Edible homemade Xmas presents - how far in advance? And other details.

rocket_girl

Hello,

I'm hoping to have a thrifty Christmas making lots of edible presents for family, but I'm not sure how far in advance I can make various things - the sooner the better! - and was hoping for advice from anyone who's done it before:

Fudge - can I make this now if I store it in tupperware?
Jams & Chutneys - assuming these would be fine
Chocolates truffles - how long would these keep for and what's the best way to store them??
Biscuits and cookies - what's the furthest in advance I can make these?

I was also wondering if anyone had any tips on where to buy nice-looking containers for these things? Amazon and ebay have some nice glass jars and chocolate boxes, but as these need to be bought in bulk, they are quite expensive. On the other hand, a jar of Sainsbury's basics jam is only 35p, so I could get a jar that way, but they aren't so pretty!

Also, any tips on how to present them without spending too much? I was thinking some patches of fabric between the jar and jar lid maybe, and a nice ribbon and paper label.

balletshoes

I can't help with the cooking, but Ikea have some great storage jars of all sizes, starting quite cheap, if you have one nearby?

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/categories/departments/small_storage/15950/?sorting=price

betterlife

check the £1 shop, 99p store, home bargains, wilkinsons, asda, they all normally have nice glass jars.
jams and chutneys is sealed properly should store for a good year or so, so can make these now, you could use the basic jam jars or any jars you already have a put a nice cloth cover over the lid, and ad a ribbon, would look super cute, google decorative jam jars for idea`s, if you have not made jam or chutney before google how to preserve (ie sterilising your jars, sealing with wax disk etc) as when done properly will ensure it lasts.
fudge and truffles not sure, maybe google to see if they can be frozen if your wanting to make in advance.
biscuits and cookies really should be made as close to giving as poss, also some recipes allow you to freeze raw ingredient in cookie form, ive just been experimenting this week, not for presents but for saving me time, i have a really versitile recipe that can made hm gingernut biscuits or almond biscuits and be converted into choc chip cookies, the mixture can be handle easily and rolled into balls, this week i have froze then in raw ball form, then the next day i popped 9 cookie balls on baking tray, allowed to defrost for 20mins, flattened, then cooked as norm for 10-15mins, was as good as fresh! so you could do something like that.
hope this helps xxx

rocket_girl

Thank you both - very helpful.
balletshoes - sadly I have no IKEA nearby, but your post made me realise that I should try tiger, as they do similar stuff to Ikea, so thanks!
Thank you betterlife - I had no idea you had to sterilise the jars, so extremely glad you told me that...

VanyaHargreeves

I would recommend you look up how to make jams/chutneys because whilst it's fairly simple, there are a few pitfalls to avoid.

You must sterilise the jars properly and make sure not to touch the inside of the jar or the inside of the lid after. You must make sure it's sealed properly. If you fail to do either of these, the jam will go mouldy pretty quickly!

It would also be useful to gather some knowledge of how to tell when the jam is set - you can either buy a sugar thermometer or use the cold plate test. More info on that here: http://foodinjars.com/2010/07/canning-101-how-to-ensure-that-your-jam-sets/

Katiehound

Too late for you now but I save small jars throughout the year which I pass on to a jam/chutney maker. If you are doing a hamper these come in handy . I had jars from brandy butter and Blue Dragon sauces plus cute hexagonal spice jars.
As long as you sterilise them they are fine.
I have made gingerbread cream liqueur today and bottled in reused (sterilised) glass salad dressing bottles (250ml) It will keep up to 3 months in fridge if unopened. The limoncello (very easy) will keep for about 6 months- if you can wait that long!! The annoying thing is that a lot of the salad dressings come in plastic bottles now!!

If you are making biscuits I assume they would keep for a couple of weeks in an airtight container