pickleandpreserve

Time for a change....

2009-06-19T13:14:00.003+01:00

I've spent the last few weeks working on a new website at www.pickleandpreserve.co.uk
From now on I will be blogging there, why not come on over and have a look?

Ten Facts About Elderflowers

2009-06-18T11:54:00.002+01:00

image source wikimedia commons

1. The latin name for Elder is Sambucus Nigra and botanically it belongs to the honeysuckle ( caprifoliaceae ) family.

2. It is sometimes known as the Judas Tree, as it is said to be the tree Judas Iscariot Hung himself on.

3. Elder trees are found in Europe, West Asia and North America.

4. It is often associated in folklore with witches, English folklore suggests the elder tree is a favourite form for a witch to take.

5. In Russia a Elder tree planted outside the front door is thought to ward off evil spirits.

6. For the best flavour Elderflowers should be collected when creamy coloured, before they turn white.

7. The hard, close grained wood has been used for making combs, skewers, mathematical instruments and toys.

8. Historically, the flowers and leaves have been used to relieve pain, swelling and inflammation.

9. Fishing floats can be made from the varnished dried pith of the twigs.

10. The leaves are a natural insect repellent, which is why you see Elder shrubs planted around compost heaps and outhouses.

Elderflower Cordial Recipe

2009-06-09T14:32:00.003+01:00

This recipe is adapted from the one in Pamela Michael's Edible Wild Plants & Herbs.

Ingredients

Prepared Elderflowers
Sugar

Method

See here for pictures of the method.

Prepare the flowers by giving them a shake to remove insects, then snipping the flowers from the stems.
Put in a large saucepan with enough water to cover.
Bring to the boil then simmer for 15 minutes.
Strain and measure the liquid then add 400g sugar for every 750ml of liquid.
Heat slowly stirring to dissolve the sugar, then boil for 5 minutes.
When cool bottle and cork, or use screw on caps.

Dilute with sparkling water as a drink, or use to cook with gooseberries, rhubarb, plums or redcurrants, or use in fruit salad.

Keeps well in the fridge for several months.
Can be frozen in plastic bottles.

Elderflower Cordial

2009-06-09T10:27:00.007+01:00

It was supposed to be the first cricket match of the year on Sunday, but it was raining in the morning so the pitch was too wet. However, the sun came out in the afternoon and we went off (with stepladder) to pick elderflowers, intending to make cordial later that day.
We've been trying to cut down on the amount of fruit juice we consume since I read this article in the paper some time ago. Making a cordial which is basically sugar water may seem a silly way to go about this, but hopefully once diluted it won't be as bad.
There are three good trees in the hedges round the cricket field, and they are nicely away from any roads, which makes for safer and cleaner picking. It's the same place I tend to pick blackberries from, I see it as an added bonus to being a member.

The flowers themselves smell lovely, it was one of those times I really appreciate living in the countryside, helping the boy pick flowers and then chasing him through the thistles with fallen flowers stuck in his hair.
An hour later, and back home, we had a washing up bowl full which were duly shaken to remove insects and snipped to remove the biggest stalks.

I'd checked out a few recipes online, but all had citric acid in them, which, this being a spur of the moment sort of thing, I didn't have.
Luckily a friend had given us the lovely Edible Wild Plants & Herbs
by Pamela Michael which had a recipe for elderflower syrup, which she recommends as a drink diluted with water. You can also use it for cooking fruit in, adding 1 1/2 cups per kilo of fruit. I'll try this once the gooseberries are ripe.

See here for the recipe.

Recipe Costs

£0 bowl full of elderflowers
£1.63 1750g granulated sugar

£1.63Total
£0.40 per litre of cordial - 2p per diluted litre (4% the cost of the equivalent at ocado)

Into the pan went all the flowers with enough water to cover (about 4.5 litres)

Half an hour of bringing to the boil and simmering later, and with the kitchen full of the smell of flowers, the soggy mass of flowers was strained off. I used some cloth in a sieve, as there were quite a lot of small bits of flower in the pan.

The resulting liquid was measured (3.3 litres) and 400g of sugar added for each 750ml. After bringing to the boil again I bottled it in some steralised screw top wine bottles. This should keep for several months in the fridge, and should last us through the summer.
I also put some in plastic bottles in the freezer, which should last until the autumn.

Recipe Timings

1hr picking flowers
0.5hrs Preparation of flowers
0.5 hrs simmering
0.5 hr Bottling

Taste Test

For an initial taste test I diluted this about 1:20 (15ml per 300ml) with water, and if anything it's was a bit sweet and tasted more of elderflowers than perhaps I'm used to with commercial cordials. It may be why many recipes include citric acid, as a bit of acidity would contrast the sweetness well.
I think I'll try to dilute it more, especially for children, as I worked out diluting it 1:20 means 1.3 teaspoons of sugar per 300ml of finished drink. This is however still much better than fizzy drinks at 8tsp per 300ml, and orange squash at 3.5tsp per 300ml. Pure orange juice contains over 5 teaspoons, although this is in naturally occurring sugars.

For a second test I reduced it to 1:30 (10ml per 300ml), and this is much more refreshing, and only has just under a teaspoon of sugar per 300ml.
I'll look forward to trying it with the Rhubarb Schnapps which is still banished to under the stairs.

Rhubarb Schnapps

2009-05-16T19:29:00.005+01:00

So now that I've made rhubarb crumble, rhubarb jam, rhubarb crumble, rhubarb chutney and rhubarb crumble I was searching round for ideas and came across a few people who had made rhubarb schnapps. This sounded like a great idea, especially as it would be ready for the planned camping trips during the hot summer we've been promised.
The same recipe was used on both erin's kitchen and the accidental scientist, a simple looking looking procedure from Nigella Lawson's How to be a Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking.

