jam

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Bread: Scandinavian Oat Bread

This is one of my favourite loaves of bread, definitely not for everyone as it is dense and seedy and the kids won’t touch it. I like it sliced thinly and toasted with homemade blackcurrant jam or spread with some cream cheese and smoked salmon. It’s a mixture of a recipe by Nigella Lawson and another from Gill Meller with other bits thrown in so that it works for me. It’s so easy, no kneading or proving and very quick to make but there are a lot of ingredients.

IMG_20200430_095535SCANDINAVIAN OAT BREAD

350g wholemeal flour

50 rye flour (if I don’t have any in I just add extra wholemeal flour)

7g dried fast action yeast

10g fine salt

75g porridge oats (rolled oats)

3 tablespoons of sunflower seeds (or a mix of sunflower and pumpkin)

3 tablespoons of linseeds

2-3 teaspoons of coriander seeds

2-3 teaspoons of caraway seeds

250ml semi-skimmed milk

250ml water

1 tablespoon molasses or treacle

METHOD

  • Put all the dry ingredients into a large bowl and stir.
  • Put the wet ingredients into a jug and stir (I warm the milk slightly in the microwave then add the molasses and let it melt and mix before topping up with the water to make 500 ml).
  • Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix.
  • Squish into a 1lb loaf tin either very well oiled or lined (I have a Delia tin that has a washable non-stick liner that fits inside it) and sprinkle some more oats and seeds on top if you want to, so it looks pretty!
  • Put into a COLD oven and turn it on to 110º C. Bake for 30mins.
  • Turn the oven up to 180º C and bake for another 45 mins.
  • Remove from tin and bake for another 15mins directly on the oven shelf.
  • Knock on the bottom of the loaf and if it sounds hollow it’s done, if not give it a little longer.

Incidentally, the vintage glass jam jars in the photo are some of my favourite things. I don’t eat breakfast during the week but on Sundays, I sit at the table with the boys and we have a nice leisurely brunch often with boiled eggs from our chickens and toast. I really like having nice things to put on the table and these preserve pots fit that brief. You can buy similar from Ebay for very little cost.IMG_20200430_111222On the subject of jam, there is obviously a massive new interest in homemade going on at the moment and I realised that it’s already quite difficult to get hold of jam sugar (sugar with added pectin), which seems crazy. I just bought a batch from Amazon along with some new jar lids so we are set to go. I don’t make jam every year as it takes us a long while to get through it (except strawberry which is C’s favourite) but we are finally running out and the cupboard needs a replenish.

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In September, We Were Eating…

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Blackberries.  Our best crop ever.

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Which I made into jelly, amongst other things, using this recipe.  It was a lot of work and a lot of blackberries for two jars of jam, but it tastes so lovely I’m willing to forgive it.

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The last of the cucumbers, some of which were hidden under leaves and got a bit too large.

summer vegetable eating

Beetroot and French radishes, which I was so excited about, because the slugs kept getting them last year and with their white tips, they make me think of Peter Rabbit.

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From the corn sown, oh so long ago, we only managed to grow 4 stalks but having done my best bee impression last year and found it worked, I kept them and tried to hand pollinate them by gently rubbing the pollen from the tassel at the tops, onto the silks each time I passed.  I was really pleased to find good cobs with very few missing kernels when they were finally ripe.  They tasted so heavenly, I will always make room for sweetcorn.

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I need to take photos of the garden.  I’ve never shown the new fence or decking, now with second shed.  On shed-putting-up-day, to feed the guys I made sausages braised in wine (only I used beer), the recipe comes from Delia Smith and you can find it  here.  I’ve made it many times over the years, the only thing I do differently is often cook the sausages separately and then add them to the ‘sauce’ at the end, that way the fat that comes out doesn’t all end up in the gravy and the sausages are crispy, which I prefer.

For pudding I made an apple pie and some ‘Crunchy’ honey ice cream.  The ice cream was made up but was a total success, so I figured I’d record it here, just so when I come to make it next time I have a recipe!  You need to make the custard the night before (and remember to put the ice cream machine bowl into the freezer).

