Get your Jam on!

The Hill Billy

Further to recent posts in the General Chat thread about apples - it got me thinking about my own apple crop. (Protected by 3 cats, 2 rabbits & a wife with a particularly nasty bite - lest MissF think of doing a bit of scrumping out my way. :pac:)

I have a hybrid apple tree & we have a bumper crop this year. I'm not sure what varieties the apples are, but the red fruit is sweetish & the green are kind of sour.

I had my first taste of this year's apples last night & am thinking of making apple jelly with the green apples. If anyone has a tried & trusted recipe for apple jelly - I'd really appreciate it.

I'm also blessed with access to miles of hedgerows filled with blackberries & plan on bagging some of these soon too. So, if you've any recipies for jams, preserves or anything to do with autumn fruit - feel free to pop it in this thread.

Shenshen

The Hill Billy wrote: »

Further to recent posts in the General Chat thread about apples - it got me thinking about my own apple crop. (Protected by 3 cats, 2 rabbits & a wife with a particularly nasty bite - lest MissF think of doing a bit of scrumping out my way. :pac:)

I have a hybrid apple tree & we have a bumper crop this year. I'm not sure what varieties the apples are, but the red fruit is sweetish & the green are kind of sour.

I had my first taste of this year's apples last night & am thinking of making apple jelly with the green apples. If anyone has a tried & trusted recipe for apple jelly - I'd really appreciate it.

I'm also blessed with access to miles of hedgerows filled with blackberries & plan on bagging some of these soon too. So, if you've any recipies for jams, preserves or anything to do with autumn fruit - feel free to pop it in this thread.

Make blackberry and red apple jam.
It should work really nice, the pectin in the apple peel should help set the jam really well.

Dizzyblonde

Ooh that sounds exciting THB. I've always wanted to make apple jelly, it reminds me of when I was a child and a relative used to buy apple jelly from the Carmelite nuns. It's so nice on toast.

I've already made a small amount of jam this year, with the last of my red gooseberries and a load of strawberries that were going soft. I love home made jam

Gloomtastic!

Aldi have Jam Sugar in stock :rolleyes:

the beer revolu

Mrs. Beer has become a jam/jelly fiend!
Any fruit she lays her hands on gets turned into some sort of thing in a pot. And they are all delicious! She doesn't use recipes so I can't give any.

Some examples :
Windfall apple jelly.
Plum and redcurrant jelly.
Redcurrant jelly.
Seville marmalade.
G&T lemon and lime marmalade.
Lemon and elderflower marmalade (by product of elderflower cordial)
Strawberry and blackcurrant gin jam (byproduct of Blackwater Strawberry Gin)
Quince jelly.
Crabapple jelly.

MissFlitworth

The Hill Billy wrote: »

Further to recent posts in the General Chat thread about apples - it got me thinking about my own apple crop. (Protected by 3 cats, 2 rabbits & a wife with a particularly nasty bite - lest MissF think of doing a bit of scrumping out my way. :pac:)

Never let your guard down is all I'm saying.

The Hill Billy

I made a batch of apple jelly over the weekend. 2kg of the sweeter apples gave me almost 2l of jelly. On my way to work at the moment, but The Kids just messaged me with their approval. They are harsh critics more used to their nan's homemade jams & jellies, so I am pretty pleased.

Will try a batch with the sour apples soon.

Dizzyblonde

What recipe did you use THB? I'm thinking I'll make some soon, you've got me longing for apple jelly now.

The Hill Billy

Hi DB - I used this one...
http://www.cottagesmallholder.com/recipe-for-old-fashioned-apple-jelly-43/

Mrs B has since told me that a hint of ground cinnamon & cloves goes well in jelly recipes too. So I may try that in the next batch.

Dizzyblonde

Thanks THB, I find allotment websites great for reliable jam and chutney recipes. I got my beetroot chutney a couple of others from this one:
http://www.allotment-garden.org/

The Hill Billy

Excellent site! Thanks, DB!

Lady Haywire

There's a huge amount of Rowan/Mountain Ash berries this year so I think I will make a few different recipes like the ones below. Does anyone else ever use them? You can cheat by sticking them in the freezer to make them sweeter too

http://britishfood.about.com/od/recipeindex/r/rowanjelly.htm or http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/howtogrow/fruitandvegetables/10317255/Rowan-and-apple-jelly-recipe.html

http://en.heilkraeuter.net/cooking/rowan-berry-marmelade.htm

Mellor

My girlfriend has been looking everywhere for a decent rhubarb jam. Most are rhubarb and raspberry/strawberry where the berry are all you can tastes. She got a rhubarb and apple at a market last week and its not quite right. Not very "jammy" and a little bland, very like baby food tbh.
I'm wondering if I might be able to fix it. I'm thinking of adding more sugar and reboiling hoping that it sets a little stiffer. Adding gelatin to retry an set it a bit better. I suppose pectin would be better.
Using jam sugar would combine the two

Frustrated_WW

The Hill Billy wrote: »

I made a batch of apple jelly over the weekend. 2kg of the sweeter apples gave me almost 2l of jelly. On my way to work at the moment, but The Kids just messaged me with their approval. They are harsh critics more used to their nan's homemade jams & jellies, so I am pretty pleased.

