The Reluctant Electrician
I remember him, sleeves rolled up, hovering over a vat of bubbling fruit, looking like a mad scientist.
As a child during the war, my grandad was uprooted from his home in the suburbs of South-East London, and evacuated to a countryside farm. For a boy used to the city, it was a dramatic shift.
There, he fell into farm life, digging for vegetables, tending to sheep and cows, and watching the sun set over rolling fields. He fell in love with at all, and decided he would grow up and become a farmer.
His father dismissed the idea as nonsense. His son should do the sensible thing: learn a trade.
Grandad Leslie & his wife Olive in the 1950’s.
After his last day at school, grandad made a break for it. He packed a bag and headed off to the country. He got as far as the train station. His dad caught up with him and marched him straight to the local college.
And that was that. He was an electrician until he retired. But he kept his rural heart, foraging for berries in city woodlands to make his famous jams. I remember him, sleeves rolled up, hovering over a vat of bubbling fruit, looking like a mad scientist with jars and instruments spread everywhere.
Wheeling my sister around, early 1980’s.
It’s as I meet Sue, the owner and founder of Jam Packed Preserves, that I’m reminded of all this. She stands in her kitchen, tending to a steaming pot of quince with jam jars piled up around the house, ready to be picked up and sent to some of the country’s finest establishments.
There is a wonderful dissonance in watching her work. It is a perfectly normal, everyday kitchen—the kind where you might whip up a Tuesday night dinner—yet it is quietly churning out the luxury preserves that Michelin-trained chefs and five-star hotels are practically knocking the door down to stock.
Sue preparing another batch of jam in her Stoneleigh kitchen.
Finding the Sweet Spot
“We inherited all these raspberries… I was freezing them, giving them away. In the end, I rang my mum and said, how do you make jam?”
Sue didn’t start her business in a boardroom. Like my grandad, it started with a love of nature’s produce.
“It’s about preserving nature’s bounty. This is what our grandmothers did… You couldn’t let good food go to waste.”
“We had an allotment and inherited all these raspberries… I was freezing them and giving them away. In the end, I rang my mum and said: How do you make jam?”
For years, she simply gave the extra jars away to friends and family. It only became a business when her local butcher tasted a batch and said he wanted to put them on his counter.
Sue nearly backed out, intimidated by the thought of Environmental Health inspections and food hygiene certificates, but pushed through. Soon, 'Mr. Jam Packed' (her husband) left his job in the NHS to join the kitchen line, and the hobby grew from school fairs and library fundraisers into a larger operation, until it exploded during lockdown.
“Suddenly, everyone wanted local produce.”
Would you like to hear about more Surrey producers?
Quince jam builds up to a boil.
Sue’s Tips for Making Quality Jam at Home
If you fancy having a go at the alchemy of jam-making yourself, take it from someone who buys sugar a ton at a time. Here is how to upgrade your home batches:
Invest in a thermometer: A thermometer takes the mystery out of the process. You are looking for exactly 104 degrees Celsius, which is the perfect setting point. I rely heavily on the ThermaPen for this… And for plenty of other things. It’s my favourite kitchen gadget. (Also, I am required to say that is an Amazon affiliates link).
Stop buying jam sugar (most of the time): Standard granulated sugar is perfectly fine for the vast majority of fruits. Only use jam sugar—which contains added pectin—for naturally low-pectin fruits like strawberries, blackberries, and apricots.
Use preserving sugar to fight froth: Certain fruits, like strawberries, are notorious for foaming. Preserving sugar has larger granules, which significantly cuts down on the froth and leaves you with a clearer jam.
Don't cut the sugar: A 50/50 fruit-to-sugar ratio is traditional for a reason. Sugar is the preservative. If you reduce the sugar, the jam won't set properly, and it will go mouldy much faster.
The Taste Test
I brought home a jar of this Limited Edition loveliness.
Popping open the lid, the colour is a deep, wine-red, and the flavour is a breathtaking blast of zesty, bright and tart berries. The difference between this and supermarket jam is night and day.
Thanks to my wife for baking a batch of scones.
Far away from the mass-produced, red-coloured sugar we find in supermarkets, Jam Packed makes what is legally classified as Extra Jam. To put that on the label, you need a minimum of 45% fruit. It’s a difference that hits the palate instantly.
My grandad’s farming dreams might have been derailed at a South-East London train station, but he understood something that Sue and Jam Packed Preserves are fighting to keep alive today. As Sue herself puts it, the best food is “Home grown, not flown.”
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to eat the rest of this loganberry jam directly off the spoon.
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Until next time,
Sam
Sam Cheeseman is a Writer, Creative Director and former Chef who lives in Ashtead, Surrey.
His food-related surname is purely a happy coincidence, although he didn’t particularly enjoy it in primary school.