See here for the recipe.

Recipe Costs

£6.22 1kg rhubarb (equivalent cost, mine was free)
£0.28 300g granulated sugar
£11.19 1l vodka

£17.69 Total (£11.47without buying the rhubarb)
£17.69 per litre of schnapps (£11.47 without buying the rhubarb - peach schnapps costs £14.27 at ocado)

The method couldn't really be easier, it took me longer to pick and trim the rhubarb into the compost heap than it did to follow the instructions.

I raided the cupboard and turfed some pasta out from a large preserving jar, then stuffed it full of the chopped rhubarb. Raw rhubarb has an indescribably lovely fresh smell which I am hoping will come through in the finished drink.

Sugar in next, I had to temporarily take out some of the rhubarb so I could fit it in, hence the above picture looking a bit like one of those coloured sand in a jar things you can get at the seaside.

I managed to top the jar up with about 850ml of the cheapest vodka I could find, I guess I'll mix the remainder in once the recommended six weeks is up and I'm bottling it.
By all accounts this will turn out to be a lovely pink colour and taste just perfect mixed with sparkling white wine. I'll watch it carefully as it has to be regularly removed from it's hiding place under the stairs and given a good shake.

Recipe Timings

15 minutes Preparation
6 weeks Standing

Taste Test

This will have to wait until the summer.

Rhubarb Schnapps Recipe

2009-05-15T17:20:00.006+01:00

This recipe is adapted from the one in Nigella Lawson's How to be a Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking.

Ingredients

1kg rhubarb
300g granulated sugar
1litre vodka (cheapest you can find)

Method

See here for pictures of the method.

Chop the rhubarb into 2cm pieces
Mix in a steralised jar with the sugar and vodka
Leave in a cool dark place for between six weeks and six months, shaking well occasionally.
Strain and bottle.
Serve neat or with fizzy water / wine.

Makes about 850ml

Carrot and Almond Chutney Labels

2009-05-08T09:30:00.001+01:00

Time for some more sticking. This time Carrot and Almond Chutney.

Rhubarb Chutney Labels

2009-05-07T13:26:00.001+01:00

Managed to squeeze some time in a busy week to do a label for the recent Rhubarb Chutney.

Rhubarb Chutney

2009-04-25T19:28:00.007+01:00

As part of using up the ongoing glut of rhubarb in the garden, and having already made rhubarb and ginger jam, chutney was next on the list. I never usually make chutney at this time of year, it tends to be the sort of thing I submit vegetables to at the end of their life, such as green tomatoes, huge marrows and windfall apples. It seems slightly unfair on the excited spring shoots to confine them to several hours of simmering in vinegar, but we do get through a lot of chutney over the year and a new flavour will be eagerly looked forward to when it's ready.

The recipe I used was adapted from the one at the thefoody.com, as recommended on the grow your own forums.

See here for the recipe.

Recipe Costs

£9.34 1.5kg rhubarb (equivalent cost, mine was free)
£2.06 1500g dark brown soft sugar
£1.15 900ml vinegar (malt)
£0.55 425g sultanas
£0.36 75g chopped dried apricots
£0.40 40g root ginger
£ 0.01 30g salt
£0.30 30g garlic
£0.10 1 chilli
£0.01 2 tsp peppercorns
£0.90 3 lemons, peel only
£15.18 Total (£5.84 without buying the rhubarb)
£5.06 per kg of jam (£1.94 without buying the rhubarb - 30% of the cost of equivalent at ocado)

I made half as much again as the original recipe, mainly because I enthusiastically picked too much rhubarb. I find adapting a recipe like this isn't a problem with chutney, I'd be a bit careful doing the same with jam as it can be tricky to get large quantities up to temperature quick enough. The rhubarb was chopped into quite fine slices, about 1cm, as I didn't want the end result to be too stringy.
Substituting some of the sultanas for apricots was inspired by seeing several recipes containing apricots or dates, I imagine they complement the rhubarb well and add more variety than the standard sultanas. We've been mixing our own muesli lately so have a good stock of dried fruit in the cupboard.

A nice large amount of garlic went in to the pot, it was getting on for two heads, leaving us with only one head of homegrown left. The lemon peel was taken off some lemons from the freezer, I'd picked these up in the out-of-date section at the supermarket a few weeks ago. Not having any cayenne pepper I chucked in a finely chopped chilli, I'm sure given the volume being made it would be fine to add a few more if you liked it hot.

The ginger, lemon and peppercorns went in the muslin with the garlic, chilli and salt joining the fruit, sugar and vinegar in the Preserving Pan.I'd got the large pan off the top shelf in the kitchen where it had been collecting sticky dust, as I figure it's best to use stainless steel when making chutney, especially with something as acidic as rhubarb. The non stick ones would probably not have suffered too much but I don't really like the thought of Rhubarb and Teflon Chutney.

After several hours of simmering the chutney looked thick enough to pot, it's fine to have a small amount of liquid in the top of the jars as this is absorbed during the 3 months of maturing time. The chutney looked very rich and dark as it went into the jars, I shall look forward to tasting it in August, preferably outside with a nice lump of cheese.

Recipe Timings

0.5hrs Preparation
2 hrs simmering
0.5 hr Potting

Taste Test

This will have to wait until August.

Rhubarb Chutney Recipe

2009-04-24T13:48:00.004+01:00

This recipe is adapted from the one at the thefoody.com, as recommended on the grow your own forums.

Ingredients

1500g rhubarb
1500g dark brown soft sugar
900ml vinegar (malt)
425g sultanas
75g chopped dried apricots
40g root ginger
30g salt
30g garlic
1 chilli
2 tsp peppercorns
3 lemons, peel only

Method

See here for pictures of the method.

