by Pam Corbin
Hearty ale chutney
Season: October to January
Spices, onions and a traditional malty ale give this robust, pub-style chutney plenty of character, while the natural sugars in the root veg help sweeten it. It is delicious served with farmhouse Cheddar, crusty bread and a pint or two.
Makes 4–5 x 340g jars
400g onions, peeled and finely sliced
250g swede, peeled and chopped into 5mm pieces
200g carrots, peeled and chopped into 5mm pieces
250g apples, peeled, cored and chopped into 1cm pieces
150g cauliflower, broken into tiny florets
2 fat garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
100g stoned dates, finely chopped
150g tomato purée
300g demerara sugar
50g dark muscovado sugar
250ml malt or cider vinegar
2 heaped tbsp English mustard powder
2 heaped tsp ground ginger
1 heaped tsp ground mace
1 heaped tsp salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
500ml traditional ale, bitter or stout (not lager)
Put all the ingredients, except the ale, into a large pan with 500ml water. Mix well, then place over a low heat and bring to a gentle simmer, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Cook for about an hour – the vegetables will begin to soften and the juices will thicken and reduce.
Take the pan off the heat and add half the ale. Return to the heat and continue to cook for 30 minutes, by which time the mixture should be deep red-brown in colour. Add the remaining ale and cook for a further 30 minutes. By now the vegetables should be tender, but still retain their shape and a bit of crunch.
Remove from the heat and spoon into warm, sterilised jars, making sure there are no air pockets. Seal with vinegar-proof lids. Store for 4–6 weeks before opening. Use within 2 years.
Figgy mostardo
Season: autumn to winter
The Italians use fiery-hot mustard oil to add a bit of passion to their classic fruit preserve mostardo di cremona. However, mustard oil is pretty well impossible to purchase in this country, so I have used mustard seeds and powder to pep up the dried figs in my own interpretation of the dish. Serve it with hot or cold meat, oily fish dishes, or with cheese in sandwiches.
Makes 4 x 225g jars
500g dried figs
Finely grated zest and juice of 2 large grapefruit
1 good tbsp yellow mustard seeds
200g granulated sugar or honey
25g English mustard powder
100ml cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
Cut each fig into 4 or 6 pieces – it’s easiest to do this using scissors. Place the figs in a bowl and add the grapefruit zest and mustard seeds. Measure the grapefruit juice and make it up to 500ml with water. Pour over the figs. Cover and leave overnight.
Put the figs and juice into a heavy-based saucepan. Heat gently until simmering then add the sugar or honey. Stir until dissolved.
Meanwhile, blend the mustard powder with the vinegar, add to the simmering figs and stir well. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, to reduce and thicken.
Remove the pan from the heat. Spoon the mostardo into warm, sterilised jars and seal with vinegar-proof lids. Store for 4 weeks before opening. Use within 12 months.
Variations
Dried apricots, apples or pears, or a good mix of them all, can be used in place of figs. For a stronger, hotter mostardo, use black mustard seeds instead of the milder yellow seeds. Orange, lemon or lime juice can replace the grapefruit juice. So you see, you can really make this recipe your very own ...
Onion marmalade
Season: winter
Onions are one of the most versatile ingredients in the culinary world, but not often given the chance to be the star of their own show. A recipe like this puts that right. Long, slow cooking turns a panful of red, white or yellow onions into a fantastic rich sauce-cum-jam that’s brilliant served with bangers and mash and a heap of other dishes too. Try it with cheese on toast, with cold meat in sandwiches, or stir a spoonful into a creamy pumpkin soup.
Makes 5 x 225g jars
100ml olive oil
2kg onions, peeled and finely sliced
200g demerara sugar
150g redcurrant jelly
300ml cider vinegar
50ml balsamic vinegar
1 rounded tsp salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat and add the onions. Reduce the heat, cover the pan and cook over a low heat, stirring occasionally, for 30–40 minutes or until the onions are collapsed and beginning to colour.
Add the sugar and redcurrant jelly. Increase the heat and continue to cook, stirring more frequently, for about 30 minutes until the mixture turns a dark, nutty brown and most of the moisture has been driven off.
