Bramble Jelly

In October, all along the roads in Ireland, the brambles, as we call blackberries, have ripened in the hedgerows. You can stop your car on a country road and pluck a whole bucketful of them in a very short time. An apple is a typical addition, bringing some much-needed natural pectin to what would otherwise be quite a runny jam. Pushing it through a metal sieve is important because otherwise it’s too seedy.