The gooseberries are ripe

[British Red]

Blackcurrants are the only domestic fruit I have and can pick, so grateful for ideas.

Could Rowanberry be used? Maybe crushing/boiling out the juice first?

I still remember finding feral gooseberry bushes around old abandoned farms in Sweden on my treks. Fantastic fruit!

We are experimenting with gooseberry hedges, its thorny and tough, so why not?

Blackcurrant is arguably the best cordial you can make. I make it to create Glogg syrup which is better even than mulled wine. The fruit leather is very sharp unless you add sugar but better than drying whole and fantastic rehydrated in slow cooked porridge. The wine is stupendous and made commercially in Eastern Europe. Blackcurrant crumble cooked long and slow is gorgeous. I cant be bothered with blackcurrant jam, but the jelly is fast, simple, and great on toast or meat.

 

[Janne]

Unless my neighbors have stolen all fruit and left none for me, I will do a jelly with Rowan.

 

[British Red]

I confess I have never tried with Rowan so gave no insight to offer, sorry. I gave planted wild service, rowan, whitebeam and the incredibly rare true service so, in a few years I plan to do a few things.

The Romans made an alcoholic drink from the True Service tree that no-one has tasted in 1700 years. If the Gods grant me the time, I intend to fix that about 2024.

 

[Janne]

Rowan gives a bit of bitterness/acidity.
I thought it could give an interesting taste cobo.

Explain about the Service tree drink. Only effect from the Alcohol, or any other 'spiritual inducing' agent in it?

It is thought the Norse mixed certain mushrooms into their mead for an extra festive beverage that heightened the party mood..

 

[British Red]

Rowan gives a bit of bitterness/acidity.
I thought it could give an interesting taste cobo.

Explain about the Service tree drink. Only effect from the Alcohol, or any other 'spiritual inducing' agent in it?

It is thought the Norse mixed certain mushrooms into their mead for an extra festive beverage that heightened the party mood..

 

[British Red]

I don't believe that the True Service Tree has any "unusual" effects. I planted the trees a few years ago just to help them to avoid UK extinction. I started reading about them and found out about the fermented drink. There is no reason to make it other than unashamed curiosity. I plan to make a gallon & sit with friends & fellow oddballs one evening around the firepit. We will drink a drink that, literally, no-one has tasted for a thousand years and that probably took me 20 years to make.

For no good reason.

Rowan gives a bit of bitterness/acidity.
I thought it could give an interesting taste cobo.

Explain about the Service tree drink. Only effect from the Alcohol, or any other 'spiritual inducing' agent in it?

It is thought the Norse mixed certain mushrooms into their mead for an extra festive beverage that heightened the party mood..

 

[Janne]

A good reason as any!


There are two different Service trees, one has larger apples. I tasted those years ago, and the various products, in Moravia ( eastern part of Czech republic).
They make all sorts of stuff, including a strong ’cider’ (or weakish ’wine’). They called it ‘wine’ but it is more like a Cider.

Do not remember the name of the place though.

Edit. Close to Brno it was.

 

[Tor helge]

Rowan berries is best used after frost (or cheating with the freezer). Takes away a little of the bitterness they say.
I`we made jelly from rowan berries (frozen) only once , but I mixed it with an apple.
Was very good with meat dishes (instead of lingonberry jam).

 

[British Red]

I have planted both varieties.
I think the Wild Service (sorbus torminalis) has amazingly beautiful leaves. Its fruit are known here as Chequers (hence the name of the prime ministers country house). Sadly climate change gas made it hard for it to propogate naturally

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorbus_torminalis


True Service (sorbus domestica) is so vanishingly rare that its in question as to whether it is even native to the UK. To me it looks much like a Rowan but the fruit are more cherry like

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorbus_domestica

A good reason as any!


There are two different Service trees, one has larger apples. I tasted those years ago, and the various products, in Moravia ( eastern part of Czech republic).
They make all sorts of stuff, including a strong ’cider’ (or weakish ’wine’). They called it ‘wine’ but it is more like a Cider.

Do not remember the name of the place though.

Edit. Close to Brno it was.

 

[British Red]

That sounds interesting, our Rowans are just starting to fruit now at about 3m high. I may have to try this

Rowan berries is best used after frost (or cheating with the freezer). Takes away a little of the bitterness they say.
I`we made jelly from rowan berries (frozen) only once , but I mixed it with an apple.
Was very good with meat dishes (instead of lingonberry jam).[/QUOTE

 

[Janne]

Yes, traditionally we let them undergo a night or two of frost. Same with sloans.

I am a bit @nal with my teeth, and dislike any seeds in my food. Do you leave them in or somehow separate?
Mother used to (by tradition) remove the seeds from her Raspberry preserves.

 

[British Red]

I do both. Some I make with seeds, others (like sloe and cranberry) I pass through a jelly bag for a completely clear preserve.

 

[Woody girl]

Oh dear disaster! Picked my lovely gooseberrys, prepped them, put into jam pan switched on the cooker , then decided to hoover the hall while I waited for them to start boiling. Got sidetracked with a phone call and suddenly there was a nasty smell... yes you guessed it... burnt to a cinder. the air was blue in more ways than one! Pan cleaning duty deferred untill tomorrow. Soooo cross with myself. Only have one bush so the whole crop was in there. Pal on phone has come to rescue though. She has offered me some of her vast crop. So alls well in the end.... apart from the pan cleaning.

 

[Janne]

$hit happens!
I have burned my Mango Jam a couple of times. As we have an open plan house, our noses detected the smell very early, and most could be saved, every time.

In fact, now I try to get the jam 'caramelised' each time, brings another flavor level to it.

If we burn food, we immerse the pan in the (sea water) canal. Seems to help dissolving it better than just plain water.
Try to soak it with lots of salt in the water and see if you can feel a difference!

 

[Woody girl]

Vinegar works with an overnight soak then a scrub with a stainless steel scrubby and astonish oven cleaner paste. Will be a ten minute job with luck.

 

[Janne]

10 minutes?
Not when I have been cooking!

 

[British Red]

Oh dear disaster! Picked my lovely gooseberrys, prepped them, put into jam pan switched on the cooker , then decided to hoover the hall while I waited for them to start boiling. Got sidetracked with a phone call and suddenly there was a nasty smell... yes you guessed it... burnt to a cinder. the air was blue in more ways than one! Pan cleaning duty deferred untill tomorrow. Soooo cross with myself. Only have one bush so the whole crop was in there. Pal on phone has come to rescue though. She has offered me some of her vast crop. So alls well in the end.... apart from the pan cleaning.

It's the wasted top & tailing that would hurt the most, it takes so long!

 

[Woody girl]

It's the wasted top & tailing that would hurt the most, it takes so long!

I know! The whole thing hurt! Pan is now clean took a bit longer than I thought about 20 mins to clean. What a waste of time and energy. Still as Janne says poo happens. Think I'll stick to crumbles instead of jam ! Just as tasty.

 

[Janne]

I find that sugar that burns to the pan is more difficult to remove than other foods.

Or to be truthful, that is what wife says, as it is shr that does the washing up.

 

[British Red]

I know! The whole thing hurt! Pan is now clean took a bit longer than I thought about 20 mins to clean. What a waste of time and energy. Still as Janne says poo happens. Think I'll stick to crumbles instead of jam ! Just as tasty.

Noooo jam is great, just watch it with an Audiobook playing