Preserving Interview with Rosie

Here's an online interview, I had with the lovely Rosie, from Rosie Bakes A Peace of Cake:

Pixie, has very kindly invited me to join in with her on a very exciting venture of starting a ‘Putting Up Event’. Sourcing excellent fresh in season produce and preserving them for seasons when certain fruits, veggies are not available dates back over centuries, what an igneous invention by our ancestors! I am well aware that in today’s society out of seasonal produce can be purchased, but what delights of bottling up your own superb fresh produce without preserves, I find this most gratifying. Preserves also make excellent gifts to share with family or friends.

Why do you preserve fruits and vegetables?

I enjoy working with in season produce and preserving them for later in a season when a certain produce is not seasonal. Take for instance strawberries, they grow locally for such a short time, I find nothing better than opening a jar of strawberry jam in mid winter and tasting something of the summer gone by. I know the ingredients I use are fresh and of excellent quality and free from such additives I could find if using perhaps some commercial products.

Can you offer an easy step by step process you can share with us?

Read through carefully any recipe and become familiar with what equipment, ingredients and method is used before embarking on the task ahead.

I would recommend that all produce you do use has NO impurities, i.e. black bits on the skins etc. What is the point of preserving something that isn’t A1? Use good fresh spices and spiced vinegar if making chutney.

Make sure all jars are in perfect condition and without any cracks. Wash the jars and lids and rinse through with clean water. Dry on a clean tea towel and place the jars to sterilise on a clean baking tray in a low oven and the lids in a saucepan of boiling water to help prevent the growth of any bacteria while your preserves are stored.

Ensure if you don’t have a sugar thermometer, is to place a couple of tea plates in the freezer to chill them off to test for a set of a preserve later on in the procedure of your preserve making.

You may wish to use preserving sugar which has pectin added this helps set fruits with little pectin. I normally use granulated sugar and the juice of lemon(s) or you can buy pectin in outlets on its own to add to sugar. Strawberries are very low in pectin which makes the set of the conserve/jam difficult without either lemon juice or extra added pectin.

Warm the sugar through in a very low oven if adding to a preserve after cooking the fruit/veggies down. This does help in the process of the sugar dissolving quicker.

Ensure the fruit/veggies are tender enough when cooking them through firstly before adding sugar, vinegar etc as per recipe.

Whilst the preserve is up to a rolling boil or simmering to a correct thickness, ensure it doesn’t burn by stirring through with a large handled wooden spoon.

Skim off any scum or impurities that may rise to the top of the pan with a long handle metal spoon and throw away. If you leave this in it will make your conserve/jam cloudy.

If you are going for a set of a conserve, jam etc, you will need to bring the ingredients up to a rolling boil for the length of time stated in the recipe. To check for a correct set either use a sugar thermometer up to the required set of temperature or take the pan off the heat and bring a plate from the freezer placing a teaspoonful of the preserve in the middle. Leave this to cool for a few minutes and with one finger push through the middle of the preserve and it should wrinkle slightly and leave a good gap down the middle. If the set isn’t quite there yet place back onto the heat and bring back for a rolling boil for 5- 10 minutes and test again for a set as before.

If you bottle up fruit preserves too quickly and don’t leave to cool a little as per recipe, the fruit could all sink to the bottom. With chutneys spoon into warm jars straight away and seal down.

When potting up into your jars they must be warm or they will crack. Try to fill the jars without leaving too much of a gap between the lid and jar, this ensures a good seal without air pockets to gather bacteria between preserve and lid. Ensure all lips of lids are free of stickiness of produce before sealing and the outside of jars are clean.

Leave the preserve to cool before adding labels to the jar with name of produce and date.

Some chutneys or preserves need time to develop in flavour before using and the recipe you are using should state the required length of time.

Store your preserve in a cool dark place.

Do you need any special equipment?

I would recommend a good sturdy large heavy bottomed pan to start with. The pan needs to be large enough or the preserve/chutney etc may boil over. If you find you enjoy making your own preserves, then I would recommend investing in a Preserving pan – mine is a stainless steel one but they can be quite expensive to start with.

A large handle wooden spoon for stirring, why I suggest the handle being long is to help prevent any splashes to the skin, which can be very dangerous with boiling preserves at high temperatures. Also a large handle metal spoon for skimming off any scum that floats to the top of the pan.

Jars with fitting lids or seals, you can recycle old jars if they are in good condition. Labels to stick onto your jars of what the preserve is and the date of making it. A good marker pen for writing on the labels.

A sturdy baking tray to hold your jam jars on whilst warming them in the oven.

A jam funnel I find of much value when potting up your preserves, this saves trying the hit and miss route if not using one.

A good sized ladle or large metal spoon for potting up the preserve.

A sugar thermometer that gives accurate temperature readings of the type of set to your preserve you are aiming for. You can use the plate method as I’ve explain to begin with without going to vast amounts of expense when first staring out.

You may require a jelly bag and stand if making Jelly preserves. You can get away with just using a jelly bag and tie each corner of the jelly bag to the legs of an upturned stool or chair. A large enough bowl for the juices to drip into over night.

What's your favourite preserve recipe?

A very good friend of mine Maureen kindly gave me her recipe for Apple Jelly. This is a great preserve that can be used with meat or in baking or simply spread on toast. You will find this recipe posted on my blog -->HERE.

Do you have a recommended cookbook on preserving fruits and vegetables?

The book I would fully recommend to anyone has got to be – The Basic Basics Jams, preserves & Chutneys Handbook. “All you need to know to prepare and store over 200 of the world’s best preserves” by Marguerite Patten.

What have you made using your jarred delights? Have you used them for savoury dishes?

1. Lemon curd I have used in various bakes and creams

2. Apple jelly has been married with pork dishes and also in cakes and glazes

3. Plumb jam I’ve used in puddings and again bakes but really special when used on a slice of toast at breakfast time.

4. Tomato chutney went really well with cold meats or cheese and fantastic in a ploughman’s lunch.

5. Preserved apricots, were used for the topping of small meringues with double cream and a little of the steeping liqueur spooned over the top – sheer delight. I even think a few would have been great in some form of a casserole.

6. Mincemeat I always make my own mincemeat at Christmas time and use this in mine pies, last minute Christmas cake and little Eccles cakes.

7. Cranberry & Port conserve, I served this with turkey on Christmas day.

8. Preserved lemons, these were used in a chicken Moroccan dish. The lemons were very easy to preserve and the silkiness of those skins and the flavour was wonderful from them.

9. Mint sauce, very easy to make and packs a great flavour for lamb.

10. Marmalade was used in fruit cakes and sponges also great to add into a fruity sauce for duck. Also I made a sponge steamed pudding with a marmalade topping.

This just gives a little insight of how valuable preserves can be to everyday life.

Best wishes Rosie x

Thank you Rosie, for helping us all along the way and for providing your gorgeous photos of your previous preserves. Be sure to visit Rosie to check out her preserve recipes!