But it's worth every one. The height of the jamming season has begun, and I'm doing the best I can to put as much gorgeous summer fruit into jars as possible.
Showing posts with label jam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jam. Show all posts
Thursday, 22 July 2010
84
84 apricots, don't make as much jam as you'd expect for that much de-stoning.
But it's worth every one. The height of the jamming season has begun, and I'm doing the best I can to put as much gorgeous summer fruit into jars as possible.
Are you preserving the summer too? If so, please share how. This marmalady can't get enough of whacking things in jars!
But it's worth every one. The height of the jamming season has begun, and I'm doing the best I can to put as much gorgeous summer fruit into jars as possible.
Friday, 14 May 2010
Because you can put jam in everything.
The Jamvangalist strikes again! The cake I bring you today is a wonderful way to use up the dregs of marmalade that might be taking up several rooms space in your house cupboards. Okay, so I'm sure you don't actually have that problem, but when I am trying out new marmalades the half-full tester jars gradually stack up in our "breakfast" cupboard and because I try and eat nice boring healthy museli in the morning and so only have toast at weekends, I need another way to re-appropriate the half-filled jars.
I discovered this cake when doing all sorts of research in the run up to Food Junctions. In the spirit of "isn't preserving amazing and versatile" that I was trying to get across in my presentation I wanted not to have tasters of just jams and marmalades, but examples of the things you can do with them other than spreading them on bread. As a result I spent the evening and then morning before the talk frantically whipping up cakes, biscuits, tarts and slices all of which used jam, marmalade, curd or other preserves. It was the marmalade cake that was the first to go. It's moist, and whilst it doesn't taste too strongly of bitter orange marmalade, it does have a wonderful background hint of it, and a great depth of flavour.
It was so good that one participant actually prized the cake paper out of my hand and stood scraping the crumbs off it!
So today, I bring you my newly-found go-to marmalade cake. I used my "dark side" Seville marmalade, which is made with bitter oranges, all dark sugar (making it almost black, and very treacly in flavour) and a nice dash of smooth Irish whiskey. I also intend to make a version that uses my lemon marmalades. In fact, I might even try using other jams, as I get the impression it is highly adaptable and will suit many preserves and many tastes. It is adapted from a Nigel Slater recipe (of course) and so all credit must go to him really. Except I like my cake a bit darker and so have used light muscovado sugar instead of white, and didn't add orange blossom water, or any additional orange, or icing as I don't think it needs these extras. That said, a dash of lemon juice and perhaps some zest would probably make this cake really sing, but I shall leave that up to you.
Marmalady Cake - makes one large loaf cake.
175g unsalted butter, very soft.
175g light muscovado sugar
175g self-raising flour
3 large eggs
75g marmalade
Preheat the oven to 180C and grease or line a large loaf pan.
Cream the butter and the sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat the eggs a little and then add to the creamed mixture a little at a time, beating well between each addition. You want to make sure that you do this really well, I would probably even use a whisk next time because the dark sugar is less easily incorporated (or so I find). Next add the marmalade. I also chop the peel a little so you get nice bits of preserved peel all though the cake. Finally, in a swift firm action fold the flour into the batter until it is fully mixed, trying to whip in a bit of air as you go.
Pour the batter into the lined tin and bake for 40mins or until a skewer comes out clean. Mine was 40min bang on.
Leave to cool in the tin before turning out. Serve in thick slices.
I discovered this cake when doing all sorts of research in the run up to Food Junctions. In the spirit of "isn't preserving amazing and versatile" that I was trying to get across in my presentation I wanted not to have tasters of just jams and marmalades, but examples of the things you can do with them other than spreading them on bread. As a result I spent the evening and then morning before the talk frantically whipping up cakes, biscuits, tarts and slices all of which used jam, marmalade, curd or other preserves. It was the marmalade cake that was the first to go. It's moist, and whilst it doesn't taste too strongly of bitter orange marmalade, it does have a wonderful background hint of it, and a great depth of flavour.
It was so good that one participant actually prized the cake paper out of my hand and stood scraping the crumbs off it!
So today, I bring you my newly-found go-to marmalade cake. I used my "dark side" Seville marmalade, which is made with bitter oranges, all dark sugar (making it almost black, and very treacly in flavour) and a nice dash of smooth Irish whiskey. I also intend to make a version that uses my lemon marmalades. In fact, I might even try using other jams, as I get the impression it is highly adaptable and will suit many preserves and many tastes. It is adapted from a Nigel Slater recipe (of course) and so all credit must go to him really. Except I like my cake a bit darker and so have used light muscovado sugar instead of white, and didn't add orange blossom water, or any additional orange, or icing as I don't think it needs these extras. That said, a dash of lemon juice and perhaps some zest would probably make this cake really sing, but I shall leave that up to you.
Marmalady Cake - makes one large loaf cake.
175g unsalted butter, very soft.
175g light muscovado sugar
175g self-raising flour
3 large eggs
75g marmalade
Preheat the oven to 180C and grease or line a large loaf pan.
Cream the butter and the sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat the eggs a little and then add to the creamed mixture a little at a time, beating well between each addition. You want to make sure that you do this really well, I would probably even use a whisk next time because the dark sugar is less easily incorporated (or so I find). Next add the marmalade. I also chop the peel a little so you get nice bits of preserved peel all though the cake. Finally, in a swift firm action fold the flour into the batter until it is fully mixed, trying to whip in a bit of air as you go.
Pour the batter into the lined tin and bake for 40mins or until a skewer comes out clean. Mine was 40min bang on.
Leave to cool in the tin before turning out. Serve in thick slices.
