Blue ribbon winning Pineapple Jam

The Australian Blue Ribbon Cookbook: Stories, recipes and secret tips from prize-winning show cooks, Liz Harfull 2014

 

Liz writes an intriguing introduction to this excellent culinary, cultural history “For many people the world of show cooking is almost like a secret society. Who are the show cooks? Can anyone enter? What are the rules? And what does it take to win? To the uninitiated the answers are often astounding and sometimes quite impenetrable, and the judging usually happens behind locked doors, which makes it even more mysterious.”

Pineapple Jam

“Retired Lockyer Valley dairy farmer Geoff Beattie took up cooking in 1980 after his spine was damaged in a confrontation with a Hereford cow. He was laid up for nearly eighteen months, including risky surgery and thirteen weeks wearing a body cast, which pretty much confined him to his house” Liz Harfull. And, Geoff’s career as a Brisbane Royal Show prize-winning chef began !!! This is Geoff’s Pineapple Jam Recipe.

Ingredients: 2 small pineapples; 1.5kg white sugar (approximately); ½ cup lemon juice (approximately)

Method:

1.     To prepare the pineapple pulp, cut off the top of the pineapples and remove the skins. Cut the pineapples into quarters. Working over a large bowl, grate the flesh off the cores, making sure you catch all the juice.

2.      Measure the pulp and place it in a large saucepan. Add 165g (3/4 cup) of sugar for every cup of pulp. Stir in the lemon juice. Bring the mixture to the boil over a gentle heat, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves.

3.     Once the jam comes to the boil, increase the heat so it boils vigorously, stirring regularly to make sure it doesn’t burn. Cook for about 45 minutes, or until the fruit is transparent and the jam is set.

4.     Pour into warm, sterilised jars and seal while hot.

   

Makes about 4 to 5 cups.

Tips from the cook:

This jam is better made in small quantities. Use good quality fruit that is not overripe.

Using a small paring knife, remove all the pits and pips from the surface of the pineapple after you have taken off the skin or they will show up in the jam as dark flecks.

If you can get them, use bush lemons – a thick, knobbly skinned lemon which grows wild in subtropical Queensland – or Lisbon, but never Meyer, because this variety does not contain enough pectin.

Grease the base of your preserving pan with butter to help stop the jam sticking and burning. A good-quality preserving pan with a heavy bas is best for jam making as it will conduct the heat evenly and help prevent the jam from catching.

 

Start checking the jam at about the 30-minute mark to see if it is ready. To test when the jam is set, place a small teaspoonful on a cold saucer, wait a minute or two, and then push the jam with your finger – it is ready if the jam wrinkles.

 

The jam should be bright in colour and fresh looking, with no dark spots.

When tested with a teaspoon, it should be of a firm dropping consistency.