A Royal Flavour

Now that the humble elderflower has been used to flavour the wedding cake for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle I wonder whether royal watchers will be jumping into hedgerows and denuding the local elder trees of their lacecap flourescences? So far the examples in my own garden have avoided such predations but I will put my hands up and admit that I will be getting the trusty secateurs out shortly so that I can produce this year's supply of elderflower cordial. I can't say that I am a terrific fan of cordials and juices but it is surprising what you can add to ones glass to give the contents a gentle kick.

The manufacture of elderflower cordial is thankfully a fairly easy process. Let's face it if it wasn't I wouldn't be doing it. One dissolves five pounds of granulated sugar in about two and a half pints of water which is then brought to the boil before taking your saucepan off the heat. Thereafter it is a matter of adding about twenty washed flower heads along with 3 ounces of citric acid and two unwaxed and paired lemons which have been sliced into G & T roundels. After allowing twenty four hours for infusion one is ready to strain the liquid into sterilised bottles. Your cordial is then ready to use.

Courgette Chutney 2016

September's vegetable glut has necessitated the unearthing of the large chutney making saucepan from the cellar. It hasn't been a great year for vegetables but the courgettes haven't objected to the lack of sunshine and the very temperate temperatures. I have been picking ten or twelve courgettes every week for the past couple of months. With the best will in the world this is a number that I can't consume as courgetti, stuffed or fried.

Today saw the third batch of 2016 courgette chutney being manufactured. The template receipe for today's culinary experiment came from the National Trust's, " Jams, Preserves & Chutneys." This tome was originally published with an asking price of £18.99 but it had been discounted to £6.00 by the time I purchased it from the shop at the Argory this summer. The original receipe had the grated rind of two oranges as an ingredient. With no oranges in the house I substituted lemons for oranges, (I have never found a gin that needs an orange!). With a large supply of apples available from the roadside tree I decided to add in a pound of diced apple. The quantity of courgette was also increased slightly. Accordingly the following were the ultimate contents of the saucepan. I should point out that the courgette was salted overnight and rinsed under cold water before being tipped into the saucepan.

4 lbs diced courgette

1.5 tablespoons of table salt

1 lb of chopped tomatoes

0.5 lb of chopped onions

1 lb of sultanas

1 lb diced Apple

grated rind of two lemons

2 lb granulated sugar

Half pint red wine vinegar

Half pint malt vinegar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon.

 

Not so Chilli Jam

The chilli peppers have done surprisingly well this year. Many have already been utilised in currys and chutneys. Others have been frozen or dried. Today I decided that I should utilise some of the remaining chillis in the production of chilli jam. A strange subriquet for something that is not really suitable for spreading on one's afternoon scones. This is more of a fiery jelly or conserve which compliments a salty blue cheese.

The receipe of choice for this savoury conserve came from the, "Nigella," stable. Unfortunately she has succumbed to metrification so I have have had to convert the weights and quantities back Into proper British measure so that I can understand what I am talking about.

The ingredients are not numerous. Five and a quarter ounces of deseeded red chilli peppers; ditto red peppers together with thirty five ounces of jam sugar and twenty one fluid ounces of cider vinegar.

The chillies and peppers require to be finely chopped in a food processor. Thereafter the sugar needs to be dissolved in the vinegar over a low heat. Next the chilli/pepper mix is added to the sugar and vinegar. A ten minute," rollicking " boil is then required after which the pan is permitted to cool. Some forty minutes later the jelly is ready to be decanted into sterilised small jars.

I suppose I had better leave the jelly until Christmas before checking the culinary outcome.

 

 

 

 

 

Piccalilli Days.

