on learning how to make jam, or, post-harvest musings

Now that we've had the first frost (why did it have to be a Sunday morning when I leave for work at 8AM, though?!), I feel like summer and, subsequently, harvest-time have finally drawn to a close, and we're officially into the colder months. This weekend I was walking along the hill at Alexandra Palace and enjoying the very fresh wind - as I regretted my decision to not bring a coat, I realised that meant summer was over. I know that Halloween is officially yet to come, and the pagan in me feels like that is the real end of the summer, but the frost, dark and misty mornings, low sun when driving home and orange crescent moons are telling me it's come already.

Anyway, I digress - this year my mum has taken it upon herself to unofficially teach me how to make jam, jelly, chutney, curd and other preserves, so thought I'd show you a few photos I snapped of all the preserving-work we've been upto this year whilst I sat and labelled all our jars the other day.

• It is hot work; I didn't really think about how warm it gets standing over a hot pan of sticky, sugary juice and fruit. 
• Chutney makes your house stink like vinegar, no-matter how many windows you open - but making it on the most humid day of the year before a giant thunderstorm probably didn't help, either.
• I miss the allotment, and the excitement of bringing home whatever was ready to eat. Although we didn't exactly make jam from the potatoes, it just makes me miss everything. Now the only place I'll be harvesting, for the foreseeable future, is the reduced soft-fruit section at Waitrose..
• I enjoy quince jelly more than I thought I would - I had no idea it would smell so good cooking. It's weirdly floral, but yeah.
• I also really enjoy eating jam straight from the jar, and that is generally how I consume it most. I feel like Joey in the one with the jam....
• There is nothing greater than a jar of home-made lemon curd.
• I want to try out some more adventurous things now that I've realised it's really not that hard. I still think it's stupid that they make them make their own jam for a victoria sponge on Great British Bake-Off, but it's really not that hard. 
• Jam/sugar thermometers are really irritating. The jam gets caught underneath + behind them and then catches and burns and you end up with burnt jam bits in your lovely pear-jelly.
• Licking the spoon until I feel sick makes me think I can never eat jam again. I always manage to eat some more the next day.
• Bulk buying 50 jam-jars from Amazon may seem absurd when you receive that giant box one morning, but you'll be surprised and how many you've used. I think we have about twenty left?
• People legitimately enjoy receiving it as presents, I've discovered, and even given the jars back for more, which is even more pleasing to know as it gives me an excuse to make more lemon curd. 
• You'll find yourself rearranging your cupboards or fridge to make space for the jars.

I might joke about how it's dirty work, but I love it. I'm weirdly sentimental, but both my grandmothers made jam and jelly and stuff, and it's something I associate so inherently with my mum - I think she's made some form of blackberry jam every year of my life since I can remember, and probably longer than that. It makes me smile to know that I'm learning too, and now I can scoff at those pretty jars of Bonne Maman jam when they're on offer in the shops, as I know I've got something nicer and tastier at home.

Have you tried making jam yet? I promise you, it's insanely satisfying to see those colourful jars all laid out on the work-top and neatly labelled. Almost as satisfying as not knowing what kind of jam to have on my toast - do I go for the pear, plum, quince, damson, blackberry, apple, raspberry, strawberry...

For more inspiration, check out my previous posts about jam and preserves, here.

homemade pear + lemon jam

I really love pear flavoured things, and so this summer I suggested we try and make some pear jam to my mum... she wasn't that keen on the idea. Pears don't have a lot of pectin in them, so they're hard to make jam from - we considered doing a pear and apple jam, but I didn't fancy that as much. 

A quick bit of googling and we came across this recipe from The Cottage Smallholder (really great for their jams/chutney's etc!). They added lemon to solve the pectin issue: I was worried this would distract from the peariness I wanted, or make it bitter.. I was wrong. This jam is so freaking good. It also came out an amazing rosy pink colour. Spread on toast, in the middle of cakes, or hastily piled into slapdash jam-tarts, it's so good. 