Crunchy Honey Ice Cream

First I made the custard base, as I always do, but using honey instead of sugar:

500 ml double cream

250 ml whole milk

220 g honey (this is a bit of a guess, I used what was left in the bottle)

4 egg yolks

Put half the cream and all the milk into a pan and scald, by heating until just below boiling point, then cool a little.  Beat the egg yolks with the honey, then add the hot milk mixture, beating all the time.  Return to the hob and stir gently over a low heat until the custard has thickened.  Remove and keep stirring as it cools.  Once cold, put into the fridge overnight.

4 Crunchy Bars (honeycomb toffee with a chocolate coating – yum!)

The next day, whip the remaining cream until it forms soft peaks, then fold into the cold custard mixture.  Pour into the ice cream machine and when nearly set, add the 4 crunchy bars, cut into mixed sized pieces.

Freeze.  Eat.

As for the rest of the September eating, there were also

  • tomatoes,
  • new potatoes
  • kale
  • chard
  • spring onions
  • horseradish root
  • courgettes (now gone 😦 )
  • red peppers
  • aubergines….or one single aubergine as that’s all I managed to grow
  • fennel

It’s garden clean up time, which I have already started.  I really, really need to get the greenhouse properly re-sealed and oiled inside and out and I want all the beds neat and tidy for the winter months.  I feel like I’m being a bit premature pulling quite a lot of the plants up, I know I could eek out some final produce but it all looks so scruffy, that I’m ready for a change.  I also really hope to get some salad on the go before it’s too late.

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Jammmmmmmm…

It’s that time of year again, when my maslin pan comes out of hiding and I find myself rooting around in the shed trying to find empty jam jars.  Sadly, the bloomin’ birds got first pick at my fruit bushes this year.  I noticed, one day, that the many wood pigeons that live in our garden were quite active, on further inspection, I realised it was because they were happily stripping my early ripening red currant bush.  I then noticed all the cherries had gone.  Bummer.  I swiftly netted the remaining (and later ripening) red currant bush and the blackcurrant bush and put a diary note into my calendar for next year to NET EARLIER!!!

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The blackcurrant bush has provided a nice crop again this year.  We are due lots of rain, so I decided to bring in the ripe berries a few days ago, I combined the picking with a good pruning, removing one-third of the bushes growth as near to the base as possible.  This is the first time I’ve pruned the blackcurrant bush, it is still relatively new but from now on it’ll get pruned every year.  I made my usual jam and cassis, both recipes can be found in last years post.  I confess to a bit of an addiction to blackcurrant jam, is is the right side of tart for me and has become my morning favourite on buttered seedy toast.  I had hoped to try some new recipes, maybe some ice cream of even a cake but time was lacking and I didn’t want the fruit to sit too long, waiting to be used.

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For those not familiar with the UK, Kent (the county we live in) is mainly an agricultural county and is mostly famous for its orchards and strawberries.  At this time of year, you can stop at many roadside stalls and buy punnets of fresh strawberries at a very reasonable price, so it’s always worth buying extra for making jam and these days, people are much more aware of eating and buying local food.

Local supermarkets are also getting in on the ‘buy local ‘and seasonal act.  British produce is proudly presented and often you are told not only the variety but also the grower and region on the packaging.  I bought 4 punnets of strawberries whilst we were in the village recently, I made certain they were from Kent growers, my only other concern was that they weren’t too soft.  The smell as I walked home was heavenly.  It turns out I’d picked up two varieties, both from local growers and I was amazed at the difference.  I had one punnet of Sonata, which although they smelt nice, tasted a bit watery and 3 punnets of Sovereign – Wow they were delicious!  I mean really, really amazing, the kind of full flavoured strawberries that make you glad you have almost and entire extra box so you can eat them whilst preparing the jam 😉

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I used my usual recipe, it makes a softer jam, still set but with less sugar than shop bought and the method of leaving the strawberries overnight covered in sugar produced a jam with set jelly and some larger strawberry pieces.  Lovely.

Strawberry Jam

Makes approx 5-6 jars (320ml)

  • 1.25 kg Strawberries (don’t wash them)
  • 900g Jam Sugar (with added pectin)
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 tsp butter

Put 3 saucers into the freezer.  Make sure jars are ready and clean (I put them in a dishwasher).

Hull the strawberries and cut in half or quarters if very large.  Add them to a preserving or large pan along with the sugar.  Mix gently then leave covered with a clean tea-towel for a few hours or overnight.  This allows the sugar to mostly dissolve and keeps the strawberries whole.  In the morning, most of the sugar will have dissolved and they will look like:

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Put your jam jars, plus lids on a clean tray in a moderate oven to sterilize – approx 150 degrees C (or if washed in the dishwasher, remember not to take them out until you need them so they stay warm and sterile).

