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

been to the orchard...

hello :)
i have been to the orchard recently and bought myslef 2 kg of apples and 2 kg of delicious plums!
i think i will be making some more apple and herb jelly to go with roast meats, and some more plum and vanilla jam. YUM!

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

not jam... but delicious

i have been looking at these gorgeous shoes!
pity they cost... i like the rasberry colour but they come in many many colours and can be custom made! perhaps i have found some wedding shoe contenders?
from here