Jam Jam Jamming with Strawberry Jam

 Last Monday, I went Pasar Malam (Night Market) with Mamarazzi. She was very surprised to see that the fruit stalls there were "flooded" with these fresh Strawberry from Egypt.

A pack of 250gm was selling at RM6 only. That is pretty cheap considering usually a pack of strawberry would cost around RM10 to RM12. Moreover the size of the fruit itself was pretty big.

We bought 3 packets coz Mamarazzi said since it's so cheap, she wanna try to make Strawberry Jam.

 

 But first thing first.....Papa and me grabbed a pack for ourselves.

Am still having Strawberry phobia. I ate strawberry in the car during our trip to Cameron Highland two years ago. And I got car sick. Since then, I associated Strawberry with Car sickness.

 Well, these certainly look very delicious leh..big big and red red...very inviting.

 Mmmm....sweet and juicy too.

Well, after sending S.O.S to Kaw Kaw LC asking method of making Strawberry jam and looking up several blogs, Mamarazzi finally "start work" on Wednesday evening.

Sigh...she don't even have any idea what is the meaning of "hull the top of the strawberry". Had to google the meaning.

It means take the top of like the above picture.
 

 Then she cut the strawberries into half and quarters depending on the size.

Since she is not using any pectin, Kaw Kaw advised to add in some apple. Errr..not sure how much so Mamarazzi shredded the whole apple into the pot lah.

According to Kaw Kaw...sugar and strawberry portion is normally 1 : 1. Can reduce sugar but it also means the shelf life of the jam also shorter.

Read in one blog that no problem in reducing sugar if the jam is to be eaten within 6 months period.

Well, she throw in all the cut strawberries into a pot

Add Sugar. Reduced. Add in the shreded apple and start cooking. 

Kaw Kaw said don't add water. At first Mamarazzi was doubtful but true enough, once it start cooking ... a LOT of water came out from the fruit! Fuiyoh...lucky tarak add water...else become strawberry juice.

Bubble bubble bubble.......finally thickens after like nearly an hour.

 Sobs...sobs....2 packs of 250gm only can get 1 and a half container of jam.

But it does looks good though. Mamarazzi likes jam where she can taste the fruit. Only can be found in Cameron Highland but nowadays even that is getting to be pretty rare. This batch was a bit too sweet for her taste so she aimed to try some more.

On Thursday she went to Pasar Malam(Night Market). This round it was even cheaper! RM5 per packet. Guess the fruit seller over stock gua...anyway, the second batch taste nicer. Finally satisfied.


Note 27/3/2012 : Mamarazzi discovered from Ping's Pickings blog that what Mamarazzi made should be called Strawberry Spread coz it's made of whole fruit. Jam is made of pureed fruit. Check out her post here  

Mamarazzi Made Mandarin Orange Marmalade

This Chinese New Year, we did not buy any Mandarin Oranges. But with CNY gifts exchange here and there, we end up with a lot of Mandarin Oranges. The fridge was going to "explode".

Some of the Oranges were starting to rot. It's so wasteful. Can't eat it all as eating too much Mandarin Oranges will causes cough or in "someone's" case, having to pay visit to the toilet often.

Around the same time, she read some bloggers were blogging about Mandarin Orange scones, cupcakes and marmalade.

That gives her an idea to try to make Mandarin Orange Marmalade.

Frankly speaking, she doesn't like Marmalade. The only ones that she had tasted came in small cubes and taken from Buffet tables at hotels. She doesn't like those much at all.

She googled and found the recipe from "A Table for Two"   blog suits her the best.

We used 8 Mandarin Oranges and a Lemon.

 As advised by the blog, the pith and pips were removed and bundled into a small pouch.

The "clean out" Mandarin Orange.

Don't laugh la...I know Mamarazzi is supposed to julienne the skin into thin strips.

As many of you know, Mamarazzi only have a Licence Lembu(Learners Licence) in the Kitchen Department. Hence, this was the outcome lor.

She read in Kristy's or someone else blog that they used "Gula Melaka"(Palm Sugar) to make the marmalade. Mamarazzi also wanna try lah. Used a block of the Gula Melaka given by Ah Mah.

Dumped everything into a big pot, including the pouch of pip and pith. According to the blog, the pip is a source of Pectin and Pectin is what makes the jam set.

She put in 3 cups of water.

Half an hour later, she tasted the "mixture".

YUCK!!!!...it taste too bitter. Serves her right for not following the recipe to the dot. Hmm...must be not enough sugar. Hence she added in one cup of white sugar.

Tasted it again...aiks...too sweet pulak and still very bitter. She decided to take out some of the peels. Add one more cup of water to dilute the sweetness. 

Boiled for another hour and did the Jell Point Testing but it was not successful though she tried a few times. In the end she just hentam la. 

She boil it till she saw the mixture thickens till turns gooey just like when she was making the jam for Pineapple Tart donkey years ago.

 Jeng! Jeng! Mamarazzi's maverick marmalade

 Hehehe.....who dares to be the white mice?

*Evil grinz* I have got just the right candidates for it. Uncle Patrick and Auntie Florence!

They came to visit me. Bought me Nutrigen, Nangka(jackfruit) and Ice cream.Mamarazzi asked them if they dares to try the Marmalade. They were game.

Their verdict? Taste good. Much better than the ones that they bought from the market which the Vendor claimed to be home made. They love it.

Auntie CY says it's bitter. Needs more sugar.

Hmmm....maybe they were just being nice? I need one more White Mice.......Auntie Little Bird....where are you? Come out come out wherever you are...I have some thing for you......*bodek mode*.