All blog posts tagged with jams & preserves
Retro Green Tomato Pickles
What did the roast beef and cheese sandwich say to the green
tomato pickles? You complete me... or maybe that's just a line from a bad Tom
Cruise movie. Anyway these pickles are so delicious. I have just finished
smothering a bread roll in this spicy spread and devouring it, and believe me it
really does make the sandwich complete!
There are so many traditional recipes that I remember my grandparents making when I was small. I have noticed they just don’t seem to get made anymore! When I was younger everyone was making, and giving away, chutneys, pickles, relishes and jams. This recipe is a real blast from the past. My taste buds instantly remembered this flavour from my childhood. It took me back to eating roast beef and cheese sandwiches at nan's, with heaps of pickles and chunks of real butter.
So how did I come to be sharing a recipe for Green Tomato Pickles. I had just made my Tomato Chilli Chutney from the excess tomatoes in my garden. A friend commented that his mother made the best Green Tomato Pickles. After talking about the pickles for a while Craig decided that it was time he should learn how to make it. He was going to engage the assistance of his mother Maureen to make his own batch of the famous recipe.
As it turns out, finding 6kgs of green tomatoes isn’t that easy, but after a trip to Ricardo’s Tomatoes in Port Macquarie the vital ingredient was secured. The pickle making is a two day process so Craig’s mother kindly offered to dedicate two days to the pickling and teaching of her recipe. The result would be three batches of pickles or about 18 jars!
I have given the recipe for a single batch which is about six jars.
Ingredients:
1.9kgs Green Tomatoes
400gms Onion
9 Tbs salt
900gm sugar
750ml vinegar
¾ cup flour
3 Tbs Curry powder
1 Tbs Ground Turmeric
One of the really cute things about this recipe is that it was typed on nice little indexed cards in pounds! We had to convert the recipe to metric as we went.
Method:
Day 1
Wash the tomatoes, remove any stalks and dry them thoroughly.
Chop the tomatoes and onions into a similar sized dice. In a large saucepan add a layer of 1/3 of the tomatoes and 1/3 of the onions, add 1/3 of the salt evenly over the layer.
Continue this process until you have three layers. Cover the saucepan and leave to stand overnight. This will draw out any moisture.
Day 2
Drain off all the liquid from the tomato mixture.
Boil a jug with hot water and pour over the tomato mixture and drain again. Do this twice to remove all the salt.
Put the tomatoes on the stove and add 450ml of white vinegar. Bring the mixture to the boil cover and then cook for ten minutes using a timer.
In the meantime in a bowl combine the flour, turmeric, and curry powder with the remaining 300mls vinegar until it becomes a paste. Reserve for later use.
Once the tomato has boiled for ten minutes add the sugar and stir until dissolved.
Turn off the heat and add the paste slowly to the tomato mixture while stirring. Avoid lumps by adding the paste slowly and continuing to stir.
Once the paste has been fully combined, place the pickles over a low heat and simmer gently. Pickles should be cooked for another 10 minutes, or until the mixture has reached the desired consistency.
Remove from the heat and allow it to cool slightly before bottling in sterilized jars.
Maureen (Craig’s mum) warned us that she would be the quality controller for this recipe. Unless the batches all past the taste test they wouldn’t be allowed out of her kitchen. We have obviously learned well under her watchful eye, because although there were differences in the spiciness of each pickle, they were all delicious.
So thank you so much Maureen for sharing the recipe and your time with me. These pickles are just the way my nana used to make them so I bought a jar out to my mum and my nan.
Both loved them!
So readers, are you like me and have food memories, once you taste something it instantly triggers a time in your life?
Chilli Jam
Some like it hot – and - some - sweat when the heat is on....
Oh how I am showing my age now! Robert Palmer straight out of the 80’s!
So keeping with the retro theme, I have a retro recipe, and old fashioned Chilli Jam.
With all this rain and humidity, lately my garden has been producing vast quantities of both tomatoes and chilli. I tend to eat about a punnet per day of cherry tomatoes and I am not even coming close to making a dent in the stock of tomatoes I have in the fridge. I decided that if was going to make use of all this abundant fruit I would need to do some preserving. Mr GG is not a fan of tomatoes at all so I didn’t tell him this chilli jam was made with tomatoes, lucky because he loves it! He has been adding it to his sandwiches everyday!
The recipe does have a bit of warmth to it, but the extra medium heat chillies just give a depth of flavour to the chilli without adding any more heat.
