You all seem to be such proficient chefs. Well here is a place to share some of that cooking knowledge. Or do you have a cooking problem? Ask away. Jams and chutneys go here too.
I'm thinking about this....has anyone made any? I can only find recipes in my books for pear and ginger marmalade (don't fancy) or pear and peach, which is a possible as they will both be about ready at the same time. I wonder whether pear on it's own is any good?
One more question how about blackcurrant and apple jelly? Would you need any lemon juice? I tend to think not but can't find any recipes....
I wasn't going to make any more jam but my damson jam has overset still useable but not very good as a pressie! My strawberry jam has 'set' perfectly but yet to try this year's bramble jelly (eeks). Anyway my Conference pear tree is absolutely loaded so I'm thinking about jam.....
That sounds good Susie - thanks. I haven't got round to doing any googling recipes yet.
I don't think that blackcurrants and apple would need lemon but strangely enough all my recipes for apple jelly added lemon but not blackberry and apple - though I have the feeling this was more for flavour than for set. I just thought blackcurrants on their own might be a bit strong and as we have loads of apples......
But I seem to be doing better this year with the low pectin fruits so I better be careful!
This is a Margeurite Patten recipe that my mum used and we have had lovely results with our limited pear supplies.
1lb peeled cored pears
3tbsp orange juice
ground cloves/cinnamon to taste
1lb sugar
2tbsp lemon juice
Cut pears into 1/2 inch dice and put in pan with oj and spices. Simmer gently until tender. Add sugar and lemon juice, stir low heat until sugar dissolved then boil rapidly to setting point, stand for a wee while then stir to mix in any big pieces of fruit, jar and seal.
Hope that helps.
Sarah
How do you live your life when there's nobody watching?
Just to say if you have a plum glut you can freeze them and they still make lovely Jam after being frozen.
We didn't get any plums at all this year due to the harsh winter, it's been a poor year for fruit all round.
but I'm still making Jam from the ones we froze last year.. didn't turn them all straight into jam as if they are frozen you can still make crumble, pie, jam etc so more potential use.
Also I know it's not pear jam but a good use for a glut of pears or apples is juice.. if you wash them and pop them in the freezer overnight.. next day get them out and let them defrost, they will defrost all mushy.. just pop them in a clean piece of muslin or a clean porous cloth and squeeze, hay presto Pear or apple juice. :)
Bramble
Nature is not a place to visit, it is home.
- Gary Snyder The poetry of the earth is never dead.
- John Keats
Bramble I made the mistake of freezing greengages one year and as soon as air hits them after you defrost them, they turn immediately black and take on a rather unpleasant prune appearance and taste.... so won't be bothering with that again. Cherries do the same thing. My plums were lightly stewed but the cherries were raw. I don't know how you managed to freeze them but I can't! Anyway there weren't enough spare ones this year due to brown rot..... and my freezers are full to bursting with soft fruit and tomatoes. Hence jam - but don't want to be premature cos last year the tree was loaded too but the fruit never ripened properly after picking, just went rubbery and had to be chucked.
the apples and pears for juice, and the plums I literally just washed and put in freezer bags and froze.
I know the freezer books say to stew or semmi cook due to enzimes but I've never had any trouble the way I do it personally. your right they don't look great when you defrost them, but I've found the juice is fine if you squeeze it through a piece of muslin. Done it for two years now, although must admit have made more apple juice than pear.
Plums to defrost I just sit in a stone dish on top of the Rayburn (which I have at the mo and will be sadly loosing when we move) and then I de-stone them as soon as they are soft enough and just carry on to make Jam, crumble whatever.
Your right about this year being rubbish for fruit we didn't get hardly any apples pears plums etc this year.. only a few raspberries compared to normal, only things that seemed to do ok where strawberries and gooseberries
Bramble
Nature is not a place to visit, it is home.
- Gary Snyder The poetry of the earth is never dead.
- John Keats
Was it purple skinned plums that you froze? Cos with greengages they were inedible defrosted due to turning black as soon as they were defrosted - even inside a plastic container the top of the fruit was black as there was still air inside but then I didn't freeze them whole. Also come to think of it the raw cherries that were frozen were depipped first so maybe that's why they discoloured. Seems like some fruit works and some doesn't!
Hiya
Yes purple skinned plums, not tried greengages we only get a few of those so not enough to bother trying to freeze. The purple plums are good for Jams and crumbles and pies, prob chutneys too, but not really anything else as they do defrost mushy.
Once I've defrosted them to soft enough to remove the stones I usually drain excess liquid away too as you will get a lot of liquid come out of them. defrost enough to remove stones drain excess liquid and away you go.
I usually freeze in 1lb bags so makes a couple of jars of Jam from a bag or a decent size crumble etc.. last lot of Jam I made is prob the best plum Jam I ever made, normally nice, but this batch came out really nice and that was from plums frozen last year :)
Never tried to freeze cherries.. interesting one.. next time we get some must try. But this year like a lot of the other fruits the cherries came to nothing. Hope we have a better year for fruit next year.
Bramble
Nature is not a place to visit, it is home.
- Gary Snyder The poetry of the earth is never dead.
- John Keats
The Pear and lemon jam on the Cottage Smallholder site that SusieGee linked to is delicious. Fiona has some great recipes on her site, and I highly recommend that one.
how about blackcurrant and apple jelly? Would you need any lemon juice? I tend to think not but can't find any recipes....
still useable but not very good as a pressie! My strawberry jam has 'set' perfectly but yet to try this year's bramble jelly (eeks). Anyway my Conference pear tree is absolutely loaded so I'm thinking about jam..... 
(thanks)
but not blackberry and apple - though I have the feeling this was more for flavour than for set. 