Sunday, 5 July 2009
Back on the horse
I love summer. Okay, it doesn't have the crisp bright mornings of autumn, or the cosy evenings of winter, or the fresh new smells of spring. But it does have sunshine (no really, this year England seems to have remembered what summer is all about and conjoured up some proper hot sunshine!) and with that sunshine comes flowers, and after flowers, fruit!
Although the berries in our garden don't seem to be thriving (I'm not sure why, I clearly need to do some more reading up on the matter) the farmer's market has been packed with bright jewels
Look!
I can't tell you how excited I was when I spotted the above. Loganberries! I'd never actually seen a loganberry in real life until this morning, I'd only seen photos and eaten them in jam. My favourite jam ever in fact. Loganberries are like raspberries, but larger, sharper and richer, they make the most divine jam, and I wanted me some of that.
I know, just last week I was complaining at how much jam I had to make and how ridiculous a project preserving is in such hot weather. Well, today I got right back on the horse. I had to, these red babies just called out to be potted for later in the year. The loganberry season is notoriously short and by the time we'd dragged ourselves out of bed and to the farmer's market there were only two punnets left. I pounced on them and couldn't give the man the cash fast enough!
I wasn't sure at that point what I was going to do with them, I just knew they had to be mine. I pondered a fool, or tarts topped with them, or even a compote. But having removed all the stalks I weighed the results and had almost a pound, just enough to produce two little jars of jam.
So now, I can put these pots of goodness away until the winter, and then indulge and be smug that I finally managed to snatch some up for my very own in the summer.
See, no matter how hot or hard the days, I can't be kept out of the kitchen! And don't worry, I have a lovely plan for those gooseberries, which will be coming soon.
Loganberry Jam: Makes 1 2/3 lbs.
450g loganberries (after the stalks have been removed and the berries washed and patted dry)
450g sugar
squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Place the berries in a large pan with the squeeze of lemon juice (this is not for set, as loganberries set really well, I use it for a hint of extra tartness and stop the jam being too sweet), cook over a low heat until the juices are released and the berries become tender. Add the sugar and stir until it has completely dissolved. Then raise the heat and boil rapidly until set (this will probably occur very quickly). Pour into hot sterilised jars and seal.
The jam should keep for a year, but refridgerate after opening.
Although the berries in our garden don't seem to be thriving (I'm not sure why, I clearly need to do some more reading up on the matter) the farmer's market has been packed with bright jewels
Look!
I can't tell you how excited I was when I spotted the above. Loganberries! I'd never actually seen a loganberry in real life until this morning, I'd only seen photos and eaten them in jam. My favourite jam ever in fact. Loganberries are like raspberries, but larger, sharper and richer, they make the most divine jam, and I wanted me some of that.
I know, just last week I was complaining at how much jam I had to make and how ridiculous a project preserving is in such hot weather. Well, today I got right back on the horse. I had to, these red babies just called out to be potted for later in the year. The loganberry season is notoriously short and by the time we'd dragged ourselves out of bed and to the farmer's market there were only two punnets left. I pounced on them and couldn't give the man the cash fast enough!
I wasn't sure at that point what I was going to do with them, I just knew they had to be mine. I pondered a fool, or tarts topped with them, or even a compote. But having removed all the stalks I weighed the results and had almost a pound, just enough to produce two little jars of jam.
So now, I can put these pots of goodness away until the winter, and then indulge and be smug that I finally managed to snatch some up for my very own in the summer.See, no matter how hot or hard the days, I can't be kept out of the kitchen! And don't worry, I have a lovely plan for those gooseberries, which will be coming soon.
Loganberry Jam: Makes 1 2/3 lbs.
450g loganberries (after the stalks have been removed and the berries washed and patted dry)
450g sugar
squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Place the berries in a large pan with the squeeze of lemon juice (this is not for set, as loganberries set really well, I use it for a hint of extra tartness and stop the jam being too sweet), cook over a low heat until the juices are released and the berries become tender. Add the sugar and stir until it has completely dissolved. Then raise the heat and boil rapidly until set (this will probably occur very quickly). Pour into hot sterilised jars and seal.
The jam should keep for a year, but refridgerate after opening.
Monday, 15 June 2009
Peachy
I've become rather addicted to scones recently. I've started using them as my go-to breakfast option when we don't have any bread. I think it's because the cricket season makes me want high tea with scones and strawberry jam. There'll be plenty of time for that later in the summer, so at the moment I'm doing a bit of experimenting.We don't have an indulgent breakfast every week, but probably once a month I decide it's time to celebrate a lazy Sunday with a spot of baking.
Another reason that I decided we should have scones was because I was desperate to try one of my newest jam recipes. Yes, it's that time again, I've started on the preserving kick! I had a flurry in January with the marmalade season, and then a few chutneys got tried, but then I tailed off a little. Partly because there is less fruit around at the tail end of winter, but mostly because I ran out of jars! However, good friends of ours recently - and very kindly indeed - donated their kilner and preserving jars to us. With two little ones now they rarely have time to watch children and boiling sugar, so things were handed over to me. How lovely is that!
Remember I alluded to a big project coming up? Well this jam may well be part of it, and I wanted to test it, and more importantly I wanted the resident North London Kitchen taster to try it. What better way to do that than to have it on fresh hot scones.
So I whipped up a batch of sour cherry and vanilla scones and we ate them in the sunshine topped with my new peach and mango jam. I'm not sure which went down better, the scones or the preserve!
I won't share the jam recipe just yet, but I do recommend the scones. They are light and fluffy and a little too indulgent for breakfast, so call it brunch and no-one will notice!
Sour Cherry Vanilla Scones: Makes 4 4 oz of Self-raising flour
1 oz cold butter
3/4 oz sugar
1tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
handful dried sour cherries.
Cold milk.