Finely chop the rhubarb and garlic.
Crush the root ginger and place it with the peppercorns and lemon peel in a piece of muslin and tie with string.
Place all of the ingredients into a large saucepan and bring to the boil.
Simmer gently, stir frequently, until the mixture thickens.
Remove the muslin bag.

Pot in steralised jars.

Makes about 3kg
Leave for 3 months to mature before using.

Rhubarb Marmalade Recipe

2009-04-22T12:02:00.002+01:00

image source wikimedia commons
This recipe is adapted from the one at the Rhubarbinfo website.

Ingredients

2 litres chopped rhubarb (8 cups)
2 oranges
900g sugar
1 lemon
50g finely chopped preserved ginger

Method

Mix the rhubarb and sugar and let it stand overnight.

Thinly slice the rind from oranges and lemon, cover with cold water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes or until tender, drain, set aside.

Remove pith from oranges and lemon and chop the pulp, add to rhubarb. In a non aluminium saucepan bring to a full rolling boil.
Reduce heat and cook for about 10 minutes, until a setting point is reached.

(Setting point can be judged by pouring a little of the jam mixture onto a cold saucer and leaving to cool for a few minutes. If a skin has formed and the jam wrinkles when pushed with a finger it has reached setting point. If it stays runny and does not have a skin then boil for longer.)

Remove from heat, add ginger and cooked citrus rind.

Stir for 5 minutes then skim any foam.

Pot in steralised jars.

Makes about 1.75 litres

Note on untested recipes

I have not tried this recipe, but plan to in the future. It would be good to hear from anyone who uses it.

Ten Facts About Rhubarb

2009-04-20T16:46:00.011+01:00

image source wikimedia commons

1. The edible stalks of the Rhubarb plant (Rheum rhabarbarum) are technically a vegetable.

2. The rhubarb plant is a herbaceous perennial and, in temperate climates, is one of the earliest vegetable crops, usually in April.

3. The plant is native to Asia and grows wild along the banks of the River Volga.

4. Rhubarb became popular as a food in the 17th Century when cheap sugar became available.

5. Rhubarb can be stored in a plastic bag in the fridge for 2 - 3 weeks.

6. Rhubarb can be frozen raw, or blanched for 1 minute in boiling water, or stewed to take up less space.

7. Rhubarb can be used as a laxative.

8. You can buy Rhubarb and Custard sweets at www.aquarterof.co.uk

9. Rhubarb leaves are considered toxic, but a human would have to eat about 5kg of bitter leaves to reach a lethal dose.

10. There is an amazing amount of information about growing and eating rhubarb at The Rhubarb Compendium website

Rhubarb and Ginger Jam

2009-04-17T15:56:00.003+01:00

Rhubarb was one of the first things we planted in our new vegetable garden when we moved in. I don't think I have ever bought rhubarb in the shops, and had therefore probably not cooked with it since leaving home. Now every year (apart, for some, in the breastfeeding ones) we can get very excited about the first new shoots and then the sudden abundance. It does very well in our clay soil, and the surplus is often given away in an attempt to limit the amount of crumble consumed (for weight reasons, as I can easily eat a bowl cold for breakfast).

This was the first time I had tried preserving with it, the recipe with ginger was enticing, as I have made wonderful marrow and ginger jam before. The addition of crystallised ginger was a good excuse to have a go at making that as well. The recipe from the "Good Housekeeping" Cookery Book which was on the veg plotting blog, seemed to be the classic.
See here for the recipe.

Recipe Costs

£6.85 1.1kg rhubarb (equivalent cost, mine was free)
£1.03 1.1kg sugar
£0.60 2 Lemons
£0.24 25g root ginger
£1.36 100g crystallised ginger
£10.08 Total (£3.23 without buying the rhubarb)
£5.04 per kg of jam (£1.62 without buying the rhubarb - 33% of the cost of equivalent at Tesco)

This jam was a dream to make, chopping rhubarb is particularly pleasurable, something to do with the noise it makes.
The recipe said to leave the rhubarb and sugar mix to stand overnight, so I did, but couldn't resist stirring a few times. When returned to in the morning the sugar had drawn out a lot of liquid resulting in chunks of rhubarb floating in sugar syrup - half way to jam already.

All of the crystallised ginger was finely chopped and added in with the fresh crushed ginger in a muslin. This seemed like a lot of ginger for the amount of jam, but the end result wasn't overpowering.

The boiling process was more frantic than some jams, the rhubarb broke down quickly, leaving it's characteristic strands. It might be an idea to chop the rhubarb into smaller chunks to start with, if you're not keen on stringy jam. Setting point was soon reached, no need for hours of simmering with this jam.

Recipe Timings

0.5hrs Preparation
overnight standing
0.25hrs chopping ginger
0.5hrs first boil
0.5hrs to reach setting point
0.5 hr Potting

Taste Test
I had though this could be overpowered by the ginger in it, but although it's obviously there, it's actually quite subtle until you bite into a small lump of crystallised ginger. The lumps of ginger have remained firm and crunchy, and although it would still be a tasty jam if they were left out, I think it's worth the effort of making and adding them.

Rhubarb and Ginger Jam Recipe

2009-04-17T14:32:00.001+01:00

This is taken from the 1995 edition of the "Good Housekeeping" Cookery Book.

Ingredients

1.1kg (2.5lb) rhubarb (prepared weight), chopped
1.1kg (2.5lb) sugar
juice of 2 lemons
25g (1oz) root ginger
100g (4oz) preserved stem ginger, chopped

Method

See here for pictures of the method.

