At year's end - A Year in Preserving

Nearly a year ago I decided to write about preserving food. Ensuring that I made as much of seasonality as I could. I have blogged about many of my experiments and regular preserves but there are a few more which, through time or technological constraints, I have been unable to report on. Green tomato ketchup, Chipotle Ketchup, Preserved Lemons and Cranberry sauce (which is really a jam) were a few of those who did not receive a blog to themselves.
The question which I must ask myself now is:" Has my view on seasonality or preservation of gluts changed at all?" I think that the answer is a very non-committal "sort of". The reason for this is actually in the fact that most people see the preservation of good things not as a way of extending natural seasons but as a way to add value. I buy salmon at £17 / kilo and turn it into Smoked salmon of such quality that it would probably retail at £40 / kilo.
There are many positives that come from this sense of luxury is that i have nbeen able to give away much of mt stash of preserved goods as presents. My Brother and his partner recieved a hamper of good things including 400gms of smoked salmon!
I am already preparing next year's theme but you will have to wait couple of days for that. I leave 2019 with a photo of just some of the bounty of the year.

Some of this year's bounty.

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

A Year in Preserving - Damson Jam

At this time of year there is always a bit of a sense of "Here we go!" in the preserving world. There is a profusion of fruit and vegetables ripe for being preserved and hidden away for times of less bounty. There is also a sense of fear that I won't get it all done and this is not helped by the fact that, largely, I am not in control of the supply of ingredients for preserving. In some years, all the berries and fruits line up in neat chronological order and it a very simple task to organise and take on one recipe every weekend. Then there are the years like this one, where everything seems to come at once! In the past ten days I have gathered or been given enough fruit for 4 different preserves. This puts a degree of pressure on the kitchen, especially when one is trying to make the most of the last few days of the warm sunshine.
I propose to write 4 separate blog ;posts covering these preserves so they may be a little out of time. I shall start with Damson Jam.

The start of something lovely.

There are two problems with Damsons: Firstly, they are different, depending on where you are in the country. Damsons, plums, bullaces and gauges tend to change their name geographically. They are all related, merely having different sizes, colours and sweetness levels. The Damsons I used looked like small (bit not tiny) blue/purple plums.

Fruit in the preserving pan

The second problem with Damsons is the fact that their stones are extremely difficult to remove. I did this by making my initial boil with the fruit whole and sieving and picking out the stones when they had split from the flesh with the heat.
My late father loved Damson Jam for the slightly strange reason that the skins of the fruit tend to form into tiny, chewy lumps rather like penny sweets.
I do not own a damson tree but, for the last few years a huge bag has been supplied by a very dear friend which contains enough for a batch of Jam and 2 or 3 ltr of Damson Gin (Post to come soon). The sharing of the plenty at this time of year is a very basic and lovely human instinct. Communities are always stronger if they share and look after each other. I will, of course make sure that the donor has a pot of Jam or two soon.

The pulp with stones removed

(As I am typing this I am looking at the bag of Bramley apples dropped off by another friend, earlier this week). The recipe below is quite simple (putting aside the stone removal) and it is the formula I use when starting to develop a recipe. In essence, if the fruit is quite tart, equal amounts of sugar and fruit are used.



Damson Jam
2 kg Damsons
2 kg Sugar
250 ml water

Wash the fruit and pop, whole, into a preserving pan (or a large saucepan) with the water. Bring to the boil and then simmer until the fruit has all broken down. Judicious use of a potato masher or ladle can help with this. When all is pulpy and soft, force it all through a sieve.

Pick out the stones from the remnants in the sieve and put the remaining, stoneless pulp back into the mix.

Adding the sugar

Add the sugar bring to the boil. Boil the mix until the setting point is achieved (There are loads of ways of doing this, but after a few jams, you start to gain a feel for it).
Allow the Jam to cool a little and then pot in sterilised jars. Pop the lids on, allow to cool and then store. Make sure you give plenty away to keep the virtuous circle moving.

Note. I do not put any of my jams into competitions, so I am not too worries by a few bubbles of scum at the top of some of my jams. In fact the last half jar or so, which is nearly all bubbles gets popped in a jar too. I use this jar first on toast or in a Victoria sponge. To date I have had no complaints.

The finished article. With credit given to the fruit donor!