Preheat the oven to 200C, line a baking tray.
Put the flour, sugar, soda and tartar in a bowl and combine. Then rub in the cold butter. Add the sour cherries, and then the vanilla, and enough milk to just make a dough (probably about a tablespoon, or a little more). Roll out the dough - but not too thin, as it won't rise much, so bare this in mind. I make mine pretty thick. Cut our four rounds. Place on the baking tray and bake for 1o mins. Rest for as long as you can hold out, then cut and top with your favourite jam.
Saturday, 24 January 2009
I am the marma-lady
TA DA! Yes, that is what it looks like, it's a litre of marmalade!I've been a little maramalade-herical here the last few days. In fact I've been like that for most of the week. I learnt about how to make it on Monday, spent the whole day thinking about ideas for recipes on Tuesday, then my oranges arrived on Wednesday. I couldn't wait to start trying to make my very own marmalade, and I'm impressed that I got any work done at all on Wednesday. But I'm trying to get my will-power and acceptance of deferred gratification back, so work I did. All the while of course I had oranges boiling away in the background, filling the flat with the slightly bitter and heady smell of Sevilles.
I adore Seville orange marmalade. It is something that reminds me of my childhood and the way I used to have it on bread with peanut butter. Trust me, it's the most perfect combination; the slightly salty yet creamy peanut butter with the sweet and yet bitter marmalade. Gets me every time, and the first thing I did when we got back from River Cottage was whack on a slice of toast, and crack open my jar of River Cottage marmalade to try with peanut butter. It was delicious, very like the Duerrs marmalade my father always buys.
So that became my goal, to produce a marmalade that was not entirely quite unlike Duerrs or River Cottage. I wanted a really chunky, bitter yet sweet marmalade, with, of course, a nice hint of whiskey!
I decided to use the whole fruit method as this is supposed to produce a very traditional dark bitter marmalade. I boiled the fruit whole, kept and measured the cooking water, chopped the now soft oranges, weighed sugar, juiced lemons and it all went in the pan.
As usual everything was going perfectly to plan until it came to the setting point. I don't know why, but this has come to instill fear in my heart. I think because I over-set my first jam to such an extent that it became like cheese - "cham" - and then failed to get the following jelly experiment to set, I have grown to dread the time when it comes to test for set.
I tried using a thermometer, because I'm told and I read that this is a sure-fire way. The boiling mixture should hit the right temperature and Voila! it should set. Nope. Not in this flat. I tried the saucer test, and have had real problems there too. I drip some on a cold saucer and put it back in the fridge, test a few minutes later, no set. I pour the mix into jars anyway because it had hit temperature a while ago, cham.
You can see my issues. But I was determined this time that I was going to be fine. No more fear, no more nervousness. I'd seen it done, I'd heard it from the experts, and I love marmalade. Success for destined and sure-fire.
Hahahahaha! No it wasn't! I boil, I get it up to temperature, and test on a saucer. No set. I re-boil to temperature, place on a saucer. No set. I re-boiled to temperature, test on a saucer. Set! Hurrah for the wrinkle. I take it off the heat, stir slightly and leave for 15 minutes to cool slightly so I get an even distribution of peel in the jars. I stir in the whiskey, then I pot it.
No set. I kid you not. Hours later, still like syrup. Disaster.My response? A while ago I might have burst into tears, and I still very nearly did. I felt so bad that N had bought me the wonderful preserving course for my birthday and I still couldn't do it. Fortunately he was very supportive and pointed out that he chose the present because of the enjoyment I would get from it, not necessarily because he expected me to churn out preserves. Plus, he thought it looked fine. Now I just felt bad generally because I hadn't managed to succeed at something I really, really, really want to get right.
What did I do? I sent emails and I waited. Then on Thursday I had a wonderful phone call from a jam expert, a very reassuring, helpful, full of rescue tips, phone call. I was dually reassured, and back on the wagon!
Apparently really chunky marmalade can take days to properly set and I shouldn't despair. Also, I could re-boil, there's no harm in doing it again. Stirring in the whiskey adds liquid and so affects set, if I want a heavy set then leave boiling for even longer so it will have a stronger set before the alcohol loosens it up. Add more lemon juice to chunky just to be sure. Don't worry it makes a lovely sponge pudding and you can always try again.
Armed with this new wisdom I decided to leave my batch well alone. I should be patient and trust it to do the right thing. Two days later, it did! It is a hard-ish set in the fridge, and softer set out of it, with a lovely bitter bite and hint of peat-y whiskey.
Whoo! I can do it. I can make marmalade. Good marmalade too.
I was so pleased that I immediately started plotting the next batch. Today's was a slightly different ratio of sugars (I upped the brown to make it darker) and I let it boil for a lot longer. It still took an age to get to the setting point, but I feel loads more confident about it. We have a small sample in the fridge for toast tomorrow, and more oranges arriving next week! Eek, I'd better order some more jars...
Tuesday, 20 January 2009
Sun, sea, Sevilles and snow!
At the end of October N started looking a little concerned and sheepish. A bit like Sniff does when he thinks he's done something cute, but worries that we might not think it quite so nice (like when he sleeps on N's clothes to show his affection, spreading his allergen-laden fur all over the things N might want to wear). In November the frequency of this look increased until N finally confessed that he'd already bought my birthday present and wasn't sure if I'd like it. I assured him it would be wonderful, that he always got me brilliant things, and didn't think much more about it.
Then, as my birthday crept nearer I become more intrigued, and finally on the day I was very nervously presented with an envelope. I was, by now, completely stumped. I ripped it open and eagerly pulled out the A4 sheets of paper neatly folded inside.