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Warm the pan over a very low heat until the sugar has completely dissolved (v. important.  You don’t want any crystals left), this can take a while, try not to stir too much.  Add the lemon juice and turn the heat right up to bring everything to the boil.  Keep stirring to stop any jam burning on the bottom of the pan.  

Once at a ‘rolling boil’ time for 8 minutes then remove the pan from the heat.  Place a small teaspoon of jam onto one of the saucers from the freezer, chill briefly then push with your finger, if the skin crinkles the jam is ready, if not, boil for a further 3-4 mins and check again with a new cold saucer for a ‘set’.

Remove from the heat, skim off most of the scum and stir in the butter to disperse any last bits.  Leave for 20 mins to settle then pour into clean still warm sterile jars.  Cover with a wax disc and seal.

Ok confessions time.  I wrote this post optimistically on Sunday morning, before boiling up my jam.  I didn’t use sugar with added pectin, I only had granulated in, this was a mistake!  Although you can make jam with regular sugar (and some fruit has such a high pectin level nothing extra is needed), but in this case it was a great big fail.  After the first 8 min boil, there was no set, I boiled for a further 5mins, then decided to give up and accept I’d made a nice fridge jam.  I could have boiled for longer but I know, from experience, that it can ruin the jam, at a certain point the colour goes very dark and it just isn’t as nice, I’d rather have a loose jam, with a shortened shelf life (I always keep opened jam in the fridge anyway) then an over boiled one.  Live and learn.

So, I have 4 large jars of jam that need to be eaten first….guess who’s going to be making scones this weekend 🙂

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Jams and Jellies…

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It’s suddenly started to turn autumnal here (excuse to add a picture of some of my recent sewing! I’m busy, busy, busy over at The Linen Cat), the mornings have gone a bit chilly and if the sun doesn’t come out it feels quite fresh throughout the day.  To coincide I am treating myself to reading the Autumn section of the book ‘The Magic Apple Tree‘ by Susan Hill, oh how I love this book and I have been eeking it out, saving each Season section to read in time with our own progressing year.  It has appeared as a favourite on many bloggers pages and I once read an extract in a magazine and marked if for my own reading list.  It’s a beautiful description of country life in Susan’s village and garden and I think she might be to blame for my recent run on jam and jelly making as it also contains the odd recipe, sadly I believe it’s out of print (why!?), but I managed to get a second hand copy from Amazon.

I decided to have a go at the included recipe for Plum, Orange and Walnut Jam as I do like jam with nuts in and the local shop has loads of British plums on offer at the moment.  I only made a half batch as I will be the only person eating this jam so I want to enjoy it and not feel pressured into making sure it’s all eaten whilst in it’s prime, I’d rather run out wanting more than be finding jars in the back of the cupboard in a few years time looking sad and past it’s best.  I have changed the method a little so suit my needs, such as slicing the zest of the orange instead of the whole peel (it makes it quicker to cook).

Plum, Orange and Walnut Jam

(Put some saucers in the freezer)

1.350 Kg Plums

1.100 Kg Sugar

2 Oranges

225 g Walnuts, chopped.

Stone the plums and put the halves into a large pan, setting the stones aside for later.

Use a peeler to remove the zest of the oranges, slice this as thinly as possible then add to the plums.  Juice the oranges (add this to the pan as well) then cut the remaining orange zest and pips roughly and tie into a muslin along with the reserved plum stones – guess what? – yep, add to the pan.

Finally also add 300 ml of water, then bring to the boil and simmer until the zest is soft (as with marmalade, if you add the sugar too soon it will toughen up the zest making it chewy and too hard), the plums need less cooking time so they will definitely be ready when the zest is, this took me about 30 mins.

Turn down the heat and add the sugar, heat very slowly, stirring occasionally until all the sugar has dissolved and there are no crystals left.

Bring to a rolling boil and boil rapidly for approx 10 mins, adding the nuts just before you remove the pan from the heat.  Test for a set by putting a blob onto one of your frozen saucers, after cooling for a moment it should form a skin that wrinkles when pushed with your finger, this means it’s set, otherwise rapid boil for a few more minutes (4 – ish) them remove from the heat and test for a set again. Repeat until setting point is reached.