A superfluity of cauliflowers and courgettes prompted the dusting down and sterilisation of four preserving jars. Two diced cauliflowers and three courgettes were joined by similarly prepared green peppers, French beans and shallots. A total of four pounds of vegetables from the garden ended up in a preparing bowl with a liberal quantity of salt and left for twenty four hours before being thoroughly rinsed with cold water. Thereafter a paste of cider vinegar, turmeric, mustard powder, powdered dried chilli, cumin, coriander and cornflower was prepared. About a pint of vinegar together with a cup full of granulated sugar and a little honey was then brought to the boil. The paste was then added to the vinegar and the resultant concoction boiled and stirred for some four minutes before being taken off the ring and the vegetables added and folded in. The sterilised and still slightly warm jars were then filled, sealed, labelled and confined to the cellar for winter consumption.

 

From Cucumber to Chutney.

Tis surprising how long cucumbers will remain usable after picking. It is probably five weeks since I pulled the last of the crop and placed them in the cellar. Their skin is beginning to turn from green to yellow but the flesh is still firm.

 

If I am honest the weather for cucumber sandwiches with a refreshing snifter has slipped away for another year. Sad that. Anyhows I decided that I should convert the bulk of the cucumber store to chutney with the assistance of some of the apples that I had picked last weekend. I processed two boilings over the weekend. Cheese and chutney awaits after a month or two of maturing for the chutney. The ingredients for my savoury simmerings were as follows:

 

1 lb diced apple

4 lb diced cucumber, ( salted overnight)

2 oz raisins

6 oz sugar

2 small chillis - chopped

1 large onion diced

half ounce mustard powder

Half teaspoon ground ginger

One oz turmeric

1 oz salt

One and three quarters pints vinegar

 

 

Gooseberry - Fulsome Jam

The trusty saucepan has been brought into use again. With the balance of the gooseberries now picked, four pounds of these hairy berries were topped and tailed before being deposited in the saucepan along with the juice of one lemon and something just shy of a pint of water. This concoction was brought to the boil atop the aged aga and then left to simmer for about fifteen minutes, by which time the gooseberries were no longer recognisable as berries. Four pounds of Tate & Lyle granulated sugar was then added. (Other makes of sugar are available!)

 

It took about five minutes to dissolve the sugar after which the caries inducing mixture was boiled for about ten minutes, followed by simmer mode. The pink scum which collected on the surface was spooned off at intervals. It took about forty five minutes before the conserve was adjudged to have reached its setting point after which it was ladled in to the awaiting sterilised jars.

 

Runner Beans to Chutney

The vegetable garden is now in full production and surpluses are beginning to occur. Three pounds of runner beans was too great a quantity to ingest in one sitting and I therfore determined that they should be converted into pots of chutney for laying down and winter consumption. There would of course have to be some ancillary ingredients. Unfortunately the transformation of beans to chutney requires the assistance of other garden produce and some items from the larder. The following items were assembled:-

3 lbs runner beans - chopped

2 onions - chopped

4 garlic cloves - chopped

2 pinches chilli powder

2 lbs light brown soft sugar

2 teaspoons fresh ginger - grated

1 tablespoon mustard powder

2 pints malt vinegar

2 tablespoons cornflour

1.5 tablespoons ground turmeric

A saucepan of slightly salted water was then brought to the boil and the beans and onions added and cooked for ten minutes. The water was then drained off with the beans and onions being transferred to a food processor where they suffered the fate of a thousand knives before being dumped back into the saucepan. There they were joined by the garlic, ginger and sugar as well as one and a half pints of the vinegar. The resultant concoction was boiled for some fifteen minutes. The remaining vinegar was then poured into a bowl where it was joined by the mustard powder, cornflour, turmeric and chilli pepper and then added to the saucepan where the combined liquid amalgam was then boiled for a further fifteen minutes. Cooling proceeded after which the sweet smelling sludge, (well truthfully don't all chutneys look a bit unappealing in isolation?), was spooned into the awaiting sterilised jars.

 

 

They say that it takes six to eight weeks for a chutney to mature and taste its best. I did however think that I should check that this culinary delight was palatable. I am happy to report that no ill affects have manifested themselves to date and surprisingly it tasted quite nice. Perhaps cheese, biscuits and a rich port might be an appropriate accompaniment.

 

 

 

Yet More Tomato Chutney!



