Plum and White Nectarine Jam

made some today :) will be selling it at balmain markets at some time this year!
and probably starting an etsy shop

tastes delicious! and i made it in the same way as the plum and white nectarine jam i made recently

Plum and White Nectarine Jam

So this jam is very full flavoured and delicious! and a great way to use slightly too ripe plums!
plums are great because they set so well. i did have some emergency 'Jamsetta' but i didnt need it!

Ingredients
2kg plums (i used red fleshed)
4 slightly unripe but fragrant white nectarines
1 tsp orange zest
1 tsp lemon zest
3 lemons (juice)
sugar

the method is much the same as all other jams i have made - i started by chopping the fruit into smallish pieces, and placing in a large heavy saucepan with the zest, one lemons juice and 2 cups of water, this was boiled until the fruit was very soft.
the next important step is adding the sugar - i added about 1.5 kilos and some extra lemon juice as i found this very sweet
this mixture should be stirred off heat until all of the sugar has dissolved, and is looks nice and glossy and smooth. put is back on the heat and bring to a rolling boil - pectin sets at 104 degrees celcius, so a strong boil is really necessary.


once the setting test is reached (ie on a cold plate, the jam wrinkles when you pull you finger through it) bottle and seal! ta daaa! delcious and easy jam

Rhubarb and Apple Jelly...

... Is Delicious
even if i do say so myself. Which is very lucky as i gave it as one of the bonbonierre gifts at our wedding that was in april :) (i also made two other preserves, but more about that later when i locate the sweet photos i took - possibly with my mums camera)

we went to the orchard down in darkes forest. An undertaking i highly recommend if you are ever in need of 10kg of fresh apples and 3 kg of lovely plums for a very reasonable sum.(Find them here Glenbernie Orchards
the recipe included

3kg apples (per batch)
1 big bunch of rhubarb
about 2.5 kg sugar
3 lemons

first step - to cut the apples and rhubarb into large pieces. this is going to be strained later, so no need to worry about the look of the fruit, its all about the juice. then put all of the fruit into an enormous saucepan with enough water to just cover.


Once the fruit is in, boil it until it becomes mushy. Make sure that you give it plenty of room in case it froths, but it should be fine at this stage. lemon juice can also be added and if you wish drop a cinnamon stick in for a short time

Looks ugly now, but wait it gets better :)
Strain you mixture through a jelly bag, or a muslin cloth (or other clean fabric which is a loose weave) you want to only collect the juice, otherwise you could end up with a cloudy jelly. Leave to hang for as long as you have patience - overnight if possible. You should end up with a big bowl of delicious pink juice.

(note my hanging technique - an upended stool can be a very useful tool in jelly making)
Once you have strained this glorious pink essence, you just put it back on the stove with an enormous amount of sugar. i used a bit more than 3/4 cup sugar per cup of fruit, otherwise i find it too sugary. stir to dissolve and then boil it hard until it reaches setting point.
fresh apples will set very well - heaps of pectin :) the lemon juice also helps to draw the pectin out. It is during this stage that the jelly will -
a) froth up very high, so make sure you use the enormous pot again
b) become clear, but impurities will come to the surface, you need to skim these
c) smell delicious
while warm pour carefully into jars (in my case tiny cute jars), tighten lids, and upturn to form a seal. ta daaa! apple and rhubarb jelly!

Italian festa

last weekend me and my fiance went for a lovely afternoon in leichhardt, to the italian festa on norton street. it was great. there were lots of street stalls, food and people everywhere. i ended up coming home with a large tub of green olives with garlic and oregano, italian honey biscuits, nougat, and some fair trade olive oil soap from persia... and some second hand books from the big bookshop on norton

Mulberry conserve with vanilla and orange zest

and here it is - the recipe
i had about 1 1/4 kg of mulberries that i had collected off our tree out the lounge room window and i had been freezing them. Don't attempt this recipe if you don't like mess!
i modified the recipe from 'windfalls' for mulberry jam

ingredients

1kg mulberries (stalks removed)
800g sugar
100 ml water
juice of 2-3 lemons
teaspoon of vanilla bean paste
or
1 vanilla bean
1 teaspoon of orange zest

add the mulberries, lemon juice (and pips, you can scoop them out later and they have pectin) and water to a large pot and simmer until all the fruit is soft and mushy.
Once it is soft, turn the heat down and add sugar. When the sugar has all dissolved, turn the heat up high and bring to a rolling boil.
After a little while the mixture will bubble up really high, at this stage it is getting close to being ready, start testing for set. The bubbling will subside and when it does test for set often. it will happen quickly. When it reaches set point, take off the heat immediately and bottle. While the jars are still hot invert them to create a good seal and sterilise. and voila! delicious mulberry vanilla and orange zest conserve!

mulberry jam...

i have finally made the jam! and its good :)
but first, here's the trees they came from, and a bowl of the glorious purple staining fruit that tastes like childhood

wedding patchwork

now, it may appear to you that i have had a lot of time on my hands... in reality i am a master of procrastination except when it comes to making pretty things
and so i present to you the largest inspiration board that ever existed - lol
i think its almost captures the many and varied ideas i have been having lately. our bridesmaids dresses, church, and the vineyard we will be having our reception at are all in there
photo credits to - peonies and polaroids
- martha stewart weddings
-moss and spy

and at least a million others who i cant remember!

mandarin marmalade

Its delicious! and the rinds turn out very soft and unctuous. the recipe i have used comes from Sue Ruchels book - 'windfalls' with a few differences of my own. It seems like a long process, but if you soak your mandarins and shred the rind overnight it is all finished and bottled the next day, with a definite sense of achievement

Delicious Mandarin Shred Marmalade

1kg mandarins
2 lemons
water
sugar

The day before peel the mandarins and slice the peel very finely. Place the shredded peel ina muslin bag and reserve. Wash and roughly chop the lemons and segment the mandarins and place in a large non reactive bowl and cover with water. Put the peel in with the fruit and leave overnight.

