I love the deep, plum flavour of sloes which add a richness to other fruit. It is commonly paired with apples but this jam is even better. I use a greater proportion of raspberries so that the sloes don’t overwhelm the more delicate taste of the raspberries.
Ingredients
750g raspberries
500g sloes
1Kg granulated sugar
Juice of one lemon
Makes 4 to 5 pound jars
Method
Heat the sugar in the oven at 140 degrees. You can sterilise the jam jars at the same time but leave them in the oven until you are ready to fill them.
Stone the sloes – a boring messy job but worth it. The juice of the sloe stains badly so keep a cloth to hand. Put the stoned sloes, raspberries and lemon juice in a pan and cook slowly, stirring frequently, for about ten minutes until the fruit has broken down. If it sticks to the pan add a little water.
Add the sugar, stirring until dissolved, then increase the heat and boil the jam until setting point is reached. This should only take between six and ten minutes as both fruits are rich in pectin.
Pour into sterilised jars and leave to cool.