Take off the heat and allow to cool for a couple of minutes before adding the vinegars (if you add vinegar to a red-hot pan, it will evaporate in a fury of scorching steam). Return to the heat and cook rapidly for another 10 minutes or so, until the mixture becomes gooey and a spoon drawn across the bottom of the pan leaves a clear track across the base for a couple of seconds.
Remove from the heat and season with the salt and pepper. Spoon into warm, sterilised jars and seal with vinegar-proof lids. Use within 12 months.
P.S. Customarily made from citrus fruit, this marmalade is the exception to the rule. It takes its name and origins from the French, where historically the name ‘marmalade’ was used to describe fruit that was cooked for a very long time until it was reduced to a thick purée.
Preserved lemons
Season: November to March
Preserved lemons have a strong association with Middle Eastern and North African cuisines and their unique zesty, salty yet mellow flavour permeates many of the traditional meat and couscous dishes. Strips of preserved lemon can also be added to salads, soups and dressings, or mixed with olives and other appetisers. They are exceptionally easy to prepare and I like to make them around the turn of the year when the new season’s lemons from Spain and Italy are in the shops.
Makes 2 x 450g jars
1kg small, ripe, unwaxed lemons
150g good-quality sea salt
1 tsp black or pink peppercorns
3–4 bay leaves
1 tsp coriander seeds (optional)
Wash the lemons in cold water and pat them dry. Set 3 or 4 of them aside – these will be squeezed and their juice poured over the salted lemons.
Using a sharp knife, partially quarter the remaining lemons lengthwise by making two deep cuts right through the fruit, keeping them intact at either end. Rub a good teaspoonful of salt into the cut surfaces of each lemon. Pack the fruit chock-a-block into sterilised, wide-necked jars (see here), sprinkling in the remaining salt, the peppercorns, bay leaves and coriander seeds as you go.
Squeeze the juice from the reserved lemons and pour over the salted lemons. They must be completely covered. You can top up the jars with a little water if necessary. Seal with a vinegar-proof lid. Leave for at least 4 weeks before opening to allow the lemon rinds to soften.
To use the lemons, remove one from the jar and rinse it well. Scoop out and discard the flesh (or purée it for use in dressings) and use the salted rind whole, chopped or sliced. Make sure the lemons in the jar remain covered with liquid and, once open, keep the jar in the fridge. Use within 12 months.
Preserving the essences of fruits, flowers and herbs by steeping them in alcohol, vinegar or a sugar syrup is the core of these recipes. You might find yourself getting a bit bottled up in this chapter, but don’t worry, you’ll find it very refreshing and in parts quite intoxicating. Many of the techniques are age-old but are also enjoying a bit of a revival these days – fruit vinegars, in particular, are becoming increasingly popular.
Let me take you on a quick tour of the delicious liquors and inf
usions:
Cordials, syrups and squashes Essentially these are all concentrated fruity syrups. They are made from strained fruit juice, sweetened with sugar. Some herbs and flowers, such as elderflower, can also be used in a similar way. These smooth infusions can be diluted to taste (usually one part syrup to four or five parts water) to make delicious still or fizzy drinks, or added slowly (to prevent curdling) to ice-cold milk or yoghurt to create shakes and smoothies. Diluted half and half with water and frozen in suitable moulds, they make delicious ice pops. They can also be drizzled neat over ice cream for a quick and easy pudding.
Flavoured vinegars These are very simply made by steeping fruits, herbs or spices in vinegar. The vinegar is then strained (and the flavouring discarded) and usually sweetened. Flavoured vinegars can be used in dressings and mayonnaises, sauces, relishes, pickles and chutneys. They can be trickled neat over a salad, grilled cheese or avocado; diluted with ice-cold water to make a refreshing summer drink (these can be very good); or sipped in the winter to soothe sore, tickly throats. Fruit vinegars are usually made from soft fruits such as raspberries, strawberries or blackberries, which give up their juices easily.
Fruit liqueurs If immersed in alcohol and left in a warm place for several weeks, hedgerow berries, fruit, scented leaves and herbs will give up their flavours beautifully. Sugar is often added to the mix too, during or after steeping, to enhance the flavour. These tipples are not cheap to make but I really value them for their full, smooth flavours, and find a small sup can spirit away annoying thoughts.
