The Preserver's Year

thriftmonster

yeah right and supermarkets are so honest on their descriptions --NOT! - ok so "allotment chutney" or Umber Chutney (think of your old paintbox)or (sudden spark of inspiratrion) - "Autumn Chutney" - or label it when you bottle it and hey it's red!!!!

lbt_2

When you all make liquers, what kind of bottles do you use?

I want to give some as presents but I don't want to pay Lakeland prices for a bottle. Would the mini wine bottles work?

mathsus

Saw these in Ikea

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/50108908

but they are very big! Too generous?

thriftmonster

I use the Tesco screwtop vinegar bottles which are either 350ml or 500ml- well washed out

mathsus

BVB (Bottom of the veg basket) soup figures pretty often in my repertoire... so decided to use up all the wrinklies in the fruit basket & ends of dried fruit in the cupboard to make BFB chutney! Melon, apples, pears, bananas, sultanas, raisins, onions, brown sugar, ground ginger, cayenne, salt & vinegar made 11 jars of 'February' chutney. Looked pretty promising!

Seakay

lbt wrote: »

When you all make liquers, what kind of bottles do you use?

I want to give some as presents but I don't want to pay Lakeland prices for a bottle. Would the mini wine bottles work?

Any well-cleaned bottle with an uncorroded lid would work well. Keep an eye out in charity shops as well - you may need to replace corks with these.

carbonel

I have just made two batches of marmalade - the first by following a conventional recipe and hand chopping peel etc.
For the second batch I thought blow this for a lark so I peeled the whole oranges with a potato peeler, then cut the peel into strips with scissors and put it into a small muslin bag , cut each orange in half and put the whole lot into a big pan with water and a couple of squashed lemons. Brought it to boil, then simmered for a couple of hours, then fished out the muslin bag and got my potato masher into the pan and gave everything else a good squashing, then put it through a sieve. Put the liquid, the chopped peel and the sugar back in the pan and proceeded the usual way. It has made the most fabulous marmalade and really tangy, with half the ususal bother :T .

Frugalista

Found this recipe for Wartime Marmalade - have not made it myself but maybe someone will find it useful . If anyone does make it I would be interested to know how it turns out. Thanks.

This is how wartime cooks overcame the difficulties of getting the right oranges and getting (and affording) the amount of sugar normally required..

Rind of 3 oranges
3 pints (1.8 litres) water
3 lb (1.5 kg) cooking apples
3/4 lb (360 g) sugar to every pint (600 ml) juice

Soak the oranges in the water for 24 hours. Keep the water.
Put the rind and the water into a saucepan, bring to the boil and simmer for approx 1 hour, until the rind is soft.
Remove the rind and shred it. Keep the water.
Wash and quarter the apples - do not peel or core.
Make the water up to 3 pints (1.8 litres) and cook the apples in it until they are soft.
Pour the entire contents of the pan into a jelly bag (or piece of muslin in a colander) and leave to drip until well drained. Do not be tempted to squeeze the muslin during this process or the juice will go cloudy.
Add 3/4 lb (360 g) suger per pint of juice.
Pour into a pan and boil briskly for 20 mins - removing the scum from the top a couple of minutes before boiling is finished.
Sir in the shredded rind.
Pot into hot jars and cover as for jam.

Patchwork_Quilt

Is Rosemarym still on here? I made her marmalade recipe today and it's really lovely. Very tangy, very easy and it set too. I got 9 1/2 jars out of it. The kitchen worktop looked like a stained glass window. Thank you very much.

ampersand

carbonel wrote: »

I have just made two batches of marmalade - the first by following a conventional recipe and hand chopping peel etc.
For the second batch I thought blow this for a lark so I peeled the whole oranges with a potato peeler, then cut the peel into strips with scissors in and put it into a small muslin bag , cut each orange in half and put the whole lot into a big pan with water and a couple of squashed lemons. Brought it to boil, then simmered for a couple of hours, then fished out the muslin bag and got my potato masherto the pan and gave everything else a good squashing, then put it through a sieve. Put the liquid, the chopped peel and the sugar back in the pan and proceeded the usual way. It has made the most fabulous marmalade and really tangy, with half the ususal bother :T .

###############

Ditto ditto - so much easier, though still fiddly with limes.
It's what comes of knowing someone who likes jelly shred-style, as opposed to hefty whisky chunky, as in another Life.