Fruit, fruit ,fruit....

If it's time to pick blackberries it's time to make jam. My blackberry bush carried a lot of fruit this year.

 When I made this picture, they were not ripe yet but it took a couple of days and then it was picking time.

Also a man in our neighbourhood brings me fruit every year. He gets it from a relative who has an orchard and  has so much fruit every year, he cann't use it all so instead of selling it, he gives it away.

I love when the man comes, ringing the doorbell  and calling out: "the fruitman is here!", his  car loaded with fruit and the best part ......it's organic.

I tried different recipes and I will post two of them which I really liked.

The first one is: plum marmelade with cardamom and walnuts. My first thought was: walnuts in marmelade? No I don't think so....but I gave it a try and it was good. The cardamom gives a special flavor to the marmelade.

Plum Marmelade with Cardamom and Walnuts

1 kilo plums, halved, stoned

5 cardamom pods

100 grams walnuts roughly chopped

800 grams gelling sugar

* Mash the plums with a stick mixer, add the sugar and stir. Let stand for a moment.

* Crack cardamom pods, take the seeds out and grind them using a mortar and pestle or use a coffee grinder.

* Add cardamom and walnuts to fruit mixture. Stir over low heat until sugar has completely dissolved. Bring to a rapid boil and boil for about 4 minutes.

* To test if the jam has set, remove the jam from the heat and place 1 teaspoon of jam on a cold saucer and put it in the fridge. When cool, drag your finger through the jam and if it leaves a channel then the jam is ready to be bottled. If the jam runs back together return to the boil and try again in 2 minutes. Skim off any scum.

* Pour into hot sterilized  jars and seal. 

* Invert jars for at least 10 minutes then turn upright. This will create a vacuum seal. Let cool.

The second one is:

 Butternut Pumpkin Apple Marmelade

600 grams butternut pumpkin
400 grams apples
1 lemon
800 grams gelling sugar
1 teaspoon Bourbon vanille or vanille sugar
± 200 ml. water

* Peel the Butternut pumpkin and remove all the seeds and fibers, cut into cubes.
* Peel apples and cut into cubes.
* Add water and cook for about 15 min. or until softened.
* Mash with a stick mixer.
* Grate zest from lemon,  squeeze juice and add to the pumpkin/apples.
* Add gelling sugar and bring to a boil.
* Boil for 4 minutes and then test in usual way for setting. (See recipe above)
* Pour into hot sterilized jars and seal.
* Invert jars for at least 10 minutes then turn upright. This will create a vacuum seal.
* Let cool.

This was my first time using pumkin to make marmelade and it was delicious. It also makes a nice gift from the kitchen as you don't find this marmelade in a regular store.

It's jam-making season again.

Every year, in August and September, someone in my neighbourhood brings us plums, apples, berries etc. A relative of him has a fruit orchard and the trees bear so much fruit he cann't use it all by himself, so he gives most of the fruit away. This time we got a big box of plums. Too much just to eat them so I had a job to do: jam making.

Besides making the regular plum jam I also tried out some recipes. I found an interesting one on a german site: peach plum banana marmelade. I had to try this one and it came out perfect and taste delicious. Here is the recipe:

Peach Plum Banana Jam

500 gram peaches

500 gram plums

1 banana

juice of 1/2  lemon

1 kilo jam sugar

Wash and removes the stones from the fruit and cut in pieces. 

Add the banana and mash the fruit with a stick mixer.

Add the jam sugar and stir it until it has completely dissolved. Bring it to a full rolling boil and boil it rapidly for about 5-6 minutes. Add the lemon juice.Immediately pour hot mixture into sterilized jars right to the top and seal. Invert jars for at least 10 minutes then turn upright. This will create a vacuum seal. Let cool.

This was my first batch. Also made blackberry jam from my own blackberry bush.  Two more batches followed in that week. It's time consuming but well worth the effort.