Make your own Christmas Prezzies!

shinikins

nc6000 wrote: »

Or you could just eat spoonfuls of it on its own.

My father did that when I made my first batch a few years ago. Thought it was real jam and spread it on his brown bread for breakfast and decided to eat a spoonful to top it off. He didn't stop sweating for an hour afterwards!

Kajemo

hey I wanted to make Nigellas chilli jam myself this year..

couple of questions, where can I buy Cider Vinegar and Jam sugar?? can I just get them in Tesco/dunnes or do I have to buy them some place special??

thanks in advance...

nc6000

Kajemo wrote: »

hey I wanted to make Nigellas chilli jam myself this year..

couple of questions, where can I buy Cider Vinegar and Jam sugar?? can I just get them in Tesco/dunnes or do I have to buy them some place special??

thanks in advance...

Any large Tesco\Dunnes should have them both.

Kajemo

nc6000 wrote: »

Any large Tesco\Dunnes should have them both.

excellent thanks so much. :-)

Pistachios & cream

Is anyone planning on making things over the long weekend?

I'm hoping to spend Monday doing a batch of chilli jam, bbq sauce and maybe a red pepper and tomato chutney.

I'm also hoping to buy some of my other ingredients so I can tip away at the other things as I have time. If I can organise myself this weekend I'll be in a good place for getting everything done with very little stress

spaceylou

Had a glut of chilis so decided to make some chili jam last night - early indications are that it is delicious! Very pleased and recipe was super easy as well

175g Chili - seeds removed, chopped finely.
1 Red Pepper - chopped finely
400ml cider vinegar
1 kg sugar jam

Combine, boil, stir and setting point was reached after about 10 min. Will be going into a few hampers this year.

Also made some spiced squash chutney a few weeks ago when butternut squash were on offer.

livedadream

I started my vanilla essence Sunday night god it's so pretty in the bottles! Can't figure out how to post a photo... any ideas...

Pistachios & cream

livedadream wrote: »

I started my vanilla essence Sunday night god it's so pretty in the bottles! Can't figure out how to post a photo... any ideas...

Oh i have a big batch of this extracting too. What bottles are you using? I find it hard to get small pretty ones

livedadream

Harvey Norman had a 50% sale over the weekend and I go kilner jars and loads of other bits... if I can figure out how to post a photo I'll show you...

arian

ahayes84 wrote: »

Oh i have a big batch of this extracting too. What bottles are you using? I find it hard to get small pretty ones

I was looking earlier, and there's quite a few on Amazon. This seller, in particular, has a wide choice, though they're not cheap.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?merchant=A18H9ASIF9BFQ9

Last couple of years I've re-used Frugo drinks bottles for fruit spirits, but I thought to go upmarket this year

Dizzyblonde

livedadream wrote: »

I started my vanilla essence Sunday night god it's so pretty in the bottles! Can't figure out how to post a photo... any ideas...

I use TinyPic - upload your photo, then copy and paste the code for message boards http://tinypic.com/

RasTa

These a good price?

http://www.alpack.ie/category/id-8.html

livedadream

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

I use TinyPic - upload your photo, then copy and paste the code for message boards http://tinypic.com/

Thank Dizzy!!



hope that works, this was just after id done them, theyve gone all brown and yummy looking in the meantime....

6 of the small blue cap bottles and 4 of the kilner bigs ones were 15 euro all in.

whooo 50% sales!

livedadream

guys i made the nigella 5 minute honeycomb today,

firstly this was my third attempt, nigella lies, i had to take out my sugar thermomoter to get it to hard crack first.
she says leave it to bubble for three minutes before adding the bicarb, my first two attempts went flat and sticky.

only problem i have now is i should have used a silicone mat as it stuck to the greaseproof paper...

RosyLily

Made Mary Berry's Christmas Chutney yesterday. Halved the recipe so I've got a jar and a half. The smell was rank but at least it didn't stick to the bottom of the pan too much! Looking forward to tasting it...never made chutney before.

_feedback_

Hi all,

Thread looks great, but before I get all ambitious.. Am I too late to the party doing some relishes and jams this weekend? Would they be edible for Christmas?