The Raw Materials

One of my friends was complaining last week that his tomato plants had succumbed to botrytis. Thankfully, (remove hat, and touch head,) my plants have avoided the fungal spores and they are still producing more ripened fruit than I probably need. I do not like to admit that though.

Eight pounds was today's haul. I do not think that I will end up with very many green tomatoes when I finally remove the plants from the greenhouse and in any event I do prefer red tomato chutney over the green variety. Accordingly I decided that half of the, " pulling," should be processed into more chutney for storing away for winter and spring use. Why half you ask? Well simple really. When you add all the other ingredients to the dear old saucepan, four pounds of tomatoes is as much as you can squash in. The amalgam of contents was going to be somewhat different for this batch.

The saucepan with its red and vinegary contents was put on the hot ring of the aga for an initial boil up and then allowed to simmer on the slow ring for a couple of hours to reduce the liquid and give a bit of slurpy solidity to this culinary delight. The resultant chutney was then spooned into the awaiting sterilised jars.

The Possible Ingredients

4 lbs tomatoes - chopped

2 sweet peppers - chopped

1lb onions

2 pints malt vinegar

1 lb raisins

1 lb caster sugar

Chutney Days

September gluts continue in the garden. I had pulled some ten pounds of tomatoes last Wednesday. A couple of pounds had been donated to the aged parents and a few were used up in sandwiches and salads. A batch of soup, some consumed and some frozen, used up about four pounds. By today the balance was becoming a trifle over ripe so it had to be processed somehow. A paucity of room in the freezer pointed against further pottage and as an unsullied Bloody Mary did not really appeal I determined to convert the balance into chutney with the assistance of a few additional ingredients.

This chutney lark seems to be really a matter of deciding upon a principal ingredient and then bunging in some vinegar, sugar and whatever else you can think of. If you want to fry the old taste buds then clearly copious quantities of mustard powder or the like is called for. If not then more fruit seems to be the ticket.

I cannot abide the use of metric mesurement. This blog will forever remain a corner of a forgotten web that will remain a devotee to imperial measurement. No kilos here. The relation of the ingredients to my culinary masterpiece is set out below.

After an initial boil up on the ancient aga, (other stoves and cookers are available,) the concoction was left to simmer for approximately an hour before being allowed to cool and then decanted into jars for sealing. Should go well with the cold meats on Boxing Day methinks. Together with a side order of a nice malt.

Suggested Possible Ingredients

four pounds tomatoes - chopped

two  pounds of peeled and decored cooking apples - chopped

half a pound of onions - chopped

three quarters of a pound of sugar

half a pound of mixed raisins and sultanas

two red peppers - chopped

four teaspoons ground ginger

one tablespoon ground ginger

one pint ( and extra swig) cider vinegar

Double Double Toil and Trouble

The Cauldron

Double, double toil and trouble; fire burn and cauldron bubble. No poisoned entrails or fillet of a fenny snake in this pot however. Instead the major ingredient was cucumber.

There was really no option but to process the new cucurbit glut by making more chutney. I was making manful inroads into my personal European, cucumber mountain with daily sandwiches and the use of pickling jars. Yesterday however provided two specimens each weighing in at three pounds and eight ounces and I had to admit defeat. I was not going to be able to munch my way through this brace before their junior brethren required cropping. Accordingly the trusty deep saucepan long since liberated from my mother's kitchen was brought up from the cellar in anticipation of today's boil up.

The two goliaths of the cucumber world, along with a lesser example, were drawn, quartered and cubed and then left salted for twenty four hours. Today the resulting liquid was drained off and the cucumber cubes rinsed under cold water before being toppled into the saucepan where they were joined by the rest of the carefully selected ingredients prior to suffering the indignity of being brought to the boil and then having to manage the ignominy of ninety minutes of simmering. That completed the resulting chutney was spooned into hot, sterilised jars which were then sealed.

The Secret Ingredients

8lbs cucumbers - cubed

12 oz sugar

4 small chillis - chopped

4 oz raisins

2 large onions - chopped

1oz dried mustard

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1.5 oz tumeric

2 oz salt

4 pints vinegar