Now, once ready I waited about 5 mins in an attempt to try and allow it to cool enough for the nuts to not float to the surface, I failed.  I think next time I’ll treat it the same way I do marmalade and leave it to cool about 15-20 mins, then put it into it’s jam jars (sterilized in a 150 degree oven on a tray with the lids for at least 5 mins) before sealing with wax discs and lids.

Despite the final jam being top heavy with the nuts it tastes great and is one I will make again.

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Whilst I was on a roll and had everything out I also made some apple and herb jelly.  I wanted to make a batch that I then split between apple & mint and apple & thyme jelly so I didn’t add the herbs until the last stages (see the notes).

Apple and Herb Jelly

1.5 Kg cooking apples

Granulated sugar

100 ml cider vinegar

I medium bunch of your chosen herbs (sage, rosemary, mint, thyme etc)

Roughly chop the apples, including peel, cores and pips and add to a pan with just enough water to cover (if you are making a single herb jelly you should also add the herbs now).  Bring to the boil and simmer gently, uncovered for about 1 hour, the fruit needs to be very soft.

Tip the (cooled) contents into a muslin suspended over a bowl for a few hours, ideally overnight and don’t squeeze if you would like your finished jelly to be clear.

Put a couple of saucers into the freezer and have your cleaned jars and lids ready on a baking tray ready to sterilize in the oven.

Measure the strained juice and for every 600 ml, you will need 450g sugar (don’t add it yet!).  

At this stage I split my juice into 2 batches and gently heated each with my chosen herbs, half with mint and the other with thyme, I put the herbs into a large tea strainer so as to keep the jelly clear and them removed it after a few minutes to start the next step of the recipe, which I made in half batches (so 50 ml of vinegar per batch etc).

Return the juice to a clean pan with the vinegar, heat until boiling point and then add the sugar, stir and simmer gently until dissolved.  Once all the sugar crystals are gone, rapid boil the jelly until setting point is reached, which should be about 10-12 mins.  Remove from the heat and remove any scum from the surface with a slotted spoon.

Check for a set by putting a small blob of the jam onto one of the saucers from the freezer, leave it for a few minutes and push with your finger, if a skin has formed that wrinkles then the jam is ready, if not you need to boil for a few more minutes then test again.

At this stage I added some chopped herbs to the mixtures as I think it looks pretty and let it cool slightly so the herbs stage suspended nicely in the jelly once set.

Pour into warm sterilised jars (heated for 15 mins in a medium oven, or used directly from a washing machine cycle and whilst still warm), seal with wax discs and lids.

We tested it at the weekend when I roasted some pork and it tastes delicious, it’s a beautiful golden pink jelly and is somehow very ‘light’ and delicate.  I can understand why people may make  it with chopped rose petals added instead of herbs, I have a slight aversion to rose flavours in food (makes me think of Granny chocolates!) but I imagine it works really well.

I am really looking forward to making crab apple jelly in a while and some medlar jelly from our new tree when the fruit is ready, guess what everyone will be getting for Christmas from us this year 😉

OK so for all those living in the UK, and especially in the South you may realise this post was written a good few weeks ago (sorry, bit behind in finishing it) as we are now in the middle of a late heat wave, what happened to Autumn?  Ah well, I’ll be making the most whilst I can and spending some time tidying up the rather messy garden.

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Preserves and Pontack…

I emptied out the preserves cupboard at the end of last week, partly to make sure the old has been rotated to the front, so it get’s used first and to see exactly what is in there.

ImageI did write a list of what turned up but right now, I can’t find it anywhere, doh!  The basics are, there is no more Strawberry Jam; I didn’t make any this year as we always seem to have loads but C has slowed on his jam eating (he favours Marmite and honey these days….not together, obviously!) so I decided to skip it, I should have checked the cupboard first but we do have 4 jars of Strawberry and Rhubarb so all is not lost.  On the ‘overstocked’ side, there are 5 small jars of Redcurrant Jelly from last year, which with this year’s added makes rather a stash, I will be looking for alternative uses to make sure it gets eaten.  There is a small mountain of Marmalade in both Whisky and Jelly forms.  Basically I am the only one who eats it but I do like making it as I love the smell that fills the house and the fact it falls in Winter (if you are using ‘Seville’ oranges) when there is little else to make.  Maybe 27 jars is a bit too much (ha ha) so I need to remember not to make any more this year and it’s time to start cooking Marmalade cake for the boys 😉

There were also reasonable amounts of Pickled Shallots, Gooseberry Jam and Jelly, Cassis and Sloe Gin to name but a few.  I no longer make things that we don’t eat, so there is no Chutney, it’s not that I don’t like it but we rarely eat cold meats or cheese and even if we did I’m the only one who would eat Chutney on the side.  Onion Marmalade is a different story, we eat quite a lot of that, especially with sausages but as I didn’t grow onions this year I wont be making more of that, sadly.

