The Preserver's Year

Confuzzled

oliveoyl wrote: »

They should have a very little give to them when squeezed... if they're still as hard as door knockers then give them a bit longer... they can be picked through 'til early winter so no hurry to get them picked.

P.S. If you want more just go for a walk in the countryside... you're sure to find lots.

also the rosehips have a slight translucent look to them when they are quite ripe, ours that we've been picking look slightly shiny and juicy...think of shiny 'wet' look lip gloss and you'll get what i mean ours are also a very purplish red when they are at their ripest but i've found the brilliant red ones are still very tasty, just be sure that they do give a little when squeezed and then you'll know for sure they are ripe

also i've noticed that the ripe ones come off the vine very easily, ones that aren't fully ripe you have to give a good tug too

Eyeore

many thanks Valli, shall try a small amount first as a tester in my pan!

NualaBuala

oliveoyl wrote: »

They should have a very little give to them when squeezed... if they're still as hard as door knockers then give them a bit longer... they can be picked through 'til early winter so no hurry to get them picked.

P.S. If you want more just go for a walk in the countryside... you're sure to find lots.

Thanks, that's good to know. I'll focus my harvesting efforts on the pears and crabapples first then. There aren't many blackberries as the birds beat me to it but there are still some unripe ones that I'm keeping my eye on.

I've found some nice-sounding recipes for crab-apple butter (a sort of spiced puree) that I think will be lovely on toast so I might give that a whirl. I'll try a few different things with the pears.

NualaBuala

Confuzzled wrote: »

i'm not a fan at all of pears but my ex used to make pears like this, spiced with cloves and a few other things and i actually really like that so i'd say this idea is worthy!

I'm going to try including some ginger too - for some reason it appeals to me. I love cloves and spices so I'll lash in whatever I've got.

BTW, congrats on moving into your new home - I read your post over on the preparing for winter thread. I hope you'll be really happy (and warm) there.

thriftmonster

I reboiled the beetroot and chive jelly and got it to set. Made damson jam and the spiced damson chutney (from the Thriftlady/ Delia recommendation)

Then I got ds2 to help me sort out all the jars from the shelf - aaagh - I have 144 jars of jam, marmelade and chutney - apart from pickled onions which we are short of, we are on a serious eat up this year.

We're going to a wedding next week and they don't want presents - but have requested a hamper of jam and chutney instead - so I shall look forward to putting that together

thriftlady_2

thriftmonster wrote: »

- aaagh - I have 144 jars of jam, marmelade and chutney

Excellent -a gross of jam:rotfl::rotfl: and I thought I was overstocked.

maxtweenie

oliveoyl wrote: »

Could you post the recipe please... I'd like to give it a go sometime.

I need more jars!

It's basically the recipe from the link below, except I tied the lemon zest, all the pear skins and cores, and one inch of root ginger (peeled and bashed about a bit!) in a big bit of muslin, and kept it in the pot until the fruit had softened, removing it when I added the sugar. On reflection, the recipe didn't really need the small shot of pectin I gave it, I just needed to give it another 5 minutes or so on a rolling boil and it would have set perfectly first time.

http://http://www.cottagesmallholder.com/?p=93

pancakequeen

Hi everyone,

I have the tefal jam maker and want to make damson jam. I haven't used the jam maker yet and there doesn't seem to be a recipe in the booklets for damson. Has anyone made any in it? My damsons are in the freezer atm so also would I have to change the amount of fruit needed because I am using defrosted fruit.

I was always not very successful at getting the right setting point even with a thermometer so i am hoping that the jam maker will be better.

Many thanks
Anne

Pitlanepiglet

Can I add my apple bottling experience from last year because I struggled to find much info on how to do it and we had a huge crop of apples.

I washed the jam jars and then stood them in a baking tray in the oven on low, I stewed the apples slightly with a bit of water and some sugar and then put them in the hot jars and stuffed the lids on quickly.

For reasons that aren't relevant we forgot about my beautifully bottled apples until about four weeks ago when I remarked on how many apples there were on the tree this year :eek: We then dug the jars out of the loft and they are absolutely fine, they haven't discoloured and there is a satisfying "pop" when they are opened. They even make a very nice Aunt Sally's Apple cake!

We had a bad experience with an exploding jar of plums some years ago so I was really worried that the applies were going to go bang over the year but they were absolutely fine.

I've had to buy new jars again for this year and we are clearly going to be eating a lot of apple this year!

oliveoyl

pancakequeen wrote: »

Hi everyone,

I have the tefal jam maker and want to make damson jam. I haven't used the jam maker yet and there doesn't seem to be a recipe in the booklets for damson. Has anyone made any in it? My damsons are in the freezer atm so also would I have to change the amount of fruit needed because I am using defrosted fruit.

I was always not very successful at getting the right setting point even with a thermometer so i am hoping that the jam maker will be better.

Many thanks
Anne

Plain damson jam recipe. Treat frozen fruit the same as fresh for jam making. I don't know about using a jam making machine... I do mine in a big pan and just keep testing to see if it's set by putting a blob on a plate and putting it in the fridge for a couple of minutes.