River Cottage Preserves Handbook
About Me: Britain's seasonal gluts of fruit, vegetables and herbs are ripe for turning into delicious preserves to enjoy all year round From jams, jellies, curds and leathers to pickles, chutneys, cordials, vinegars and sauces, Pam Corbin presents an abundance of preserves across the sweet and savoury spectrum. Over 75 recipes encompass traditional favourites such as raspberry jam, lemon curd and sloe gin, to fresh combinations such as apple butter and nettle pesto.
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Elderflower cordial
The sweetly scented, creamy-white flowers of the elder tree appear in abundance in hedgerows, scrub, woodlands and wasteland at the beginning of summer. The fresh flowers make a terrific aromatic cordial. They are best gathered just as the many tiny buds are beginning to open, and some are still closed. Gather on a warm, dry day (never when wet), checking the perfume is fresh and pleasing. Trees do differ and you will soon get to know the good ones. Remember to leave some flowers for elderberry picking later in the year. This recipe is based on one from the River Cottage archives: it’s sharp, lemony and makes a truly thirst-quenching drink. You can, however, adjust it to your liking by adding more or less sugar. The cordial will keep for several weeks as is. If you want to keep it for longer, either add some citric acid and sterilise the bottles after filling, or pour into plastic bottles and store in the freezer. Serve the cordial, diluted with ice-cold sparkling or still water, as a summer refresher – or mix with sparkling wine or Champagne for a classy do. Add a splash or two, undiluted, to fruit salads or anything with gooseberries – or dilute one part cordial to two parts water for fragrant ice lollies.
Mulled Pears
It always amazes me just how much fruit a gnarled old pear tree can bear in a good season. However, it’s still a little tricky to catch pears at their point of perfect ripeness – somewhere between bullet hard and soft and woolly. Never mind, should you find yourself with a boxful of under-ripe specimens, this recipe turns them into a preserve ‘pear excellence’. These pears are particularly delicious served with thick vanilla custard, or used as a base for a winter fruit salad. Alternatively, try serving them with terrines and pâtés, or mix with chicory leaves drizzled with a honey mustard dressing and crumbly blue cheese.
Early rhubarb jam
This is one of my favourite ways to capture the earthy flavour of rhubarb. It’s a plant that contains very little pectin so the jam definitely requires an extra dose. This light, soft jam is good mixed with yoghurt or spooned over ice cream, or you can warm it and use to glaze a bread and butter pudding after baking.
Seville orange marmalade
Season: January to February The bitter Seville orange is the most traditional and arguably the finest marmalade fruit of all. Only available for a few short weeks from mid-January, this knobbly, often misshapen orange has a unique aromatic quality and is very rich in pectin. However, you can use almost any citrus fruit to make good marmalade – consider sweet oranges, ruby-red or blood oranges, grapefruit, limes, clementines, kumquats, or a combination of two or three.
Bramley lemon curd
When I made preserves for a living, I tried all kinds of curds, from orange to passion fruit, but none of them was ever quite as popular as the good old-fashioned lemon variety. I didn’t think I could improve on it until recently, when I came across an old recipe for an appley lemon curd. I tried it out and I now prefer it even to a classic straight lemon curd – it’s like eating apples and custard: softly sweet, tangy and quite, quite delicious. Season: late August to January
Candied orange sticks
Candied sticks wrapped in cellophane make a fabulous festive gift. Make these sumptuous sweetmeats in early December and relax knowing you have something impressive to take to all those Christmas parties. This recipe uses orange peel but any citrus fruit will work, as will milk or white chocolate instead of plain. Glucose syrup is optional but does prevent the sticks becoming too hard - you can find glucose syrup at most chemists. Find more great recipes in Pams River Cottage Preserves Handbook avilable here: http://astore.amazon.co.uk/rivecott-21/detail/0747595321
Seville Orange Marmalade
The bitter Seville orange is the most traditional and arguably the finest marmalade fruit of all.
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