Plums! Any good recipes?
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My brother-in-law's (German) wife always makes a Pflaumenkuchen. It's a bread based cake type thing and they way my Schwippschwägerin makes it, very good looking and not too sweet, bit of Joe's vanilla ice-cream on the side - sorted.
Well, I have spent almost the whole day in the kitchen, and now have a fruity damson-based chutney, a rowan and yellow cherry-plum jam that is somewhere between sweet and savoury and will probably be good with meats in the same way that redcurrant jelly is, and loads of bullace & apple jam. I still have half of the bullace left, plus a pan of elderberries, a pan of stewed rhubarb, and one and a half carrier bags of apples. I haven't even started on the pears yet.
There will be pictures, but there is more to do tomorrow.
Tonight's tea was bullace & apple cobbler, served with vanilla yoghurt, and was very good indeed
There will be pictures, but there is more to do tomorrow.
Tonight's tea was bullace & apple cobbler, served with vanilla yoghurt, and was very good indeed
Sounds like fun - but I know its hard work. Imagine having to preserve all you food for Winter!
Sorted 12lb of elderberries for making port today - that's enough for one day. Will complete the port in the morning when its cooled and bottle the bullace beer tomorrow.
I'm considering a bullace chutney of they last long enough.
Sorted 12lb of elderberries for making port today - that's enough for one day. Will complete the port in the morning when its cooled and bottle the bullace beer tomorrow.
I'm considering a bullace chutney of they last long enough.
Fantastic - I am seriously impressed there HM - is that an aluminium pressure cooker in a couple of the photos?
Yes it is, although this one is broken, so I just use it as a heavy pan when I don't need a full size jam pan. I have a working one, but I'm not usually allowed to use that for jam.
I made 70 jars in total, although I prefer to use smaller jars than is typical. Took me around 12 hours in total, from initial boiling of plums and damsons, to removing the stones, and then making it all one batch at a time. I still haven't touched the pears and there are lots of apples left. Most of the clearing up has been done too.
I told my wife that this is just batch 1 of the autumn, and she said it was the only batch if she could help it.
I made 70 jars in total, although I prefer to use smaller jars than is typical. Took me around 12 hours in total, from initial boiling of plums and damsons, to removing the stones, and then making it all one batch at a time. I still haven't touched the pears and there are lots of apples left. Most of the clearing up has been done too.
I told my wife that this is just batch 1 of the autumn, and she said it was the only batch if she could help it.
Its a huge undertaking isn't it? When you think about it, you have made one jar and a bit per week for the year. When people had to preserve all their food if they wanted to eat in the lean times, you can begin to understand why they valued food so highly.
Does the aluminium pan not stain badly in jamming (not that you would care given what you said)?
Does the aluminium pan not stain badly in jamming (not that you would care given what you said)?
I'm exhausted today after all that!
The pan doesn't stain at all, as far as I can see. Then again, I'm just assuming it is aluminium. It has been in the family for years and we were a little upset (though not surprised) when the valve finally broke on it earlier this year.
Update: I just tried the bullace and rhubarb jam (which I didn't really boil quite long enough, so it is at best a loose set, but that's okay...), and it is wonderful!
I may be eating a lot of toast in the near future
I may be eating a lot of toast in the near future
My wife makes a brown sauce for my breakfasts out of them. I'll get the recipe off my mother this weekend.
Forgot about the savoury options. One year I made a hot Chinese style plum sauce, then used the filtered out solids as a pickle type thing that worked really nicely in bacon rolls or with cheese
xylaria
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
plums make the excellent fruit leather.
We have barely a sloe, a late frost saw off the plum family blossum, however if you are in north staffordshire, the park at the back clarice cliffe school longton has a lot of plum, pear, and apple. Hardly anyone touches them.
I worked out a lovely spiced jam recipe. It turns toast into strudel.
Chop and finely dice a thumbs lenght of fresh ginger and cover with sugar and leave overnight.
Peel and chop about of a pound of apples, I used ugly scabby ones. Cook apples in a good pan with enough sugar, a cup full of blackberries and the ginger. Add two teaspoons of mixed spice. Mash apples while they cook. cook until setting point.
We have barely a sloe, a late frost saw off the plum family blossum, however if you are in north staffordshire, the park at the back clarice cliffe school longton has a lot of plum, pear, and apple. Hardly anyone touches them.
I worked out a lovely spiced jam recipe. It turns toast into strudel.
Chop and finely dice a thumbs lenght of fresh ginger and cover with sugar and leave overnight.
Peel and chop about of a pound of apples, I used ugly scabby ones. Cook apples in a good pan with enough sugar, a cup full of blackberries and the ginger. Add two teaspoons of mixed spice. Mash apples while they cook. cook until setting point.
Good rich fruit (plums or anything else) and some balsamic vinegar. Reduce in a pan until nice and thick. Makes a fantastic relish.