Will try a batch with the sour apples soon.

Do you grow your own apples? I would love to buy crab apples to make jelly. Also would love to know where I could buy fruit for jam making, so would appreciate suggestions. Thanks

The Hill Billy

Yeah, we have a hybrid tree with two types of apples - one is red & slightly sweet, the other green & more sour.

The apple jelly from the red ones turned out great. The jelly from the green apples was a bit of a cock-up because someone (not naming anybody, but yeah - I'm looking at you Mrs Billy!) boiled it on to high a heat & it has a burnt sugar flavor.

Frustrated_WW

Would you know of anyone selling crab apples?

Teyla Emmagan

Lady Haywire wrote: »

There's a huge amount of Rowan/Mountain Ash berries this year so I think I will make a few different recipes like the ones below. Does anyone else ever use them? You can cheat by sticking them in the freezer to make them sweeter too

http://britishfood.about.com/od/recipeindex/r/rowanjelly.htm or http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/howtogrow/fruitandvegetables/10317255/Rowan-and-apple-jelly-recipe.html

http://en.heilkraeuter.net/cooking/rowan-berry-marmelade.htm

I didn't know you could make jam from Rowan berries, interesting. There is a huge crop this year alright. They always look slightly poisonous to me though.

I make a tonne of jam every year (often unwillingly), but find freezing is my saviour. I've made marmalade with oranges that were 2 years frozen and it turned out perfectly.

Hill Billy, you should try marrow jam if you have any in the garden, it is surprisingly palatable and delicious with cheese!

Frustrated_WW - Musgraves have great frozen fruit for jam! But stuff being sold at the side of the road will do just as well.

Gloomtastic!

Frustrated_WW wrote: »

Would you know of anyone selling crab apples?

If you're near North Dublin, head into Marino and you'll find the roads lined with crab apple trees. They're a curse and the fallen apples damage parked cars and make the pavements/roads a health hazard.

Kat1170

Made Rhubarb and Ginger jam for the first time this week. Don't know why I haven't done it long ago, lovely.

I always put less sugar than recommended. If a recipe calls for 3kg fruit/sugar I will only put 2kg of sugar to the 3kg of fruit. I like a little tartness to my jam and think you can taste the fruit better.

The Black Oil

Thinking of trying blackberry port jam.

Sapphire

There are loads of charts online that will give you unusual pairings of flavours, like this one:

https://bakeitright.com/flavor-charts

sdp

some jams made, rasberry jam hade last night have blackberrys and apples in freezer, ready to go, and picking crab apples at weekend, crab apple jelly is a big hit, sometimes add a bit of chilli to it

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sdp

Blackberry & apple jam, not all labeled yet

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Mellor

500g rhubarb and 400g sugar sitting in the fridge while the juice separates.
First time making jam

sdp

Mellor wrote: »

500g rhubarb and 400g sugar sitting in the fridge while the juice separates.
First time making jam

Great, good for you, home made jams are so much nicer then shop bought
are you using jam sugar? as rhubarb is very low in pectin, and can be hard to get a set,
I use granulated sugar and add lemon and apple juice , seem to work fine
Good luck with it

sdp

Small batch of gooseberry jam
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Mellor

sdp wrote: »

Great, good for you, home made jams are so much nicer then shop bought
are you using jam sugar? as rhubarb is very low in pectin, and can be hard to get a set,
I use granulated sugar and add lemon and apple juice , seem to work fine
Good luck with it

I'm using Jam sugar, as you mention its low in pectin.
Also considering adding in the juice of half a lime tonight when I boil.

I feel like I'm freestyling the whole boiling, jarring, sealing side.

sdp

Lemon of lime juice would be grand, I tend not to use Jam sugar as I find it adds a different taste ,
Fire away with any questions you might have, more then happy to help if I can
Jam making can become very addicted

Mellor

I rad the whole text a blob on a plate thing but sounded a hassle. So just waiting on it to comeuppance to 105 degrees. Curreb my 102 and very watery still.
Concerned

sdp

Mellor wrote: »

I rad the whole text a blob on a plate thing but sounded a hassle. So just waiting on it to comeuppance to 105 degrees. Curreb my 102 and very watery still.
Concerned

how long has it been boiling for?
should take about 10-15 mins, you need it at a fast rolling boil

Mellor

sdp wrote: »

how long has it been boiling for?
should take about 10-15 mins, you need it at a fast rolling boil

Was a bit longer than that. Then the battery on my thermometer died. So I just tried setting a few blobs on chilled plates. I think I took it far enough.
In jars now anyway.

sdp

Ah well done, mind you its one of the hardest jams to set, let me know if you want recipes for any other jams

sdp

last of jams made, raspberry jam and crabapple jelly, some with chilli
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Dizzyblonde

I made pear jam today, and three jars of pears in mulled wine for Christmas
It's pears with everything here at the moment because our little pear tree was very productive this year.

