Warning: Food talk inside. Kitchen Supply shops for Jam/Jelly/Canning supplies?

LOL - will look for that show SB.

Hey ladies - I need some advice.

I went Blackberry picking today withm y mum-in-law, and got 5 pounds of Blackberries!!!

I left the pips in my Rasberry jams as I like them plus, picking raspberrys leaves the hard white center behind.

but what about wild blackberries? They tend to have quite tough pips, and the centers are not very tender. I was thikning I should probably puree and push through a seive? Or is something more drastic, like a food mill required? Not sure how to approach them? Woudl a jelly be better then jam? Any tips?

Do you think Blakberry and Blueberry combined would make a nice jam? lol, In my warped sense of humour, I rather like the name Black and Blue Jam. :D

Also - I have a pear tree that is laden with big beautiful pears. The only trouble - they never EVER go ripe. No matter what method - they stay hard as rocks and then rot. There is no middle ground. I don;t know much about pears but have decided they must be strictly cooking pears???

I would really like to make some pear jelly. Or Jam. Do you think I could cook these till soft, and then make jelly, etc?

And to cook them to eat, just as a cooked pear - how does one go about doing that? Would I need to make some kind of syrup?

Pears are one of my favourtie fruits and it kills me to see them drop and go to waste - I just don;t know what to do with them.

Will eagerly await any advise of rsuggestions you might have about both these wonderful fruits I have loads of now.

I am SO loving this malarky!!!

XXX
 
Oh my goodness, so many fabulous posts to reply to here, I hardly know where to start!!!

So glad your marmalade turned out fab BL. Have my lemons and limes ready for a batch to make this week.

SB, harvest time = TOTALLY AWESOME!! It's when I wish I had a huge freezer and could cook and freeze more :) And you are right the thought of so many people in the kitchen with things bubbling away on the stoves is amazing:) In retrospect, have been thinking that the fact kids don't learn to cook from a young age, and this is a perpetuating cycle, must surely be one of the reasons for so much obesity in kids these days. Let me know how the relishes and chutneys go. They sound divine!

BL, I have never used a themometre for jam, I suspect it could help, but I just make use of the cold plate thing and it seems to work fine. The earthy in touch with the seasons and the fruit and veg of them all is a great feeling :) It feels very mother earth <G>

Now re the jams and pears. I made blackberry jam with some I got from my supplier, they arn't very pippy, but tbh I really enjoy having the texture in the jam - maybe I am just weird. Otherwise, cook them up in a bit of sugar and water with a splash fo lemon juice, puree in the blender and pass through a sieve. You can use this in loads of things, as it is just a simple fruit coulis really. I think it would be divine swirled through some yoghurt, or even better on some blackberry buttermilk pancakes , would even be nice with banana as a smoothie. I would absolutely make a jam too though!!
The pears, to cook normally for dessert - I peel them, cut them in half and core them, then bring to the boil some sugarabout half a cup to a litre of water,you can add so many different things to it depending on what you want the flavour to be, cinnamon, cardamon, star anise, red wine, saffron, white wine is also fab. I cook them slowly on a low simmer, when the pear is tender and you can pierce quite easily with a knife, remove from heat, drain and chill, reduce syrup a little more and serve with the pears and some creme fraiche maybe add some toasted almonds. I know this sounds weird, but I love pears and blue cheese, so if you whizzed the tinyest bit of blue cheese with some low fat cream cheese, and piped that into the middle of a cold pear then sprinkle with some toasted walnuts, it makes the most amazing alternative dessert. Sorta sweet and sour in a different way.

Sorry I seem to be getting a bit carried away with myself here, but pear jelly would be great, there are loads of basic jelly recipes online, but I am sure SB has a good one, also nice with different herbs added. You could also cook them into a chutney. Again so easy to make and I can send you a recipe if you want one. I did once make a pear and ginger jam years ago, but can't remember if it was very nice or not, still could be good to go with meats at the festive period.

The tea party went really well, and I am about to post the pics, so have a look and let me know. I was soooooo please with my cake :) Really angry though, because my gbf (gay best friend) who was also supposed to be coming with his partner and gran, cried off at the last minute with a lame excuse, so we had way too much food, but I sent it home with James and his mom for James' brother Craig.

