Preserved Lemons

It's Scrap's school summer fair tomorrow and somehow, I am in charge of the cafe. We've got a barbecue, home-made scones and cakes, organic strawberries and cream and a very carefully planned rota. The stand I always wish I could work on (apart from whack-the-rat) is the home produce - this year, as well as my usual cheat's jam, and Scrap's elderflower cordial, I've made them some preserved lemons, small jars each with one whole lemon in. They take a least a month to soften so give yourself a bit more time than I did, if you've got a deadline.

Place a tablespoon of coarse sea salt in some small, sterilized jars. Quarter the lemons but don't cut through the base so they remain joined. Sprinkle a tablespoon of salt into each lemon then press it back into shape. Push a lemon into each jar and tuck in some dried herbs and whole spices. Top up with freshly squeezed lemon juice (I had plenty left over from making Limoncello, I'll post the recipe next week). Leave for 6 weeks, turning every once in a while.

Chilli-Ginger Greengage Chutney

This is yummy. If you can face it, halve the greengages and take the stones out, otherwise, just leave them in and warn people not to swallow them. Leave at least a couple of months before eating. With cheese.

Makes 12 jars
1.75kg greengages
3 Bramley apples, cored and chopped
large hand of ginger, peeled and chopped
3 onions, chopped
500g small sultanas or raisins
6 garlic cloves, crushed
6 red chillies, chopped, seeds and all
2 tbsp of mixed whole spices, eg mustard, coriander, cumin, allspice, cinnamon stick, star anise, cardamom pods
1 tsp peppercorns
1 tsp sea salt
1.5litres white wine vinegar
1.2 kg sugar

Place all in a large pan and bring to the boil. Simmer gently for 2 hours or so until the liquid has evaporated. Pot into warm sterilised jars and seal.

Crab Apple Jelly

My brother gave me a load of organic crab apples and greengages from the trees in his garden yesterday so I had a go at making jelly. It was a grey, drizzly day but the smell of apples bubbling away on the stove and finally, the sight of my row of crystal-clear, ruby-red jars lined up on the kitchen counter really lifted my spirits. Though simple, as usual, it took longer than I thought it would and Scrap soon grew bored of picking off the leaves deciding that "apple jam is yuk" and instead settled down in the lounge in front of this week's favourite film Herbie - The Love Bug, regularly summoning me by yelling "it's tum off!!" at the top of his voice every time there was an ad break.

Crab apples contain so much pectin that unless you really add too much water, the jelly will always set and you'll have something delicious to show for your efforts. Tomorrow I'm going to have a go at greengage jam (or maybe chutney).

Wash the crab apples well, removing the leaves and stalks. Place in a large pan and just cover with water. Bring to the boil and simmer on the lowest heat for one hour until the apples are very, very soft. Line a large sieve or colander with a muslin cloth and tip in the mixture. Leave the liquid to drip through for a couple of hours - if you push it with a wooden spoon, you will get more out but the finished jelly will be cloudy. Measure the apple liquid and pour into a very large clean pan. Add roughly three quarters of the same volume of granulated sugar ( I had 2.5 litres liquid, added 1.8 litres sugar and got 9 jars of jelly) and gently bring to the boil, stirring from time to time until the sugar has completely dissolved. Boil hard for 10 minutes then cool a little, pour into jars and seal.

Anniversary Marmalade

It’s our 10th anniversary today. Not of marriage but of our first get together, but still something to celebrate. I’ve had breakfast in bed and tomorrow we’re spending the day in town together and the evening at Locanda Locatelli. Can’t wait.

But today, I've been told to stay in and wait for my present to arrive......Scrap and me have got our fingers crossed for a cake.
In the meantime, he's watching The Lion King (never seen it before) and I’m making my lemon marmalade for the Bellenden Bun Fight, the week after next. Here are the details again in case you forgot:

Saturday 16th June
Review Book Shop
Entries in 10 – 12pm, judging at 3pm
Categories:
Baking
Preserving
Kids

Lemon and lime leaf marmalade
Makes 10 jars
1kg lemons
2.2 litres water
6 kaffir lime leaves
1 star anise
2.5kg granulated sugar


Place the lemons and water in a very large pan and bring to the boil. Cover and cook on the lowest setting for 2 hours.

Leave until cool enough to handle.

Halve the lemons and scoop out the pulp, pips and pith and add to the pan along with the star anise. Shred the rind as you go and set aside .

Bring the pan to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Pass through a fine sieve, lined with a cloth back into the clean pan. 

Add the shredded rind and sugar, gently bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves then boil vigorously for 15 – 20 minutes.

Test by putting a little onto a cold saucer and returning to the fridge for a few minutes – push the marmalade with your finger and if it wrinkles, it is ready to set. If not, keep boiling and testing.

Carefully ladle the hot marmalade into warm sterilised jars (wash then put in a cold oven, turn to low heat and leave for 20 minutes), then top with a wax disc and circle of sellophane. Leave to cool and set then it’s ready to eat.

Seville orange marmalade

My mother-in-law Helen makes really lovely marmalade. There are loads of good marmalades you can buy but they don't come close to home-made.

Sevilles, the bitter and flavoursome cooking oranges are now in season but are only around for a couple of weeks so if you want to make marmalade, do it in the next few days. Helen has made hers to this recipe for 40 years and it is based on one by Mrs Beeton. This is how she does it and I've just tried it and it works brilliantly. I've got a few spare jars if anyone wants one?

Makes 10lbs (about 10 - 12 jars)
3lbs Seville oranges
4 pints of water
juice of 2 lemons
6lbs granulated sugar

Place the oranges and water in a very large pan and bring to the boil. Cover and cook on the lowest setting for 2 hours.

Leave until cool enough to handle. Halve the oranges and scoop out the pulp, pips and pith and add to the pan. Finely shred the rind – I warn you, this takes ages.

Bring the pan to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Pass through a fine sieve and back into the pan.

Add the shredded rind, lemon juice and sugar, gently bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves then boil vigorously for 20 – 25 minutes. Test by putting a little onto a cold saucer and returning to the fridge for a few minutes – push the marmalade with your finger and if it wrinkles, it is ready to set. If not, keep boiling and testing.

Carefully ladle the hot marmalade into warm sterilised jars (wash then put in a cold oven, turn to low heat and leave for 20 minutes), then top with a wax disc and circle of sellophane. Leave to cool and set then it’s ready to eat.