"I love the idea of being able to preserve the seasons by bottling fruits." Lillie O'Brien is the founder of London Borough of Jam, home of wonderfully weird taste combinations, a shop dedicated to the selling of damn good jam.
Greengage & fennel pollen, rhubarb & cardamom, blackberry & bay leaves... These are just a few of Lillie's jam creations. Her flavour combinations may be unusual but her finished products are just the right balance of weird, wonderful, sweet & subtle. Not just a go-to for the jam connoisseurs of London but slowly becoming a major hit overseas too, Lillie's jams are rightfully earning the widespread recognition and high status they deserve.
We are so excited to welcome back Lillie to this year's Gather to host another one of her superbly mouth-watering jam workshops.
Join us at Gather 2018! More info and book tickets here
In the meantime, take a head start before Gather and try your hand at one of Lillie's jam recipes below. Taken from The Food Keeper's blog, Lillie's Rhubarb & Cardamom jam:
Ingredients (for 10 300mL-10oz jars):
1.2KG (2.6 LBS) OUTDOOR RHUBARB
800G (1.7 LBS) CASTER SUGAR
2 TABLESPOONS GREEN CARDAMOM PODS
JUICE OF 1 LEMON
Instructions:
•Toast the cardamom pods in a small skillet over medium heat until they start to pop and turn light brown. Be careful, as they can be quite ‘lively’! Take the pan off the stove and leave to cool.
• Once cool, grind the pods in a electric spice grinder or mortar and pestle until the seeds inside have been ground (if using a mortar and pestle, you will need to sieve out the skins of the pods as they wont break down with the pestle).
• Mix the ground cardamom with sugar and leave for 24 hours to infuse.
• Once you are ready to make the preserves, wash the rhubarb and chop roughly into 5cm pieces.
• Place the rhubarb into a heavy based pan with ¼ cup of water and set to medium heat.
• Once the Rhubarb has started breaking down slowly add the sugar and lemon juice. Stir to combine.
• Bring the Preserve to the boil and cook till setting point 105c.
• Take the pan off the stove and leave to rest for 5 minutes, stirring to distribute any bubbles, which will slowly disappear.
• Pour into warm sterilized jars, and make sure you sterilize your lids.
