SCARLET strawberries and fresh cream are redolent of midsummer roses, sunny days and tea in the garden. We are at the height of the strawberry season in Scotland, with many opportunities to pick-your-own, or buy locally. If you have never made jam before, it is fun to take advantage of the glut and have a go. You will be amazed at the fragrance and ripe, fruity flavour compared with most off-the-shelf varieties. Raspberries and blackcurrants also make wonderful jam and indeed, a number of long-established Scottish businesses began by making jams and preserves in the back room of a small town grocer’s shop. Jam-making is part of our heritage and eating it in a jammy piece or homemade scone, is something we all cherish as a treat.

A batch of scones is the first thing many people learned to cook. Easy and quick to make, they provide a pleasurable and satisfying experience in the kitchen, especially as they are best eaten while still warm from the oven. Personally, I believe there are few things in life which are more deliciously indulgent than warm scones with whipped double cream and homemade strawberry jam.

Afternoon tea with scones and jam seems to have taken on a whole new lease of life these days, with many of our leading hostelries specialising in this truly-British tradition which Scotland has always embraced. The revival of interest in speciality teas and of course, coffee too, has encouraged a whole new raft of tea and coffee shops across the country. The best of these serve wonderful home-baking with their range of hot or ice cold brews and chief of these is usually a scone and jam.

The Willow Tea Rooms in Glasgow’s Sauchiehall Street, is possibly one of the most famous of a small chain of four, high-quality dining rooms established around 1900. The renowned proprietor, Miss Kate Cranston, had it designed and furnished by the great architect and interior designer of her day, Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Today’s Willow Tearooms, now well re-established in Glasgow, reflect these outstanding designs beautifully, with copies of the original chairs, fabrics, lighting, wood and glass panelling used. They are among the most famous tributes to the whole era of the Arts and Crafts Movement of Art Nouveau, of which Mackintosh was a renowned exponent. The simplicity of his style reflected his inherent love of his native Glasgow, influenced by Japanese simplicity which he admired. His famous rose motif was inspired by wild Scottish dog-roses whose pale, fragile, pink and creamy white petals are in bloom everywhere at this time of year; my favourite flowers.

Wherever you decide to enjoy your afternoon tea and scone, I hope you will make time to enjoy some home-baking and jam-making over the summer months. We have baked scones for generations, the popular shape and size becoming fashionable with the advent of the domestic oven, rather than baking flat on a girdle over the open fire. Many readers may remember their mothers or grandmothers purposely keeping sour milk aside to use for baking scones. Buttermilk was a popular alternative.

Strawberry jam is renowned for being difficult to set. All jams need pectin, a natural setting agent found in most berries and citrus fruits, but not in strawberries. The addition of lemon juice helps to provide pectin, but pectin is also added to jam sugar, which is not the same as preserving sugar but can be bought in most supermarkets. Ordinary granulated sugar can also be used very successfully in all jam-making. If you prefer a less sweet jam, use less sugar as I have suggested, but do not expect to get anything beyond a loose set. The higher sugar content will achieve a firmer jam and of course, sugar is a natural preserve in its own right.

Buttermilk Scones

(Makes eight)

225g self-raising white flour, plus a little extra for rolling out the dough

1 rounded tsp baking powder

50g salted Scottish butter just coming to room temperature

25g caster sugar

1 large egg

3 tbsp buttermilk

Method

1. Sift flour and baking powder into a bowl.

2. Cut the butter in small pieces and rub into the flour using your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

3. Add the sugar and mix again.

4. Whisk the egg with buttermilk in another bowl or jug. Add most of the egg mixture, but retain a little until you have ensured the scone mixture is the right consistency. Any residual mixture can be used to brush the surface of the scones before baking.

5. Bring together the dough, using your fingers, until enough egg is combined with the dry ingredients to make a soft, pliable ball. This should not be too wet or sticky and will leave the sides of the bowl clean.

6. Sprinkle a little flour on a clean work surface. Knead the ball of dough very lightly for a few seconds, to ensure it is smooth. Sprinkle your rolling pin with a little flour and roll the ball of dough to an even thickness of 1.5cm. Do not roll it too thinly.

7. Using a 5cm pastry cutter, press down straight into the dough. Lift the cutter straight back out again, without twisting or turning it. This single-action movement helps to ensure the scones rise evenly and do not distort in shape while baking.

8. Lift each scone on to a lightly greased baking sheet, spacing well apart. Brush the surface with any remaining egg mixture, or a little milk. Place the baking sheet on the second-top shelf of a pre-heated oven, Gas mark 7, 220°C. Bake for 10-12 minutes until risen and golden.

9. Remove, cool slightly on a wire tray or wrap in a clean tea towel, before serving.

Strawberry Jam

(Makes four standard jars)

1kg Scottish strawberries

1kg granulated sugar, or jam sugar (750g if you prefer a loose set)

2 large lemons, juice only, approximately 75/100ml

Small knob of butter

Method

1. Gently wash and pat dry strawberries in small batches. Use a colander and kitchen paper.

2. Set aside the smallest strawberries to add whole. Halve or quarter the larger ones. Remove hulls from all the fruit.

3. Butter the base of a jam pan very lightly. Place half the chopped fruit in the pan and add half the sugar. Stir well and set aside for one hour.

4. Add the remaining fruit, the rest of the sugar plus lemon juice. Stir well and set aside for 1 hour.

5. Place the jam pan on a medium heat. Warm through, stirring with a wooden spoon from time to time, to ensure all sugar has dissolved. You should not feel any grittiness when you stir the mixture. Brush away any sugar stuck to the side of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in water.

6. Place three or four saucers in the freezer. You need these for the wrinkle test to check if the jam has reached setting point.

7. Once the sugar has completely dissolved, turn up heat and bring jam to a fast rolling boil. Don't let it boil over, but continue to boil hard for at least 10 minutes.

8. To test for setting point, take a saucer from the freezer and carefully place a small spoonful of the hot jam on it. Set aside somewhere cool for a few minutes. Using your finger, push the cooled jam gently to one side. If it is ready, fine wrinkles will appear and the jam will feel slightly jelly-like. You may need to test more than once. Use a fresh, cold plate each time. Continue to boil the jam at a good pace until the jam has reached the right temperature. The liquid jam will be extremely hot by this time, so take care.

9. When you feel confident the jam is ready, turn off the heat, skim any residual white scum off the surface using a slotted spoon and leave the mixture to cool and settle.

10. While the jam is cooling, place clean jam jars in the oven at a low temperature to warm.

11. Pot the jam in the warm jars. If you do not have suitable lids with a plastic lining, cover and seal with waxed discs and jam pot covers.