Place the rhubarb, sugar and lemon juice in a large bowl in alternate layers, cover and leave overnight.

Next day, peel and bruise the root ginger slightly with a rolling pin, and tie it in a piece of muslin. Put the rhubarb mixture in a preserving pan with the muslin bag, bring to the boil and boil rapidly for 15 minutes, stirring frequently.

Remove the muslin bag from the pan, add the stem ginger and boil for a further 5 minutes.

Test for set, and when setting point is reached remove any scum with a slotted spoon, pot and cover.

Makes about 2kg (4.5lb)

Crystallised Ginger

2009-04-16T14:43:00.006+01:00

I had settled on making some Rhubarb and Ginger Jam with the rampant rhubarb from the garden, and had then been further inspired by the post on the veg plotting blog. As the recipe called for crystallised ginger it seemed sensible to have a go at making this myself first.

I have a recipe for it in The Complete Book of Small-batch Preserving, although it being an American book it calls it candied ginger.
See here for the recipe.

Recipe Costs

£1.22 130g fresh ginger
£0.14 145g sugar
£1.36 Total
£10.07 per kg crystallised ginger (very similar or more expensive to the costs in the shops)

The ginger was peeled and chopped, not a time consuming task, although I did only do a cup full. The thinly (about 2mm) sliced ginger was boiled several times, which did make the kitchen smell very nice.

While boiling for the final time I made up the sugar syrup, unlike the making of candied peel, the ginger was simmered in the syrup until it was all absorbed. This needed a bit of watching in the final ten minutes, but meant there was no sticky draining to do. I just tipped the pan straight into a bowl of sugar and rubbed until it was all coated.

The recipe suggested further drying in the oven, but as I was planning on using it straight away I didn't bother.

This was a very quick and easy recipe to do, and satisfying not to have to buy the product from the shops to use in the planned jam. You could almost prepare it as you needed it, if you had ginger in the fridge/freezer and needed crystallised ginger for a recipe.
A bit disappointing that you can buy it cheaper then make it, but that was probably down to the cost of ginger. I did at least save on the petrol costs of making a special journey to get some.

Recipe Timings

0.25 hrs Preparation
1 hr Boiling, simmering in Sugar Syrup & dusting in sugar

Taste Test

This had a real kick to it, sweet at first and then fiery in the mouth. I imagine it'll make a rich tasting addition to jam or chutney, and could in small amounts be eaten as a very treaty snack.

Crystallised Ginger Recipe

2009-04-11T17:11:00.007+01:00

This is taken from The Complete Book of Small-batch Preserving.
See here for pictures of the method.

Ingredients

250ml Thinly sliced peeled fresh ginger
125ml Granulated sugar
175ml Water
Extra Granulated sugar

Method

Place the ginger in a small saucepan and cover with water, bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Drain and then repeat once with fresh cold water.

Combine the ginger, 175ml of water and 125ml sugar in a saucepan. Bring to the boil and then simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes, or until all the liquid has evaporated. It's best to watch it for the last 10 minutes in case it scorches.

Put a layer of extra sugar in a dish and tip the ginger in. Toss it until all pieces are coated. Dry in a 200 degree F oven for an hour. Let stand at room temperature for 1 day to finish drying.

Crystallised or preserved ginger keeps almost indefinitely in a sealed jar, in a cool dark place.

Makes about 250ml or 135g

Ten Facts About Ginger

2009-04-10T14:30:00.010+01:00

image source wikimedia commons

1. Ginger used in cooking is the underground stem of the ginger plant(Zingiber officinale)javascript:void(0)

2. Ginger originated in Asia and is now also grown in India, Southeast Asia, West Africa and the Caribbean.

3. Ginger can be used fresh, either grated or thinly sliced, or the root powdered and dried to make ginger powder.

4. Substitute 6 parts fresh for 1 part ground if needed, although the tastes are not exactly the same.

5. Fresh ginger is often used in pickles and chutneys, and can be pickled itself to make the Japanese delicacy gari.

6. Fresh ginger can also be preserved by crystallising, then used in baking or jam making.

7. When buying ginger make sure the skin is smooth, if it's wrinkled or cracked it means the ginger is old. It should also be very firm to the touch.

8. Ginger has been found effective for treating nausea caused by seasickness, morning sickness and chemotherapy.

9. Fresh ginger can be kept for about three weeks in the fridge, wrapped in a towel in a plastic bag.

10. It can be frozen for up to three months, either whole or grated.

Carrot Marmalade Recipe

2009-04-09T10:21:00.005+01:00

image source wikimedia commons
This recipe is adapted from the one at the Carrot Museum website.

Ingredients

2.5 litres grated carrots (10 cups)
2kg sugar
6 oranges
4 lemons
1 tsp each of Allspice, cinnamon and ground cloves.

Method

Peel the oranges and lemons and remove as much of the membranes and pith as possible. Slice thinly.

Remove thin white membrane from the orange flesh and slice into small pieces.

Squeeze the lemons, add the juice to the carrots, orange flesh and citrus peel and allow it all to stand over night.

The next day, add spices and cook simmer for 2 hours.

Pot in steralised jars

Note on untested recipes

I have not tried this recipe, but plan to in the future. It would be good to hear from anyone who uses it.

Ten Facts About Carrots

2009-04-08T10:17:00.007+01:00

image source wikimedia commons

1. The carrot (Daucus carota sativus), is a biennial plant which is usually grown for it's edible tap root which is eaten at the end of the first season.

2. It is a domesticated form of the wild carrot, native to Europe and southwestern Asia, thought to originate in Afghanistan.

