Jam-Making Session

A small group of novice jam-makers took part in the Fruitfulness Project’s first jam-making session in the Farm Café kitchen.  Sarah Gillett, an award-winning preserve maker who sells through the Avon Country Market in Westbury-on-Trym set us to making gooseberry jam and redcurrant jelly.

 

She had brought some useful equipment – two large, flat bottomed pans, some flat-edged wooden spoons, a spatula, pouring cups and a ladle, jam thermometers, a muslin bag and frame, plenty of recipe books to look through and some jars, lids and covers to pot up the results.

After a short briefing on what we needed to do, emphasising the sterile techniques employed, we all put on aprons and got cracking, half of us looking after the redcurrant jelly and the others the gooseberry jam. The gooseberries had been picked young from the City Farm – perfect for jam-making.  First they were topped and tailed and washed then put to heat in a flat-bottomed pan with a little water.  Sarah advises using a well-tried recipe to obtain the right proportions for the weight of fruit you are using. 

Meanwhile the sugar (ordinary granulated sugar) was warmed on a large tray in the oven set at 150C.   When the gooseberries had softened and come to the boil the sugar and some lemon juice was added and the fruit was allowed to simmer to dissolve the sugar.  A jam thermometer with a useful clip was hung on the inside of the pan, with the end just dipping into the fruit.  A saucer was put into the fridge to cool, and empty jam jars were put into the oven on a tray, with the temperature now turned down to prevent cracking. The jam was stirred with the flat-edged wooden spoon which ensured that nothing stuck to the bottom of the pan, keeping an eye on the temperature.  When this reached ‘Jam’ at around 220C, the pan was taken off the heat and a spoonful of jam was put on the chilled saucer and put back in the fridge to see had it reached setting point.

We had a head start with the redcurrant jelly as Sarah had brought some redcurrant juice that she had made earlier at home.  This was put into a pan that had first had some butter smeared on the bottom – this prevents scum forming.  The sugar was put into the oven to warm – 1lb for each pint of juice.  When warm this was added to the juice and the mixture was brought to the boil and simmered with a jam thermometer, stirring with a wooden spoon.

Smaller jars were put into the oven to sterilise (upside-down on a tray).  When the jelly had reached 220C a spoonful was put onto a chilled saucer, with the pan taken off the heat.

The jam / jelly has reached setting point when the surface crinkles with a finger drawn across it. The redcurrant jelly was judged perfectly, while the gooseberry had to go back on to boil for a few more minutes.

We found the pouring cups that Sarah had brought were ideal for trying to pour the redcurrant jelly into the smaller pots. 

We used cloths to protect our hands as the pots were hot – especially after being filled. 

We had to fill the jars right up to the top and cover them quickly: we used a small waxed disc, waxed side down then a cellophane circle that had been damped on one side (used on the outside), held in place with a rubber band.  The edges of the cellophane were pulled down as flat as possible around the side of the jar, to ensure there was an air-tight seal.  We weren’t quite as neat as Sarah, but this was our first time, and after a quick wipe with a damp cloth to remove the drips we were very pleased with our clear red jelly! 

After a short break to sample the Café’s brownies and drink some elderflower cordial (made with flowers from Victoria Park), we agreed to add a couple of spoonfuls of cordial to the gooseberry jam, which was now ready to pot up. The gooseberries had turned red, having started out as pale green.

This time we used new lids which were scalded in boiling water to sterilise. Again the jars were filled to the top and the lids screwed on quickly. These were the kind of lids that ‘pop’ once opened, so you could tell if they were still air-tight.

We also boiled up some more local redcurrants until they were soft enough to put through Sarah’s muslin strainer to extract the juice. After one straining, the pulp was returned to the pan with a little more water to boil up again, to get the maximum juice out. We were therefore able to replace some of the juice that she had provided. At the end of the session we divided up the produce and Sarah gave us some notes and answered questions.

We are pleased that we have invited her back to take some more jam and chutney-making sessions in the Autumn – see the Events page for details.

