Blackberry Chutney - Christmas Promise in a Jar

Blackberry chutney time is here and looking at a row of jars on the shelf there is so much Christmas promise in those jars.

On my allotment this year we have been blessed with an abundant harvest of wild blackberries.  Although these berries grow wild on the allotment we do tend them, cutting them back at the end of the season and keeping them neat and tidy.  The results are masses of beautiful, fragrant and purple jewels just asking to be picked and turned into wonderful creations.

My blogger friend Manjiri came to visit and we popped up to the allotment to pick some blackberries then home to my house to turn these purple jewels into Blackberry Chutney.

My granddaughter, Little Miss, was visiting for a couple of days and wanted to help pick.  Looking at her in this picture she reminds me so much of myself at her age (9 years old). She was so into picking that even the little thorns biting her fingers didn't stop her!

Chutney is a really easy way to preserve fruit and vegetables for those darker winter months, perfect with cheeses and cold meats often leftover after Christmas. The combination of sugar, vinegar and heat create a thick mixture to pour into sterilised bottles best left for about 3 months to mature.

As always I like to get all my ingredients prepared and equipment ready.  Manjiri had the job of chopping the two red chillies to go into the pot.

Once I had all of the ingredients in the pot I added the apple cider vinegar and off we went!

The mixture will get a beautiful colour and to start it will be quite wet but as it gently bubbles away for about 25 minutes you will notice it start to thicken and reduce in quantity.  When there it little wetness and it is clearly sticky you can turn off the heat and let it cool for about 5 minutes while you take the jars out of the oven and also let them cool for a few minutes.

Once you have cooled everything down for 2-5 minutes you pour it into the jars and seal with the cellophane jam jar covers and let cool completely.  As it cools the cellophane will tighten creating an air tight seal.  In the USA they don't have the jam pot covers we have here so they would use a water bath in the oven to create their air tight seal.

The following recipe resulted in seven jars of blackberry chutney which if left alone until Christmas will mature into an awesome, smooth and tasty chutney perfect for that huge piece of Christmas Stilton cheese!

Blackberry Chutney - full of Christmas promise:-

Put all of the following ingredients into your preserving pan or other large pot/pan.

700 gm blackberries

700 gm apples (peeled and finely chopped)

300 gm golden castor sugar

1 Tablespoon brown mustard seeds

1 Tablespoon black onion seeds

2-3 chillies (de-seeded and finely chopped)

2-3 cloves of garlic (peeled and finely chopped)

Small piece of ginger root (peeled, sliced and finely chopped)

300 ml apple cider vinegar

* bring to a boil slowly then reduce the heat until the mixture is just bubbling nicely.

* continue to simmer stirring frequently until the mixture has softened and thickened.

* When the chutney has thickened take it of the heat and allow to cool for 2-5 minutes before pouring to into sterilised jars.

* cover with the smaller circles in the pack of jam pot covers waxy side down.

* Slightly dampen the clear cellophane covers and put the rubber bands around the top.

*As the mixture cools the cellophane will tighten and create an air tight seal and as the mixture cools it will thicken.

*when completely cooled, clean off any that has spilled down the side of the glass and label.

*store for three months to allow the chutney to thicken.

What is your favourite chutney, please leave a comment below.  If you try this recipe please let me know how it goes.

All opinions and photos are my own.  No photos may be reproduced in any form without my written permission.

Blackberry Jam with Lemon and Nutmeg

Making home made jam fills your kitchen with intoxicating smells and give you a sense of achievement.  We have an allotment where we spend loads of our free time and grow lots of our vegetables during the summer and fall growing seasons.

Something that does it's own this however is the rampant blackberry bushes.  These are wild but we do a bit of pruning and management resulting in a lush and fine crop each year. Some years are better than others and this year is looking like it will be epic with the branches laden with beautiful, ripe and lush purple jewels hanging down.

There are so many things you can do with blackberries (very high in Vitamin C) like crumbles, smoothies but of course the classic is a simple blackberry jam.  My first picking this season I picked around 2 kilos deciding to use 1 kilo to make some jam.

I like to get all my equipment ready before I start the jam making. It's best to be prepared rather than scramble looking for something such as having the jars ready etc.