You could also use this chilli for your next BBQ on a nice rare steak. YUMMY!
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this recipe, it is one just like nana would make J. If you have anymore suggestions of ways to use up tomatoes I would love to hear them all.
Ingredients:
1 lg onion (sliced)
1 habanero chilli
3 or 4 med heat chilli’s
24 cherry tomatoes
1 tbs olive oil
3 tbs balsamic vinegar
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
Method:
Heat the oil in a saucepan, and add the onion along with the sugar.
Cook on a low heat for 10 minutes until starting to soften.
Finely chop the chilli’s, and add to the pan along with the balsamic vinegar.
Cook for a further 5 minutes over the same low heat.
Cut the tomatoes in half and add to the pan along with the salt.
Stir, cover and cook gently, on a low heat, for about 20 minutes.
When the tomatoes start to collapse use a stick blender to roughly chop the jam mixture.
The jam can be served hot or cold.
The recipe will make about 4 jars of chilli jam and it will keep in the fridge for about a month.
So tell me readers, do you have a favourite family recipe for a relish, chutney, jam or marmalade? Are you like me and love having these tasty spreads in the fridge to liven up a meal or sandwich?
I have given a jar of my chilli jam to a friend so I will be waiting for her feedback on the site.
Bacon Jam
I am not really sure who the first person was that decided bacon should become a jam. I have seen an old Martha Stewart slow cooker recipe for Bacon Jam, so perhaps it was the American Queen of the kitchen herself! I discovered this delicious condiment care of our own queen of the kitchen, Lorraine from NQN. She created a bacon jam recipe on her website, and whilst it seemed interesting, I didn’t rush out to buy bacon. I was still struggling to get my head around the concept.
So what changed for me?? I became addicted to my “Sweet Caramelised Onion Jam.” I was making it up by the bucket loading and eating it just as quickly. Then I had an epiphany, the only thing which would make this eating experience better was bacon! Finally I understood the flavour profile of bacon jam. It was not to be served as a sweet jam, it was a jammy relish, just like my onion jam.
I couldn’t get into the kitchen quick enough. I combined what I knew about bacon jam, and my recipe for onion jam and voila! It may be an ugly duckling, but it is the current condiment “love of my life”.
I am not sure how long my heart will last given this full saturated fat love affair, but for the moment I can see no end in sight. Bacon Jam is my new love, I add it to my Panini with Jarlseberg, to burgers and pizza’s and anything else I consume.
Ingredients:
1kg of double smoked bacon diced
8 cloves garlic sliced
2 onions diced
5 sm chillies sliced
½ cup brown sugar
2 tsp of grounded cumin
2 tsp of tabasco sauce
½ cup vinegar
¼ cup of maple syrup
1 cup expresso coffee
¼ cup bourbon
Pepper to season
2 cups water
Method:
In a large heavy saucepan cook the bacon over a medium to high heat until the bacon is lightly browned.
Remove the bacon and drain.
Leaving 1 tablespoon of fat in the saucepan fry onions, garlic and chilli until the onions are translucent.
Add vinegar, sugar, maple syrup, bourbon, Tabasco, cumin and coffee, and bring to the boil, stirring and scraping up the bacon bits from the bottom of the pan.
Once the mixture has deglazed the saucepan add the bacon and stir.
Reduce heat to simmer, and cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes stirring occasionally to make sure nothing sticks. Add water ¼ cup at a time as necessary, from the 2 cup allowance.
Use a stick blender to roughly chop the bacon into smaller pieces. Keep the look rustic and do not over blend.
Continue to simmer the mixture stirring and adding water as necessary for another hour.
When the liquid is syrupy, (1 ½ hours approx) remove the pot from the heat. Transfer the contents into three sterilised glass jars. Seal and refrigerate. Or serve immediately.
I hope I have convinced you to try this delicious condiment.
I am curious readers, what food have you had to change your opinion about? What did you think wouldn’t be that great, but upon tasting you loved?
Preserved Beetroot & Spanish Onion
Each time I visit a new area I inevitably return with a multitude of jars full of new condiments, jams and tapenades to try.
At home, I rarely even consider trying to concoct these items myself. I see preserves pickles, and relish as being a little scary, and needing special expertise. But now that my vegetable and herb garden is growing madly I’ve had to reconsider how I planned to use this extra supply of vegetables.
