Darina Allen's top tips for home-made jam 

The Ballymaloe House guide to making a selection of jams including blackcurrant and lemon Verbena jam; strawberry and rose petal jam, and raspberry and rosewater jam among others

Darina Allen with her peach, lemon and fig leaf jam.

It's time for a jam session now that we’re smack bang in the middle of the soft fruit and stone season. 

It’s been a brilliant year. We’ve had a terrific crop of currants and berries and it's always a challenge to get them picked at the peak of perfection between the showers.