Washing Rowan Berries

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AJB

Native
Oct 2, 2004
1,821
9
56
Lancashire
I may be doing something unnecessary or I might be reinventing the wheel, but having picked rowans for the first time yesterday I asked around and discovered there should be as little extraneous detritus in them as possible before moving on. I poured them all into a sink of water in the vain hope that garbage floats and berries sink or vice versa – no such luck. I then started scooping out a sieve full at a time and picking it over – I’m 41 I don’t have enough life left to do that to 8lbs. of fruit – it took ages. But then I realised that the general rubbish stuck to your hands. If you scoop the fruit out and let it run through your fingers the leaves, sticks and stalks stick to your hands amazingly well and any that get away land on top of the bed of berries and are easily picked out.

About the first tenth took me about an hour to pick over using a sieve; the remainder took about 40 min using that method. I washed the sink poured them all back in to clean water and scooped them out again, picking them over for any bits I missed, and found more stuff in the bottom of the sink and really dirty water, so did that another three times until the water ran clean.

What a palaver but it would have taken hours if I’d not twigged (sorry) this method of washing them (that those in the know probably know all about).

AJB
 

spiritofold

Banned
May 7, 2004
701
1
52
Winchester
www.spiritofold.co.uk
I dunno if it matters if theres some twiggy bits and leaves left behind. i always think it'll be ok because its going to get the crap boiled out of it and then strained.

Gives it that rustic taste ;-)

Andy >>>>>-------------------------<>
 

AJB

Native
Oct 2, 2004
1,821
9
56
Lancashire
Well that was going to be my approach until I mentioned it to my sis, who is a self styled guru on all things jammy (or so she thinks), and she thought it might taint the end product, as she’d done the same thing with elder flowers and she thought it knacked it. As I have no idea what I was doing I did what I was told :)

Currently draining through a cloth!
 

AJB

Native
Oct 2, 2004
1,821
9
56
Lancashire
I am a jelly god!

Isn’t it brilliant when you do something new and it works first time? I’ve had a great day learning something new and have a pint and a half of clear, fruity, sweet and tangy jelly.

I’d forgotten how much fun it can be to learn stuff.
 

Jodie

Native
Aug 25, 2006
1,561
11
54
London
www.google.co.uk
That's a cool thing to have learned! The only alternative - actually a bit unworkable - that I
could think of would be to tip them out onto the floor at speed so that the round things
would roll further than the non-round things and thus separate themselves.

But then you'd have to go and pick the things up :D
 

AJB

Native
Oct 2, 2004
1,821
9
56
Lancashire
My berries on the tree on Saturday...

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in the kitchen by Saturday night...

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and the finished product on Sunday - it's great!

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