The next day boil all of the fruit and water and peel until the fruit is soft and the liquid reduced by about half. remover the peel after the first 20 minutes. Pour all the fruit through a jelly bag and leave to drip for as
long as you have patience for - you can squeeze the bag if you dont mind a cloudy marmalade - i squeezed mine :) and discard the pulp.

In a large non reactive pot add the sugar to the juice in the ratio of one cup of
sugar to one cup of juice - a little less if you like it a little less sweet- and stir to dissolve over low heat. Boil the mixture hard until setting test is reached. Take off the heat, allow to stand and add the peel. stir and bottle while hot. Invert the bottles to create a seal and voila!

delicious marmalade to share with family and friends

Cherry Jam

hello all

exciting news as yesterday i made my first batch of cherry jam! it is very tasy -sweet and a little tart - all i need now is a nice warm croissant. i used fresh cherries, that were quite ripe. a bit risky as cherries have low pectin levels, but there were a few bright red ones and with the lemons it set perfectly!

here is the recipe

Cherry Citrus Jam

1 kg cherries

around 750 g white sugar

juice of three medium lemons

zest of two medium lemons

small amount of water

1. wear some dark clothing and cover up... pitting cherries is a messy business! i used my fingers to remove the pip, but you can use a special cherry pip remover

2. place pitted cherries in a large pot, and cook, with a small amount of water until the fruit is completely soft. add lemon juice and zest during this time. smells delicious!

3. measure the cooked fruit, including liquid. for every cup of cooked fruit at 3/4 cups sugar (hence my estimated 750g sugar for 1 kg fruit). this sounds like a lot of sugar, but it is needed to make the jam keep for a long time

4. place the cooked fruit and the sugar together in the pot and bring to a rolling boil. the fruit will froth and bubble. stir attentively - it cooks fast!

5. once the bubbling subsides, the jam is ready to test for set. to do this - place a white saucer in the freezer, once cold bring out and drop some jam mixture on it. if after a minute or so the jam wrinkles when you push it with your finger the jam is ready. take the jam off the heat when testing, because you dont want to burn the jam!

6. once the jam is ready bottle and seal in sterilised jars

and ta da! tasty summery jam ready for eating

Mint, Sage and Rosemary - Herb Jelly

i finally made my jelly! it turned out so pretty! i havent tasted it yet properly, but i will soon. i am thinking of using it mainly with roast meat, like duck would go really well with sage, and am also thinking of using it like a glaze, especially the rosemary, on a roast lamb. oh, and some of the mint jelly is destined as gift to my boyfriends family :)

it was really fun. and a bit intimidating - but thats how first times usually are

i adapted a recipe from Sue Ruchels book - Windfalls

for this recipe you can pretty much substitute any herbs you like!

Basic Herb Jelly Recipe

2kg apples, halved

water to cover

1-1 and 1/2 cups of white vinegar

3/4 cup of sugar per cup of fruit extract
2 cups of herbs (of your choice

1. place apples in a large pot and cover with water.
2. boil until the apples are soft, but try not to let them get mushy
3. add between 1 and 1 and a half cups of vinegar depending on the sweetness of your apples
4. strain the cooked apples through a jelly bag (you can use muslin strung up between the legs of an upturned stool - this step may take hours - up to overnight depending on your patience) into a very large bowl
5. measure the resulting liquid and add the appropriate
amount of sugar and stir on low heat until dissolved
6. bring to a hard boil until it reaches set - it will go a golden colour and bubble up quite high, so be prepeared with a large pot
7. add the herbs about 5 minutes before bottling so the heat helps to extract the flavour

i was a bit worried during the cooking that my apple extract was cloudy, but it cooked really clear. i was so excited when it became clearer and clearer and more golden as i cooked

more cupcakes

i also made some really good orange cupcakes for my boyfriend's nephew's 2nd birthday party!

i thought i'd put a photo up because they were so pretty and yum...

jammy cupcake adventures!

last weekend i was having a baking kind of day, so me and my sister decided to make some experimental jam drop cupcakes!
we used a normal butter cake recipe and nice rasberry jam (sadly, i didnt make it, but im sure when rasberry season comes around i will!). we also made some chocolate jammy cupcakes in the same way but with a tablespoon or so of cocoa in the batter...
they turned out very tasty

Jam Drop Cupcakes

250g Butter
250g castor sugar
4 eggs
250g self raising flour
vanilla
rasberry jam (or whatever jam takes your fancy!)

cream the butter, sugar and vanilla
add the eggs and beat in one at a time
add flour and mix until combined
drop a tablespoon full into cupcake cases
make an indent and spoon about one teaspoon of jam into the top of the cakes

cook in a moderate oven for 15 minutes
mmmmmm tasty

lime marmalade

and some photos of my lime marmalade!

tastes so good i ate it with a spoon after. im so proud of my efforts!

Piccalilly...

a photo of my piccalilly! looks tasty huh
just needs some nice ham...
Piccalilly recipe