I'm not going to repost the recipe here because we followed it pretty strictly - but I thought I'd show off my labour of love as I did most of this one on my own. It did catch a little bit (that black spot in the photo above, argh!) but I'm pretty proud of it.

Are you trying out any jams now we're definitely into the preserving season? Blackberry jelly, anyone?

homemade mango chutney: recipe

The other day I made mango chutney. I make it sound so simple, don't I? However, stoning 4 giant mangos, your house stinking of vinegar and standing over a hot stove on a very hot English summer evening (read: humid!) is less than easy. It was worth it, though, when you end up with this most amazing chutney. I made about five jars (but have given a few away already) and I've been spooning it liberally onto curries and barbecue chicken ever since. 

A lot of the mango chutney's you can buy weren't sweet enough for me, or were too vinegary. which I'm not a huge fan of, so I wanted to make some that was exactly how I wanted.

I browsed a lot of recipes, and consulted my mother who is the oracle of all things jam and chutney related, and she said this BBC Food one would be a good one to try, so she helped me make it. I'll repost the recipe here:

YOU'LL NEED:
- 4 large mangoes, peeled, stoned, and sliced
- salt
- 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
- 450g (1lb) of caster sugar
- 2 baking apples, peeled, cored and chopped
- 1 tbsp English mustard powder
- 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
- 600ml (1 pint) of apple cider vinegar (the recipe calls for white wine vinegar, but the apple cider vinegar is a bit more mellow, so I used that because I don't love vinegar)
- 1 tbsp cayenne pepper

STEPS:
1. Put the peeled, stone and sliced mangos in a large bowl and sprinkle with salt. Leave overnight. In the morning, drain the juice and rinse all the fruit.
2. Put the garlic, sugar, apples, mustard, ginger, vinegar and cayenne pepper in a pan and over a low heat, dissolve the sugar.
3. Bring to the boil and add the mangoes. Simmer for 45 minutes until the chutney is thick and syrupy, keep stirring so the mixture doesn't catch on the bottom of the pan. (The recipe says to simmer for 30, but after testing a bit on a cold plate in the fridge, it wasn't nearly thick enough, so we left it for about 45 minutes.)
4. Spoon (or use a jam-funnel) into sterilised jars. Allow to cool and seal. 

I gave a jar to my brother and his girlfriend, who are quite the foodies,  and my mum gave one to a friend of hers who likes chutneys, but nothing spicy, and they both agreed it was good! So I am pretty pleased, generally. It's got the perfect sweetness, with a bit of a vinegary kick that makes it just right. 

lemon curd recipe

Me and my friend Amy have an ongoing love affair with lemon curd - she makes the most amazing lemon meringue pie with it, and it's what she often makes when we have lunches and things together. I was thinking recently that I've never actually made it myself. I remember my grandma used to make jars of it when I was little and I never liked it - for reasons I can't really understand why, now. The smell really reminds me of her house and her baking little lemon tarts. My friend Amy is moving out soon anywhere, and I've made her a few little treats for when she does, but I really want to make her some lemon curd, too, so I thought I would give it a trial run. 

The recipe I used was Nigel Slaters (always a favourite!) and I copied it pretty much verbatim, but I'll repost it here anywhere, for ease.

YOU'LL NEED:
- 4 unwaxed lemons, zested and juiced
- 200g sugar
- 100g butter
- 3 eggs
- 1 egg yolk

STEPS:

1. Put the lemon zest, juice, sugar and butter (cut into cubes) into a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water.

2. Stir with a whisk from time to time until the butter has melted.

3. Mix the eggs and egg-yolk lightly with a fork, then stir into the lemon mixture.

4. Let the curd cook, stirring regularly for about 10 minutes, until it is thick and custard-like.

5. Remove from the heat and stir occasionally as it cools.

6. Pour into sterilised jars and seal.

There you go, it's pretty simple, but it tastes absolutely amazing. Great for making lemon drizzle cakes, lemon cupcakes, meringue pies or just eating out of the jar with a spoon when you're craving something sugary. Not that I do the last one. Nope. Not at all. 

Please let me know if you try this out, and please show me the photographs!