Whole fruits in alcohol Raw or lightly cooked fruits can be preserved simply by being sprinkled with sugar and submerging in alcohol. Such fruits make a very special dessert, either on their own or served with a good vanilla ice cream. Be assured that any liquor left after the fruit has been eaten is unlikely to go to waste…
Key ingredients
You’ll be amazed at how easily good fresh produce and simple store cupboard ingredients can be transformed into such wide-ranging and stimulating liquors.
Vinegar
Always use a good-quality vinegar with at least 5 per cent acetic acid. Light and fruity cider or wine vinegars are best for flavouring. Use the vinegar cold if it’s to be steeped with soft, fresh leaves and flowers, but heat it for the best results with firm ingredients such as garlic, chillies and horseradish. For more on vinegars.
Sugar
Refined white or light golden sugars are best in these recipes, to allow the flavours of the fruit, flowers or herbs to prevail. For more information on sugars.
Alcohol
This is a very effective preserving medium, but needs to be in the form of spirit with at least 40 per cent alcohol (80 per cent proof). See here for more information.
Fruit
This must be fresh, of the highest quality and definitely not under-ripe. In fact, fruit that is a little too ripe for jam, or for bottling, is ideal for fruit syrups. Perfectly ripe fruit should be used for preserved whole fruits and fruit liqueurs – prick it with a needle or skewer in several places to help the juices flow. Only wash the fruit if absolutely necessary. Otherwise prepare as follows:
Strawberries and raspberries Remove the hull
Cherries Stone or not, it’s up to you
Peaches and apricots Peel if you like, then slice or quarter
Plums and damsons Halve or leave whole. If leaving whole, prick with a fork or skewer
Pears Peel or not, then core, halve or quarter
Grapes Remove the stems
Early blackberries Pick over
Herbs, spices and flowers
It is important to gather herbs and flowers when they are fully dry and ideally when they have been gently warmed by the sun. This is when their characteristic oils and essences are at their best and most pungent. Likewise, spices and aromatics should be fresh and strong-smelling.
Shelf life and keepability
Fruit vinegars and liqueurs are best used within 2 years, although providing they are well sealed and kept in a cool, dry place, they will keep for considerably longer. Fruit syrups, cordials and squashes have a shorter shelf life – they can be kept in a cool, dry place, or the refrigerator, for a few weeks, or frozen. You can, however, extend their shelf life as follows:
Extending shelf life of fruit syrups, cordials and squashes to 4 months Sterilise your bottles and their corks, swing-top lids or screw-tops by putting them all in a large pan of water and bringing to the boil. Leave them in the pan so they are still hot when you are ready to use them.
Bring the fruit syrup or squash to just above simmering point (check it reaches 88–90°C on a sugar thermometer). Using a funnel, fill the hot bottles to within 1cm of the brim if you’re using screw-tops or swing-stoppers, or within 2.5cm of the brim if you’re using corks. Fill each bottle and seal it before filling the next bottle. This method avoids using a deep-pan hot water bath (it is well-nigh impossible to find a pan deep enough to fully submerge bottles).
Extending shelf life of fruit syrups, cordials and squashes to 1 year To do this, you need to process the filled bottles in a hot water bath (see here). Fill the bottles with syrup to within 2.5cm of the tops for screw-tops or swing-stopper lids, and to within 3.5cm of the tops if you are using corks – this allows for expansion and prevents the tops blowing off. Screw-lids should be put on lightly and then tightened when the bottles are taken out of the water bath. Corks need to be held down and prevented from blowing off during the heating process by securing them with some strong insulation tape. Swing-tops should be fully sealed – the rubber ring will allow steam to escape.
Stand the filled, sealed bottles in a deep pan on a trivet or folded tea towel. Fill the pan with water, to within 2.5cm of the top of the bottles, and bring to simmering point (88°C). Keep at this temperature for 20 minutes. Remove from the pan and leave to cool.
Once cold, bottles that have been sealed with a cork can be made airtight by dipping the cork and the top 1cm of the bottle into melted paraffin wax or beeswax.