3. Carrots can be eaten raw, cooked or made into juice.

4. Carrots are usually orange, although are available in red, purple, yellow and white varieties.

5. Carrots can be preserved by making into chutney, jam or marmalade.

6. Carrots have a pectin level of approximately 1.4%

7. Carrots are best stored in the vegetable drawer in the fridge but first remove the greens, as they will deplete the carrot of both moisture and nutrients. Don't use a plastic bag, as this can lead to rotting, use a paper one instead. For the best taste and nutrients use carrots within one to two weeks.

8. You can freeze carrots if you blanch them first. Small and tender carrots freeze best, remove the tops, wash and peel, cut large carrots into thin slices, cubes or strips. Blanch whole carrots in boiling water for a minimum of 5 minutes, slices, cubes or strips only need 2 minutes. Drain, cool and freeze as quickly as possible.

9. If you grow your own carrots, you can overwinter them in the ground if your soil is well drained. If lifted from the ground they can be stored in layers of moist sand in boxes, in a frost-free, dark place such as a shed or cellar. More information at the RHS website.

10. Masses of information can be found about carrots at the highly informative carrot museum website.

Carrot Jam Recipe

2009-04-07T10:13:00.004+01:00

image source wikimedia commons
This recipe is adapted from the one at the Carrot Museum website.

Ingredients

1 litre Chopped carrots
750ml sugar
Three sliced lemons
One tsp cinnamon
half tsp cloves

Method

Add all the ingredients into a saucepan, and simmer slowly at a gentle heat. Stir the ingredients constantly to begin with.

After about 20 minutes, the carrots should begin to soften, and the jam will become thick. To make the jam smooth, put everything in a liquidiser and blend for a few minutes.

Pot in steralised jars.

Although the jam can be used immediately, the flavour improves after a few days.

Makes about 1 litre

Note on untested recipes

I have not tried this recipe, but plan to in the future. It would be good to hear from anyone who uses it.

Equipment: Pestle and Mortar

2009-04-02T10:20:00.000+01:00

This granite pestle and mortar is an essential piece of equipment in my kitchen. I've had several others in the past, including a very nice blue and white striped one with a wooden pestle that was absolutely useless. The pestle needs to have enough weight to crush the contents, and the bigger it is, the more you can process in one go.
The set prior to this one was very similar and was purchased from a equipment suppliers near Manchester's curry mile. One day the pestle rolled off the worktop and broke on the floor, luckily after we had moved out of the kitchen with white ceramic floor tiles.
This is the replacement and is about 150mm square, weighing 3.2kg it needs two hands to move, which is great as it stays still when you are using it. It's also got a good course internal texture which really helps when grinding spices. You can get a similar one here.
There are some tests of different styles of pestle and mortar on the spicelines.com blog, which also come to the conclusion that a heavy set is best for spices, but points out that if you want to do delicate crushing, for instance basil leaves, then a lighter set may also be useful.

Ten Facts About Seville Oranges

2009-03-30T16:04:00.004+01:00

image source wikimedia commons

1. The Seville Orange (Citrus aurantium), or sour orange, is native to southeastern Asia.

2. Arabs are thought to have carried it to Arabia in the 9th Century, and it had reached Spain by the end of the 12th Century.

3. For 500 years, it was the only orange in Europe and it was the first orange to reach the New World.

4. Seville Orange are usually smaller and harder than eating oranges

5. Seville Oranges are generally in season in the UK from December to February, they can however be frozen.

6. Seville Oranges are usually too sour to be enjoyed fresh, their greatest use is in Scotland and the UK for making marmalade.

7. The juice can also be used to flavour meat and fish, or fermented to make wine.

8. Oil extracted from the peel is used as a flavouring in the liqueurs Triple sec, Grand Marnier and Curaçao, and also as a commercial flavouring in sweets, ice cream, chewing gum, soft drinks, and pharmaceutical products.

9. In Mexico seville oranges are eaten cut in half, salted and coated with a paste of hot chili peppers.

10. For more information see the very informative article here.

Carrot and Almond Chutney

2009-03-30T10:30:00.001+01:00

We've been eating a lot of carrots recently. Partly through trying, as much as possible, to eat seasonal vegetables. At this time of year this results in a lot of coleslaw, which isn't a bad thing especially with the addition of fresh chives from the garden.
It set me thinking that there must be a way of using carrots in a chutney, after some searching it seemed that a lot of people were trying to replicate the classic M&S Wensleydale and caramelised carrot chutney sandwich. It's a few years since I had one of these, but I do remember them as being particularly good, Wensleydale goes very well with a sweet chutney.
There was a good looking Indian recipe at indianfoodforever.com which I'll have to try another time. I decided to have a go at this recipe for Carrot and Almond Chutney from the Chutney Recipes Blog, as I was intrigued by it's description as angel hair jam.

A selection of good big carrots were bought from the local veg shop, peeled, and then grated. I'd thought this would take ages and had considered using the food processor, but in the end it only took about 10 minutes by hand.
I'd had to adapt the recipe somewhat, mostly because I hadn't planned to well in advance and didn't have enough honey or fresh ginger.
See here for the recipe.

Recipe Costs

£1.70 1.5kg carrots (some weight is lost in peeling)
£0.21 125ml white wine vinegar
£0.60 2 lemons
£0.05 1 tblsp honey
£0.10 3 tblsp sugar
£0.05 1 tblsp salt
£0.05 2 tblsp coriander seeds ( I bought a bulk pack)
£0.80 85g fresh ginger
£3.56 Total
£2.96 per kg chutney

Grinding the coriander gave me the chance top use my favorite stone pestle and mortar, something I searched for ages until finding. It has just the right combination of heavy mortar and rough pestle.

