Raspberry and Vanilla Jam ... and Homemade Mascarpone Too

In my last post I mentioned the goodies that we included in our thank you hampers.  For some unknown reason some of the photo's disappeared from the post, (I fear this technology malarkey is really starting to get the better of me!) so here is the one I really wanted to include;

Not the worlds best photo I grant you, but it gives an idea of the presentation I was aiming for.

The last post also mentioned that I made Raspberry and Vanilla Jam and Mascarpone, for which there were no links to.  The reason being these were first time attempts for me, and I am so pleased with the results.  Homemade Mascarpone is definitely the way to go from now on, its so much cheaper than the store bought variety, and as you would expect, it tastes a million times better too.  I found the recipe for this on Not Quite Nigella, and followed her instructions to the tee so instead of sharing the recipe with you here I'll share the link to NQN's page.  I can't urge you strongly enough to have a go at this yourself, it is AMAZING!

Pair the Mascarpone with some Raspberry and Vanilla Jam and some scones, in this case I attempted another batch of the Lemonade Scones and Chele is a very happy girl.

Raspberry and Vanilla Jam (my new fave Jam!)
Place 1kg of raspberries in a large pan.  Split open 2 vanilla pods and add these to the pan along with the raspberries.  Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 10-15 mins or until the fruit is tender.  Add 1kg of jam sugar and stir until it has dissolved.  Bring the mixture back to the boil, then simmer for about 15 mins or until the setting point is reached.  Stir the pot of jam gently and skim off any residue on the surface.  Allow to stand for 15 mins then transfer to hot sterilised jars.  Jam can be stored in a cool, dark, dry place.

Adapted from Taste and Smile

The original recipe says to simmer the jam for 20 mins or so, which is what I did.  However, the jam is pretty firm, although still spreadable, I prefer my raspberry jam to be a bit softer so next time I will simmer it for less.  I have also picked up a preserving thermometer since making this jam so that will be getting a work out too.  Also, when I was bottling the jam I reserved the vanilla beans and then added them to the jars once filled.  I figure this way it will help to bump up the vanilla flavour ... which is heavenly as is, but one can never have enough of a good thing ;0)