An Abundance of Apples, A profusion of Pears

An abundance of apples, a profusion of pears

Goodness, the weeds are taking over and I normally pride myself on being reasonably in control of what is happening on my plot.

However, apart from the constant harvesting and preserving crops – now can I really complain about that? – though I do think I might have to compost some of my beans – really, if they are not picked the plants will stop producing so, if you can’t use them or give them away, put them in the compost. I think I will take them to Lawrence Weston Community Farm – they can sell them or give them to ‘Pig’. Actually she is a Gloucester Old Spot. She has been named ‘Jasmine’ by the children of the community but, to me, she is ‘Pig’. Now she has a rival. Not yet named but, for me, This one will be ‘Pig2’  Good grief, we are going to eat their babies and they don’t know that they have a name. They just know that I bring them goodies each time I visit – and Pig just loves over-ripe bananas. So, if you have them.......

My real excuse for my  poor performance on my plot is that my daughter was married last weekend and how excellent was that! But, making and decorating the cake, the build up to the big day, the guests, the celebrating over a long weekend was just brilliant though, it was, of course, time consuming. And! I would happily do it every weekend just to see everyone so happy again.

Back to my crops.

I still have most of a tree-full of plums to harvest and preserve- see my last blog. Tomatoes are only just getting into their stride; main-crop potatoes will need to be lifted in the next few weeks; raspberries and blackberries must be harvested and used every couple of days; chillies are ripening; herbs must be harvested and chopped for freezing; french beans and runner beans must be harvested and used or composted, just to keep the vines producing; courgettes must be picked and used every couple of days and – apples and pears are now ready for harvesting and preserving. As they are most urgent (apart from the continuing plum harvest and bean harvest ! ) they are the focus of my blog today.

I have a wonderful crab-apple tree (John Downey), which is now with me for three years – a mere youngster - had produced an amazingly luxuriant bloom in the spring. This has been followed up with a very heavy crop which, as I was dealing with other issues, has started to drop significantly. I have now got around to harvesting them and will take the windfalls to ‘Pig’ at the Community Farm in Lawrence Weston. The rest – a large bucketful will be turned into preserves.

This quantity gives me enough for two separate sessions, each requiring a couple of days (well! If I were a factory there would be no problem but, I just have my kitchen which now has all sorts of fruit and vegetables waiting to be dealt with in all corners.

Today, I’ve had delivered, a large consignment of glass jars with lids. While I have to use them occasionally, I just hate using old jars from coffee/honey/peanut-butter/supermarket jams. I know people mean well when they give them to me but, I really wish they would give me back the pots I give to them. That said, I’m not complaining – really! I would be in serious trouble if they didn’t.

Let’s look at what we can do with these amazing crops. I could not possibly, in my little blog, put multiple recipes for apple pies, apple/pear puddings, apple crumbles, pear tarts, etc. You can find these elsewhere. What I do want to provide is a range of recipes of preservation of this fruit. Do try these:

Recipes for Pears

Pear Chutney

1.4 kg (3lb) pears – slightly under-ripe and peeled, cored and chopped into chunks

450g (1lb) onions                                           2 cloves garlic – crushed

450g ( 1lb) under-ripe tomatoes – washed, core removed, skinned and sliced

225 g ( 8oz) raisins or sultanas                   700g (1½lb) sugar

2-3 hot chillies ( jalapenos, hot cayenne, etc)

2cm – (1”) cube of fresh ginger, finely chopped – or ½ tsp ground ginger

Chilli pepper to taste                                      1 lt (2pints) malt vinegar

Level dsp. Salt

·         Put the vegetables, chillies and spices into a preserving pan with the salt and vinegar.

·         Bring to the boil and simmer well until all of the ingredients have softened and blended.

·         Add the sugar and stir well over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved.

·         Bring to the boil and boil until the pulp has reduced and thickened.

·         Taste for seasoning and heat. If necessary add more salt and chilli pepper to give the heat that you want.

Spiced Pears

1.4kg (3lb) pears – slightly under-ripe

570ml (1 pint) – white vinegar                                    450g (1lb) sugar (granulated)

2 sticks of cinnamon broken into short pieces or a few pieces of cinnamon bark

 6 dried red chillies                                                       1 dsp. mixed  pepper corns

1 tsp. whole allspice                                                     1 tsp. whole cloves

½ tsp salt

·         Put the spices, salt, sugar and vinegar into a preserving pan.

·         Add the sugar and vinegar and, over a gentle heat, dissolve the sugar.

