The Preserver's Year

wasbrokegettingbetter

The best receipe for courgette chutney is to use Delia's mango chutney one (there must be a link to that somewhere) and just replace the mangos with PEELED courgettes.

Uses up masses of courgettes, is a lot cheaper than buying mangos and tastes yummy.

Valli

thriftlady wrote: »

Absolutely or make damson jelly like I described a few posts back- no stones to deal with;)

Jelly it is - the thought of stoning or skimming all those stones fills me with horror - it's simmering now - and I still have another bagful to use!

So - new to me so far this year marmalade (all gone now bar the stashed away for xmas jar) and damson jelly!

Chances are I will run out of jars so might not get round to bramble jelly! (And I have 22 jars unfilled right now!)

System

Don't forget you can make a wonderful damson cheese too with the sieved puree.

If you set it in small moulds it turns out and looks pretty on a dish.
I saved some tiny terrine moulds that came with pate to give a long thin shape I am after. Wrapped in greaseproof and stored in a tupperware they keep a long, long time (because of the high sugar content)

I have found it makes a nice pressie to take if you have been invited round for dinner as well as a sweetie you can pull off the shelf at short notice at home.


ps Does not involve real cheese - various explanations for the name, one suggests was it was served in lieu of cheese, another that it was served with cheese at the end of a meal.

Patchwork_Quilt

thriftlady wrote: »

I know what you mean -I stoned 3 lbs of them the other day.

If you like damson jam then you'll like damson jelly and it is much less bother to make -no stoning at all.

Simply cook the damsons whole with enough water to just cover them (or maybe a little less). Simmer them until completely soft.

Then pour the lot into a jelly bag or a scalded pillow case suspended over a bowl. I recommned buying a jelly bag and stand as it makes this sort of project a doddle.

Superb tip, thank you. I'm thinking about starting a thread about what people use their old pillowcases for. Mine are being potato sacks just now. And I never understood about using the insides of cereal packets either until I realised that you meant to use them instead of the cellophane circles on the top of the jar. Or did you? Have I got it wrong again? Am saving my packets anyway.

thriftlady_2

Patchwork_Quilt wrote: »

Superb tip, thank you. I'm thinking about starting a thread about what people use their old pillowcases for. Mine are being potato sacks just now. And I never understood about using the insides of cereal packets either until I realised that you meant to use them instead of the cellophane circles on the top of the jar. Or did you? Have I got it wrong again? Am saving my packets anyway.

Not me PQ -I don't ever buy boxes of cereal so never have the bags, but I've seen that tip somewhere on this thread -maybe it was Thriftmonster? The pillow case idea isn't mine either, again I think someone mentioned it on this thread.

Penelope_Penguin

Patchwork_Quilt wrote: »

And I never understood about using the insides of cereal packets either until I realised that you meant to use them instead of the cellophane circles on the top of the jar.

When I was a child, cereal came in waxed paper bags (inside the cardboard box). My dad used to cut circles to use instead of the waxed paper circle that goes directly onto the jam.

The cereal liners are now made of plastic, not paper, so it doesn't work

Penny. x

Penelope_Penguin

thriftlady wrote: »

Chuck all the stones and pulp away;)

:eek: At least send them to the compost heap

I much presfer jam to jelly, so I count my damsons, then count out the stones once the fruit is cooked. Never lost one yet The damsons are just coming ripe on my tree, so I'm freezing them until I have enought to make jam :j

Penny. x

ChocolateMonkey

If you get short of jars like I did and are feeling brave you could ask your neighbours the night before bin recycling day. Here they take the recycling every other week and the other night I got 20-30 jars from three houses. :j
Only problem is I have no lids so cellophane packs to the rescue.

misskool

I'm making apple butter from the windfall apples and following the recipe (see link)
http://elise.com/recipes/archives/000119apple_butter.php

It's an American site so they do the canning in a hot water bath at the end. Can someone look at the recipe and tell me if I can keep it like normal jam? It's basically 1/2cup of sugar to every cup of apple pulp.

thanks!

Gigervamp

I seem to remember reading that you need at least 60% sugar to preserve jam so if it's 50% it's a little under.