[Mrs Bee]

I do the same as Mrs B - I now have 10 x 1lb bags frozen in the garage overspill freezer. Also already have 6 x half pound bags of blackberries - with plenty more left to pick. Have already made 10 jars of my beetroot orange chilli chutney. Now for my famous rhubarb and ginger chutney, and my blackberry brandy etc et c 

The beetroot orange and chilli chutney souonds good Plum. Any chance of the recipe.

I do a chunky, one with tomato and red onion and one with ginger but not done one with orange and chilli.

[cheshirecheese]

I make a Beetroot & Orange Preserve from my favourite preserving book by Catherine Atkinson & Maggie Mayhew, 'The Complete Book of Preserves & Pickles'.  I think the addition of chilli would add another yummy dimension! 

350g Raw Beetroot
350g Eating Apples/Windfalls
300ml Malt Vinegar
200g Granulated Sugar
225g Red Onions, finely chopped
1 Garlic Clove, crushed
Finely Grated Rind & Juice of 2 Oranges
1 Tsp Ground Allspice
1Tsp Salt

Scrub, or if necessary, thinly peel the beetroot and dice.
Peel, core and dice the apples.
Put the vinegar and sugar in a preserving pan and heat gently, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
Add the rest of the ingredients, bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for approx 40 minutes.
Bring back to the boil and cook for a further ten minutes or until the chutney is thick and no excess liquid remains (it will need stirring frequently at this stage to prevent burning).
Spoon into warm, sterlised jars and store in the usual way.

[plum crumble]

mmm, that sounds delish cheshirecheese! My orange chilli beetroot one is the beetroot chutney recipe in Val's marvellous book, but I add orange rind and juice and chilli powder to it. It really is a matter of taste how much you add! Very simple/very lush!

[Mrs Bee]

Thanks for that Plum and Cheshire. I will have a fiddle with my beetroot chutney recipe and have a look at Val's one .

I have the Catherine Atkinson and Maggie Mayhew book, Cheshire. Not had it long mind. Are there any other recipes you have tried that you would recommend.

Another recent aquisition is the reprint of Beryl Wood's Let's Preserve it.
No piccies unfortunately, I am with Alice on pictures and books, but never the less it has  a lot of good ideas and I am glad I bought it.

My favourite book  and my bible is the GHK complete preserving book that I bought in the 80's. It is beaten and battered with loads of extra cuttings stuck in over the years and it is still my first port of call.

[cheshirecheese]

I have the Catherine Atkinson and Maggie Mayhew book, Cheshire. Not had it long mind. Are there any other recipes you have tried that you would recommend.

I love the blueberry & lime jam recipe in there, and also the melon with star anise.  I also make the pink grapefruit and cranberry marmalade because it looks so pretty in the jar (tastes good too!)   

[cheshirecheese]

My orange chilli beetroot one is the beetroot chutney recipe in Val's marvellous book, but I add orange rind and juice and chilli powder to it. It really is a matter of taste how much you add! Very simple/very lush!

Sounds good to me!  

[Mrs Bee]

I have the Catherine Atkinson and Maggie Mayhew book, Cheshire. Not had it long mind. Are there any other recipes you have tried that you would recommend.

I love the blueberry & lime jam recipe in there, and also the melon with star anise.  I also make the pink grapefruit and cranberry marmalade because it looks so pretty in the jar (tastes good too!)   

Must give the blueberry one a go next year when I make sure the fruit cage is secure and the birds can't get in like this year

Melons are cheap at the market so may give that one a go.
I do the grapefruit and cranberry. That is one of my mainstays. Especially as Waitrose sold off their frozen cranberries at silly prices in January.
You shouold have seen the check out girls face when I trolled through with a whole trolley full I still have  several boxes waiting to be turned into Christmas chutney.

[cheshirecheese]

Melons are cheap at the market so may give that one a go.

I use charentais or canteloupe melon, because the orange colour looks really good in a jar - the ordinary ones look rather insipid, even though the taste is pretty much the same!  The star anise really lifts the flavour - as melon is so naturally sweet, I think it would be too bland without the aniseed to cut through it 

[cheshirecheese]

I must be the last person left that still stops picking their rhubarb at midsummer.. 

I'd heard you should stop picking in August, but I'm not sure why when it keeps growing ... ??   Then all those lovely sticks of rhubarb will just rot away - please could someone explain the reasoning behind it?  Is it that it acts as a sort of mulch or compost over the winter once it rots down?

[Alastair-I]

I must be the last person left that still stops picking their rhubarb at midsummer.. 

I'd heard you should stop picking in August, but I'm not sure why when it keeps growing ... ??   Then all those lovely sticks of rhubarb will just rot away - please could someone explain the reasoning behind it?  Is it that it acts as a sort of mulch or compost over the winter once it rots down?

The leaves are feeding the roots for next year.  I pick solidly until midsummer (usually until the weekend after midsummers day - late-June) and then rest the plants for the remainder of the year.  Rhubarb is an early crop, by the time you hit midsummer other fruits are starting to appear.