"Hello from River Cottage HQ! We are delighted that you are going to join us for Preserved - Winter on Monday 19th of January"
I couldn't believe it. I was going to River Cottage, and I was going to learn all about jams, and chutney, cordials, jellies, bottling and everything. I can't remember if I actually jumped up and down, but that's how I felt. Talk about best birthday present EVER!
So yes, yesterday I was off in the depths of the south-west watching Pam "the jam" Corbin and Liz "the pickle" Neville make all sorts of delicious smelling preserves, being fed delicious locally produced food and generally being rather smug. Oh and watching the snow. Yes, that's right, true to form, once again we brought the bad weather with us. I mean, I know it's January, but I didn't expect to get caught between a yurt and a barn with a steaming cup of coffee in a blizzard!
There is so much to tell about the day. Not only did I learn loads, but I met some amazing people, all of whom share the same passion for food as me. I can't tell you how comforting it is to sit in a room full of people who don't think its that weird to constantly talk about food, and who don't think dreams of self-sufficiency and owning bakeries is pure madness! I am hoping I didn't bore them to death too much and that perhaps they will pop in here. It'd be good to know how they're getting on with the preserving too.
I don't want to ramble on here about it all, as it would take forever, and I am still trying to take stock myself. As you can probably imagine poor N had three and a half hours in the car on the drive home listening to my "and then they did this...," "then I got to eat this...," "then so-and-so told me about this..." I think that drive must have felt a lot longer for him, and yet he never once tried to stop me and even encouraged me. I did mention he's wonderful, right? However, I will share some photos of the day, and hopefully as I make some preserves over the next few days and weeks I can remember to tell the odd anecdote here and there.
I will say however, that I had a totally amazing and inspiring time. I am itching to get going and waiting a whole day for my Seville oranges to arrive is seeming like forever! I may well have to raid the freezer fruit stash just so I can have a go at something later!
Having taken the weekend for the trip I should also mention that we got to see some of that bit of the world. Very nice indeed, and Lyme Regis offered us up not only a beautiful walk along the coast in sunshine that made it almost too warm for coats, and many bookshops to browse, but also a bakery/coffee shop that was filled with books about architecture and cookery. Could there be a more perfect venue for us to have a mid-morning caffeine top-up?
Like I said, inspiration everywhere.
Thank you N for the best birthday ever, and thank you to the people I met and all those at River Cottage HQ who made the day so magical.
Hmmm....I wonder when I can pursude N to take me to visit again?
p.s. photo disclaimer - sorry there aren't more and better, but I am still wading through them trying to pick the best and many from the actual demonstrations were taken hastily and through a mirror so aren't the best anyway. Scenic seaside shots to come! I liked the above because of the "builders" option in the teas!
Then, as my birthday crept nearer I become more intrigued, and finally on the day I was very nervously presented with an envelope. I was, by now, completely stumped. I ripped it open and eagerly pulled out the A4 sheets of paper neatly folded inside.
"Hello from River Cottage HQ! We are delighted that you are going to join us for Preserved - Winter on Monday 19th of January"
I couldn't believe it. I was going to River Cottage, and I was going to learn all about jams, and chutney, cordials, jellies, bottling and everything. I can't remember if I actually jumped up and down, but that's how I felt. Talk about best birthday present EVER!So yes, yesterday I was off in the depths of the south-west watching Pam "the jam" Corbin and Liz "the pickle" Neville make all sorts of delicious smelling preserves, being fed delicious locally produced food and generally being rather smug. Oh and watching the snow. Yes, that's right, true to form, once again we brought the bad weather with us. I mean, I know it's January, but I didn't expect to get caught between a yurt and a barn with a steaming cup of coffee in a blizzard!
There is so much to tell about the day. Not only did I learn loads, but I met some amazing people, all of whom share the same passion for food as me. I can't tell you how comforting it is to sit in a room full of people who don't think its that weird to constantly talk about food, and who don't think dreams of self-sufficiency and owning bakeries is pure madness! I am hoping I didn't bore them to death too much and that perhaps they will pop in here. It'd be good to know how they're getting on with the preserving too.I don't want to ramble on here about it all, as it would take forever, and I am still trying to take stock myself. As you can probably imagine poor N had three and a half hours in the car on the drive home listening to my "and then they did this...," "then I got to eat this...," "then so-and-so told me about this..." I think that drive must have felt a lot longer for him, and yet he never once tried to stop me and even encouraged me. I did mention he's wonderful, right? However, I will share some photos of the day, and hopefully as I make some preserves over the next few days and weeks I can remember to tell the odd anecdote here and there.
I will say however, that I had a totally amazing and inspiring time. I am itching to get going and waiting a whole day for my Seville oranges to arrive is seeming like forever! I may well have to raid the freezer fruit stash just so I can have a go at something later!Having taken the weekend for the trip I should also mention that we got to see some of that bit of the world. Very nice indeed, and Lyme Regis offered us up not only a beautiful walk along the coast in sunshine that made it almost too warm for coats, and many bookshops to browse, but also a bakery/coffee shop that was filled with books about architecture and cookery. Could there be a more perfect venue for us to have a mid-morning caffeine top-up?
Like I said, inspiration everywhere. Thank you N for the best birthday ever, and thank you to the people I met and all those at River Cottage HQ who made the day so magical.
Hmmm....I wonder when I can pursude N to take me to visit again?
p.s. photo disclaimer - sorry there aren't more and better, but I am still wading through them trying to pick the best and many from the actual demonstrations were taken hastily and through a mirror so aren't the best anyway. Scenic seaside shots to come! I liked the above because of the "builders" option in the teas!
Sunday, 2 November 2008
A berry good jam indeed.
