Preserves on Parade

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Re: Preserves on Parade
« Reply #210 on: December 11, 2021, 09:40 »
Angel Hair Jam all made  :D

This is what 3 large Sharks Fin melons turned into.  Not a massive amount, but well worth making in my opinion.  The name comes from the thread like nature of the melons, which you can see in the finished jam.  Just melon, sugar, citrus juice and peel, but absolutely delicious  :)
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mumofstig

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Re: Preserves on Parade
« Reply #211 on: December 11, 2021, 11:06 »
That looks lovely  :)

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snowdrops

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Re: Preserves on Parade
« Reply #212 on: December 11, 2021, 17:55 »
I never got to make any the year I grew them & I’ve never grown them again, maybe next year. :nowink:
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Growster...

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Re: Preserves on Parade
« Reply #213 on: December 11, 2021, 18:29 »
Over the past few years, we've concocted several chutneys, etc., and occasionally, if we say that they're not up to scratch, we just mix them up to create another batch!

So far, the leading lights have been anything with chilli, and as we have quite a few Thai Dragons ripening, we might just achieve something which might blow your head off!

I hope so!

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Growster...

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Re: Preserves on Parade
« Reply #214 on: December 12, 2021, 12:06 »
Just as a rider to the last post, after a taster of just a tiny piece half the size of a little finger nail, even a green Thai Dragon has enough heat to power most of Kent and a bit of Sussex as well...

Apparently it's between 50,000-100,000 on the Scoville, but that may be when it's turned red!

Just had to pour a cooling beer to stop the heat!

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Re: Preserves on Parade
« Reply #215 on: June 27, 2022, 20:34 »
I had a busy afternoon   :lol:

On the left is gooseberry jelly with roasted garlic and sage and on the right is gooseberry jam.  I don’t make much jam, but gooseberry is just so delicious I can’t resist it  :D
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Growster...

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Re: Preserves on Parade
« Reply #216 on: June 29, 2022, 06:27 »
I still have several jars of last year's various chutneys, and the addition of the chillis has made a huge difference!

I'm wondering if perhaps it could all go in the blender - with more chillis, and make some sort of HP sauce, but I'm not sure if the blender would just melt or summat...

It's a quandary which will take up most of the next few days, so may take some time to resolve!

Love the idea of gooseberry jelly with garlic, News! By mistake, I made our usual elderberry wine the other day, and chucked in some of last year's blackcurrants, and without thinking, a small frozen packet of tomatoes! It's pretty good actually, but not a mixture I'd have contemplated before...

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Re: Preserves on Parade
« Reply #217 on: June 29, 2022, 08:39 »
We are currently eating some chutney made in 2020 Mr G and very good it is too.

If you keep the jars sealed until you need the contents, they should be fine. Once you open them, they need re-boiling to sterilise them if you want to keep them.

You could warm small quantities up and blend, then keep the resultant sauce in the fridge  :unsure:  It could also be a glaze for meat or fish, added in the last few minutes of cooking.

I’m still contemplating tomato wine but it is a bit too early for my brain to grasp that one  :lol:

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Re: Preserves on Parade
« Reply #218 on: July 15, 2023, 14:51 »
The first of what I hope will be a productive pickling season. There are lots of promising contenders coming along on the plot, but this is cauliflower which was a freebie from work.

Pickled in white vinegar with sugar, plus chillies, black peppercorns, bay leaves and a few spices like fenugreek and tumeric.

I’m hoping for a spicy and hot pickle, tempered with a bit of sweetness, but I’ll have to wait a couple of weeks to test that theory  :)
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« Last Edit: July 15, 2023, 14:52 by New shoot »

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wighty

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Re: Preserves on Parade
« Reply #219 on: July 15, 2023, 17:24 »
Had a cheese and pickled onion sandwich roll for lunch, last of last years onions.  Was really soft, how do shop pickled onions stay crunchy for so long. ::) (sorry my question mark button no longer works).

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Re: Preserves on Parade
« Reply #220 on: July 16, 2023, 08:56 »
Was really soft, how do shop pickled onions stay crunchy for so long. ::)

The recipe I use is dry brining (salt just sprinkled over peeled onions) and the vinegar is cold when it goes into the jar.  It keeps them crunchier. 

I usually pickle shallots rather than onions and grow them for that purpose, but my round ones this year did not like the weather and produced very little.  Oddly the banana shaped ones did OK, although smaller than usual, so I might have a go with them.  They won’t look as nice in the jar, but will hopefully taste OK and pickled shallots are always crunchier than onions.  They are in the shed at the moment and I’ll leave it until the autumn before pickling, so we have them for the Yuletide feast  ;)

I am not sure how shop ones are produced.  You would think they would be heat treating jars and their contents for long shelf life and that would make them softer  ???  Perhaps it is a very fast, very high temperature process, like the way they sterilise those microwave rice pouches, that we can’t replicate at home  :unsure:

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Growster...

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Re: Preserves on Parade
« Reply #221 on: July 16, 2023, 12:22 »
Daughter uses a great way to pickle shop-bought onions!

Just thinly slice a couple of red onions, and drop them in a jar of decent cider vinegar!

It's as simple as that and after a couple of days, the result is just fabulous!

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Growster...

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Re: Preserves on Parade
« Reply #222 on: July 16, 2023, 12:30 »
Actually, reading back throught these posts, and reminded by all you chums, I took every old jar of home-made chutney in the pantry, (about seven), and added a handful of mixed Thai Dragon, Scotch Bonnet etc., chillis, and zapped the lot in the blender...

So now we have two and a half pints of chilli jam, (damsons, apricots, onions, sultanas, dates etc), and the two huge jars are festering on the top shelf!

I gave a jar to the lovely young lady who cuts my hair, as she is addicted to chillis, so I'm wondering whether I might get a 'Number One' next time, whether I want it or not...

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Re: Preserves on Parade
« Reply #223 on: July 31, 2023, 16:58 »
Figs in brandy, or at least half brandy half syrup that you gently poach the figs in.

All I have to do now is leave them alone for a month hmmmmmm  ::)

It is a difficult task,  as I have never actually had a good enough crop before to even consider preserves  :lol:
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snowdrops

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Re: Preserves on Parade
« Reply #224 on: July 31, 2023, 17:00 »
They look & sound good, I’ve picked 1&it was bad  :ohmy:

 

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