Ok have nattered on way too much here, so will end off. Heading for Westfield tomorrow, omg my bank account needs to be afraid, very afraid!!!!

Jez
xx
 
Thank you.

It's what I wore yesterdayto the family outoing to Eastbourne. OH took the photo and said he was very proud of me.
 
Thanks Jezz. Charity shop! Head to t oe! :D

You rphotos - man! I want to come to YOUR tea parties!!! SO much nicer then mine!!! LOL Beautiful hon - absolutely gorgeous table - your guests were spoilt for choice!!! Shame your friend backed out, but clearly their loss!!! :D

Got my black and blue jam on the go.....trying something, and just letting it soak in the sugar all night - so there is a nice gorgeous strupy bowl of berries in the kitchen. Now wheres the cream??? :D ;) LOL That and then a round of muffins for the ladies at work: Rasberry and White Choclate. Yum yum.

I gotta take a week off though, allthe ingredients are costing a fortune!! I want to keep making jam - but need to find larger bags of sugar or its too pricey!

Have you ever cut the amount of sugar in a recipe? Will that affect the outcome?

I likeyour idea about the coulis - will make some - will that last on the shelf the same as Jam would? Or shouild it be frozen?

I did cook a pear last night, but there is just no pear flvaour in these??? Wierd pears. :(
 
Morning morning, cant believe I have woken up so early, but clearly BL you beat me too it!! Is it possible they are ornimental pears?? take one to a local nursery and a pic of the tree, they might be able to tell you. I have heard stories of people putting brown paper bags on the pears whilst still on the tree and fastening them with elastic bands to cause them to ripen but it could just be urban legend. Coulis would be best frozen. it keeps forever that way. The Black and Blue sounds just brilliant!! The name tickles me entirely. Muffins sound amazing. I must go to Sainsburys because I have seen they have proper american muffin pans there. I have a really nice wholewheat and raisin recipe somewhere, that keeps in the fridge for up to a month, and you just dollop a spoon in and bake off when you fancy, Lol although all these things are far far away still. It is good to plan. I was really chuffed with the tea party. I think they enjoyed it hugely. Did feel a little bad though because Pat (the mom) hadnt seen us for 2 years and was so impressed with the weight loss, that she started having a go sort of at her son James and tellng him he needs to loose weight. Which is true he does, but I did explain that it has to be the right time for him. Sadly imho he has no real inclination.

I think you can cut the sugar and it would be a conserve, must look for a recipe, but on the shelf in the supermarket you can find the Bon Maman (at least i think it is that brand name) which is french and a very low sugar jam. Probably would need to buy some pectin though and up that to be able to reduce the sugar, which would help it reach a setting point. I have just been buying sugar at the local, but I am sure you can buy online from a preserving supplier and get it a bit cheaper and in larger quantities. Only prob is the weight of it all for postage!

Happy Jammin!

Jez
xx
 
Hey BL, just found this and thought it might be of use. It is various recipes for low and no sugar jam. As I suspected you need the pectin, but should find it at a health food shop or online. This is an american page so there are some links to US shops and webpages for ordering. She uses splenda, but I have also seen and used when it was launched a really good product called Fruisana - you can get it in most supermarkets, it is very low GI fruit sugar and it is great in cooking and baking. Anyway might be worth a try!!

How to make Jam Without Adding Sugar (Using Splenda or Fruit Juice)

Might be good to try and certainly a lovely healthier alternative.

And another version:

Low Sugar Strawberry Jam Recipes | Home Improvements and Gardening

Happy Cooking

Jez
xx
 
Jezz.....

Black and Blue......

Oh.

My.

God.




Sublime. Absolutely SUBLIME. Its better then sex! LOL

Turned out the best so far - it is GORGEOUS - I used half blueberries and half blackberries - zest and juice of one lemon and threw in a cinnamon stick while it bubbles away - mashed half the fruit as it cooked, left some whole.

It wouldn;t set, so used half a pouch of pectin.

Oh my god. I have DIED and gone to JAM Heaven.

It is taking HUGE restraint not to have a proper sample, on toast - but I am happy with my sips from the spoon after all is jarred. And I can just say this one is divine.