This post has been far too long in coming, and I'd like to send out my apologies, because the subject matter warranted, no, demanded, immediate attention: Salmonberry jam.As you'll know this year I took part in the Jammin' jelly exchange. I thought that sending my humble jam across the world be be extremely exciting. What I hadn't anticipated because of being so wrapped up in the frantic boiling, bottling and labelling of my package, was just how wonderful it would be to have jam randomly arrive on my doorstep one day.
There I was one morning a couple of weeks ago, sitting in front of the computer attempting to write when the door buzzer went. Lo and behold, the postman holding out a small, square, jam-jar sized package! I was so excited, that I could barely bring myself to photograph the box before ripping it open to reveal the contents. Who knows what this unassuming little box from Alaska would hold. I couldn't have been more surprised and excited when the contents revealed themselves to be a large jar of delicious looking dusky-red salmonberry jam from Angie.
Salmonberries! Not something I'd ever heard of before. I've often through of myself as a berry enthusiast, so how could this berry have passed me by? Turns out it's a berry that looks like a raspberry and is native to the Pacific northwest, ranging from California right up to Alaska (I hope I've got that right!).
I wanted to wait to try the jam, because I thought only a plain wholemeal bread would let the berries truly shine, and give me the full experience of the jam, without any other flavours gettting in the way. The current bread in the cupboard was malted and I didn't want it interfearing with the red goodness I now had sitting proudly in it's jar on the side.
Boy was I glad I waited. The jam is delicious. Not too sweet, with the delicate flavour of the berries perfectly captured, alongside the pleasing crunch of the seeds. As you can tell, I've already dipped into to it on several occasions, but I'm trying really hard not to go mad so I can draw it out as long as possible - after all, it's not everyday that a jar of Alaskan salmonberry jam lands on your doorstep!
So, it only remains to say a HUGE thank you to Angie for sharing this with me, and to Molly for arranging such a great event. I can't wait to have a go again next year, when hopefully I've got more experienece and more interesting ideas. Until then I shall be peeling, chopping, boiling and bottling my way through, and topping up our jam, cham and chutney reserves, whilst slowly savouring my salmonberries.
Saturday, 4 October 2008
Cometh the hour, cometh the jam!
So yeah, jam! In fact, jam, jelly, and "cham." All of which has been made in the past week and a half and some of which is currently winging its way across the world to one lucky lady. I say lucky, I hope she feels like that because I am something of a novice when it comes to all this jam making malarkey, and there have been a few teething problems I can tell you.
But I think I've gotten the hang of it now, and am already plotting my next jam experiments. Be warned, you will be getting jams, jellies and chutneys for Christmas, oh yes! (I'm looking at you Mum!)
Anyway, I should probably start at the beginning, but I'm not going to, instead I am going to start somewhere nearer the end. Why? Because the photos are prettier and the outcome very tasty indeed. Then I shall work backwards to other delicious offerings, less pretty (but funny) photos and a discussion about the development of "cham" the preserve I think is going to be very fashionable indeed this winter. You heard it here first folks.
And so to here:
Epping Forest. Beautiful isn't it? N and I went last Sunday in a quest for fresh air, autumn sunshine and most importantly; brambles.
and as you can see, we found them! Brambles are just the name for wild blackberries, and apparently Epping is full of them. Or at least it would have been, if we'd gotten there earlier, but it seems that someone beat us to the wonderful idea, and so instead of tubs and tubs of them three hours produced a scant 480g.
Ta do! There you go, three hours work, stained fingers, scratched arms and a tupperware of brambles. Despite not getting the huge amounts we were hoping for, you couldn't argue with a nice box of purple jewel-like berries, all for free, and a whole load of exercise thrown in for good measure. It was a lovely afternoon and I can't wait to go back and explore some more.
What did I do with the berries? Why I made jam of course! Having had some problems in my earlier attempts (more about those later) I was slightly nervous about using the fruits from our hard labour in something I couldn't guarantee to get right. But N had confidence and we had apples, so apple and bramble jam it was. I heated the brambles with a little water until very soft, then passed them through a nylon sieve giving me a rich puree. I then added this to 450g of apples that had been softening with a little lemon juice in the preserving pan. Once they were mixed together I added the same weight in sugar as I had in fruit, dissolving it slowly and the bringing to a rolling boil to reach the setting point. Then I spooned it into hot jars and sealed. (I spooned rather than poured to get a good distribution of fruit in each jar). I then waited to see if I had managed to get a correct set.
I tested the jam this afternoon when we had toast for brunch, and I have to say it was delicious. A perfect ratio of berries to apple I think because neither flavour dominated, and every so often you got a chunk of apple that had soaked up the juice. N also gave it the thumbs up. Hurrah! I've finally got the hang of this, as that was the second preserve in a row that had worked correctly. I'm on the wagon now. Watch this space for more as I ain't getting off anytime soon, not while there are empty jars in the house!
Now to the reason for the jam obsession in the first place. I signed myself up for the Jammin Jelly exchange organised by Molly of Batter-splattered. It seemed like such a good idea at the time, getting involved the food blogging community and finally getting to share things with other people. Then disaster struck and I realised that it meant I actually had to make jam. Not any old jam, jam good enough to send to someone else, undoubtedly someone much better at making it than me. Oops! With no way to cut and run I had to bite the bullet and put my jam making apron on and set to it.
So first I attempted a gooseberry and greengage jelly. Except there wasn't enough liquid, so I had to give in and squeeze the muslin and make seedless/stoneless jam. This would have been fine, except I dramatically over-set it. ARGH! I'd been attempting to use the "test it on a cold plate" method, when I should have just trusted the thermometer. I tested and tested and got no set, gave in, bottled it and got, well, "cham." A cross between jam and fruit cheese. So solid it had to be spooned from the jar. The flavour however was lovely, so not a total disaster.
