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In a Pickle/Jam/Marmalade/Mincemeat

 At work this week, we made some jars of mincemeat. This mincemeat, in fact...

...the plum and russet mincemeat from the River Cottage Handbook 2 - Preserves by Pam Corbin, a copy of which I have at home. Well, the cooking smells from making this mincemeat at work were sooooo bloomin’ amazing (like sticky spicy Winter sunshine in a jar) that I have decided to make a batch myself at home, in preparation for the making of the mince pies at the Christmas time! It can also be used as a filling for baked apples etc.

And this has put me in mind to go the whole hog on the preserves front and cook up a selection of the other pickle, jams and marmalade recipes I’ve seen recently and thought, ‘Oooh, that looks rather fab!’ These include : red onion marmalade, spicy carrot pickle and, because the greenhouse is bursting with almost ready chillies, some sweet chilli jam. 

I think pickle, jam and marmalade making is an activity that is perfect for these increasingly colder, darker days. I’m not a fan of summer time jam making on account of the extra heat (because it is already summer) and the sodding wasp ‘n’ fly factor. In my experience, it can end up as a sweaty, bad-tempered sticky hoo-ha. No, this is definitely an Autumn job. It warms and scents the kitchen, nay the whole house, beautifully. You can have the radio on in the background, or some sing-along music. There’s no rushing the job - you become absorbed by the rhythmic chopping of veg, stirring of vast bowls and pans, adding a pinch of this, a knob of that. Stir, taste, stir again. Watch the mixes simmer and bubble. Prepare the jars. 

And at the end you have a collection of magic mixtures, the colour of rich jewels, ready to add a dollop of flavoursome joy to brighten the most mundane of Winter dishes! What’s not to love? 

So, on this wet, grey and chilly Saturday I am gathering my recipes. Making a shopping list. Counting my jam jars. Goodness, I might even go crazy and design a set of Damson Cottage labels for the jars! And looking forward to getting myself into a lovely pickle! 

Comments

Vera said…
I loved the whole experience of jam and chutney making when we had our smallholding in France, but for this year I am 'resting'! Perhaps next year? In particular was the use of the produce from our huge fig tree into home made fig and apple chutney, which went into flavouring all our curries and stews for the coming year. Looking forward to having a tasting session of the Damson Cottage jams and chutneys.
3 October 2020 at 12:17
aileen g said…
Russets are my very favourite apple and I am so happy when they appear in the shops. I'm not much of a jammer/pickler myself but I'm quite happy to do taste-testing. Although I love summer and the heat, I also love autumn and the colours of the trees. Then again there are great things about winter and spring too. I like the name Damson Cottage - really warm and welcoming - and definitely think you should have your own labels. Although I live in a 50s bungalow in a town I always thought if I named my house it would be Lavender Lodge.
3 October 2020 at 15:57
Denise said…
You are more than welcome to come and test out the final products, Vera!

Russets are great, aren’t they Aileen? Lovely, nutty taste. And why don’t you go ahead and name your retro bungalow? Lavender Lodge sounds perfect. It has a touch of the detective novel about it. The setting for an Agatha Christie mystery, maybe?
3 October 2020 at 19:20
Anonymous said…
Your description made me feel like I was almost sitting in your kitchen with a proper cuppa and chit chatting going on. Warm and comfy with candles in the windows and a gentle rain outside.
KJ
3 October 2020 at 21:59
Denise said…
Thanks, KJ! It’s the simple experiences that are important, isn’t it? Perhaps I should organise a Zoom mincemeat making meeting?!
4 October 2020 at 09:13
Anonymous said…
Denise, I posted a question to Andy on his blog. Hopefully he gets it 😊
KJ
5 October 2020 at 04:21
Denise said…
KJ, he did indeed, after a bit of faff because he doesn’t use that site any more! I am now in possession of the information.
5 October 2020 at 14:42
Anonymous said…
Excellent. Tell him he needs to get that up and running again. It was a good read. Clearly since I still have bookmarked the site... BTW. no pressure intended to use the information at all.
KJ
5 October 2020 at 15:00
Denise said…
KJ, I shall be in touch soon! 🙂
6 October 2020 at 07:12
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