The Preserver's Year

thriftlady_2

boredofbeingathome wrote: »

I have been saving all my *empty jars* to have a go at this..i can barely get under my cupboard sink at the moment. I am a big fan of HFW so will be buying his book to add to my collection. Thanks Thriftlady.

The River Cottage preserves Handbook isn't actually by Hugh. It's by Pam Corbin;) It is still really good though.

floyd

lbt wrote: »

A lovely lady on freecycle gave me loads of jam jars, and a couple of Kilner preserving jars. Silly question ... how do you sterilise the kilner jars? I normally put my jam jars in the oven after washing and boil my lids but I am not sure what to do with these jars because of the metal fixing and rubber seal.

I always do my hinged jars as follows:

1) Wash jars with rubber seal removed in hot soapy water and rinse in very hot water.
2) Upend the jars on a baking tray and put in oven at 140 C for about half an hour (although 10 mins is enough)
3) Put rubber seals in a pan and add boiling water, boil for 5 mins then remove onto a piece of kitchen paper and cover oevr the top with another piece
4) 5 mins before I am about to start potting up I take the tray of jars out to let them cool very slightly then I put the rubber seal on. I do have quite a high tolerance to heat so be careful not to burn your fingers while putting the seal on as it can be quite fiddly
5) Fill the jars with hot preserve and close while hot

Most of the time I prefer to use screw top jars and only use Kilner style ones for pickles and mincemeat but so far nothing has gone nasty

lbt_2

Thanks floyd - you're a star They are quite small hinged jars so they might be good for the Hearty Ale Chutney from the RC book - that's my next mission.

Just to let you all know, I have just given a couple of people on freecycle a jar of my homemade marmalade as a thank you for giving me some jars and a mini hoover (am going to use it to clean up my rabbit's droppings - she liked that idea ... sorry too much information I know ... ).

Anyway, I can't believe how well received they were!!! The lady that gave me the jars said how much she loves homemade marmalade but just doesn't have time to make her own anymore, and the lady that gave me the hoover was so pleased and took it to show her husband. By the time I got to my computer to send her a thank you email, she had already sent me one for the marmalade!!!!

Has anyone seen the thread on homemade gifts? (http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=17825775#post17825775). Some people have found that homemade gifts have not been too well received - which I think is appallingly rude :mad: - but luckily so far, everyone has been pleased with any homemade gifts we have given.

I must make a bit more effort with the labels though - they do look very bog standard

Gigervamp

Patchwork_Quilt wrote: »

Just a quick note to say that the label from my Hardy's Chardonnay came off very quickly and I now have a bare screw-top bottle for elderflower champagne etc.

NO! DON'T use glass bottles for elderflower champagne!!!!!

It's highly explosive! We made some last year. Put it in plastic 2 litre cola bottles and stored it in a wooden box. Even though we religiously released the gas every day, we still had one bottle explode, ripping off two (screwed in) slats from the box.

FIL had a friend who made it and put it in glass bottles and some exploded, embedding shards of glass into the shelves and ceiling of the pantry they were in.

Old pop bottles are best. At least when they explode they don't shower the area with glass.

bumble-bee_3

I'm amazed how easy Jam making is :T I never tried it thinking it was very complicated. So far i've made strawberry, a raspberry seedless, lemon curd and on the weekend kiwi..not keen on this one though. I can't wait to try piccalilli.

Thank you for all the ideas and link to recipes :beer:

Seakay

floyd wrote: »

Quick question, criminally I have just found some extra Sevilles in my fridge (approx 1kg) and the skin has gone a bit black and spotty. It won't be much cop for marmalade as it looks horrid but can I do anything else with them?
I already have 14 jars of marmalade and another 1kg of fresh Sevilles but I don't want to waste these if they can be salvaged

You can freeze Sevill orange juice in ice cube trays and then use it in cooking through the year.
One thing it is really good for is cooking parsnips, carrots and or turnips.
Prepare veg as usual and barely cover with water in a pan. Add a cube or two of juice, a tablespoon or two of sugar and a knob of butter or marg.
Bring to the boil and simmer with the lid on until just cooked, remove lid and boil hard to reduce the liquid to a couple of spoonfiuls.
Really yummy veg!

lbt_2

thriftmonster wrote: »

This is my rough calendar (see notes at end)

January: Seville orange marmalade

February: Lemon and lime marmalade, St Benoit marmalade (made in memory of the day in Feb 2000 my dad had a heart bypass and to pass the time waiting for the phone call from my Mum to say all was ok I made 3 different lots of marmalade - we were eating it for years - BTW my dad is still fine)

March: Onion relish

April: Rhubarb and fig jam, rhubarb chutney, rhubarb vodka

May: Gooseberry gin, pickled beetroot (or whenever I see it in the greengrocers)

June: Strawberry and goosegog jam, corn relish (it's made with frozen corn but I make it now for the summer), south seas chutney, spicy mango pickle (last two to deal with mangoes I get directly from Africa via a local church)
July: Apricot/ cherry brandy, ratatouille chutney, redcurrant jelly (if I can beat the birds)

August: Spiced pickled runner beans, blackcurrant jam, raspberry jam, Cucumber relish, bread and butter pickles, raspberry vinegar, creme de cassis

September: Bramble and apple jelly, mint and apple jelly, blackberry chutney, damson gin, damson jam, blackberry ketchup, crab apple jelly, elderberry syrup

October: Rowan jelly plus finish off September, toffee vodka, chilli sherry (HM tabasco)

November: Spicy orange chutney, pickled red cabbage,

December: Emergency marmalade supplies for hampers

I make some things all year round - orange and grapefruit marmalade (Mamade), tomato ketchup, Eastern chutney for dh (orange and date), pickled onions (because my greengrocer keeps them all year), lemon curd for pressies, tomato and apple chutney (tinned tomatoes).

Looking forward to seeing others

Have just made some Hearty Ale Chutney - looks and smells lovely but I have to wait six weeks to try it so I am on the lookout for my next recipe.

TM, how do you make creme de casis? I love that!

Thanks

Penelope_Penguin

I made a batch of Seville orange marmalade earlier in the week, and today I've made 7 jars of Dark Whisky Marmalade - the house smells delicious :beer:

Penny. x

Jammygal

I have open freezed a load of seville oranges . Do I need to wrap them now???

lbt_2

Penelope_Penguin wrote: »

I made a batch of Seville orange marmalade earlier in the week, and today I've made 7 jars of Dark Whisky Marmalade - the house smells delicious :beer:

Penny. x

Mmm, I made seville organge marmalade a little while ago too - it was so nice. How do you make the dark whisky marmalade?

thanks Penny