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1
Pick over your fruit, removing the stems and leafy bits and rinsing the berries if necessary.
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2
Dont peel or core the apples (the peel and core are excellent sources of pectin); just chop them coarsely.
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3
Place all of the prepared fruit in a saucepan with 5 cups of water.
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4
Bring gently to a simmer, and simmer until the fruit is soft and pulpy.
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5
Remove from the heat.
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6
Have ready a jelly strainer bag or piece of cheesecloth (see p. 33) and turn the contents of the pan into it.
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7
Leave to drip overnight.
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8
The jelly will turn cloudy if you squeeze the juice through, so just let it drip at its own pace.
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9
The next day, measure the juice you will probably have about 5 cups, though this will depend on the berries used.
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10
For every cup of juice, allow 1 cup of sugar.
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11
Put the juice into a large pan and bring slowly to a boil.
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12
Add the sugar as it just comes to a boil and keep stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
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13
Then boil rapidly, without stirring, for 9 to 10 minutes until the setting point is reached (see p. 41).
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14
Skim the jelly and pot and seal as quickly as possible (see pp.
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15
2122).
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16
Use within 1 year.
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17
These are some of my favorite takes on the hedgerow jelly idea.
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18
In each case, follow the hedgerow jelly method and quantities; i.e., always use 1 cup of sugar for each cup of strained fruit juice.
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19
Use crab apples alone and add a few cloves and a couple of cinnamon sticks when the fruit is being cooked.
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20
This all-time classic hedgerow jelly is equally at home on thinly sliced hot buttered toast or as an accompaniment to succulent cold roast pork or turkey.
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21
Use 1 pound, 2 ounces of rosehips, first chopped in a food processor, and 3 pounds, 6 ounces of crab or cooking apples.
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22
Rosehips from the wild rose or dog rose seem to have a better flavor than those from cultivated roses.
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23
However, some garden varieties of rose also produce cookable hips notably Rosa rugosa.
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24
If you want to harvest rosehips from your garden, do not deadhead your roses.
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25
Excellent with roast pork.
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26
Use 2 1/4 pounds of rowanberries (mountain ash berries) and 2 1/4 pounds of crab apples.
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27
Add the juice of 1 lemon before adding the sugar.
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28
For a really aromatic jelly, add a bunch of sage or thyme when the fruit is softening.
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29
Rowan jelly is lovely served with game.
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30
Use 2 1/4 pounds of blackberries and 2 1/4 pounds of apples.
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31
This is a nostalgic teatime treat for me, as I remember how good my grandmothers blackberry and apple jelly always tasted on wafer-thin slices of buttered bread.
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32
Hedgerow jelly, or any other well-colored jelly, can be used as a natural
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33
coloring for glace icing.
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34
Just a teaspoonful or two will be sufficient to give your icing a wickedly deep hue that will be sure to liven up your cakes.
