Jams, Jellies and Chutneys

Food & Drink Food & Drink: Chat / Discussions
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21

Oh my goodness you really are throwing yourself into this jam making business. Good for you!! I think of you whenever I see homemade jam for sale. There definitely seems to be a market for it :slight_smile: Banana jam!! Now thatā€™s a first surely :slight_smile: Its good that you can get fruit from the local greengrocer.

Iā€™ve left my plum and damson trees intact specially for you, as was going to get rid of some of them, as have way toooo many! As for the crab apples sorry the birds have already put their order in :-D:-D

22

I was talking to someone the other day and she said that she wished she could make jam. I told her that if you could read a recipe you could make jam, chutney or marmalade. I do agree there is a lot of chopping, peeling, stirring going on but it is worth it. Even taking the skin off of tommies is worth it in the end.

I know you cooki Uncle Joe and I know you read recipes so why donā€™t you have a try. I made the best tasting beetroot chutney ever last week. It did take a lot of messing around cooking the beetroot, peeling the beetroot and then chopping the beetroot, onions, apples etc. BUT the product was lovely, a real earthy beetroot fruitiness which was much appreciated by those given a taster.

If you fancy making anything give me a shout and I will be happy to give encouragement. I will even pass on my secrets if you promise not to tell.

It is very satisfactory turning fruit and veg into jars of deliciousness.

23

Cate darlinā€™ - I would love to be able to make my own jams and preserves, but regrettably there are some practical considerations which prevent me from doing so:

  1. I have no garden or access to a garden - this prevents me from growing my own fruit and vegetables.

  2. Mobility problems prevent me from walking out in the country and collecting fruit from the hedgerows (I used to do this and make my own country wines).

  3. I donā€™t have spare jam jars, nor any place in my small pad to store them if they did become available, nor a place to put them if they were filled.

  4. The wide variety of fruits and vegetables which are seemingly available to you, are not so widely available or plentiful in this neck of the woods. What is available is as or more expensive than purchasing jams and preserves from the supermarket.

24

I know what you mean UJ but my greengrocer gave me a box of tommies the other day because they were not good enough for salad eating but when washed and picked and cut they made good chutney. My friend who is in his late sixties and suffers with ā€˜getting older itisā€™ makes his own tommy chutney at puts it in one kilner jar in a cupboard in his small kitchen.

We donā€™t grow our own stuff yet but the greengrocer on the market and shop is always glad to give stuff away rather than throw it just because it isnā€™t at itā€™s A1 best hence my nectarines and beetroot.

I buy onions from Aldi and believe it or not a lot of their fruit is cheaper than going to a wholesaler.

Today I made apricot jam, more hamburger relish and some orange, grapefruit and ginger marmalade.

Tomorrow we are taking MIL for a hospital visit so probably wonā€™t be doing much.

I must also confess that a lot of my time is spent sitting on a stool stirring, chopping or peeling.

I know it is a lot of fuss and trouble just for one pot of preserve or jam but it is lip smacking good.

25

Have you finished with all your chutneys and preserves now Cookie? I enjoy reading what you are making next.:smiley:

26

Been very productive for the last two weeks. Made some really nice jam including a cosmopolitan marmalade, orange, cranberry, and lime. A nice little smoothie number made with bananas, strawberries and orange juice and a strawberry margarita with a shot of tequila.

This week is more chutney rhubarb which is now quite cheap in Aldi, makes a nice hot and fruity chutney, I spent most of yesterday chopping dates, carrots, swedes, apples and onions making a farmerā€™s delight type pickle.

Today is back to rhubarb and ginger and a very posh Cumberland sauce with port and cranberries (left over from the marmalade)

In the next few weeks I shall be making Cumberland butter, with dark brown sugar, un-salted butter and dark Caribbean rum. My favourite lemon, orange and strawberry curd and some red cabbage pickle cos we are going to Blackburn for the first show.

Have a look at the web site of the show we will be attending it is being organised by Nigel Haworth and you can find it on www.fantasticfoodshow.com
Really getting excited now although my kitchen aid food processor has gone on strike and my back and arthritic knee are pleading to the referee for some justice.

27

My word, you have been busy and all sounds delicious too.
Good luck with the show.

28

Thanks mesco for your good luck. I really need it. I am quite confident that my jams are good but it is quite a big step for me. I must admit to getting tired now too. Made some interesting sauce today a lady asked for Cumberland Sauce but I thought it would be good with cranberries so I have called it cranberland sauce.

29

So how many jars and bottles of goodies do you think you have made all together, Cate? :slight_smile:

30

Well I have bought and used 100kilos of sugar from Tesco plus some brown sugars that I use for chutneys. I can only guess but our spare room is looking full.