Black and Blue. uh huh. There will be more of this to come!! I think that will be a staple.

SO now, I am going to start playing with it to try and make it low sugar - so those links are perfect timing. Will have a good look. I want to be able to enjoy this, and wouldn't be able to with the amount of sugar - but now I have my fave, time to start playing mad scientist!!! :D

Thanks!!

Hope you are enjoying your chilled day. I am. ANd the house smells lovely.

Going to throw on a pot of nice strng french roast, put my feet up and enjoy a movie or something.

Ahhh. I love B/H weekends.

SB - how did your Pear Yummy stuff come out? Pear and Basil sound reallyinteresting....I will play with my pears - butI just have a hunch they would require a huge amount of sugar as there is no pear flavour, so may just leave it.

Anyhooo....happy days!
 
lol - oh yeah, forgot to say - Hubby LOVES all of this, and is quite happy now for me to invest in some quality kit.

He told me he'd pay 5 pound for the marmalade I made.

So I stuck my hand out. :D

But he looked away. :( Cheek. :D

So yay - will do a bit of shopping aroun to get some good equipment. I love buying Kitchenware. :)

I left all my quality equipment in California, thinking I would just be here a couple of years....so I have been making do with my husband 'batcholer' kit, and have decided - time for some better stuff. :)

Lakeland - here I come!! :D
 
So very exciting that hubby is letting you shop for more kitchen bits, I hate cooking without the right equipment. Are you buying online or in the shops? OOOH if you really have cash to splash, get a set of Global Knives, they are the best and soooo worth the money.

Have any of you watched the new 30 min programme on BBC2 at 8:30 by Levi Roots about Carribean cooking??? If not ladies, watch it, catch up on the iPlayer!! Totally amazing, has opened up my eyes to loads of new flavours and cooking styles. The basis of the cooking is really very healthy. I am sooooo excited at the thought of cooking some of it. They make a lot of use of yam and sweet potato which from what I understand are good carbs. He does use some coconut milk, but I think the amounts could be reduced or you could use the light coconut milk to make it a little healthy. It is otherwise, very fresh, loads of veg and very little fat in the cooking process. Oooh I am so inspired. He has a "sunshine kit" which is his basic collection of herbs and spices for carribean foods and damnit in winter I want a sunshine kit to cheer me up :) He also uses loads of fresh salsas which should appeal to you BL.

Anyway was so excited about it all that I had to share, watch it if you can.

Jez
xx
 
Here is a pic of my very first adventure in Jamming! :D

4661-albums1760-picture10665.jpg
 
Beyooooooooooooooooootiful BL, they look stunning, you must be thrilled with it. Such a great result for suprisingly little labour!. The marmalade looks divine, have yet to make mine. Been a V busy day.

I adore your lables, did you do them on the PC and if so how?

Jez
xx
 
Hi hon

I just used Avery mailing labels and did it on Word using Clipart. :D

Nothing too techy!!

There are more jars, but I didn;t want to stuff them all in. I am over the moon with it all. I am making a list of what I want to do next, and I definatley want to make Lemon Jelly, and the chili jelly - next up will be Blackberry and Apple - labels ready to go already! :D

I just hope they all last and don;t go off, as it will be slow going through them here.....hopefully. ;) It better be! :D

ALso want to try a pomegranate jelly, but shudder to think how many poms I would need to press enough juice!

AM I correct in thinking it will take far more fruit to mkae jelly then jam, as the fruit itself certainly bulks it out?? But I would love to try some lovely delicate jellys, and want to use some wine in some too.

Any ideas?

I am really chuffed with it all.

Thanks for the encouragement and tips, from you and SB, and TI - everyone that helped! :)
xx
 
Hey Hun

The few times I have made jelly, it has not been with massive quantities of fruit, not that I was making huge amounts. it is more the pectin from the fruit and the liquid, which the pectin sets, a la using gelatine in small amounts to set a jelly. I guess it depends on how much you want to make and what recipe you use.

The best jelly I ever made is rose petal which uses apple as a base, with a bit of rosewater and pink, red and white rose petals. It is a gorgeous pinky colour.

