Method

• Juice the lemons the evening before and soak the lemon pips in a little water overnight. This step is to extract the pectin from the pips.
• Wash the picked berries well to rinse off any dust and unwanted little critters. Remove the pip from each of the berries. A task probably best done listening to your favourite music.
• Weigh the pitted berries. Calculate the amount of sugar needed by working out 70% of the berry weight. (eg 1 kg berries equals 700 g sugar) Add the sugar to the berries. Give them a stir to mix and leave them to stand for a while.
• Slice the apples thinly, pips and all, and place them in a small pot. Cover with about a centimetre of water. Simmer until the water has reduced by half and the mixture is a light golden colour. This step is also to increase the pectin levels in the jam. Strain the juice and add it to the berries and sugar which in the mean time should have become a juicy mixture.
• Place the sugary berry mixture in a heavy based pot. Add the lemon juice and the lemon pectin water (sans pips). Bring the mixture to boil. Turn the heat down to let it simmer.
• Prepare the sterilized jars. I used two 352 ml jars for my batch of berries.
• The fruit becomes translucent and the jam begins to thicken after roughly 12 - 15 minutes. To test if it is ready, drip some jam onto a chilled plate. If the drop is thick and jammy it is ready. If it is still runny, simmer the mixture a little longer and test again.
• Once ready, remove from the heat and carefully ladle the jam into the hot, sterilized jars. Using a jam funnel is a good idea if you have one. Seal the jars while hot and leave to cool.