Preserving seemed to be the best option for some of the items, but it is also a bit of a lost art. After a few moments thought I realized the best person to go to for this “no how” was my nan. Nan is no slouch in the kitchen, she has always been an awesome cook, and she taught me how to bake, so I knew I would be in great hands.
Today’s lesson is beetroot. Nan’s recipe goes a little beyond boring beets, and uses some red onion and a few other bits and pieces. Be assured you will know you’re onto something a little out of the ordinary when you open a jar of home made, home grown beetroot.
Ingredients:
2 beetroots
1 lg red onion
4 sprigs Rosemary
5 springs Thyme
Brine:
2 Tbl Balsamic Vinegar
2 cups white wine vinegar
1 cup water
½ cup sugar
1 t/s ground ginger
1 t/s all spice
1 t/s salt
Method:
Sterilise glass jars and lids by boiling in water for 5mins.
Place the beetroot in a saucepan of water and boil. The saucepan should be large enough that the water is covering the majority of the beetroot. Boil the beets for about ½ hour depending on their size. Once the beets are cooked the skin will peel off easily with fingers.
Place cooked beets in cold water and remove the skin and tops with fingers.
Slice the beets as desired.
In another saucepan add the brine ingredients and bring to the boil. Stir to dissolve the sugar and add two of the rosemary sprigs. Continue to boil for another 2 minutes.
In a glass jar make repeating layers of the beetroot, onion, thyme and rosemary until the jars are full.
Once the jars are full pour the slightly cooled brine over the beets to the top of the jar. Seal the jar whilst hot. To create a vacuum place the jars in boiling water until the pressure seal pops back in.
Note: If you plan to use the beetroot in a “Marinated feta and beetroot salad” cut the beetroot into large cubes instead of slices.
Grand Marnier Jam
A few months ago everyone in our family had colds. As a consequence we were buying bag after bag of oranges for juicing. It was an attempt to nurse ourselves back to good health. Today we are all fighting fit but there was a remnant bag of oranges in the fridge which no one seems to want. Even when there is “nothing to eat” I can’t seem to tempt anyone one with a two month old orange… funny that.
Given that nothing in our house gets thrown away, and I needed my fridge space back, I knew it would be up to me to transform these unloved oranges into something a little more appealing. My first thought was marmalade but I didn’t think I would be able to get the “little ones” to eat that in the necessary quantities. I decided I would try a sweet orange jam. Then I remember the Grand Marnier Jam I made years ago, and it was settled, that was what I would make, even if I was eating it all myself.
I had an assistant helping today, Jessica (eldest sons girlfriend) would do the cooking leaving me free to do the photos. I love school holidays, everyone gets a job!!
A couple of these jars are earmarked as gifts as part of the “CSR Bake A Difference” Fundraiser. (I have posted the details of the fundraiser previously) So far I have made Raspberry Jam, Shortbread Christmas Tree, Coconut Ice and now my slightly boozy, Grand Marnier Jam as gifts. The promotion is being co-coordinated by the lovely Jeroxie who will be compiling all the recipes on her site also.
Ingredients:
4 cups oranges (8 oranges)
4 cups sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
50gm Jamsetta
1 cup Grand Marnier
1 lemon rind finely grated
Method:
Preheat oven to 50 degrees.
Place a saucer in the freezer for later use.
Place your preserving jars in a saucepan full of water and bring it to the boil. Allow to boil for five minutes. Remove the jars with tongs and place in the oven to dry. Turn the oven off.
Remove the skin and seeds from the oranges and cut into chunks.
Place the oranges, cinnamon, star anise and 2 cups of sugar in a large heavy based saucepan and cook over a medium heat until the fruit becomes soft and the mix is liquid.
Whilst the jam is still on the heat use a stick blend to further liquidize the orange. Continue to boil the jam for five minutes.
In a separate container use ¼ cup of sugar to mix with the sachet of Jamsetta. Reserve this for later use.
Add the remaining 1 ¾ cups of sugar to the orange jam. Continue to stir and bring to the boil for a further five minutes. Whilst the jam is still cooking remove the cinnamon stick and star anise.
Add the Grand Marnier and grated lemon rind and boil for a further five minutes.
Add the sugar and Jamsetta mixture and continue to stir and boil for five minutes.
Using the plate which was chilling in the freezer, drop a small teaspoon of jam on the saucer. Return the saucer to the freezer for 1 minute. Test to see if the jam wrinkles to touch. Once this occurs the jam is ready to put into the sterilized jars.