·         Bring to the boil then simmer for 5 minutes to release the flavours of the spices.

·         Wash, peel and core the pears then cut into thick slices.

·         Put the pear pieces into the vinegar mixture. Bring to the boil then simmer until the fruit is soft but, not breaking up- they should be slightly translucent.

·         Allow to cool slightly then pack the pears into hot sterilised jars. Pour the spiced vinegar over the pears (ensure any air bubbles are removed).

·          Add the spices to the jars and make sure a piece of cinnamon bark and a chilli or two is added to each jar).

·         Cover and label.

Excellent served with cold meats or roasted fowl or lamb( turkey at Christmas – yum!)

Making Jam and Jelly

Remember that hot jam or jelly is VERY hot, especially when the sugar has been added. Make sure it is out of reach or children and don’t be tempted to stick your finger in to taste it! If you are planning on making a lot of jams and jellies, it is probably worth your while investing in some proper equipment.

You can use a large saucepan but, a preserving pan provides the best shape for water to boil off quickly, thus reducing the chance of you preserve ‘catching’ and burning. A sugar thermometer helps to tell you when the setting point has been reached which removes the doubt from the ‘testing-on-a-plate’ method. Although, I always use the latter – when you think the jam/jelly has reduced significantly and you feel might be approaching ‘setting’, put a dessertspoonful on a plate or saucer and put in a cool place (not the fridge). If setting point has been reached the preserve will wrinkle up when pushed gently with a spoon or the tip of your finger.

You can make your own jelly bag from heavy muslin, cotton calico or other similar fabrics. Make sure the fabric is well scalded before adding the juice and that it is well secured to a ‘stand’ (upside down stool perhaps – perhaps you are handy with wood and can make your own) before pouring in the boiled fruit pulp. However, you can buy the jelly bags and stands ready made. If you choose to do so, buy one which is sturdy and safe.

The quantities I have given in the following recipes give a fairly high concentration of sugar. You can reduce the amount of sugar in jams and jellies to suit your taste. However, the less sugar in the preserve, the less likely it is to keep well. If you choose to do this, you can store the fruit in the freezer until you are going to make your preserve then, use quickly. Or you can store the preserve in the fridge for a few weeks.

Crab Apple Jelly                                                                
3 Kg. (6lb) crab apples                                                               
1½ litres (3pts.) water                                                               
Small handful cloves    or /and                                                  
a few pieces of cinnamon bark  

Method
1. Wash the crab apples, cut in two and put in the preserving pan with the water and your chosen spice.                                  
2. Simmer gently until all the fruit has softened and pulped. - about 30 mins.                                               
3. Put the pulp into the jelly bag over a suitable bowl.               
4. Leave until all the juice has drained from the bag - overnight. Don't squeeze the bag or your jelly will be cloudy, for little extra juice.                                           
5. Measure the juice and add sugar - for each 600ml (1 pint) add 450g (1lb) sugar                           
6.Add the juice and the sugar to a clean preserving pan and stir over a gentle heat until all the sugar has dissolved.
7. Bring to the boil and boil rapidly until setting point has been reached.                                                      
 8. Pot up in hot sterilised jars, cover and label.                       
I like to use crab apple jelly as an accompaniment to roast meat dishes – especially with mint added with lamb dishes. When you are simmering the fruit in water at the beginning of the process – instead of adding spices add a fairly  generous handful of fresh mint and cook down in the first process.

If you have lots of cooking apples (this even works well with eating apples though, the texture and flavour are not so good) - Peel, core and slice the apples. Put into the microwave with a very little water and cook on full for 10 minutes or until the apple is pulped. Pack into freezer boxes and freeze for use in pies/puddings, etc. in the winter months. Or - Add a little sugar and pack into small freezer containers for use as apple sauce.

I have just bought a Kenwood Mini-chopper. This is seriously the business. It can reduce large bunches of herbs to ‘finely chopped’ in seconds. It can grind whole spices to ‘ground’ in seconds. It is easy to clean and easy to use and – NO! I’m not in their employ. Do buy one if you can afford it and would find it useful.

For more useful fruit recipes do keep watching.

I am now getting into my stride with tomato harvesting – and main-crop potatoes. Next Blog!

Sorry about my first version of this. Although the two recipes of blackberry and Apple jelly and Crab-Apple Jelly sat side-by-side on my original - when I published it, the text moved around and it made no sense. So, I've taken the Blackberry and apple jelly out. If you would like a recipe for this you can find it on the website.