Apple Jelly - A year in preserving

Marmalade was the first preserve I ever made. Spiced Apple Jelly was the second. the initial recipe came from the wonderful Women's Institute book edited by Midge Thomas. Even in a bad year there are nearly always apples to spare, especially cooking apples. I make it a matter of principle that i don't buy apples for this jelly so there is always a credit to the owner of the tree on the labels.
There is a lot of snobbery about the making of fruit jellies. I essence they can be made with any fruit that has a high pectin content as this is the setting agent. The clarity of the jelly is a matter of prie for some people. the simple truth is: the longer and less disturbed the time spent in the jelly bag the clearer the jelly. However, you may also loose flavour if you just leave it alone. It all comes down to the purpose of your jelly. For what it is worth, most of my jelly goes into gravy and sauces so a transparent jelly is not that important!
The good news about this recipe is that there are only two measurements that need to be made and you can make it with any amount of fruit.
A Jelly Bag is not a complex piece of kit. The first time i made this jelly I used a piece of muslin attached to the taps and handles on my bath with a bowl beneath. I now have a frame for muslin which is easier but much less dramatic.

An amount of apples. (I find cooking apples are best)
A lemon (optional)
Water
Spices (cinnamon, cloves, all spice, star anise, whatever you fancy)
Sugar

Before the boil

Cut up the apples into chunks (cores and all) and place in a preserving pan or large saucepan. Slice up the lemon if using and add it with the spices. Add enough water to, not quite, cover the apples and bring to the boil. Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes until you have a thick pulp.

Nearly cooked

Place your jelly bag over a bowl and fill it with the apple pulp. Allow the liquid to drain through until it stops. If you want a really clear jelly do not mess with the pulp during this time. If its all about flavour and volume give it a regular tickle with a wooden spoon to maximise extraction.

Jelly bag and frame

Now is the time for measurement. Measure the amount of liquid in Pints. Add this liquid back to your cleaned pan and add the same amount of sugar in pounds (lbds) as you have pints of liquid. heat the liquid to dissolve the sugar and then bring it to the boil. Boil until the setting point is reached. Jar and label.

The photos on this post come from the three batches I have made this year. It has any number of uses from enriching a gravy to accompanying cheese and biscuits.

In jars and labelled

Hawthorn Ketchup - A year in preserving

There are some very good reasons why Hawthorn Ketchup is not available on the high street. Firstly, in order to make two or three jars of ketchup one must pick, top and tail 1kg of Hawthorn berries; they each weigh about 1gm and its not called hawthorn for nothing!
Secondly, it really is a bit of a faff. there is a lot of of work in producing some of this interesting condiment.

The harvest of the hedgerow.

The area around Corner Cottage is full of hedgerows which are also full of hawthorne. In the Spring they are alive with white blossom and covered in insects and in the Autumn the palette turns to glorious reds and oranges, a feast for the birds filling up to get through the Winter. There are many different varieties of Hawthorn and as far as i know they an all be used in this recipe. certainly many different varieties go into my ketchup.
Incidentally, the leaves and flowers of the hawthone are also edible and have hundreds of names depending on where you are in the county.
This recipe produces a reddish brown, thick ketchup. This year I made two batches: one of the standard ketchup and one with dark sugar and chilli which I dubbed "Dark and Dangerous" (in truth it is dark but not very dangerous at all).

1kg Hawthorn berries
Water
500ml White wine vinegar (Cider vinegar would do)
350gms Sugar
Seasoning

Top and tail all the berries and pop into a large pan, a preserving pan is ideal.
Add enough water to cover and boil until the burst and then become soft. Drain through a sieve and then press the berries through the sieve to produce a thick paste. This will take some time and not a small amount of physical work.

Hard work!

Return the paste to the pan and add the sugar and vinegar. Boil until it is thick brown and lovely. Your bacon sandwich will never be the same again!

Adding the sugar and vinegar

For the Dark and Dangerous I substituted brown sugar for the white and malt vinegar for the white wine vinegar. I also added a couple of large red chillies to the initial boil.
I must apologise for not posting recently. The combination of a new school year and an enormous amount of preserving has meant that time has been pinched. I will try to catch up in the next few weeks

Ready for the bacon sandwich.

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