The mixture was all stirred up and left overnight, it wasn't quite as moist as I would have expected, which made it quicker to thicken up when the boiling stage was reached.

At this point I realised that maybe if I'd grated the carrot finer it would better resemble 'Angel Hair'. Still it's a great colour, and smelt very gingery.

The chillies and almonds were added just before putting into jars, I had to force it into the jars a bit, as the carrots retained quite a bit of their structure, and I didn't want to leave to many air gaps. Maybe I boiled it for a bit to long, or it could have done with some more liquid.

Recipe Timings

30 mins First Preparation
12 hours sitting
10 mins Second Preparation
40 mins cooking
30 mins Potting

Taste test

I had thought the coriander would be the dominant taste, as 2 tablespoons seemed a lot to be adding, however the ginger is prominent, with a following up of chilli. The carrots retain a lot of bite, as do the almonds, so the texture is a slightly crunchy one. The colour is great, and certainly looks good in a sandwich.

Carrot and Almond Chutney Recipe

2009-03-28T19:36:00.000Z

This recipe is adapted from the one at the Chutney Recipes Blog.

Ingredients

1.25kg carrots
85g grated ginger
250ml white wine vinegar
150ml water
juice and grated rind of 2 lemons
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp ground coriander seeds
1 tsp ground ginger
2 large chillies
3 tbsp flaked almonds

Method

See here for pictures of the method.

Grate the carrots and mix with all the other ingredients, except the chillies and almonds, leave to stand overnight.

Bring to the boil and simmer for twenty minutes, then boil hard for ten to fifteen minutes or until thickened.
Finely chop the chillies and add them and the almonds to the mixture.

Pot in steralised jars.

Makes about 1.2kg (2.6lbs)

Glossary: Candied

2009-03-26T14:03:00.000Z

Candying is a method of preserving where fruit is prevented from decaying by being forced to absorb sugar, therefore preventing the growth of microorganisms. The finished product is known as candied fruit and is prepared in a similar but quicker way to glace fruit and crystalised fruit.
The candying process usually involves boiling the fruit, then steeping in heated sugar syrup. The sugar slowly replaces the moisture in the fruit creating a high sugar environment unfavorable to microorganisms. This process takes several hours.
Fruits which are commonly candied include cherries, plums, peaches, apricots, pears, starfruit, pineapple, apples and citrus fruit or peel.

Citrus Syrup Cake

2009-03-02T13:18:00.000Z

I made this cake last week, partly to use up some of the citrus flavoured sugar syrup left over from making candied peel. This recipe was adapted from one of Nigel Slater's published in the Observer magazine, I used less polenta and more ground almonds than originally suggested, I assumed that polenta is only really used for extra texture so this shouldn't make too much difference. The cake did need about an additional 30 mins baking at the second stage, so maybe the polenta also absorbs some of the moisture. After baking I poured over as much of my left over citrus syrup (heated up) as I could manage, about 250ml, this made the finished cake very moist and sticky, to the extent it was best eaten with a fork. No one complained.

Ingredients

210g butter
210g unrefined caster sugar
100g almonds
3 large eggs
175g ground almonds
100g ground polenta
a level tsp baking powder
finely grated zest and juice of a large orange

Method

Using a non-stick, loose-bottomed cake tin about 20cm in diameter, line the base with a piece of baking parchment. Set the oven at 180C/gas mark 5. Put the kettle on.

Beat the butter and sugar in a food mixer till light and fluffy. Put the almonds in a heatproof bowl and pour over enough boiling water to cover them. Leave for 5 minutes, then pop each nut out of its skin, squeezing between thumb and forefinger. Discard the skins.

Break the eggs into a small bowl and beat them lightly with a fork. You just want them lightly mixed. Pour a little of the beaten egg into the creamed butter and sugar, beating thoroughly, then slowly continue adding and beating till all the egg is used up.

Finely chop the almonds. Add the chopped and the ground almonds to the egg cake mixture. Stir the polenta and baking powder together then add it gently to the mix. Lastly, mix in the grated orange zest and juice.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, then turn the heat down to 160C/gas mark 3 and continue cooking for a further 30 minutes, covering the surface with tin foil if it is browning too quickly. Remove from the oven but leave the cake in its tin.

Spike holes into the top of the cake (still warm in its tin) with a skewer, pour over the hot syrup and leave to cool.

For the syrup:

a large, juicy lemon
a large orange
100g golden caster sugar
2 tbsp liqueur, such as limoncello

To make the syrup, finely grate the zest from the lemon and orange over a measuring jug. Cut the fruits in half and squeeze their juice into the jug, then top it up to 250ml with water. Pour into a saucepan and add the sugar. Bring to the boil and keep at a rapid bubble until the sugar has dissolved and the liquid has reduced to about 175ml. Remove from the heat and add the liqueur.

Serves 8.

The cake was, as I mentioned before, very moist and sticky, but I have to agree with what Nigel Slater said last week:

I don't really mind a moist undercrust - pastry or cake sodden with juice being a good thing in my book.

I think the mixed citrus taste worked well and the polenta gave it a good bit of bite. We had one slice with a cup of tea while it was still warm, and some more for pudding later in the evening.
I'm tempted to make it again soon, not least as I have more of that syrup to use up.

Candied Peel Labels

2009-02-28T13:49:00.000Z

We spent some time yesterday colouring in labels for the newly made candied peel, which I also put into jars. I'm wondering now if I should be including the date on the labels.