Storage after opening Whichever method you choose, once opened the bottles should be kept in the fridge.
Family ’beena
Season: pretty much all year round
I’d like to introduce you to a group of cordials with a name inspired by a certain well-known fruit squash. These can be prepared throughout the year and are an excellent way of using fruit that’s too ripe for jam-making. I’ve made rhubeena with rhubarb, berrybeena with summer berries, plumbeena with plums and dambeena with damsons – and currants, of course, work very well too. Use these fruits alone to make single variety ’beenas or, for a lighter and more economical cordial, use 50 per cent cooking apples.
Because the fruit pulp will be strained, you needn’t be too fastidious with its preparation. Rhubarb should be cut into chunks. Strawberries should be hulled. Plums are best halved, but it’s not necessary to remove the stones. Apples should be de-stalked and roughly chopped, but there’s no need to peel or core them.
Makes about 1.5 litres
2kg fruit
Granulated sugar
Brandy (optional)
Place your chosen prepared fruit in a large saucepan. For each 1kg blackcurrants, apples or hard fruit, add 600ml water; for each 1kg plums or stone fruit, add 300ml water; for each 1kg soft berries or rhubarb, add 100ml water. Bring slowly to the boil, crushing the fruit with a wooden spoon or potato masher, and cook gently until the fruit is soft and the juices flowing. This will take anything up to 45 minutes depending on the type of fruit. Remove from the heat.
Scald a jelly bag or fine tea towel (see here) and suspend over a large bowl. Tip the fruit into it and leave to drip overnight.
Measure the resulting juice and pour into a clean pan. For every 1 litre juice, add 700g sugar (or to taste). Heat the mixture gently to dissolve the sugar, then remove from the heat. Pour immediately into warm, sterilised bottles (see here), leaving a 1cm gap at the top. At this point you may like to add a couple of teaspoonful
s of brandy to each bottle. Seal with a screw-top or cork.
’Beenas will keep for several months, provided they are sealed when hot and stored in a cool place. However, if you want to keep them for longer you will need to sterilise the bottles in a water bath immediately after bottling (see here).
Lemon squash
Season: November to March
A cool glass of this home-made squash knocks the commercially produced alternative into oblivion. Once tasted, this will become a favourite thirst-quencher. Serve diluted with cold water as a cool summertime refresher, or mix with tonic water and a splash of Angostura bitters for a non-alcoholic cocktail. You can also ring the changes and use oranges as well as lemons for a St Clement’s squash.
Makes 2–3 x 500ml bottles
7–10 unwaxed lemons
650g granulated sugar
Scrub the lemons and pare the zest from four of them. Bring a pan of water to the boil, drop in the lemons and leave for 1 minute. Lemons are often quite hard and unyielding – this will soften them and they will give more juice when squeezed. Lift out the lemons and keep the lemon-infused water to one side. Squeeze the juice from the lemons and measure out 500ml of it.
Put the sugar, lemon zest and 500ml of the lemony water into a saucepan. Heat gently to dissolve the sugar, then bring to the boil. Add the 500ml lemon juice and bring just to boiling point. Remove from the heat and strain through a sieve into a jug. Pour immediately into hot, sterilised bottles (see here) and seal immediately with sterilised screw-caps, corks or swing-top lids.
Leave to cool, then store the squash in a cool, dry place or the fridge for up to 4 months. For longer keeping – up to a year – sterilise the bottles in a water bath (as directed here).
To serve the squash, mix one part syrup to four parts water.
P.S. Another way to increase the yield of juice from citrus fruits is to roll the fruit back and forth over a work surface, pressing down firmly with the palm of your hand, for 2–3 minutes.
Beech leaf noyau
Season: late April to early May
The name for this unusual alcoholic cordial is actually the French word for ‘fruit stone’. Traditionally, it was made from bitter almonds or peach stones mixed with gin, then left to steep in a warm place for several days before being cooked up with sugar then filtered through blotting paper. This recipe is from Richard Mabey’s excellent Food for Free. It uses the young, silken leaves of our native beech tree (Fagus sylvatica), which first appear towards the end of April, to make an exquisite hedgerow version of the liqueur.
