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.

They're cherries Jim but not as we know them!! - French Glace Cherries

When I think of Provence in France or the wine producing region of The Languedoc I do not immediately think of glace cherries!  Until today that is!

I was invited to a French Glace Cherry MasterClass and really couldn't think of that many things to use them for - how could you have a masterclass on adding glace cherries to fruit cake, mincemeat or topping cupcakes?  I usually have a pot in my baking box and that is really all I use them for.

We had a great morning, being introduced to the history, region, production of French Glace Cherries and learned how we owe it all to Sir Winston Churchill's love for these little preserved cherries and his insistence on importing them into Britain.   In fact the majority of French Glace Cherries produced in Provence, are imported into Britain for us avid bakers.

We tasted some recipes already made for us - Can you imagine French Glace Cherry Chutney?! I am most definitely making that, and it was served on top of blue cheese and oat cakes.

Or how about French Glace Cherries smoothies?

Then the fun started, divided into teams of two but somehow we made a team of three and got on with making our two recipes!

First was a Jaffa Cake inspired Cherry Jelly Cake which was a revelation for me.  I don't like Jaffa Cakes because I don't like the orange jelly but had never thought of using a different fruit middle.

First we made the jelly so it could set, then the cake bottom followed by the assembly and topping with melted chocolate and in honour of the forthcoming Valentine's day we decorated them with hearts.

Our second recipe of the morning was a quick and easy cake called 'Financiers' which was so simple to make and armed with the items in our goodie pack I will certainly be making these on a regular basis.

The production of French Glacé Cherries consists of replacing the fruit’s natural water content with sugar.  There are no artificial colours or preservatives in these cherries. The bright colour comes from natural fruit colours.  It takes about 10 days for a tray of fresh cherries to become glacé cherries.

Finally, at home with a lovely cup of coffee and sharing them with Mr R and FIL.

Thanks to French Glace Cherries for inviting me to take part in the masterclass.  I did not receive any payment for attending or for writing up the account of the session.

Book Review: Salt Sugar Smoke - Diana Henry

 

My earliest memory of home made jam making is from when we used to spend our annual family vacation at a cottage by the seaside in Maine, USA.  My mother, sister and I would go to this wild raspberry site and pick all morning then we would go back to the cottage and with all the jam making equipment we had brought from home we would turn the raspberries into jars of sparkling ruby spread.  Nothing tasted like that jam and nothing has since! 

I was sent Diana Henry's book Salt Sugar Smoke and as soon as I started reading the chapter on preserves my mind was immediately transported back all those years ago (and we are talking quite a few!) to the little holiday cottage in Maine.

There is nothing quite like making your own preserves, allowing you to travel back in time when you open a jar in the winter of a jam or preserve you made in the late spring and summer.  It is a way of trapping all that sunshine in your homemade tomato sauces, fruit syrups, pickled onions, beetroot and vegetables too.

 

 

Salt Sugar Smoke is a great collection of recipes to preserve vegetables, fruit, fish, cheese and much more.  How much better can it get than making your own Labneh (strained Greek yoghurt), preserving it in oil and eating it another time with roasted red peppers on homemade sourdough bread slices!

 

The preserve section starts with a page on the Essentials of Jam Making then The Process of Jam Making giving you a sort of confidence to continue reading and the feeling that you could pick a recipe and get preserving yourself. 

By the time you have salted, cured and potted, cured, pickled and made chutneys and all the sorts of jams and preserves in the book you will have a well stocked larder ready for the dark dull days of winter ahead.  I am sure Salt Sugar Smoke by Diana Henry will be a constant reference guide throughout the winter and beyond and I recommend it to any one wanting to keep that summer sunshine in their larder for a rainy winter day!

 

This book is published by Octopus Books under the imprint of Michael Beasley and is priced at £20.00 but is available in some bookshops for less.  Photos were taken from the Octopus Books website.

I was sent a copy of this book to review but was not paid to do so and the options are my own.