The Preserver's Year

diadeb

I have a Tefal jam maker and absolutely love it. However I have never made jam the traditional way and so the only comparison I had was my mum spending hours making marmalade once a year. It takes some trial and error - so best to keep a record of your batches as you fine tune how much sugar, more liquid etc. But it makes me feel like a domestic goddess when I churn a few jars out!

I have made blackberry and apple jam with no pips (as my OH doesn't like pips), quince jelly (yum!), marmalade and am now into the rhubarb season. So far I have made rhubarb jam with some fresh orange juice to help it set (river cottage recipe), rhubarb and ginger jam (R cottage again), rhubarb and strawberry jam and rhubarb and mint jelly. I think the machine comes into its own for jelly making as it simply steams the fruit and you then use the resulting juice (no muslins, dripping over buckets etc) and then it cleans itself at the end. Magic! :dance:

scuzz

Can anyone help me with HM pickled gherkins please? Both little and big ones.

Kentishmaid_2

I'm feeling really pleased with myself as my friend wanted to know how to make jam so I held a 'master class'! She has recently became a vicar's wife and was given a box of goodies to enhance her life as a VW including a book on preserving, jars and labels so I fished out gooseberries from the freezer and the jam has been quite successful although a little sweet as my maths isn't good. :j

(I did check the bushes for this year's crop first!)

Kentishmaid

Kentishmaid_2

Pickled gerkins
Put in a large bowl and cover with brine. (8oz salt to 4pts water). Leave for 3 days and drain. Cover with boiling vinegar, leave for 24 hours, drain off vinegar and pour back over gerkins. Repeat process until they are bright green. Drain off vinegar, pack into small jars. Cover with cold spiced vinegar and seal well.

Kentishmaid

Penelope_Penguin

Our rhubarb plants are producing like crazy atm :T I've had to pull some stalks as they're obscuring my onion seedlings. I was wanting to make jam, but reading the rhubarb jam making thread suggests it's too early

When would experienced rhubarb jam makers start

TIA, Penny. x

Valli

I made some last week Pen!
and I guess that as I have been making it for over ten years I would count myself as experienced. It's my fave jam (so easy) to make - check out post 221 (above)

Penelope_Penguin

Valli wrote: »

I made some last week Pen!
and I guess that as I have been making it for over ten years I would count myself as experienced. It's my fave jam (so easy) to make - check out post 221 (above)

Thank you :A that's my task for tomorrow then :j

Penny. x

Valli

Will think of you jamming with envy while I am at work.
It is one of my most favourite things to do, is jamming.
And I use either home grown, donated or foraged fruits to jam so very :money:
(Whoopsied oranges for marmalade were 15p lb and I bought 6 lb)

Natty68

Can someone help me, I would love to make some cordial using elderflower seeing as it's in flower here. But, now here's my problem, we also have Deadly Nightshade growing, which I think looks the same. So how can I tell the difference between the elderflower flowers and the Deadly Nightshade flowers?

Valli

elderflowers grow on a tree (the Elder) and look like this

this is nightshade which will be lower to the ground.

The flowers are not at all similar - it's the berries that might look similar!
ETA no they don't nightshade has red berries elderberries are in bigger clumps, smaller and black...
actually there are two nightshades, woody and deadyy - maybe woody has red berries and deadly black - not sure...