ImageAnd so, what to add this year.  We have limited space for storing preserves so from my earlier days when I used to make masses,  I’ve learnt to curb my enthusiasm and only make what we will eat plus a bit extra for giving away.  One thing that I did want to try again was Pontack using the elderberries from the garden and some of the lovely shallots we have grown (like the garlic, the shallots have done amazingly well this year, this is only a very small bundle of them, the rest have been tied and hung in the kitchen ready for eating).

ImageThere is so much information on-line about Pontack that I wont waffle on too long, simply, it is a spicy elderberry sauce that you can add to stews and gravy and also eat with Game that in theory you should leave for 7 years before eating.  It’s also a very old sauce that is at least 300 years old, apparently.  Most recipes are the same, I use the one by Pam Corbin from my favourite book the River Cottage Handbook No 2, Preserves.

Elderberry Pontack

Makes 1 x 350 ml bottle

500 g elderberries
500 ml cider vinegar
200 g shallots, sliced
6 cloves
4 allspice berries
1 blade of mace
1 tbsp black peppercorns
15 g root ginger bruised

Place the elderberries in an ovenproof dish with the vinegar (cover!!) and put in very low oven for 4-6 hrs or overnight. Remove strain through sieve, crushing the berries to obtain max juice.

Put juice in a pan with sliced shallots, spices and ginger. Bring back to boil and simmer for 20-25 mins until slightly reduced. Remove from heat and strain.

Return the strained juice back to the pan and boil for 5 mins. Pour into warm sterilised bottles and seal. Store in a dark cupboard for as long as you can manage, 7 years is good!

Now I’ll be honest with you, it take quite a bit of effort to make but is also fun and the boys loved the inky blackness of the liquid.  Things I would note; if you spill it on your beige linen skirt it will stain 😉 and I made a double batch of the above, having made it before and knowing there was some work involved, I wanted to get a good 700 ml in return.  I didn’t, in fact I ended up with 300 ml so what went wrong?  The only thing I have noticed having hunted around for various recipes on-line (and there are many, the main variation being to use red wine instead of vinegar) is to cover the berries during that first stage of slow cooking in the oven and in Pam Corbin’s version it doesn’t mention doing that, it also doesn’t say not to so I assume this was my mistake (I left it uncovered).  Annoyingly as I realised this I remembered that last time I made it (a couple of years ago) I came to the same conclusion, I have now pencilled a note in my book so I don’t forget again.

ImageI have more on jams and jellies but I’m going to split it into another post as I think this is the way going forward.  I have a tendency to wait too long between posts and then only say half of what I plan as I run out of steam and time to write it up, so the new me will be attempting to post more often and with a bit less waffle, at least that’s the plan 🙂

 

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What a mess…

I once said to one of the Mum’s from school, who at the last minute was popping back to my house for a coffee, “please excuse the house, it’s a bit of a mess.”  I think she was a bit shocked to find out it really was a total mess and I wasn’t just being overly house proud (to be fair, we had builders in ripping the back wall section off so everything was stacked in the living room and it was a bit *ahem* dusty).  The same could be said of the garden right now, it’s a bit of a mess, and I really do mean it there are weeds growing all over the place and the grass is about ready to make hay with.  I blame the last 2 weeks of school and pre-school with all the chaos that, that brings but even I was surprised how out of control things can get in such a short time.

ImageOn the plus side, because we haven’t been in the garden each day, munching as we go there is a huge crop of the wild strawberries at the moment.  I am going to pick all the ripe ones today, some we will just eat but the rest are going into the bachelor’s jam I started a while ago.

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The potatoes grown in the small (14 litre) grow bags have been a big hit, there is no question that this is how I will grow all my potatoes from now on with a single chitted tuber per bag.  Being able to tip it out, have the boys rummage for the contents and have enough for a meal or two is great.