The jams will absolutely last, and would make amazing xmas and bday pressies. I am a bit over spending huge amounts on junk in a shop, far nicer to give or get something home made :) I have great plans that my Xmas pressie work will be done by mid November. Am planning quite a few things, including some boxes with marzipan fruits. Will also try some preserved orange peel or ginger dipped in bitter chocolate. Have you ever tried making fruit leather? I have a recipe somewhere and it is great.

Pomegranates are suprisingly juicy, and you can always use half pomegranate half apple if they are a bit pricey. Think we need a website for all our produce. We could call ourselves the earth mommas or prairie woman or something ;P

Jez
xx
 
I was thinking that today Jez - how nice would it be to run a little gourmet shop, where you can just make things all day, package them up nice and pretty, and sell yummy things to yummy people. WOuld be so nice!

You mentioned orange peel and that reminds me of a question I had for you ar SB - or anyone -.... I am making a xmas cake and it calls for candied citron. What is that, and where would I find it? Is it mixed peel??

Rose Jelly sounds lovely - delicate and light. I would like to try some jellys definately.

My mom used to make Pineapple-Guava jelly - which in not a mix of pineapple and guave - a "Pineapple-guava" is the fruit. I don;t think you grow it here in the UK? It is akin to a Kiwi - same kind of shape and size - but a very pale green, acidic, tart odd, but nice flavour. Kind of the Marmite of fruit. :D

I loved her jelly . Really want to try something like that.

I wish there was something other then bread to smear it on. lol;)
 
Lol my mom swears by Matzo crackers!!! and she is a skinny cow who eats what she wants. Might be quite nice to make jam tarts or bakewell tarts for people though. I would love a shop, I think I told you before it is what I plan for the future. Candied citron is just candied lemon, but candied citrus as you get in the shops is fine. We always use that, though you could make your own. One of the best things we got when my sis worked at QVC was a brilliant Veg and Fruit dehydrator which is brilliant for that kind of thing.

Have googled your pineapple guava and it is also know as Feijoa or Guavasteen. Seems to be loads of websites to buy seeds or plants. I am guessing though you might find one in a caribbean type shop???

Looks yummy though. Have to say I adore real guavas, and they are so hard to come by here. I remember the tannies on the farms in SA used to make the most beautiful bottled guavas which they cut like roses, it was a work of art in a bottle and always seemed a pity to eat them.

Lets start a shop BL :) where we make and sell pretty things!!!

Jez
xx
 
No, I missed it - is a a series or a one off?

Ladies, I made a yummmmmy Baba Ganush (sp?) which is low fat and a lovely kind of hummous-y like dip, in case anyone does not know.

1 small Eggplant, cut in hald, roasted 30 minutes and scraped from the skin
couple cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp chili
1 T lime juice
1 T tahini
1 T olive oil -
S&P

Whizzed up to a puree and chilled fully.

Its GORGEOUS and the chili and lime add a nice kick! I forgot I made it so it sat for 2 days in fridge - flavours are intense and lush!!

:)
 
Hello Fellow Foodies

I wish I had have taken pix today of all the beautiful things I made for a food presentation tomorrow!!! Still I had loads of fun.

BL the Jamie programme is a series so check it out next week. He was in LA this time, but only went to the mexican areas. Amazing food, and lots with healthy potential.

I adore Baba Ganoush!! It really is one of my all time favourites. I love to put loads of coriander and ground cumin in there, if you can get some smoked paprika it also adds a lovely kick, as does adding the smoked paprika to hummus. If you cant find any let me know I have loads at work so more than happy to post some.

What has been in the Wok tonight BL? Dying to hear your latest exploits.

Love that skirt btw!!

Jez
xx
 
Hi Jezz - had an early night last night - needed my ZZzzzzz apparently!

Last nights wok was gorgeous.....savoy cabbage, red bell, red and green chili, garlic, fresh ginger, shrooms, carrots, onions, broccoli, very fine noodles, and 5-spices salmon on top! Lovely!!

I will look for Jamies next week! Man, I miss Mexican food - you just can;t beat Mexican food in California, unless you cross the border to Mexico! We have Mexican Restaurants like the UK has Kebab shops - one on every corner and 2 in between! :D

I have often looked for smoked paprika but can never find it! I'd love to try some!!

The skirts - another Charity find!! :D

WHat did you make for your presentation? :)
 
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