) lemon

3 cups (660g) caster sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste

1. Wash figs, trim stalks; cut into 2cm pieces. Peel and core apples, then cut into 2cm pieces. Wash lemon, then cut into 5mm pieces. Place fruit and sugar in a 5.5-litre (22-cup) slow cooker; stir to coat. Cook, covered, on high for 5 hours.
2. Remove the lid; cook, uncovered, for a further 30 minutes or until the marmalade gels when tested on a cold saucer. Stir through vanilla bean paste.
3. Pour hot marmalade into hot sterilised jars. Seal immediately. Label and date jars when cold. Suitable to freeze. Not suitable to microwave. the mixture is ready to be bottled; the hot mixture should be bottled into hot, dry, clean jars.

TIP Place name tags around jars for a gift. This marmalade also works well on a cheese platter.

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