But I just wasn't convinced I could send it to someone as my contribution. So I tried again. This time with Apple ginger. It said set on the thermometer I swear, but I bottled it and it was like fruit in syrup. By this time I was so desperate I was in tears at the kitchen table. I kid you not, I care so much about jam now that it can induce crying. Poor N was very confused indeed, it all tasted fine to him and he couldn't see where the problem lay (I should add that he still hugged me better).
So we turn to attempt number three. Again, I wanted an unusual flavour and something a bit "English" as I was sending it across the world. So I decided to try the jelly again, this time with a more liquidy fruit. Blackberries. So I simmered the fruit with elderflower and then hung it in a muslin using my ingenius jelly-bag substitute:
Yes, you're right that is a guitar stand on my desk! A little unconventional I know, but it works. I strained overnight this time and got a good amount of liquid. I then added the same weight in sugar, some lemon juice and boiled until the thermometer said set and bottled it. I almost didn't dare check it, but it seemed that I got it right. Finally. Hurrah!
So, here are the two little jars that are off on an adventure round the world. I decided that the "cham" earned itself a place because it's flavour really is good, and it goes brilliantly with cheeses, and hopefully the set of the jelly will make up for the solidity of the cham. We shall see. I await the feedback with baited breath.
However, at least I now know I can make jam, and tomorrow will be off to the farmer's market in search of more wonderful things to preserve.
But I think I've gotten the hang of it now, and am already plotting my next jam experiments. Be warned, you will be getting jams, jellies and chutneys for Christmas, oh yes! (I'm looking at you Mum!)
Anyway, I should probably start at the beginning, but I'm not going to, instead I am going to start somewhere nearer the end. Why? Because the photos are prettier and the outcome very tasty indeed. Then I shall work backwards to other delicious offerings, less pretty (but funny) photos and a discussion about the development of "cham" the preserve I think is going to be very fashionable indeed this winter. You heard it here first folks.
And so to here:
Epping Forest. Beautiful isn't it? N and I went last Sunday in a quest for fresh air, autumn sunshine and most importantly; brambles.
and as you can see, we found them! Brambles are just the name for wild blackberries, and apparently Epping is full of them. Or at least it would have been, if we'd gotten there earlier, but it seems that someone beat us to the wonderful idea, and so instead of tubs and tubs of them three hours produced a scant 480g. 
Ta do! There you go, three hours work, stained fingers, scratched arms and a tupperware of brambles. Despite not getting the huge amounts we were hoping for, you couldn't argue with a nice box of purple jewel-like berries, all for free, and a whole load of exercise thrown in for good measure. It was a lovely afternoon and I can't wait to go back and explore some more.What did I do with the berries? Why I made jam of course! Having had some problems in my earlier attempts (more about those later) I was slightly nervous about using the fruits from our hard labour in something I couldn't guarantee to get right. But N had confidence and we had apples, so apple and bramble jam it was. I heated the brambles with a little water until very soft, then passed them through a nylon sieve giving me a rich puree. I then added this to 450g of apples that had been softening with a little lemon juice in the preserving pan. Once they were mixed together I added the same weight in sugar as I had in fruit, dissolving it slowly and the bringing to a rolling boil to reach the setting point. Then I spooned it into hot jars and sealed. (I spooned rather than poured to get a good distribution of fruit in each jar). I then waited to see if I had managed to get a correct set.
I tested the jam this afternoon when we had toast for brunch, and I have to say it was delicious. A perfect ratio of berries to apple I think because neither flavour dominated, and every so often you got a chunk of apple that had soaked up the juice. N also gave it the thumbs up. Hurrah! I've finally got the hang of this, as that was the second preserve in a row that had worked correctly. I'm on the wagon now. Watch this space for more as I ain't getting off anytime soon, not while there are empty jars in the house!
Now to the reason for the jam obsession in the first place. I signed myself up for the Jammin Jelly exchange organised by Molly of Batter-splattered. It seemed like such a good idea at the time, getting involved the food blogging community and finally getting to share things with other people. Then disaster struck and I realised that it meant I actually had to make jam. Not any old jam, jam good enough to send to someone else, undoubtedly someone much better at making it than me. Oops! With no way to cut and run I had to bite the bullet and put my jam making apron on and set to it.
So first I attempted a gooseberry and greengage jelly. Except there wasn't enough liquid, so I had to give in and squeeze the muslin and make seedless/stoneless jam. This would have been fine, except I dramatically over-set it. ARGH! I'd been attempting to use the "test it on a cold plate" method, when I should have just trusted the thermometer. I tested and tested and got no set, gave in, bottled it and got, well, "cham." A cross between jam and fruit cheese. So solid it had to be spooned from the jar. The flavour however was lovely, so not a total disaster.
But I just wasn't convinced I could send it to someone as my contribution. So I tried again. This time with Apple ginger. It said set on the thermometer I swear, but I bottled it and it was like fruit in syrup. By this time I was so desperate I was in tears at the kitchen table. I kid you not, I care so much about jam now that it can induce crying. Poor N was very confused indeed, it all tasted fine to him and he couldn't see where the problem lay (I should add that he still hugged me better).
So we turn to attempt number three. Again, I wanted an unusual flavour and something a bit "English" as I was sending it across the world. So I decided to try the jelly again, this time with a more liquidy fruit. Blackberries. So I simmered the fruit with elderflower and then hung it in a muslin using my ingenius jelly-bag substitute:
Yes, you're right that is a guitar stand on my desk! A little unconventional I know, but it works. I strained overnight this time and got a good amount of liquid. I then added the same weight in sugar, some lemon juice and boiled until the thermometer said set and bottled it. I almost didn't dare check it, but it seemed that I got it right. Finally. Hurrah!