You can buy Sarah’s preserves at the Westbury-on-Trym Country Market which is held every Friday 10.30-11.30a.m. at the Methodist Church Hall on Westbury Hill and the Wednesday Farmer’s Market on Corn Street.  For more details see www.avoncountrymarket.co.uk.  If you are already an expert jam-maker and would like to sell your own preserves, contact the Avon Country Market for your nearest market.

Fruit Tree Identification Walk

Andy Hamilton, well-known forager and author of ‘Booze for Free’ and ‘The Selfsufficientish Bible’ lead the Fruitfulness Project’s first Fruit Tree Identification Walk on Monday. On a fine June evening we walked in a loop starting from the Windmill Hill City Farm. We found a surprising variety of trees with edible fruit, leaves or flowers.

Starting on Philip Street itself we found out that Ash keys (the fruiting bodies) can be pickled and eaten, and that Henry VIII enjoyed them (although they can cause flatulence!) Ash trees can be identified by their black buds.There were plenty of berries forming on the Rowan trees – a tree with strong spirits, both mythological and when used to flavour vodka (Jarzembiak). When ripe the berries are orange coloured and can taste bitter. Like sloes the berries are best after a frost so if making a conserve (mix with the same weight of apple) put them in the freezer for a while first. We crossed over Whitehouse Lane to find the big Cherry tree there. Sadly most of the fruits had already been blown off by strong winds or eaten by the birds – we could see plenty of stones on the ground (these are poisonous).

Moving into Victoria Park we found another Cherry by the school and Andy explained that, while the fruit from most cherry trees are edible, some are small or sour tasting (Bird Cherry) so are only worth using in a jam or to flavour vodka (Wisniówka). The ornamental Japanese varieties tend not to produce fruits.

This side of the park has plenty of Elder, and by now the berries are starting to form so it is easier to identify these trees. The flowers are best picked in the morning, when the pollen is heaviest (check they have that delicate scent). Elder flowers can be used in fruit salads or fried in a tempura batter, as well as for cordial and champagne. They can be dried for later use (including as a tea).  Andy recommends leaving the flowers on the grass for a little while before using them, so that any insects can crawl out, as washing them also removes the pollen.  The purple coloured elder berries can be made into wine, ketchup and port (add a banana!)

There is a mature Common Pear tree further along, and plenty of brambles, as well as some Hazel (although the squirrels are likely to harvest most of the nuts).A number of large Lime (also known as Linden) trees are growing in the park. Now starting to come into flower, attractive pale green bracts can be seen under the heart-shaped leaves. When dried, the flowers can be used to make a tea or tisane - which Andy uses to help him sleep. Members of the group recommended lime honey, where the bees have collected pollen from these trees. The leaves when young, pale and thin can also be eaten like salad – try adding some to a ham sandwich.

Having reached the other side of the Park we went left along St Lukes Road – where Andy pointed out the Silver Birch that is reputed to have detoxifying properties (tap the sap) – before reaching the Banana Bridge. Here can be found the first of the Apple trees that we saw growing along the banks of the river, surrounded by brambles. You would need a long-handled implement to harvest these fruits safely, as no-one wants to end up in the river!
There are more Apple trees along this stretch of the river going towards Bedminster Bridge, and you would have to taste them when ripe to find out whether they are good to eat uncooked (wash them first).
We saw more elder and rowan and another Bird Cherry, which had plenty of fruits, still mostly yellow coloured.

There is also a Hawthorn, the haw from which can be used to make jam and may even be used to flavour vodka.We were then amazed to find a sprawling mass of Fig trees, with large green fruits forming. These might not ripen fully in this country, but we will come back later in the summer to find out!
There was also a promising Plum tree with plenty of smallish yellow-green fruits ripening among the branches – again one to check back on later.


The most surprising find were some Mulberry trees – unfortunately set quite far out towards the water.These are covered in red fruits, looking a bit like strawberries now, that darken into something more like a blackberry, and are, reputedly, delicious!