31

Gosh you really have been busy ā€¦ I wish I lived nearer! :lol:

32

My neighbours are beginning to call around to buy pots of jam, strawberry seems to be the favourite. I am on the prowl for cheaper fruit. I notice that Lidl have strawberries on sale on Saturday and Sunday for 99p.

33

Just a thought Cate, do you have a market near you that would sell the strawberries cheaper than the supermarkets?

34

Yes indeed, I have a lovely greengrocer lady who is really helpful with fruit and veg. At the moment strawberries are still quite expensive and so is rhubarb and even the greengrocers find it difficult to get at a good price. I think places like Aldi and Lidl bring stuff over from Europe where it is probably cheaper.

My next step is beetroot chutney it is lovely and earthy and I shall get a bag of them to cook and then turn them into a lovely red chutney.

Tried out a lime curd today. Using four eggs, 50grams of butter, caster sugar and the juice and grated rind of two juicy limes. Oh gosh it is good,I really donā€™t want to sell it. I will make some orange and lemon curd with the same recipe and the microwave it is just delicious.

35

It all sounds good to me Cookie. You are not afraid to experiment with different fruits and veg.

36

I got a telephone call today saying that my Cranberryland Sauce is a success. Well it was in the opinion of one of my mother in lawā€™s friends. So I am going to make more as she thinks I have invented something new as an accompiment for lamb.

37

So 3am Sunday 20th May 2012 arrived and off went the alarm for me to get up. Finally the day that we had both been working towards had arrived. No more cooking, hemming, label making or jam pot washing we had arrived.

We were on the road for Blackburn at 5am all three of us still a little sleepy but some strong coffee worked a treat and our spirits began to rise as we looked forward to our day at Nigel Howarthā€™s Fantastic Food Show at Ewood Park.

We started putting up the marquee as soon as we arrived about 6am and gradually other exhibitors arrived and began to put up their own stalls. We were surrounded we felt by professionals who knew exactly what they were doing and just got on with it. It was daunting but everyone was cheerful and friendly and we felt right at home.

The jams, chutneys, relishes, marmalades and jellies were finally arranged in pretty displays. I have to say that I looked on with awe as my husband made things look really good. Suddenly it was 10am and the people started to arrive.

It was just like a dream people arrived at our stall smiling and full of congratulations on how lovely our stall was. I am not saying that everyone bought a pot of anything but even avid jam haters looked at our stall and were impressed. Everyone was congratulated on the work that had gone into the making and displaying.

The show was a magnificent success. All the stalls did well from cups of coffee to zebra burgers, wine tasting to bee keeping, bread making, wood carving, kipper smoking they were all there and people loved it.

Of course my greatest moment was when Nigel Haworth came and tried my pickled red cabbage believe it or not folks he was impressed and brought along his photograper and there I was being photographed with my hero and my jar of pickled cabbage.

The Food Channel then sent along a reporter who spoke to my husband for ages, when he left he said that he would be in touch to do an interview with me in my kitchen.

Then the newspapers arrived and took pictures of me, my stall and my display. It was all a dream.

Towards the end a very nice man came along and began asking about my jams, what were my favourites he asked. Suddenly I grabbed his hand I know you I said, what an honour to meet you Aldo Zilli, he laughed and carried on talking about jam. He took two jars and went on his way leaving me almost in tears.

You may think this is strange behaviour for an over fifties lady but people like Nigel Haworth, Atul Kocher, Aldo Zilli are my heros, they are chefs who started at the bottom and worked up to what they are now.

The have chopped onions and cried they have scrubbed pans when they were just so tired they nearly fell asleep in the dish water they are what I always wanted to be but life took me off in different directions.

I can tell you that even a lady who is over sixty can have a brilliant experience like this if they go out and look for it.

We are now looking forward to going again next year, but work must start on our stall and product for our next show in June.

We learned a lot on Sunday we had made mistakes and we were not as organised as we should have been but it was a success and a day I will never forget.

38

Well done Kate, I knew you could do it and even better that you got to meet your heros!! I wish I could have gone to see you there but donā€™t forget to keep a jar of smoothie jam for me :slight_smile: Are you still on a high :-D:-D

39

Well done Kate :lol: Sounds as though you had a brilliant day & all your hard work was worth it.
Have a bit of a rest now & enjoy your success :-p:-p

40

I am still flying high. Of course the smoothie jam is here waiting for you. Yes, I wish you could have been there to share our pleasure, but maybe next year.

Lynne I would love to rest but as we are still rolling high we are sorting and talking about our next show which is 16th 17th June and it is totally different as it is a Steam Rally which will run all day into the evening and then all the following day again. Should be really tired after that but at the moment I am INVINCABLE lol