Chocolate Covered Candied Peel Recipe

2009-02-26T19:33:00.000Z

After making Candied Peel last week I was keen to try doing some baking with it, so I mulled over the possibilities. It felt a bit early in the year for Pannettone (I will try this recipe, as it can be done in the breadmaker) and the same with Christmas pudding. I thought about just making some flapjack and adding the peel instead of the usual mix of raisins and chopped apricots. But, in the end I succumbed to the inevitable and dipped it in chocolate.
When searching for recipes I was spoilt for choice, it seems everyone who has ever made candied peel then feels the need to coat it in chocolate.
I expect there are a few reasons for this:

1. because you can, and it's an excuse to use chocolate.
2. because candied peel by itself, although delicious, can get a bit sweet if you eat too much of it, and dipping it in a bitter chocolate enables you to eat more of it while feeling like you are eating a delicacy rather than just devouring a jar of candied peel.

So, I was won over, after some reading up (and worrying about the intricacies of 'tempering' chocolate - far too time consuming for something that won't last more than a few days) I settled on the following:

Ingredients

About 25 long (5cm) strips of Candied Peel (Orange, Lemon, Lime, Grapefruit)
50g (half a bar) Lindt 70% cocoa dark chocolate

Method

Break the chocolate into a pudding basin over a small saucepan of simmering water and wait until it melts.

Holding the candied peel at one end, dip and twist into the molten chocolate until about two thirds are covered.

Allow drips to fall back into the basin, then lay out to dry on a wire rack over greaseproof paper.

Makes: 25

These dried with a matt finish, no doubt because I didn't go to the trouble if tempering my chocolate, and looked extremely tempting. The mix of sweet and citrus peel with the bitter dark chocolate works very well. These were meant for a birthday present on Tuesday, but I don't think they'll last that long.

Glossary: Marmalade

2009-02-24T11:25:00.000Z

Marmalade is a fruit preserve made from citrus fruits.
In the UK bitter Seville oranges are traditionally used, although lemons, limes and grapefruit (or combinations) can also be used successfully. The Seville orange season is short (December to February), so Marmalade is usually made around this time.
The word marmalade can trace it's meaning back to the Portuguese word for quince, which is marmelo.
The word marmalade is now protected by European law and can only be applied to jams made from oranges, lemons and grapefruit. It's not clear where this leaves onion marmalade.

Candied Peel Recipe

2009-02-19T20:04:00.000Z

This is taken from Elise Bauer's Simply Recipes blog.

Ingredients

Citrus Peel (lemon, grapefruit, orange, lime)
Granulated sugar
Water

Method
See here for pictures of the method.

Grapefruit skins are much thicker than other citrus skins. Cooking them a while in boiling water helps loosen up the white pithy part so it is easier to scrape off.

Scrub the outside rinds thoroughly to remove any dirt. Put rind in cold water, bring to a boil and boil for 10 minutes. Drain and repeat this process two more times. Drain, rinse with cold water, and scrape away the pithy white part of the peel. Slice into strips.

For each cup of rind, prepare a sugar syrup of 1 cup of sugar to 1 cup of water. Put rind in syrup and cook slowly until syrup is completely absorbed - several hours. Stir occasionally and watch carefully near the end of the process.

Cool the peel and coat the strips with granulated sugar.
Dry overnight on a rack.

Candied Peel

2009-02-19T19:46:00.001Z

When making marmalade last week I froze some unused lemon peel with the thought of using it for something constructive. After some thought, and research, I decided to have a go at candied peel, not something I'd usually even use. Hopefully having some in the house will be useful when it comes to baking, and for mincemeat at Christmas if it lasts that long.
I wanted to have a wider range of peel than just two lemons, so the bag in the freezer grew to contain the following:

Peel of three lemons - 170g (left over from marmalade making)
Peel of 1 grapefruit - 140g (a breakfast treat)
Peel of five oranges - 255g (a regular winter craving)
Peel of 2 limes - 100g (I wanted some green in the mix, so cooked Thai curry)

I pulled all this out the freezer in the morning so it was thawed when I came to prepare it.

There seemed to be several ways of preparing the peel, either repeated boiling and draining, or just prolonged boiling, but all recipes needed the peel to have the membranes scraped off and then be sliced. This took about 20 minutes, I wasn't too fussy about removing all the pith as I'd read it added to the succulency of the finished product, which made sense - the more pith, the more sugar could be soaked up.

Roughly following the recipe from Elise Bauer's Simply Recipes blog, I boiled all the peel 3 times draining in between.

See here for the recipe.

Recipe Costs

£0.00 665g left over citrus peel
£1.39 1.5kg sugar
£1.39 Total
£1.63 per kg of Candied Peel (50% of the cost at Tesco)

I choose to use the above recipe as it had a nice adaptable way of measuring the sugar syrup - using cups as a volume measure. It also gave me a chance to use one of these lovely measuring cups from Nigella Lawson.

I had 6 cups of peel, which wasn't too tightly packed, in hindsight I should probally have packed it in a bit more, as I ended up with way too much syrup. Having surplus did mean that I wasn't concerned about the pan catching or drying out. I do also now have a bottle of citrus flavoured sugar syrup, which makes a nice drink with fizzy water. I may be tempted to try a gin fizz this weekend.
In went the peel to the syrup.

After two and a half hours of simmering the peel had turned translucent, so I drained it and left it on racks before dusting with granulated sugar. I'll be letting it dry out in a large bowl for a few days before packing into jars.

This made a massive 850g of candied peel, which judging by the starting weight of peel means about a quarter of it is sugar. It should last a while, in an airtight jar apparently it's ok for up to a year. Now I just need something to do with it all before it gets nibbled away, time to get baking I feel.

Recipe Timings

1 hrs Preparation
0.5 hr Draining and Dusting
0.5 hr Potting

2.5 hrs Cooking
48 hr Drying

Taste Test

It tastes wonderful, initially sweet with a citrus bite afterward, with also a real difference between fruits. The lime could have done with being a bit softer - more boiling next time. Being able to cut the peel to size will be excellent when cooking with it.

