Quick Bramble (blackberry) Jelly

Wash the blackberries and place in a heavy-based saucepan with 6 fl oz (170 ml) water, then stew them very gently with a lid on for about 20-25 minutes.

Now and then give them a good mash to reduce them to pulp and squeeze as much juice out of them as possible. After that add the sugar and lemon juice to the pan and allow the sugar to dissolve completely, with the heat still low. There must not be any whole granules of sugar left. This takes about 10-15 minutes. Now turn the heat right up and boil fairly rapidly for 8 minutes, stirring now and then to prevent sticking.

Meanwhile warm a large bowl in the oven to get it nice and hot then place the sieve, lined with gauze, over the bowl and pour the blackberry mixture into the lined sieve. Then, using a wooden spoon, get all the liquid through as quickly as possible, squeezing the remaining pulp as much as you can – but do be quick as the jelly sets if you take too long (if it does begin to set before you've had a chance to put it into the jar, just reheat it gently). Now pour the jelly into the sterilised jar (see below), cover with a waxed disc, cool and tie down.

To sterilise jars, wash the jars and lids in warm, soapy water, rinse well (again in warm water), then dry them thoroughly with a clean tea cloth, place them on a baking tray and pop them in a medium oven, gas mark 4, 350°F (180°C) for a minimum of 5 minutes.

Add their contents while they are still hot.