So, here are the two little jars that are off on an adventure round the world. I decided that the "cham" earned itself a place because it's flavour really is good, and it goes brilliantly with cheeses, and hopefully the set of the jelly will make up for the solidity of the cham. We shall see. I await the feedback with baited breath.However, at least I now know I can make jam, and tomorrow will be off to the farmer's market in search of more wonderful things to preserve.
Friday, 26 September 2008
It's almost time...
...for the Jammin' Jelly Exchange!
Why have I been absent since I got back from Italy? Why have I not been tempting you and making you insanely jealous with pictures of all the amazingly tasty things we sampled? Because I have been preparing myself for Monday when I shall finally make it to the post office with my little package of jam to be sent across the world. It's all very exciting, but also very daunting indeed. I am somewhat of a novice in this trade and having seen some of the recent preserves on show I am more than a little worried that my contribution will be less than adequate. However, I am soldiering on, albeit loudly and rantily as my Mum will attest!
Once it's all ready and packaged I shall finally post some pictures of the process, it's been an interesting and innovative one I can tell you!
Until then another taster of the delights of Italy:
Florence: torta limone, and tiramisu, accompanied by a glass of white wine and beer. Delicious. Saturday, 23 August 2008
I've usurped the Queen of Posting!
I didn't mean to usurp her position, it just happened. I wanted to show my Mum a good birthday, so I did the natural thing that any crazy devoted baking obsessed daughter would do. I sent a cake in the post! I mean, it's just not a proper birthday without a cake.
Thing is, I couldn't stop there. I had to send a present too. Now this year I had totally failed to find anything in the shops that I thought she'd like, and having no help whatsoever in the form of hints I had to fall back on the "I promise I'll get you something nice when we're on holiday" promise. Which still didn't help the fact that I didn't have much to give her on the day. Then I came across some blackcurrants. Sconto!
My Mum LOVES blackcurrants, and second to having them in a pie, blackcurrant jam is her favourite way to enjoy them. Now I wasn't about to attempt pie-posting - that really would require some extra special posting skills - but I reckoned that a jar of homemade blackcurrant jam would be do-able, and just the thing.
So I set off on a jam making adventure! It was lots of fun, and the smell in the flat was amazing and more than made up for England's continued inability to play decent football.
I simmered the fruit with some water:
Meanwhile sterilizing the jars:
Then added the sugar:
and brought it to a rolling boil:
Then when it reached setting point I but it in the jars and sealed it, adding labels and preparing it for postage!
I packaged it with the cake and sent it off, relieved to hear the next day that it had arrived in one piece. I then had a lovely text this morning saying how pleased Mum was with the presents and cake and how I must now be crowned the Queen of Posting!
Well, I will accept the title for now, but I'm sure it won't be long before the real Queen of Posting (my Mum, who else!) will be back.
Thing is, I couldn't stop there. I had to send a present too. Now this year I had totally failed to find anything in the shops that I thought she'd like, and having no help whatsoever in the form of hints I had to fall back on the "I promise I'll get you something nice when we're on holiday" promise. Which still didn't help the fact that I didn't have much to give her on the day. Then I came across some blackcurrants. Sconto!
My Mum LOVES blackcurrants, and second to having them in a pie, blackcurrant jam is her favourite way to enjoy them. Now I wasn't about to attempt pie-posting - that really would require some extra special posting skills - but I reckoned that a jar of homemade blackcurrant jam would be do-able, and just the thing.
So I set off on a jam making adventure! It was lots of fun, and the smell in the flat was amazing and more than made up for England's continued inability to play decent football.
I simmered the fruit with some water:
Meanwhile sterilizing the jars:
Then added the sugar:
and brought it to a rolling boil:
Then when it reached setting point I but it in the jars and sealed it, adding labels and preparing it for postage!
I packaged it with the cake and sent it off, relieved to hear the next day that it had arrived in one piece. I then had a lovely text this morning saying how pleased Mum was with the presents and cake and how I must now be crowned the Queen of Posting!Well, I will accept the title for now, but I'm sure it won't be long before the real Queen of Posting (my Mum, who else!) will be back.
Sunday, 27 July 2008
So yeah, jam! - no, really!
Having borrowed my Mum's preserving pan, and been dutifully supplied with jars, lids and sterilization instructions last weekend I couldn't wait to get going on my new venture. I've been hoping to get the hang of it so that when (more like if) we get a glut of courgettes I can make chutneys in time for Christmas.Our rhubarb plant has been growing like mad, and there is only so much compote two people can eat, so I decided to get creative and make jam. I picked up a recipe online for rhubarb and pink grapefruit jam and decided that this weekend I would finally do the last harvest of the rhubarb and preserve it ready for later in the year. Of course it would decide to be the hottest weekend of the year wouldn't it? On the very weekend I planned to stand over a boiling vat of fruit and sugar. Brilliant.
Oh well, I decided I might as well do it anyway. I couldn't possible get any hotter (especially since I'd cycled to the farmer's market and back!) so I might
as well enjoy the purifying benefits of our lovely 
The rhubarb, peel and juice of the grapefruit and sugar had to sit for a while before the actual making could begin and the sharp citrus smell coming off it was fantastic, and the colours a real barrage of pinks and green. When it had rested I started the boiling process. It felt so exciting to be using the preserving pan, I mean okay I was making a very small amount and clearly could have used any heavy-based saucepan, but that's not the point! Plus in the future I plan on making large batches. Oh yes, be warned it's jam and chutney for Christmas this year people!While the mixture was boiling away I poured the boiling water out of the jars that I had waiting and put them in the cooling oven to dry (cooling down from another exciting baked adventure; might as well put the oven on if the kitchen's going to be hot because of jam anyway, that was my excuse!). I really hope that I've managed to sterilize the jars well enough. I really don't want to lose my jam making attempts to mould.