Marmalade Labels

2009-02-10T19:39:00.000Z

Today I finally got round to sorting out some labels for the jars of marmalade I made last week. These were drawn out on A4 paper by the whole family (1 child and 2 grown ups), then reduced down to fit on the jars, it was a nice way to pass a snowy afternoon in front of the fire.

Marmalade Cookies Recipe

2009-02-05T20:02:00.001Z

After the success of my first ever batch of marmalade I was soon itching to make something using it - having it on toast in the morning just wasn't enough.
I had got an image in my head of something soft and sweet with bits of lovely tangy marmalade in it, perhaps a cake or biscuit. After some searching, and almost going for Margaret Hickey's Golden orange & walnut flapjacks on the BBC Good Food website, I found a recipe for Marmalade Cookies on the Supercook website.
I've adapted it below:

Ingredients

175g (6oz) plain flour
50g (2oz) ground almonds (I used oatbran instead)
100g (4oz) caster sugar
75g (3oz) butter, cut into small pieces
1 medium egg, beaten
3 tbsp orange marmalade

Method

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/ 350ºF/ Gas Mark 4. Grease and line 2 large baking trays with greaseproof paper.

Sieve the flour into a bowl and stir in the ground almonds (or oatbran) and sugar. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Add the egg and marmalade and bring the mixture together to form a soft dough. Wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

Divide the mixture into 16 pieces, and gently roll each piece into a ball. Place on the baking trays and press down to form rounds approx. 5cm (2 inch) in diameter.

Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until lightly golden. Allow to cool on the baking trays, then transfer to a wire rack.

Makes: 16

I found the dough very sticky (I was probably over enthusiastic with the marmalade) , so used some plain flour when rolling it into balls.
These were pretty ordinary soft biscuits, until you bit into a piece of marmalade when they were delicious. Lovely with a cup of Tea, and a great way to get two doses of marmalade a day.

Marmalade Recipe

2009-02-04T16:23:00.001Z

This is taken from the 1995 edition of the "Good Housekeeping" Cookery Book.

Ingredients

1.4kg (3lb) Seville oranges
juice of 2 lemons
3.4 litres (6 pints) water
2.7kg (6lb) sugar

Method
See here for pictures of the method.

Halve the oranges and squeeze out the juice and pips. (membranes can be scraped out into a sieve over a bowl)
Tie the pips and any membranes into a muslin.

Slice the orange peel and put in a preserving pan with the fruit juices, water and muslin bag.

Simmer gently for about 2 hours until the peel is soft and the liquid reduced by half, remove the bag and squeeze out any liquid.

Add the sugar, stirring gently until dissolved.
Bring to the boil and boil the mixture rapidly for about 15 minutes.

Test for a set and when setting point is reached, take off the heat and remove any scum.

Leave to stand for 15 minutes, then stir to distribute the peel.
Pot in steralised jars and cover.

Makes about 4.5kg (10lb)

Marmalade

2009-02-04T15:23:00.000Z

An exciting few days - making marmalade for the first time, something I've always fancied doing but never got round to. I think as it was I probably left it a bit late, luckily the local supermarket had bags of Seville oranges.
I promptly bought several bags and left them in a bowl for a while.

Researching recipes threw up a quandary, whether to use the 'whole fruit method' as recommended by Mary Cadogan on the BBC Good Food website, or to go with the 'slice the peel before simmering' version from my trusted "Good Housekeeping" Cookery Book.
In the end the second won out, purely because it was late in the afternoon and I didn't want to hang around waiting for oranges to cool before slicing them.
See here for the recipe.

Recipe Costs

£3.90 2kg Seville oranges
£0.60 2 Lemons
£2.51 2.7kg sugar
£7.01 Total
£1.55 per kg of Marmalade

First task was to juice the oranges and remove the pips and membranes, I microwaved the fruit for 30 seconds first (a good trick when juicing lemons) then after juicing scooped out the pulp with a cheap metal spoon (the cheaper the spoon the sharper the edge). I found a few cuts on my hands which I'd forgotten were there.

The pips and membranes went in the muslin, and the sliced peel was added to the water and juice along with the juice of two lemons (I froze the lemon peel, I'm sure it'll come in useful).
I was concerned that the slicing would take a long time, so went for a medium shred, but in the end in only took 10 minutes, thanks to a lovely sharp new knife I'd got for Christmas.

After boiling for several hours, reducing the liquid by half, I left the pan on the top of the stove overnight. One of the recipes I'd read recommended this, as otherwise the whole process can take a whole day.
It was a glorious smell to come down to in the morning.

I'm always surprised at how much sugar you need to put in, but it's soon forgotten once it dissolves into a fragrant, deep coloured, sticky gloop.
Reaching setting point took about an hour, I fear I may have overcooked it slightly, I only reached 210 degrees C on the thermometer rather than the recommended 221, but didn't dare push it any further. The saucer test indicated I was ready to put it in jars, and the finished marmalade set fine. I feel I may need to rely less on the thermometer in the future.

As a treat I added a tablespoon of whisky to several of the small jars and stirred it in well. Opinion varies about when to add this, but as I only wanted it in a few jars it was easier to add at the end (although I can see it may affect the consistency) rather than while cooking. Also I couldn't see the point of losing the alcohol.

Recipe Timings

1.5 hrs Preparation
0.5 hr Potting

2 hr first cooking
1hr second cooking

Taste Test

As suspected the marmalade was slightly on the thick side, but still fine for spreading.
It's a lovely dark colour and less sweet (more tangy) than some you might get commercially.