Rosella Jam

Out of the Ord - Rosella's

I've been practicing my jamming for the upcoming Ag Show here in Kununurra, and while I haven't perfected the sealing of the jars. I'm pretty happy with this rosella jam recipe which I'm happy to share. ​The perfect accompaniment to a freshly baked scone.

Ingredients:

• Equal parts rosella fruit flesh, white sugar and seed water.

 
Method:

1. Soak the fruit for a few minutes in a sink full of cold water and then drain.
2. Separate the fleshy cover from the seedpod by inserting a knife partway through the base of the seed and applying downward pressure on the knife and pulling the fleshy fruit part gently with your other hand (This takes practice but eventually becomes easier, don’t worry about the fruit that comes away with the seed pod – it’s not worth the finicky nature of saving it).
3. Place the seed pods and fruit flesh into two different bowls.
4. Weigh the fruit - you will need an equivalent weight of sugar to make the jam.
5. Weigh the sugar and set aside.
6. Place the seed pods in the same amount of water as the fruit and sugar you have weighed and boil for 30 minutes. Strain the seed pods reserving the water (which you use to cook the fruit in).
7. Place the fruit into a large heavy based saucepan, try not to fill the saucepan more than halfway or you will have a mess on your hands. Add the seed water and simmer gently until the fruit is very soft, and the mixture should be quite thick, this can take up to an hour.
8. Add the weighed sugar to fruit and stir over a gentle heat until the sugar is completely dissolved.
9. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
10. Bottle the jam into clean hot jars and seal immediately.

The jam doesn't need to be refrigerated until the bottle is opened.  It should keep unopened in the pantry for up to 12 months.
 
Notes:

• I used 300 grams of each ingredient, which equates to roughly 900 gram of rosella freshly picked and makes about 300 grams of jam.
• I adapted this recipe from several websites which all suggest different methods about making Rosella Jam, this version is my favourite recipe, and I made quite a few different test jams. If you want to see the inspirational websites go to Mums Who Cook and The Seed Collection.