Alun

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

I made pear jam today, and three jars of pears in mulled wine for Christmas
It's pears with everything here at the moment because our little pear tree was very productive this year.

Can I have the recipes for both please?????

Our pear tree, which in the 5 years since we planted it has probably produced as many pears, decided this year to give us over 200 :eek: We're drowning in the things.

Alun

My very first foray into jam making yesterday was 3 jars of apple and sloe jelly. I was forced into it due to having a load of sloes still in the freezer after making this year's batch of Sloe Gin, and the freezer desperately needed defrosting.

Not as difficult as I was expecting, but I really need to get a jam funnel before I make the next batch.

Dizzyblonde

Alun wrote: »

Can I have the recipes for both please?????

Our pear tree, which in the 5 years since we planted it has probably produced as many pears, decided this year to give us over 200 :eek: We're drowning in the things.

It must be a bumper year for pears! We still have a huge box left.

This is the jam recipe I used - I didn't leave the pears and sugar overnight so I had to cook it for two hours. I also added a couple of cooking apples for pectin, and the juice of a lemon half way through because it tasted overly sweet. I left out the spices and added the contents of a vanilla pod:
http://frenchfood.about.com/od/dressingpreservessauces/r/Countryside-Pear-Jam-Recipe.htm

This is the mulled wine pears recipe - the whole house smelled like Christmas when they were in the oven:
http://www.humbletartkitchen.com/recipes/festive-food-gifts-homemade-mulled-pears/

Dizzyblonde

I use a plastic jug with a good spout on it (from Tesco) to pour the jam into the jars - it's too dangerous with a ladle.

Alun

Yes, I've seen so many pear jam recipes, some with apple added and some not, I'm confused. Some recipes say the pears themselves will provide enough pectin, others say to add apples. Maybe the type of pear makes a difference, mine are Conference.

Kat1170

Alun wrote: »

My very first foray into jam making yesterday was 3 jars of apple and sloe jelly. I was forced into it due to having a load of sloes still in the freezer after making this year's batch of Sloe Gin, and the freezer desperately needed defrosting.

Not as difficult as I was expecting, but I really need to get a jam funnel before I make the next batch.

This a thousand times next time I make some jam !!

Dizzyblonde

Mine are Conference too, and as far as I know pears are low pectin fruit. There's a lot of conflicting information but they seem to appear on low pectin lists more often than not. After two hours of cooking, and with the apples and lemon juice added the jam was just about reaching the set stage.

sdp

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

I use a plastic jug with a good spout on it (from Tesco) to pour the jam into the jars - it's too dangerous with a ladle.

one plus on jug, I use a old glass one

@ Alun, I have a jam funnel that I don't use, you are more then welcome to, bought but never used, if you want to pm me I can post it to you

The Hill Billy

Making another batch of apple jelly today as The Kids finished the last jar during the week.

Alun

sdp wrote: »

@ Alun, I have a jam funnel that I don't use, you are more then welcome to, bought but never used, if you want to pm me I can post it to you

PM sent, thanks

j timber

Hi guys
First time tryin this so wish me luck...
Have crab apple trees full of fruit so gonna try so crab apple jelly..any receipes you would recommend??
Thanks in advance

Toulouse

7lbs of Damson jam done

And it's yummy!!!

The Hill Billy

The Hill Billy wrote: »

Making another batch of apple jelly today as The Kids finished the last jar during the week.

I made this batch of apple jelly from the sour type that I have on my tree & it hasn't set again. I think that these apples haven't as much pectin as the sweet type. Anyone know where I can buy pectin in Dublin city center?

On a positive note - myself & HB Jr II went blackberry picking on Saturday & hit the jackpot in one of the fields behind us. The blackberry jam turned out a treat!

Dizzyblonde

I don't know where you'd get it in the city centre, but JC's in Swords have bottles of pectin. I was sorry I didn't pick up a bottle at the weekend, because my pear jam hasn't set. I'll give it a few more days and if it's still runny I'm going to have to take it out of the jars and add pectin, sterilise the jars and pot it up again

sdp

Alun wrote: »

PM sent, thanks

Sorry was away with work, PM sent

sdp

j timber wrote: »

Hi guys
First time tryin this so wish me luck...
Have crab apple trees full of fruit so gonna try so crab apple jelly..any receipes you would recommend??
Thanks in advance

this is one I use:
2.4kg crab apples
2.6 lt water
2 lemons
wash apples, cut in half, and cut out any bruised bits. into water with strips of zest of lemons,
cook till reduced to pulp, and turn into jelly bag.
allow to drip over night,
then it for every 600ml of juice, add 450g sugar,
I warm sugar in oven, add to pan, with lemon juice allow sugar to dissolve fully, over low heat, them bring to boil, skim, and boil till it reaches setting point.. then add what ever you want ,, ie mint, chilli.. or nothing at all pot and enjoy

sdp

Found a lovely red crab apple tree, while away, picked as many as I could, and made a small batch of jelly, Love the color!




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