20 November 2011

Jams and preserves


One thing that few people know about me is that I like to make my own jams and preserves. I grow a lot of my own food, and jams and preserves are a great way to use surpluses at the end of the season.

This photo shows some of my recent efforts: there's my old reliable green tomato relish, my berry and rhubarb jam, tangy strawberry jam, a new one I can't wait to try, spicy tomato and ginger jam, and my three fruit marmalade (lemon, lime and kumquot).

So, for a little context, here is how my home garden currently grows:

Vegetables: Asparagus (green and purple), snow peas, broad beans, carrots, zucchini, tomatoes, capsicum, pumpkin, cucumber, onions, sometimes potatoes. In winter I also grow broccoli, spinach, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and cabbage - all with mixed success. Winter vegetable gardening is a pretty new thing for me, and with Canberra's frosts you need to know what you're doing.

Fruit: Lemons, limes, kumquots, peaches, nectatines, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, gooseberries, feijoa, rhubarb (although that's not really a fruit is it? But we use it like one).

Herbs: Parsley, corriander, tarragon, marjarom, basil, rosemary, dill, chervil, mint, sage, thyme, oregano, aloe vera and a Bay tree (the last two aren't really herbs, I know, but where else to group them?) I used to have chives but they've disappeared - must plant some more as they go really well with scrambled eggs.

Now let's talk about the jams. I found a great way of making jams thanks to the Australian Women's Weekly - use the microwave! It makes it so much easier to avoid burning it. You basically cook up your fruit with any juices, then mix in your roughly equal portion of sugar and heat again until it's all disssolved, then bottle it up. Voila!

My favourite is the tangy strawberry jam. It comes straight from the Women's Weekly microwave recipe book. I make versions of it with other berries and rhubarb, and I also make a rhubarb jam which is delicious too.

The green tomato relish comes from a recipe someone gave me years ago. You chop up all the tomatoes left on your vines that have yet to ripen, cook them up on the stove top with malt vinegar and apple cider with some onion and a few other vegies (I always use carrots and celery) and some other condiments (I always add some sultanas, and usually a bay leaf whilst cooking), and of course a truckload of brown sugar, then - voila! A really yummy relish that goes well with any sort of cold meat on a sandwich or, my favourite, with some strong vintage cheese and crackers with a glass of wine.

Recently tried my hand at preserving asparagus - not sure how that will turn out yet. We'll know in a few months I guess...