If I'm still ok, any recommendations for the nicest recipes?!

Pistachios & cream

_feedback_ wrote: »

Hi all,

Thread looks great, but before I get all ambitious.. Am I too late to the party doing some relishes and jams this weekend? Would they be edible for Christmas?

If I'm still ok, any recommendations for the nicest recipes?!

You would be just about ok with most chutneys. Generally 4 weeks is needed for them to mature. Sweet jam is good to go straight away

Nigellas Chilli Jam is always a favourite, It does need the 4 weeks and stinks the house out making it. Another favourite is the Stone soups BBQ Sauce. this can be eaten straight away too.

RosyLily

I tried Nigella's chilli jam since it's got such good reviews here. So good!! Had it on a rasher sandwich and it was delish! It's definitely going to be gifted to relatives.:)

Dinxminx

Has anybody ever tried making that Alton Brown Aged Eggnog? How does that work in terms of food poisoning? And is it any use?

Toto Wolfcastle

I want to make Nigella's chilli jam this year. (I've been threatening to make it for years!) I read a couple of comments elsewhere that said it tastes way too much like vinegar. I haven't read anything like that here so I'm presuming they either did something wrong, have a low tolerance for vinegar or don't really know what chilli jam is supposed to taste like. I thought I'd ask here just to double check before I make it.

Pistachios & cream

Toto Wolfcastle wrote: »

I want to make Nigella's chilli jam this year. (I've been threatening to make it for years!) I read a couple of comments elsewhere that said it tastes way too much like vinegar. I haven't read anything like that here so I'm presuming they either did something wrong, have a low tolerance for vinegar or don't really know what chilli jam is supposed to taste like. I thought I'd ask here just to double check before I make it.

It needs about 4 weeks to mature so if eaten straight away could be very vinegary. It's also Important to make sure it comes to a really fast boil. I had a batch that didn't work out and tasted vinegary as I hadn't got it hot enough for long enough. It never set properly either.

Faith

I heard someone else mentioning the jam 'maturing', but in the past, I've made it and given it to people straight away, and they have been very happy with it. Nobody has ever complained about it being too vinegary, but it does make the kitchen reek while it's cooking.

Toto, re: setting, just make sure you really don't stir the recipe while the sugar is dissolving. Stirring seems to prevent it setting properly, from my memory, and the recipe does say not to stir.

Toto Wolfcastle

Thanks guys. Appreciate the advice. I have a thermometer to help with the setting but I'll definitely avoid stirring it!

Faith

What temperature are you aiming for? I'm making hampers this year that will include the jam, but I'm quite rusty. I was planning on using a thermometer but wasn't sure what temperature I'd be looking for.

Toto Wolfcastle

Faith wrote: »

What temperature are you aiming for? I'm making hampers this year that will include the jam, but I'm quite rusty. I was planning on using a thermometer but wasn't sure what temperature I'd be looking for.

I read elsewhere on Nigella's site that 104 was the temperature to aim for.

RosyLily

I was very apprehensive making the chilli jam for the first time because it smelt so vinegary on the hob. But it was grand when it was cooled and in jars. I ate it the next day and it was deliciously sweet and hot!

Made the mistake of buying Good Housekeeping Christmas issue. Too many nice cakes and puds in it!!

Toto Wolfcastle

Thanks to all the help here it turned out perfectly. It has set beautifully and it tastes absolutely gorgeous. I halved the recipe and got 3 small Ikea jars and half a ramekin (which we had with chicken goujons tonight) out of it.

I also cleaned the pot with chunks of cheese.

Musefan

I'm delighted to hear that the Nigella jam can be eaten straight away. I thought I had missed the boat. I've got a red onion chutney & mary berry's christmas one maturing, but I didn't have enough jars for the chilli jam last month! And now I can make it

Edit: On that note, where to people buy their red chillis? I often see packs of 2 red, 2 green ones, but can I get red ones on their own anywhere?

Toto Wolfcastle

I bought packs of red chillis in Tesco the other day.

Pistachios & cream

I usually buy my red chillis in ethnic food shops. They are usually way cheaper.