6 Red Bottles sitting on the bench!

Well, not actually 'red' bottles, just bottles full of red jam! I boiled away this morning and the finished product looks pretty good and tastes delicious. Now I am just waiting for the printer to produce the labels. I find the sight of jam waiting to be shelved one of the most satisfying of my cooking experiences - probably why I am still making it after so many years.

The boiling took me nearly an hour and a quarter - I am not very keen on tough rind in marmalade so probably cook it softer than most.

The method I use for vacuum sealing jams is by Isabel Webb "Microwaved Dried Fruit and Other Fruit Delicacies" . You need screw top jars with builtin sealing rings - eg. mayonnaise bottles or pasta sauce jars. Fill the jars with hot marmalade and screw on the lids lightly. Immediately after doing this put in the microwave about 2 cms apart. Cook on 50% about 2 minutes for 4 medium sized Praise mayonnaise jars. I usually watch and stop the microwave when the jam starts to bubble. Screw the lids on tightly and wait to hear them pop - sometime in the next half hour or so!! A lovely sound! this ensures the marmalade doesn't go mildew and one need not use wax which I never managed to do properly, in any case.

While waiting for the jam to jell I cooked my first rye loaf of bread in nearly 12 months. It is not yet finished but looks good.

The Rye Bread recipe for our Panasonic bread machine is as follows -

1 1/2 teaspoons (7.5mls) dried yeast
125g rye flour
375 g flour
1/2 teaspoon bread improver
22 mls skim milk powder
7.5 mls salt
15 mls raw sugar
10 mls lemon juice
22 mls canola oil
300 mls water

This is cooked on basic - medium size.