If it is not ready boil for another 3-5 minutes and then retest.
I am very happy with the taste of my jam, it is lovely and fruity with a good splash of Grand Marnier. It would be fantastic heated and used as a sauce over a dessert, cake, cheesecake or ice-cream. It is almost tastes too nice to be used on plain store bought toast.
Hence below, I baked a loaf of spicey fruit loaf. While it was fresh from the oven it was lavishly applied with butter and the Grand Marnier Jam. Delicious!
"Bake A Difference" Raspberry Jam
For my first contribution to the "CSR Bake a Difference" fundraiser, I wanted the colour of my sweet treats to instantly signify Christmas. So I was racking my brain for something red or green, and sweet. While I was out shopping I happened to notice that Raspberries were $8.99 for a teeny tiny punnet! It is almost highway robbery!
I live in an area which produces vast quantities of Blueberries and Raspberrys and I am lucky to quite often have a whole ice-cream container of berries in the freezer.
That is when it hit me! I would make a Raspberry Jam. I checked the freezer and discovered three ½ full ice-cream containers of berries, so more than enough to get started on some jam. I did feel a little guilty for turning these yummy berries into jam. I really should have polished them off when they were fresh, but they would be put to good use now.
Ingredients:
500gm raspberry
300gm CSR sugar
Method:
Place 3 saucers in the freezer to cool.
Place the fruit in a heavy based saucepan and use a stick blender to roughly blend the fruit.
Add the sugar to the fruit and turn the heat on low. Stir on low until the sugar is completely dissolved.
Increase the heat to a rolling boil. Continue to boil until the mixture appears thicker.
Cooking the jam can take some time. Periodically check the syrup by placing a small amount of jam on the saucer and return it to the freezer. Once the jam has cooled drag your finger through the cooled jam to test the consistency.
Retest every 5 minutes until the jam is the correct consistency.
Once a jam consistency is obtained, fill sterilized jam containers with the hot mixture and seal.
I found the jars in a two dollar shop for $1.50 each and I have decorated them with some leftover Christmas fabric and ribbon. I think these jams will make a great present for the “littlies” pre-school teachers.
Now, because I am contributing to “Bake a Difference” I will print out a gift tag from the CSR website and attach it to my gift. The gift tag explains that this yummy gift was baked as part of a fundraising campaign for Mission Australia, and that a donation will be made as part of my gift.
Here is an example of the customizable gift tags.
The final step is to simply click donate on the CSR website and contribute to “Bake a Difference.” CSR sugar will match my donation, dollar for dollar up to $100,000.
Christmas is coming up fast so I am aiming to make one baked Christmas present per week. Remember, anyone can join in baking homemade gifts and donating the difference. Another big thank you to Jeroxie for helping co-ordinate the event.
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3 TOURS DEPARTING 2012
Have Your Say
I wish I had you for my mum when I was 5!
That cake would have been the talk of the town for the rest of the year - fantastic job.
A lot of your blogs will be interactively design and style that visitor share data to read your blog.
Thank you so much, it is going to be a wonderful surprise for my Mum, I wish everyone a great day with your own special people, those who helped you become who you are today.
Mum definitely deserves the hamper, because she is an amazing woman that has brought up 3 kids through tough times. She is the best mum a son could ask for.
She's had it tough, working hard
deserving much more than just a card
So let's raise a glass and toast her true
The best person in the world - Mum, that's you!
Thanks for the info on Rasa Malaysia's book. I used to visit her website for recipes but some time ago, igot a new PC and forgot to bookmark it!
You're too modest Julie! You did a great job with the cake! :D
Yellow strawberries and cream is just perfect for mum as a reward for putting up with two kids who were a pain in the bum.
I would have loved to have seen those martini glasses! Hope Miss A had a lovely time celebrating turning 5 :D
It shouldn't. It should go to me as whilst trying to make sure my mum, step-mum, MIL, Step-MIL, 3 x Grandmas are spoilt on Mother's Day, I always seem to get forgotten!
My poor old mum is battling to care for my step dad who has advanced Parkinsons. My real dad who has had a stroke still expects her to be there for him, my bro is going bankrupt and she lives two states away from her only gransdon. Her life has little joy- JUst wish for one thing nice to happen to her. We all love our mums, good luck to you all!
Perfect place to relax and forget about all the troubles we have in the city and just unwind ~ can't wait to go to somewhere like this hehe
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