Recipe: Homemade Roselle Jam

Making roselle jam gives me great satisfaction. Firstly, the roselle we use to make the jam is grown in our own garden (hence no chemicals). Homemade jam is also pure, made from fruit and sugar only without any extra ingredients such as preservatives or coloring. Last but not least, my whole family loves homemade roselle jam, and they would spread it on their toast or crackers every morning whenever there is a jar in the fridge. 

Homemade roselle jam, great with scones too

I've made roselle jam a few times now. The first time I made it  was with whole roselle calyx, hence we ended up with some texture in our jam. The next few times, I blended the roselle calyx first before boiling it with sugar. My family prefers the blended version.  

A few tips about jam making that I picked up while reading some cookbooks:

1. Use a stainless steel pot when making jam.

2. When making jam using tough-skinned fruit, the fruit should be simmered and softened first before adding sugar as sugar has a hardening effect.

3. To test if the jam has set, you can either use a sugar thermometer (the setting temp is 220F/105C), or place a teaspoonful of jam onto a frozen plate and if a crinkly skin is formed, then it has set. Another way of determining if it has set is something I learnt from Vivian's post - use your spatula and draw a line in the centre, and if it has set, the line can stay for a few seconds before disappearing. 

This homemade roselle jam is slightly tart, which make this a really appetizing spread. You can control the amount of sugar you put in too, I usually use about 3/4 cup of sugar to 250g of roselle. Now, I am waiting for my next roselle harvest so that I can make this for my family again :)

Homemade Roselle Jam
Recipe by Baby Sumo
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 40-45 minutes
Makes 325-g jar

Ingredients
250g roselle calyx, washed
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup caster sugar


1. Peel the roselle calyx from its seed pod. Place in a blender/food processor with 1/2 cup water and blend until you get a puree.

Roselle harvest from the garden

2. Pour the roselle puree into a stainless steel pot and bring to the boil over medium high heat. Once boiling,
low to medium low heat and add the sugar. Stir occasionally, making sure that the sugar has completely dissolved. Cook for about 30-35 minutes until jam has thickened. It will look jelly-like. To test if jam has set, please use one of the above methods (see above 2nd pic).

Draw a line once the mixture looks "jelly-like" and if the line stays for more than a few seconds, your jam is ready.

3. Remove from heat, and pour into dry clean jars. Seal immediately. Once cooled, store in the fridge. The jam will thicken further once cooled completely. This jam will keep for at least 3 weeks.

Note: If using unblended roselle calyx, simmer over medium low heat for 10 minutes before adding sugar.

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Recipe: Homemade Kumquat 金橘 Jam

Around Chinese New Year time, you will find kumquats (kam kat 金橘) easily at the supermarkets as it symbolizes prosperity. They looks like mini oranges and the peel has a sweet flavour, whereas the fruit can be sour and slightly bitter. Since this fruit is in season now, I grabbed a pack and decided to make some kumquat jam.

Homemade Kumquat Jam

Kumquat - Mostly round, though some are oval shaped

I think kumquat has a very nice fragrance. The kitchen is filled with its wonderful smell as I chopped it up into small chunks and deseeded the fruit. A 250-g pack took me about 10-15 minutes to deseed and chop. Then, the kumquat (peel and fruit) is simmered with water and sugar until soft. This will take about 15-20 minutes. Then you can place it a blender, food processor or use a hand blender to puree it. Once cooled, it will thicken up into a nice, spreadable consistency. A really easy, peasy jam to make at home!

This kumquat jam tastes really good,  and I like spreading it on toast or bread in the mornings.You can also use it as an alternative filling for nastar roll (aka pineapple tarts), however you should increase the sugar to at least 1/3 cup as the  filling needs to be sweeter since the pastry itself is not too sweet.

Thanks again to The Unc for the Le Creuset mini cocotte gift ;)

Homemade kumquat jam
Recipe by Baby Sumo
Prep: 10-15 minutes
Cooking: 15-20 minutes
Makes approx. 300g


Ingredients
250g kumquat, washed
4 tbsp sugar (see note below)
100ml water


1. Cut the kumquat into 1/8ths and remove any visible seeds.

2. Place kumquat in saucepan with sugar and water and bring to the boil over medium high heat. Once boiling, lower to medium heat and cook until the kumquat has softened, about 15-20 minutes.

It will thicken up slightly after 15 mins of cooking

3. Place in food processor and puree until smooth. Place the puree in jar and cover immediately. Allow to cool slightly, then place in fridge and it will thicken once it has cooled down completely.

Note: If you using this to make nastar rolls or kumquat tarts, you can increase the sugar to 1/3 cup.

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Recipe: The 2-Ingredient Homemade Pineapple Jam

Before I can make pineapple tarts for Chinese New Year, I first had to make the pineapple jam to top on the pastry. Making pineapple jam is not difficult at all, in fact you only need 2 ingredients for a basic jam. It takes about 1 hour to make and you need to stir it quite often to avoid the jam from burning.

For this pineapple jam, I used a pineapple variety called "Crystal pineapple" which I got from Jusco. It is slightly tart in its uncooked form, and has the delicious pineapple smell and  taste. This is perfect for making jam since you will be adding quite a substantial amount of sugar to preserve it. You should also try to choose an underripe fruit rather than overripe fruit since it is higher in pectin (a natural setting agent).

We still have quite a lot of leftover after making the pineapple tarts. I will be using this as a spread on my toast and crackers too, absolutely love how fresh it tastes. It sure adds a touch of luxury to everyday eating.

The Two-Ingredient Homemade Pineapple Jam
Recipe by Baby Sumo
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 50-60 minutes
Makes 1 tub

Ingredients
1kg pineapple (peeled weight) - about 3 no.
1/4 cup water
150g caster sugar

1. Cut pineapple into medium sized chunks, including core. Place into blender with the water and blend on high speed until the pineapple is liquidized (like pineapple puree). If using food processor, you can omit the water (shortens cooking time too - made it another time with Sarawak pineapples blended in food processor cooking time was 40-45 mins).

2. Pour the pineapple into a large wok and stir until thick and 3/4 of juice has evaporated, this will take about 30 minutes on medium heat.

3. Pour in the sugar, the mixture will become slightly watery again. Cook over medium low heat for another 20-25 minutes until mixture has thickened and is golden in colour.

4. Allow to cool, then store in jam jars and use as required. The jam will further thicken once it is cooled. This will keep for up to 1 month in the fridge.

Note:  If making for pineapple tarts, the pineapple jam should be cooked until thick and drier in consistency.

*Recipe for easy pineapple tarts can be found here.

* I am submitting this post to Chinese New Year Delights 2013 hosted by Sonia aka Nasi Lemak Lover.

I am also submitting this to the event, Little Thumbs up organised by Doreen from my little favourite DIY and Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids.

*This recipe was featured on Asian Food Channel's Facebook page on 7 February 2013.