The Garden Fence - proper Old Style support and chat!

pollyanna_26

Fuds Mince or finely chop Fresh Ginger , Garlic and De-seeded Chillies and put them in ice cube trays . Open freeze and then store in freezer boxes ( you could use bags ) It means whether I need one or all they are always available ready prepped .

Monna Good to hear you have nice neighbours , maybe they'll have family or friends who will fall in love with your house . Failing that you'll have to make the "awful house " sign .

Thinking of burtha, Karcher and all and hope Softstuff and her husband are flu free .

polly

Floss

Fuds thats who my DH buys his beer ingredients from

mardatha

Am I right in thinking that elderberries make Sambucol?

[Deleted User]

Yes you are MAR, latin genus for elder Sambuccus Niger!

monnagran

Thanks for that Fuddle. I will be following that up. Though with this morning's experience in mind I'm not so sure that I should be let loose on elderberry syrup.

Let me elucidate.

I recently read a recipe on here for apple jelly, Now I'm not a stranger to apple jelly. Years ago I had crab apple trees in an orchard and made tons of the stuff. As I have been given bags of apples I thought I would make some delicious apple jelly. As the recipe looked dead easy and I approve of things being dead easy, I followed it to the letter.
I can only apologise to whoever posted the recipe. After I had boiled the jelly to setting point I stirred it and laid the spoon on the work top. Readers, I had to chisel that spoon off the work top.
My jelly was a beautiful clear pale pink. This jelly was maroon. Nothing daunted I proceeded to pour it into the jars that I had lovingly prepared. Correction. The JAR that I had lovingly prepared. The jelly had mysteriously shrunk in volume.

I left it to cool a little while I washed up all the utensils. At that point I became suspicious. However much I scraped, chiselled and scoured, that jelly, (I was still calling it jelly at that point) would not shift. I cautiously tipped the jar up. Nothing moved. I tried to plunge a teaspoon into the jelly. The teaspoon bounced off the surface.
Now, what to do? Do I throw it into the food waste bin or the recycling bin. One thing I know. That jelly and that jar are welded together for all eternity.

I think I'll go and fall on my sword.

nursemaggie

Oh monna what can I say! I have done worse I made some chocolate chip cookies a couple of years ago, they stuck tight to the tray. I eventually chipped them off in pieces. The surface of the tins was stuck to the cookies. I may as well have thrown the trays in the bin with the cookies as neither were any use anymore. That is the only baking of mine that DS has experienced so he thinks I am a hopeless baker.

I am still have most of the 3kg of flour DS bought for £1. The tub it is in is too big to go in the cupboard. I know it will go off if I don't use it within a year. I hate food waste.

pollyanna_26

Monna I have no idea what went wrong with the jelly but as NM says we all have those moments . You may have created a form of super glue that would be more effective than any other but we'll never know . If you have any soda crystals you could try soaking the jar if you haven't binned it . Which bin is a dilemma as glass can't be in a food bin and here all glass needs to be clean before binning for recycling. If it wasn't for the fact the jelly would go off the jar could be an interesting feature with a few flowers in when viewers call .

NM If you have any space in the freezer some of the flour could be frozen in small amounts . Can't see you'll have much space but it may help .

polly

monnagran

nursemaggie, I'll swap you concrete jelly for flour. I'll even make you some choc chip cookies and send them up to you. I love baking.

I used to love jam making.

Bigjenny

Monna, don't know if this will help you rescue your jelly http://www.cottagesmallholder.com/jelly-set-too-hard-514/

nursemaggie

Cookies only make you fat monna. I am forgoing all things sweet in an effort to lose some weight.

If anyone know how to do sugar free baking I may have a go. Not Victoria sponge cakes though neither of us like them.

The cookies recipe did say turn you fan off in your oven. I could not turn it off in the cooker at the last house where I made the cookies, the temperature was a bit dodgy too. I can't turn it off on the oven I bought when we moved here.

If you have not thrown it out monna looks like Bigjenny has solved your problem.