Lazy Glazy - Pineapple and Passion Fruit Glaze

No posts for a while, but I have a good excuse... My daughter Matilda Erin Radford was born in November, three weeks early. She has been keeping me a little busy but worth every second!

My mother and father in-law gave me a bunch of passion fruits from their garden. These are English passion fruits so not the same as those you get in the supermarkets, however they are edible when ripe.

This was an experiment I came up with before Christmas but never had the time to post it. 

Ingredients

1 Pineapple

1 Lemon 

2 Cooking Apples 
6-8 Passion fruits

1kg Jam Sugar 

2 table spoons of soft brown sugar

Water

Kit   Makes about 4 Jars (depending on the size of your jars).

Big pan

Stirring spoon
Sieve

Jars

Wax seals or jar lids
Jam thermometer (optional)

Peal the pineapple keeping the peal and the leaves. Core and chop the fruit of the pineapple into cubes and do the same with the apples. Halve the passion fruits. 

TIP : How to chop up a pineapple - http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/glossary/pineapple

Add the apples, pineapple peel together with the leaves and the passion fruits in a pan with 1 litre of water. Allow to simmer for about 40 minutes, add a little more water if you need to. Then put the cubes of pineapple to one side for now.

Once it is all cooked, push all this through a sieve, return all the purée back into the pan with the pineapple cubes. Simmer again for about 30 minutes. 

Add the jam sugar, soft brown sugar, lemon juice and zest. Put on a low heat then stir until all the sugar has dissolved. Turn up the heat now and boil rapidly for about 20 minutes. The ideal temperature should be around 105C to set the mixture, if you have a jam/candy thermometer, this is the time to use it!

Sterilise your jars in the oven for about 10 minutes, fill to near the top with the glaze and cover with appropriate top.

We have used this on some gammon and it was fab! Looking forward to trying on the BBQ...when we get some good weather (or if). It would also go with a

hot pudding or in a croissant...if your posh.

A good pear'ing - Pear and Red Wine Cheese

My brother managed to "gather" some pears on a recent cycle. He made this Pear and red wine cheese. 

Cheese? Yes cheese, it is a kind of thick jam. Normally slice-able to go with crackers and cheese. Wallace and Gromit would love it!

As I'm still preggers right now I've not tried his creation but I'm reliability told it is very good. I think it will be really good for Christmas time which is fast approaching!

Tim's recipe was taken from Hamlyn All Colour Cookbook 200 Jams and Preserves.I got this book as a birthday present one year and have been using it ever since.

I will definitely be trying this out as soon as I am allowed to! 

Lady Marmalade - Apple and Orange Marmalade

More windfall apples have come my way. I love marmalade and none of this without shreds nonsense! So to try a slightly different marmalade I decided to make one with apple and orange.

There are lots of recipes for these. I combined my favorite bits from them all.
I definitely wanted one with lots and lots of shreds!


Ingredients
4 Oranges 
1 Lemon 
400g Apples (once peeled and cored)
900g Jam Sugar 
4 table spoons of soft brown sugar
Water

Kit   Makes about 4/5 Jars (depending on the size of your jar.
Big pan
Stirring spoon
Blender or food processor.
Scissors 
Potato peeler 
Small muslin square
Jars
Wax seals or jar lids
Jam thermometer (optional)

Peal the 4 oranges and cut the rinds into shreds, then cook in a pan with 600ml of water, for about 20 minutes.

TIP : use scissors instead of a knife. This bit can be quite time consuming and you'll be there for a long time!

Cut the oranges and lemons into wedges, any pips tie up in the muslin. Add all this to another pan with 800ml of water. Cook for about an hour. Top up with a little water and stir once in a while to stop it sticking to the bottom.

TIP : save a tiny squeeze of lemon juice in a bowl. This will help stop your apples going to brown for the next bit.

Cut up your apples into small cubes. Once the oranges have cooked for an hour, add the apples to the pan. Reduce to a low heat until soft , this takes about 20 minutes. Take out your muslin with the pips.

Allow to cool a little, then in small batches whiz in a food processor or blender. Add a tiny bit of water to help loosen.
TIP : Watch out for escapee pips.

Return all this to the pan, with an additional 200ml of water, the rinds (including the cooking water), jam sugar and soft brown sugar. Put on a low heat then stir until all the sugar has dissolved.

Turn up the heat, so boiling. Stir every now and then, for about 25 minutes.  If you have a jam or sugar thermometer (posh) , the ideal temperature should be around 105C.

DO NOT BE TEMPTED TO LICK THE SPOON!

Sterilise your jars in the oven for about 10 minutes, fill to near the top with the marmalade and cover with appropriate top.


Serve with toast and plenty of tea!

Jamming - Blackberry and Apple Jam 

This was just a small batch to try it out so only makes a couple of jars. You can double up to make 4/5 Jars or more depending on how many blackberries you can find.

Ingredients                                      

400g Blackberries

400g Apples (peeled, cored and diced)

Juice of 1 lemon

150ml Water

750g Jam sugar

Kit

Big pan

Stirring spoon

Muslin

Jars

Wax seals / jam jar lids

Jam thermometer (optional)

Cook the blackberries and apples on a low heat until soft , this takes about 20 minutes. Add the sugar, then stir in until all dissolved.

Turn up the heat, so boiling. Stir now and then, for about 25 minutes.  If you have a jam or sugar thermometer, the ideal temperature should be around 105C.

DO NOT BE TEMPTED TO LICK THE SPOON!

Sieve the contents through muslin and remove the large pieces of apple, add the rest of the pulp (depending on how many lumps/pips you like).

Sterilise your jars in the oven –, about 10 minutes, fill to near the top with the jam. Cover with a wax seal / cellophane or the jam jar lid (either/or not both).

Decorate once cool!

Blackberries and apples were both foraged, therefore I only brought the lemon and jam sugar.