More jam!

July is the month when all the hard workcomes to fruition, literally and we end up with masses of produce.
With not much effort at all I have managed to produce 10 lbs of raspberries this year after the local bird population had eaten about 5lbs.

We have made a few summer puddings but the bulk of the berries have gone into raspberry jam. I use the Good Housekeeping Cookbook recipe with one modification - reduced sugar.

1. Wash 12 jars, rinse thoroughly and place in the oven at 100oC
2. Put 7.5 lbs of washed raspberries in a large jampan and bring to boil.
3. Simmer in it's own juice gently for 20 minutes until the fruit is really soft.
4. Add 5lbs of granulated sugar, stirring constantly until the sugar has dissolved.
5. Bring to the boil and boil for 5-10 minutes until the jam has reached setting point.
6. To determine the setting point place a teaspoon of jam on a cold saucer. When the jam is cold push your finger across it. If the jam wrinkles then the setting point has been attained.
7. Fill the hot jars with jam and seal, leaving a half inch gap at the top.
8. As the jam cools the seal will become secure and the jars are ready for labelling.
9. Jam produced in this way is good for at least 6 months and usually for a lot longer.

Spicy Xmas chutney

Chutney is a great way of using up surplus veg from the plot. In the summer I make tomato and courgette chutney when they are in season. At this time of year carrots onions, beetroot and apples are aplenty so this recipe (with variations) is ideal and the resulting jars of product can be either eaten, stored or given as festive presents.

Recipe:

3 carrots, grated.
3 beetroot diced
3 onions diced
3 apples, peeled and grated
3 oranges - zest and fruit, chopped.
2 tbsp mustard seeds
2 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp ground cloves
700ml red wine vinegar
600g sugar
100g sultanas
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 jalapeno pepper, diced.

Add all the ingredients to a large pan.

Bring to boil stirring frequently.

Once the mixture is boiling reduce heat and boil gently for approximately one hour. Stir occasionally and check spice levels. If chutney requires more heat add a teaspoon of ground ginger.

After an hour remove from heat. Check beetroot is tender. Bottle chutney whilst hot into warm sterile jars and close lids tightly.

Do not use chutney until it is at least one month old. This recipe will improve with age and will keep for at least twelve months. Enjoy!