Made my first tomato Chutney and some crab apple jelly today

[paul standley]

Another day of firsts....!

Made some tomato and sweet pepper chutney this morning from toms, peppers, onions and garlic we grew in the yard this year. Never made any preserves before so this was a bit of a step into the unknown, so followed a recipe exactly and it worked out really well, least it looks fine, wont be ready for a few weeks so hoping it will taste as good as it looks...!

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Then this afternoon, I went for a walk in the little wood near me and came back with a few pounds of crab apples so decided to make a day of it and set about making some crab apple jelly which to my amazement, worked out really well and was very clean and clear with a wonderfully golden tinge to it.
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So now I'm hooked...! - got to try some other stuff soon...

Paul

[bushcraftboy]

Well done on the cab apple jelly, I made hawthorn leather a few weeks ago, it's lovely.

[Bernie]

Nice work!

Recipes and step-by-step photos people - PLEASE. Now I've got to go google Hawthorne leather... :)

[paul standley]

Nice work!

Recipes and step-by-step photos people - PLEASE. Now I've got to go google Hawthorne leather... :)

Here you go...

With the crab apple jelly, it's a bit like making jam and so you need to know 'when' it's cooked enough to get the mixture to "set" so also attached image of the page on how to tell when it's ready... Good luck if you try it.

If you reverse mouse click on each image and choose t osave it on your PC you can then Zoom to a size to easily read the text and/or print.

Paul.

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[Proventurer]

Paul,
I would also like the recipe for the tom/ pepper chutney, but try as I may, I can't blow the picture up enough to make the writing legible, so as we say in SA
can you "make a plan" so we can share in having ago at making this bounty?
Baie Dankie (thank you)
Nigel.

[Martin]

Paul,
I would also like the recipe for the tom/ pepper chutney, but try as I may, I can't blow the picture up enough to make the writing legible, so as we say in SA
can you "make a plan" so we can share in having ago at making this bounty?
Baie Dankie (thank you)
Nigel.

Nigel, open the picture by clicking the attachment. When you've done that, click on the actual picture and it will open in a separate browser window or tab. You can then click to zoom or press Ctrl and + to zoom the brower window, keep doing this till you get to the desired size. To return to normal size click Ctrl and - until it's back to where it should be.

Hope this helps

Martin

[Proventurer]

Thanks Martin, for coming to the rescue.
Nigel.

[paul standley]

Recipes in .PDF file format as well if it helps...

Paul.

[fish]

crab apple jelly is fab with pork!

[Roadkillphil]

Looks 'ansum!! :D

[Tony1948]

Great efart Pual hope it tastes as good as it look's,well done............TONY..........How's the sheath coming along.

[paul standley]

Quick update on the ol' chutney front...

Left the above tomato and pepper chutney for 5 weeks after making for flavours to mature and tried it with cheese and cold meats it's fab and I highly recomend the recipe.

Today I made some more tomato and pepper chutney and this time I left it really chunky ( the first lot was very fine) so we'll see how that goes.

The crab apple jelly was amazing too, had it with pork and with chicken and again, I'd recomend this recipe if you have any apples spare. I made some more jelly 2 weeks ago (crab apple and cranberry) using cranberry juice in a carton from Asda for 80 pence...haven't tried it yet but it's very clear and looks great so we'll see...!

Tony - the sheath is on the back burner still, just got so much on at the moment but I did get a 30 minute lesson off a master saddler last month at a country skills show on how to stitch leather properly and that was a great bit of tuition which will help me when I do get around to it.


Paul

[Jack Russell]

Couple of quick and easy ones:

Chilli Jelly (Chelly if you like)

•150g long fresh red chillies, each deseeded and cut into about 4 pieces.
•150g red peppers, cored, deseeded and cut into rough chunks
•1kg jam sugar/preserving sugar (has pectin added to facilitate setting)
•600ml cider vinegar
•6 x 250ml sealable jars, with vinegar-proof lid, such as Kilner jar or re-usable pickle jar
Method
Makes approx. 1.5. Litres
1.Sterilize your jars and leave to cool.
2.Put the cut-up chillies into a food processor and pulse until they are finely chopped. Add the chunks of red pepper and pulse again until you have a vibrantly red-flecked processor bowl.
3.Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar in a wide, medium-sized pan over a low heat without stirring. Careful, there's no "F" in hot but this stuff is!!
4.Scrape the chilli-pepper mixture out of the bowl and add to the pan. Bring the pan to the boil, then leave it at a rollicking boil for 10 minutes.
5.Take the pan off the heat and allow it cool. The liquid will become more syrupy, then from syrup to viscous and from viscous to jelly-like as it cools.
6.After about 40 minutes, or once the red flecks are more or less evenly dispersed in the jelly (as the liquid firms up, the hints of chilli and pepper start being suspended in it rather than floating on it), ladle into your jars. If you want to stir gently at this stage, it will do no harm. Then seal tightly.


Pear and dried apricot chutney

425g ripe tomatoes , peeled, deseeded and chopped
425g caster sugar
140g cooking apples , peeled, cored and chopped
140g onions , finely chopped
140g dried apricots , chopped
3 tbsp chopped fresh root ginger
2 tsp salt
450ml white wine vinegar
1¼ kg pears , peeled, cored and cut into bite-size pieces

1.Combine all the ingredients, except the pears, in a large, thick-bottomed saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer uncovered over a very low heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Continue to cook for about 1 hr, giving it a stir every 10 mins, until the mixture is syrupy. Add the chopped pears and cook for another 30 mins, stirring occasionally. Leave to cool completely, then store in sterilised, clean jars.

Have fun with them. Jack