ImageThis is the crop (Charlotte variety) from a single bag, the bowl is a very large salad one so you can get an idea of the quantity.

As well as potatoes and strawberries we are also eating courgettes, salad, spring onions, herbs, the last of the broad beans and peas and carrots right now.  The tomatoes and cucumbers are running very late, next year I will probably leave them to get started in the greenhouse for a lot longer, before moving them outdoors.

ImageI have picked the redcurrants, we have 2 bushes in amongst the border of the vegetable patch and they have provided about 2 kilos of fruit each (and that’s leaving a few for the birds).  Half of his has been turned into redcurrant jelly and the rest has been put into the freezer, some as whole fruit and some as strained juice, I simply didn’t have time to deal with it all right now.

ImageI made yet more jam with the final blackcurrants and packed some up for teachers gifts.  The boys helped pick the berries and weigh out the sugar and stir the jam etc.  I made little ‘blackcurrant’ coloured birds for the packaging and then had F write out thank you tags (this was the hardest bit, he’s not keen on writing!).

And so, we are now on the first day of the long summer holidays; I’d like to fall into last years routine of sectioning the day up and getting a little of my chores done as well as entertaining the boys but it may not work out that way.  I hope to sew for the next hour and then once it’s warmed up outside try and sell the boys on the paddling pool as today’s entertainment with maybe a walk later, that way I can attempt to tidy the garden and feel less guilty about the mess.  Perhaps a little ice cream bribe in the afternoon will do the trick 🙂

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Blackcurrants…

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The blackcurrants are ready and I’ve been waiting for a break in the rain so I can pick them, ideally dry, and make some store cupboard food.  As always I turn to my favourite cluster of books for some inspiration; Sarah Raven’s Cookbook, River Cottage Handbook No 2 (Preserves) and The River Cottage Year.  Much as I love tart fruit the boys are not all that keen so I’ve mainly been looking for jam or jelly recipes, although the RCY had a recipe for blackcurrant double-ripple ice cream that I am rather tempted by.  This year I have 2.5 kilos of fruit and so I’ve decided to go with jam and the usual Cassis as it’s always a winner and good for gift giving.

ImageFor both the below, the fruit has been washed and dried on teatowels and the shrivelled flowers on the end of the berries have been left on.

Cassis

450 g blackberries, crushed

450 g sugar (I used golden caster as I didn’t have any granulated)

570 ml brandy

7 very small, new blackcurrant leaves.

All the above is put into a 1.5 litre kilner jar and will be turned once a week (in fact once a day initially) and left for one month before straining off into sterilised bottles.  I’ve read in some recipes that you should leave it for 3-4 months and whizz the alcoholic fruit and strain through a muslin to be added to the liquid, this makes sense to me so I might try it this year.

Blackcurrant Jam

Makes about 8 regular jars.

For the jam it’s a very simple recipe and as the fruit is so high in pectin there is no need to add lemon juice or use sugar with added pectin.

1 kg blackcurrants

1.5 kg golden granulated sugar

Put some saucers in the freezer.

The fruit (with stalks removed) is put into a large pan (I went to buy a new jam pan today after burning the last one so badly it was beyond repair only to find they were £50!!!! I don’t think so, I shall be using my large spaghetti pan today) with 600 ml of water and simmer for about 15-20 mins until the fruit is soft.  The trick is (apparently) to get the fruit soft but not completely mushed, otherwise when you add the sugar the skins toughen up and become quite chewy in the final jam.

You then add the sugar and leave it to dissolve on a very low heat, stirring occasionally.  

Once all the sugar has dissolved you bring to the boil and boil on a rolling boil for 5 mins.  

(just before boiling, put your cleaned jars and lids into an oven at about 150 degrees)

After a rapid 5 mins rolling boil remove from the heat and test the jam for a set.  To do this, put a small blob of the jam onto one of the saucers from the freezer, leave it for a few minutes and push with your finger, if a skin has formed that wrinkles then the jam is ready, if not you need to boil for a few more minutes (only about 3 mins for blackcurrants as they have a high pectin level and so don’t need much to reach setting point) then test again.  Repeat until the jam has reached setting point.  For me this took 5 mins plus an additional 3 mins today.

