Mango and Strawberry Chunky Fruit Jam

First breads, then pickles, and now jam. My mother can't get enough with pinching herself to check if whatever her daughter is telling her on the phone is true. To prove, I sometimes even have to send her the pictures on Whatsapp! Such a brat I was as a child. Would not even care to make myself some tea, even if that meant going without it for a whole day when no one was around. Times have changed and so have I and now I look forward to try out different forms of cooking, be it baking, pickling, or making jams. The satisfaction and the success that follows is simply ecstatic, not to mention the appreciation and applause that you receive from friends and family. In Singapore or any other foreign country for that matter, you get to taste the best of the jams and fruit preserves from across the globe. However, I was really eager to try make one at home but somehow it wasn't happening. This week , my favourite food group on Facebook is holding a Mango Madness event and I instantly knew what I am making for this. My first attempt at making jams, and though a bit laborious to keep stirring it for hours, it gives immense joy and pleasure to spread that homemade goodness on your buttered toast in the morning! Believe me! Certainly worth all the effort!!

                                     

Ingredients

3 ripe big mangoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped

10-12 red plump strawberries, washed and stemmed and crushed with a potato masher or with your hands

6-7 dried apricots (optional), sliced

4 cups sugar

3 tbsp lemon juice

Direction

Put all the fruits together in a deep bottomed vessel and add the sugar and lemon juice. Place the vessel on medium flame and let it come to a boil once the sugar melts. Now reduce the flame and keep stirring the mixture every 3-5 minutes, scraping the sides as you do. Remove the scum  (the frothy layer on top ) from time to time to get a clear jam. The fruits will slowly start melting and the mango chunks transparent. With the help of a masher or the back of a wooden spoon, crush the pulp as much as you can. Let the mixture simmer on a low flame till the consistency thickens and becomes syrupy. Keep a steel bowl or plate in the freezer and once cold enough, place a drop of the jam on the plate and put it back in the freezer. After 3-4 secs take it out and see if the drop is runny while tilting the plate/bowl. If it holds its place, your jam is ready to be jarred. Use clean and dry air tight jars and transfer the jam. Keep the lid open and let it cool completely before keeping in the refrigerator.