Clippy’s Apples presents...

Jam Week – ‘Pimp My Jam’!

20th June - 26th June 2011

Jam Week is back, encouraging Britain to celebrate ‘proper jam’ that’s full of lovely juicy fruit, and lip smackingly delicious flavours!  

Jam Week is brought to you by Clippy’s Apples, the award winning home of British-apple based preserves that are simultaneously indulgent and healthier due to their higher fruit content compared to other brands!

Clippy’s Apples founder and Master Preserver Michelle McKenna (aka Clippy) has already been pimping her jam and has come up with some delicious new recipes such as Raspberry Ripple Jam and Cheeky Chocolate & Banana Jam and is encouraging the nation to get in the kitchen, roll up those sleeves and get preserving!  Clippy’s ‘Pimp My Jam’ recipes can be downloaded from www.jamweek.org.

‘Pimp My Jam’ – Nationwide Competition

This year Jam Week is launching a fabulous competition that invites the nation to ‘Pimp My Jam’ and submit their own funky jam recipes to www.jamweek.org.  The winner will get the chance to take part in Clippy’s ‘Preserving The Nation’ UK tour. Not only will they learn the tricks of the trade from Clippy herself at a Preserving Masterclass at Bristol’s prestigious Cookery School at Bordeaux Quay (www.bordeaux-quay.co.uk) but they will also be provided with an overnight stay at foodie hotel Brooks Boutique Guest House in Bristol and travel.

Clippy's brief history of Jam

The precise origin of jam remains a matter of historical debate; however, jams have a rich history and are appreciated worldwide for their fragrance and fruity taste. Jam-making probably began in the Middle-East where cane sugar grew naturally. The first known book of recipes, "Of Culinary Matters", written by the Roman gastronome Marcus Gavius Apicius in the first century, includes recipes for jams.

It is believed that returning Crusaders first introduced jam to Europe; by the late Middle Ages, jam had become very popular. Jam-making in Europe can be traced back to the 16th century following the arrival of the Spanish in the West Indies who had been preserving fruits for generations.

Jams were a kingly delicacy and many a royal sweet tooth demanded an array of fruit flavours preserved with sugar. Chroniclers of more regal eras describe the magnificent feasts of Louis XIV, which always ended with fruit preserves served in silver dishes. Each delicacy served at Versailles was made with fruit from the king’s own gardens and glasshouses.

In Britain, jams origins are in Tudor times. The food historian Ann Wilson records that there were a wide range of jams available; for example, quince and medlar. There was also a highly prized Tudor preserve called a sucket, a cross between candied peel and jam. It is still produced in Chios in the north Aegean (allegedly Homer's birthplace) and is known as 'spoon sweets' because they are served on silver spoons. They can be made with green figs, baby aubergines, unripe walnuts, green pistachios, strawberries, berries and stone fruit.

www.clippys.com

www.jamweek.org