Remove and scum from the edges and leave the jam to cool for 10-15 mins, then stir and check the fruit is being held in the jelly and not bobbing to the surface (leave it a bit longer if this is the case).  Ladle into your sterilised jars, whilst they are still hot from the oven.  Cover with a wax disc and screw the lids on immediately.

Having just had a good look through the preserves storage cupboard I’ve decided to ditch the remaining 2 jars of gooseberry jam as quite frankly they are past their best and no-one is interested in gooseberry jam in the household.

I hate throwing things away that I’ve taken the time to grow and make but there is also little point keeping them, especially once they are gathering dust and quite frankly are well over a year old.  The one thing I could make mountains of is strawberry jam as the boys eat it by the bucket full, it’s lucky we live in Kent and can buy local strawberries at great prices.

 

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I’m impatient, the jam is still quite warm but I’ve just taken some homemade bread out of the oven and couldn’t resist having a taste and it’s definitely a winner.  In fact, I’ve just given some to C, having told him it’s ‘Ribena’ jam and he’s also sold.  Hummm…..not sure I actually want to share 🙂

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We’re jamming…

Well actually it’s marmalade but there you go.  For the first time in my knowledge, Ocado had Seville Oranges on their site, I usually pick them up at the local supermarket but as they have such a short season they are easy to miss so I added some to my shop.  If you’ve never come across them, they are very bitter and full of pips but make the most amazing marmalade (I’m not sure what else you’d use them for).  They are only on the shelves for about 4 weeks of the year, usually the end of Jan to the beginning of Feb but are well worth looking out for.

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I was so pleased to catch them that I bought 2 Kg and with about 6-8 jars per kilo that’s quite a lot of marmalade, especially considering I’m the only person that eats it, the boys don’t like the peel.

The first kilo was made into my usual favourite Whisky Marmalade, this is the recipe I use and have done successfully for a number of years, last year I used the slicing attachment on my KitchenAid and it worked like a dream, it’s the same attachment that I use for slicing onions for onion marmalade as here, I took the long route this time:

Whisky Marmalade

1 Kg Seville Oranges

Juice of 1 lemon

2 litres water

2 Kg Preserving sugar

100 ml Whisky

Ream oranges and lemon into double layer of muslin set over a sieve, scouring shells to get as much pith as possible.

Tie contents of muslin into a loose bag and put into preserving pan with 2 litres of water and the strained juice.

Discard shell of lemon.  Slice orange shells into half again,  then slice finely. Add to pan, bring to boil then reduce and simmer, uncovered, for about 2 hours, until rind completely soft.

Remove muslin bag and squeeze out as much of the liquid as possible, back into pan.

Add sugar and stir over low heat until completely dissolved.  Raise heat and rapid boil for a set (15 mins).  Test small amount on chilled plate (pop these in the freezer before you start, it should form a skin that wrinkles when pushed with finger).  Boil for another 5 mins, if needed and test again, until set is achieved.

Leave marmalade for 10 mins to cool before potting in clean warm jars, with wax discs on top.  Cover with clean tea towel and leave until completely cold before putting lids on.

(For a Dark & Chunky Marmalade use 2Kg Preserving sugar and 200g Dark Muscovado sugar and cut peel into short chunky batons).

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I managed to make a whopping 8 jars, even I will take a while to get through that lot so I decided to make the next kilo into Seville Jelly, that way the boys might eat some.  Again, I always make some jelly but normally only a half batch using 500 g of oranges as finely slicing the zest takes quite a while.

Fine-Cut Jelly Marmalade

500g Seville Oranges

Juice of 1 lemon

1 Kg Preserving sugar

Peel fruit with a vegetable peeler, taking the zest only and no pith.  Cut into very fine threads.  Add zest to a pan with 1 litre of water and simmer until tender (approx 1 hour) and liquid has reduced by half.

Ream the fruit and strain juice through muslin into jug, cover and refrigerate.

Coarsely chop and pith, pips etc and add to another pan with 1 litre water.  Simmer for 1 hour then strain through double muslin.

Combine the zest and it’s liquid with reserved juice and strained pith liquid (should be about 800ml in total).  Put into a preserving pan with sugar, stir over low heat until sugar completely dissolved.  Raise heat and rapid boil for a set – approx 15 mins.  Test for set and if needed boil for another 5 mins.