It seemed to take no time at all. I was expecting it to be a long difficult process, but it all happened so fast, no doubt helped by the small amount, which is a good thing considering the temperature. I whipped it off the stove, carried the tray of jars out of the oven and began transferring the jam across into them.
Ta da!
How exciting, our very own jam, made from our very own rhubarb! I can't wait to try it. I am planning on having it on toast tomorrow morning, so will report back. The batch made just enough for this full sized jar, one tiny kilner jar, and just enough left over to put in the fridge to have on toast tomorrow. If I have stored it correctly it should keep for up to a year, which is really exciting. I am thinking of doing it again next weekend, this time with a huge batch of berries from the farmer's market. I'm totally on the jam wagon now!
Taste update: I have since tried the jam. It came from the fridge and was really solid, so I don't think I need to worry about the set! It's a nice little jam, not as strong on the rhubarb as I expected, which is a shame. I wonder if it might mature over time. The tang of the grapefruit is very tasty and I would contemplate making plain pink grapefruit marmalade. I did however, despite the tang, find it a little sweet. Less sugar and more pectin next time methinks.
In other news, the recipe for this jam was taken from a round-up of a jam and jelly exchange organized by Molly, of Batter Splattered, a food blogger who I read regularly. She is about to arrange another exchange and I've registered my interest. Who knows, my next batch of jam might be flying across the world!
Wednesday, 2 July 2008
Make this now, or; Nigel Slater's amazing strawberry jam
This is all that remains of the strawberry jam I made to go with the garden party scones. Yes, it was that good. Eat it with a spoon on it's own good. I can take no credit for it, all I did was follow NIgel Slater's recipe, which was perfect. I seriously think you should stop what you're doing, hunt out strawberries and a lemon and make this right now. It doesn't have much sugar in, and so won't keep like ordinary jam, but you won't need to worry about that believe me!Nigel Slater's Strawberry Jam for eating immediately (recipe from the Observer Magazine)
750g Strawberries
215g Sugar
Juice of half a lemon
Rinse and hull the strawberries but don't dry them. Put them in a pan with the sugar and lemon juice. Roughly smush with a fork then place them over a low to medium heat. Stir occasionally for 15-20 mins, spooning off the pink froth as you go. The jam should be think enough to fall slowly from a spoon, but not to set. Enjoy with scones, yoghurt, or simply by the spoonful out of the jar!
Thank you Mr Slater, your jam rocked our world.
Tuesday, 1 April 2008
So yeah, jam!
I have been a bit slack with the blog recently, mostly due to how busy things were here this weekend. We had people for dinner on Friday, friends over on Saturday, and then on Sunday I was out with a friend at Columbia Road market, and N was with her boyfriend jamming with their new band, all of which was topped off with a baking session. That's more socialising in one weekend then I would usually do in a whole month! No wonder we were both totally wiped out yesterday.
Anyway...it technically all started on Thursday. It was going to be eight of us on Friday night, more people than I have ever cooked for. We wanted something tasty but simple, nothing too showy. Basically something we would usually have ourselves, but multiplied. We decided to do bread and olives and hummus to start, pasta and spicy tomato sauce for main and cheesecake for dessert. Easy life. However, as the next series of posts will show, it was destined not to be quite as easy as I'd anticipate, but far more fun!
I started the preparations for the dinner the day before for a variety of reasons. I needed to make the starter for the ciabatta, and I wanted to try out something a bit new...
...Whilst flicking through my recipe books a while back I had spotted a recipe for "tomato and balsamic jam" which looked amazing. Since I love tomatoes, balsamic vinegar and jam it sounded perfect. I thought it would be just the thing to accompany ciabatta and focaccia. It was such a simple recipe it was almost laughable. Basically you just chuck everything in one pan, leave it and voila! Jam:
I wanted to leave it in the fridge overnight so the flavours would enhance, and fortunately I had this great kilner jar from my Mum (originally filled with her delicious homemade lemon curd - that didn't last long, hence the empty jar!). Useful and it looked rather smart on the table the following evening.
I was so pleased with the result, and it got rave reviews from everyone at dinner. I made double the amount the recipe suggested and it was almost all gone even though it was just an accompaniment to the bread, hummus and olives.
Anyway...it technically all started on Thursday. It was going to be eight of us on Friday night, more people than I have ever cooked for. We wanted something tasty but simple, nothing too showy. Basically something we would usually have ourselves, but multiplied. We decided to do bread and olives and hummus to start, pasta and spicy tomato sauce for main and cheesecake for dessert. Easy life. However, as the next series of posts will show, it was destined not to be quite as easy as I'd anticipate, but far more fun!
I started the preparations for the dinner the day before for a variety of reasons. I needed to make the starter for the ciabatta, and I wanted to try out something a bit new...
...Whilst flicking through my recipe books a while back I had spotted a recipe for "tomato and balsamic jam" which looked amazing. Since I love tomatoes, balsamic vinegar and jam it sounded perfect. I thought it would be just the thing to accompany ciabatta and focaccia. It was such a simple recipe it was almost laughable. Basically you just chuck everything in one pan, leave it and voila! Jam:
I wanted to leave it in the fridge overnight so the flavours would enhance, and fortunately I had this great kilner jar from my Mum (originally filled with her delicious homemade lemon curd - that didn't last long, hence the empty jar!). Useful and it looked rather smart on the table the following evening.
I was so pleased with the result, and it got rave reviews from everyone at dinner. I made double the amount the recipe suggested and it was almost all gone even though it was just an accompaniment to the bread, hummus and olives.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
