Get a grip woman!

greent

Another pver producer of jam here! I've decided this year that I will only be making strawberry and prosecco jam for Xmas presents and all other fruits will be consumed in crumbes/ with yogurts etc. 
Also a fan of jam and sponge pud done in the micro - so quick amd easy. And very nice swapped out with golden syrup 😋

Suffolk_lass

This is the two minute puds recipe I use 2 Minute Micro Puds. @jumblejack was brilliant (I wonder what happened to her)

CRANKY40

Thanks for the link @Suffolk_lass. Some of those look so interesting and easy. They'll come in handy when my teenage House Troll and his friends come home and ask what I'm baking. 

Suffolk_lass

On Friday I made two vodka jars after investing in two more large 3L Kilner jars from the local Harrods (so not). Plums in one (750ml vodka, 250g sugar, 500g plums - Victoria). Halved the plums to check for plum moth larvae and then chucked in together. Three days of shaking each time I open the larder door and already a glorious golden orange colour.

Jar two is crabapple juice; 1k of halved crabapples, a litre of water, half a lemon, zested, squeezed then chucked in, cooked for 35 minutes then put through a pegged up jelly bag. Juice measured (generous litre) heated with 200g of sugar until hot, then added to 750ml bottle of vodka. A delightful pink cloudy mixture at the moment!

I need to get on with making my tomatoes up as I have four full freezers and more I want to freeze.

Pleasingly, my next door neighbours little ones (both under five) like cucumbers - so four left the house yesterday!

MissRikkiC

I love the pantry pictures. My late mum had a pantry which was huge and I’d love to make use of that in my own home. We renovated our kitchen and the only way I could’ve had one was to take out another load bearing wall (eeeeek) and convert the downstairs toilet into one. I decided against the idea but our next home must have one. They make my soul happy and bring back pleasant memories. 

Suffolk_lass

My Mum had a corner cupboard referred to as the larder and it was stuffed full of all her stores. Grandma however, had a walk in pantry but the door opened inwards (hence ours open outwards). It was a proper one with a wire cage by the open vent to outdoors to keep the milk and dairy stuff fresh. They also had a Butler's Pantry (a hallway between the entrance hall and their sitting room that had once been servants quarters in the house we all shared with my Aunt and Uncle. The big storage room was converted into a shower room. Happy memories.

The first ten 500ml jars of tomatoes are done. I am blasting through electricity this morning as the jars are warming in the oven (again) for the second batch, the dishwasher is running (3rd time in 24 hours) and I am 90% sure I have not got enough Kilner screw top jars so have ordered some more via BRC. Also some rubber seal rings for the clip top jars.

I should be able to use some regular twist top jars as I have a box of 12oz jars I bought for honey, stashed upstairs.

I feel as though we are pretty vulnerable to the price rises. I bought butter again this week and it was £1.95 for a packet of savers brand. That is another 10p this week. I suspect milk will be going up again too soon. There is just no forage for the cattle so I do understand why. DH suggested we could live out of cupboards and freezers for months and we will need to to make room for Christmas fare. I told him I bought this Christmas' meat in January with the exception of a fresh turkey from the butcher (to support his business really, I can't honestly say it was much different to the frozen free range I bought). I do have a turkey crown in the freezer so sangers are sorted!

foxgloves

You'll be pleased to know, @Suffolk_lass, that by the end of this week, I intend to have bottled a few jars of tomatoes - first time ever. I'm as confident as I can be that I know what I'm doing. Time (& avoidance of botulism) will tell!
I'll make sure I include on my diary how I get on.
F x

Suffolk_lass

@foxgloves Are you intending following the youtube link to Nonna Gina I posted? I recommend it.

Mine BTW are cooked, then decanted to my large liquidiser, pulsed then reheated and ladled into oven sterilised jars. I don't bother skinning them but I do reduce them a bit. Plums and apples to process next...

foxgloves

Hi @Suffolk_lass - Yes, I did watch Nonna getting busy with all her heaps of tomatoes. I will be doing a similar thing to you, I think. I will be skinning mine, roughly chopping, heating to boiling point then packing into hot jars. Hot water bath, cool, take out, lids should pop to indicate seal. Will defo post about how I get on with it. I think it's probably the only type of preserving I haven't tried so after a couple of weeks of rather pathetic wibbling, I'm now thinking 'Bring it on!'
F x

foxgloves

Oh, & I am adding a scant tsp of salt to each jar plus a tsp of lemon juice. Can't remember which of my books that recommendation was in, but am assuming both ingredients would deter pathogens. Fancy getting this excited about bottling tomatoes!! I am though, lol!
F