Pectin is a chemical in all fruit however it is in higher concentrations in some fruits than others.  It is the main thing that makes jam set so if the fruit you are using is low in pectin you have to add some.  You can get liquid pectin or sugars with pectin however another way is to add a fruit that is high in pectin.  Apples are high in pectin which is why people very often make blackberry and apple jam.  Lemons also have a substantial amount of pectin and give a lovely flavour which complements the blackberries.  I use the grated zest and juice of 1 lemon per 500gm of fruit.

The fruit and sugar mixture need to boil rapidly for about ten minutes

If you use a jam making thermometer if the temperature reaches 104oC the jam will set.  If you don't have one you can drop small amounts on a cold plate, give it a minute to cool slightly then run your finger through the jam.  If it wrinkles it will set.

When you pour the hot jam into the sterilised jars, put the clear cellophane covers on and let it cool it will set.

For this batch of jam I used the rind and juice of 2 lemons and about a teaspoon of freshly grated Grenada nutmeg.  The result - a lovely fragrant blackberry jam with a subtle hint of the nutmeg and a pinch of sunshine from the lemons.

Blackberry, lemon and nutmeg jam:-

1 kilo freshly picked blackberries

75 - 100 ml water depending if the berries are picked shortly after the rain and full of water

1.2 kilo granulated sugar

2 lemons (grated rind and juice)

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1. Prepare all your equipment, wash the jars and pop them in a hot oven for 10 minutes to sterilise.  

2. Put the blackberries in the preserving pan with the water and gently bring to the boil.

3. Boil until the berries start to fall apart and add the sugar, lemon rind and juice and stir until the sugar has disolved.

4. Boil rapidly for about 10 minutes stirring from time to time to prevent it sticking on the bottom of the pan.  If using a thermometer boil until the temperature reaches 104oC or do the setting test on a cold plate.

5. If set turn off the heat and cool slightly before putting into the jars, if not set continue boiling for another 3-4 minutes.

6. I use jam pot covers to create an airtight seal to prevent the jam going off.  You can buy these in loads of places and follow the directions on the pack.  I know that in the US they pour a little layer of melted wax to create the seal.

7. The jam will set as it cools. Keep in a cupboard until opened then refrigerate until the jar is empty.  Taste the sunshine in each jar!

What is your favourite jam? Have you ever made you own jam. Please leave a comment below - I love hearing from you.

I was not required by anyone to write a positive post.  All opinions, photographs and recipe are my own and may not be reproduced in any form without my written permission.

British Berry Bonanza - Thanks Tesco

There is no memory like picking wild fruit as a child and my mother making jam that afternoon. Every year when I buy fresh berries at the peak of their ripeness that memory comes flooding back and last night I was invited to Tesco's Hatfield store to an evening of berries, strawberry, blueberry, raspberry and blackberries. A virtual berry bonanza!

We were welcomed with a drink of fizz and chatted to each other and some Tesco staff before being seated and introduced to Tesco's world of berries.

A fascinating talk about how Tesco sources the berries we find on their shelves and the different types of each berry.  For instance each berry is on their shelves within 24 hours of picking to ensure we can buy them at their peak.

Berries are judged by aroma, texture and taste and appearance.  The strawberries (of which there are 35 varieties in the UK) are sorted into three categories; Finest (as in selection A) Everyday Value and Standard (as in selection C).  There is even a Berry Technologist in the company to make sure we get the best fruit!

 

We were tasting the three categories on their own and also with different toppings such as single cream, sugar, icing sugar, clotted cream (my favourite!), as well as unusual tastes like black pepper and balsamic vinegar! All providing a different taste experience.

 

 

My daughter Caroline, also a blogger attended the event with me as did smallest grandson but he slept through the whole thing!

 

And if all those berries wasn't enough to make our day there was a Summer Berry Tart with Lemon Cream made up for us to try and it was absolutely delicious (glad to say our goodie bag contained all we need to make this recipe up at home). You can make this lovely summery pudding too by clicking on the above link.

And for the future? Look out for some new berries due in our shops this year; Mac Black Raspberry, Kiwi Berries and Aronia Berries (great for jam).

 

 

Thanks Tesco for a berry lovely evening, a great goodie bag and gift card. All the photos, opinions and thoughts are my own.