Remove from heat and cool for 10mins before potting in warm, clean jars with wax discs.  Cover and cool completely before adding lids.

There was, however, a little *ahem* accident today, I let the pan boil dry whilst softening the cut peel.  In the hope of rescuing the rest, I plan to buy regular oranges tomorrow to zest and finely slice to replace this, I think the bulk of the flavour will come from the juice and pulp mixture which is spending the night in the fridge, it should work fine, at worst case I can make pure jelly, the boys will have nothing to complain about then 🙂

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Fruity Goodness…

As you can imagine, the Summer Holidays are already eating into my blogging time, I wrote this post a couple of weeks ago but here it finally is!

We have picked all the fruit in the garden now, except the thornless blackberry (OK, so not all the fruit then).

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The most recent has been the redcurrants; the plant is on it’s third year and we managed about 3Kg fruit, which has been turned into a mixture of redcurrant jelly and currant shrub, a fruity, alcoholic cordial made to a recipe found in River Cottage Handbook No. 2 – Preserves.  It looks very pretty sitting in the kitchen steeping in it’s jar, as do all the other red preserves lined up and waiting for their labels.

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(mental note: must clean the windows!)

The Cassis made from the blackcurrant bush has been sieved into sterilized bottles and we’ve made plenty of strawberry jam from the abundant berries we get here in Kent.  In fact, the boys helped me to make a batch as teachers presents.  We had great fun and so far they have gone down very well.

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Sadly, the birds have stripped both my pink gooseberry bushes.  They’ve never touched them before but I noticed the bushes shaking rather vigorously the other day and on further investigation saw there were only a handful of fruits left; serves me right for not netting them, but the birds have been uninterested in past years.  It always amazed me how quickly a fruit bush can be stripped once a single bird has found it, in this case 2 days for a huge amount of fruit.

I really need to spend some proper time in the garden, it’s the last week of school/pre-school right now and it’s a little hectic.  We are still waiting on rain, I am surprised the border is surviving, it’s in it’s green phase at the moment, before the later flowers come into bloom but I’m a little worried about their survival in this dusty heat.

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Finally, I am still trying to move us completely back into the living room after some recent floor laying.  The painting is a slow process, but I am thrilled to finally get the understairs cupboard finished and for the first time in 4 years our preserves and pickles have a proper home.  I used apple crates on their sides, fixed to the wall for a quick storage solution and I am super happy to get rid of some more of the plastic stacking boxes that clog up the hallways.  We just need doors now 🙂

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Onions and Shallots…

Onions and shallots are new to me and I am impressed enough to make space for them next year.  I bought shallots (‘Longer’) as sets earlier this year (which just look like small shallots) and they were sent out in Feb/March I think.  I planted them in rows between the carrots with about 7/8 sets per row (my beds are 120cm wide) and the tops just poking out, in theory planting onions/garlic/shallots/spring onions with carrots helps keep carrot root fly away but as I net my carrot bed with enviromesh over hoops this isn’t really a problem.  I was given some red onion sets by my neighbor so I just put these in a few rows dotted about the raised beds where there was space.

That was it, I did nothing else and last week I had these lovely shallots ready to dig up, I love that each single ‘set’ grows into a cluster of new shallots.

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The tops fell/bent over a while ago and I have had them covered and drying out under long cloches (with sides open to give good ventilation) as we have had a lot of rain recently.  I decided to make picked shallots with some and the rest have been dug up and put into the greenhouse to continue to dry as I am a little worried they may start to rot of left outdoors.  They are a lovely pink colour once peeled and look rather pretty pickled in red wine vinegar (a recipe from The River Cottage Handbook No 2 – Preserves, a book I love).

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My husband asked if I was planning to make Onion Marmalade (he is a big fan, the ladies from the WI used to sell it at our local Farmers Market but they don’t have a stall there any more) so I dug up the red onions and used the super fantastic slicing attachment on my Kitchen Aid to slice.  Cheating I know but as I had great success finely slicing my orange peel for marmalade using this earlier I knew it would work.

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I did have to fish out a few bits that had to be hand sliced but it took a fraction of the time and as I have very little (time that is) I was happy.  

Along with another batch of strawberry jam I am having to relocate my pickle/jam cupboard as there is no room left and there is still ketchup, picked cucumber and apple and mint jelly to come to name but a few.  I wonder what everyone will be getting for Christmas from us this year – ha, ha!