I have a problem on the homestead. I cannot grow cranberries (because we have really good soil not the acid marshy stuff cranberries want) and I cannot grow Seville oranges (because this is Lincs). But I do like tangy spready stuff like marmalade and cranberry sauce. So I have been on the lookout for a local alternative for a while.
I spotted sloworms thread on alternate uses for sloes and Camerons link to a sloe jelly recipe and decided to give it a whirl. Its great!
Here is how to do it.
1) Pick a load of sloes
Picked SLoes by British Red, on Flickr
2) Rinse the off, weigh them, and then bung them in a pan
Sloes in pan by British Red, on Flickr
3) Just cover them in water
Scant cover in water by British Red, on Flickr
4) Stew them till they burst and stain your spoon
Boil hard by British Red, on Flickr
Stained Spoon by British Red, on Flickr
5) Weight out twice as many apples as you had sloes
2 Kilos of apples per kil of sloes by British Red, on Flickr
6) Chop the apples roughly (skins, cores, stalks all of them) and put them in the pan
Chopped Apple by British Red, on Flickr
7) Panic that the pan isn't big enough even though its a five gallon pan and have a glass of wine to calm down
Full Pan by British Red, on Flickr
8) Take one lemon for each kilo of sloes, take the peel and juice and add it to the pan
Rind of Lemon by British Red, on Flickr
Juice of lemon by British Red, on Flickr
9) Stew the whole lot to a fruit mush
Stewed to pulp by British Red, on Flickr
10) Let cool a bit and bung through a jelly bag that must be (and this is important) much too small for the vast pan of fruit mush
Jelly Bag by British Red, on Flickr
11) When strained measure the juice (mine was about 10" wide) and return it to the pan
Strained Juice by British Red, on Flickr
12) Bring to the boil and add 800g of sugar for each litre of liquid
Add Sugar by British Red, on Flickr
13) stir well and skim off any scum that forms. And it will. A lot.
Skim off scum by British Red, on Flickr
14) Boil the snot out of the juice skimming off the scum until a spoonfull dropped on a cold plate forms a wrinkly skin. If you have wrinkly skin anywhere else, thats your own problem.
puckered jelly by British Red, on Flickr
15) Ladle the jelly into warmed jars using a jam funnel
warmed jars and jam funnel by British Red, on Flickr
16) Put lids on the jars
Sloe Jelly by British Red, on Flickr
17) Gloat in a smug way about how jewel clear your jelly is
Finished jelly in bowl by British Red, on Flickr
Nice and tart but not bitter or mouth puckering. Going to go well with roast game or lamb I think - and be fine on toast
Red
I spotted sloworms thread on alternate uses for sloes and Camerons link to a sloe jelly recipe and decided to give it a whirl. Its great!
Here is how to do it.
1) Pick a load of sloes
Picked SLoes by British Red, on Flickr2) Rinse the off, weigh them, and then bung them in a pan
Sloes in pan by British Red, on Flickr3) Just cover them in water
Scant cover in water by British Red, on Flickr4) Stew them till they burst and stain your spoon
Boil hard by British Red, on FlickrStained Spoon by British Red, on Flickr5) Weight out twice as many apples as you had sloes
2 Kilos of apples per kil of sloes by British Red, on Flickr6) Chop the apples roughly (skins, cores, stalks all of them) and put them in the pan
Chopped Apple by British Red, on Flickr7) Panic that the pan isn't big enough even though its a five gallon pan and have a glass of wine to calm down
Full Pan by British Red, on Flickr8) Take one lemon for each kilo of sloes, take the peel and juice and add it to the pan
Rind of Lemon by British Red, on FlickrJuice of lemon by British Red, on Flickr9) Stew the whole lot to a fruit mush
Stewed to pulp by British Red, on Flickr10) Let cool a bit and bung through a jelly bag that must be (and this is important) much too small for the vast pan of fruit mush
Jelly Bag by British Red, on Flickr11) When strained measure the juice (mine was about 10" wide) and return it to the pan
Strained Juice by British Red, on Flickr12) Bring to the boil and add 800g of sugar for each litre of liquid
Add Sugar by British Red, on Flickr13) stir well and skim off any scum that forms. And it will. A lot.
Skim off scum by British Red, on Flickr14) Boil the snot out of the juice skimming off the scum until a spoonfull dropped on a cold plate forms a wrinkly skin. If you have wrinkly skin anywhere else, thats your own problem.
puckered jelly by British Red, on Flickr15) Ladle the jelly into warmed jars using a jam funnel
warmed jars and jam funnel by British Red, on Flickr16) Put lids on the jars
Sloe Jelly by British Red, on Flickr17) Gloat in a smug way about how jewel clear your jelly is
Finished jelly in bowl by British Red, on FlickrNice and tart but not bitter or mouth puckering. Going to go well with roast game or lamb I think - and be fine on toast
Red
