Bumper Bramley Crop any Recipe suggestions please

[Linda S]

Last year was a poor year and we only got abot 5 apples on our bramly tree, this year we have got so many i wouldnt like to guess the number.
When we get a decent harvest my hubby takes a couple of carrier bags for his lovely fishing pal and his wife and i give my sister loads as well
Anyhow apart from freezing some which i do has anyone got any suggestions on how i can preserve some more.
Iv never made jam or chutney but would have a try if anyone has a nice fairly easy recipe, i dont like currants though

Also has anyone frozen pears and do you cook them first like apples, id like to do some small tubs of both to eat with plain greek yoghurt I love the stuff and arnt keen on flavoured ones so this might be tasty i think

Lindaxx

[Mo]

Yes we freeze stewed pears. In small margarine tubs. Then eat then cold with chocolate ice cream, hot with chocolate sauce, or as a base for a pud we call 'Adams pudding' - like Eve's pudding but with chocolate sponge and choc sauce. (guess what, we like the pear / chocolate combination.)

One year we were given a lot of apples and we made apple jelly. Stew with a little water (just enough to prevent burning), strain through a jelly bag, add 1lb sugar to 1 pint juice, cook till set. There are jams I like better so we only did it once. We made all sorts, apple & ginger, apple & cinnamon, etc.

We now have a big orchard and what I do if I have time is apple juice. I was given a Breville juicer on Freecycle. I have to chop the apples small (remove maggots, and pips if you want) and feed them in through the funnel. It whizzes them round and the juice comes out. I think it is meant for making breakfast orange juice, so if I don't clean it after a small batch I get brown bits of apple in the juice. Very time consuming. You can also get a barrel type apple press, again you need to chop the apples - best result chop by hand and then in a bucket-pulper powered by hand drill, then into the barrel and turn the handle. I sometimes share one for an afternoon, but we each only get a few litres. Some groups have these for loan . Here are some presses - not worth the expense and labour IMO. The cheapest pulper (the white bucket) is not really up to the job.
The juice is nicer than tescos though.

[HedgeHugger]

Cordial.
Boil the apples to break them down. I do add some water. Leave to strain overnight.
The amount of sugar to add is variable.
A lot of recipes on t'net are to sweet for my tastes, but half sugar to liquid is a good start.
So 1 litre of liquid would be 500g sugar.
Boil the liquid, add the sugar, boil until melted, but not too long as you don't want it to turn to jelly in the bottle :) bottle and dilute to taste.
I use sparkling water for my cordial, just adds an extra zing.

I am currently making some apple and ginger cordial. The previous lot was just apple.

With the pulp I have made fruit cheese. Equal amounts fruit pulp and sugar, no added water, make like jam. The fruit pulp does turn into a molten, boiling, bubbling pot of dangerousness, it burns, so be warned.
Again I find it a little too sweet, so will be reducing the sugar content a little next time, maybe 75%.

The fruit cheese I have will be excellent for making jammy type tarts, or pie filling. It's also rather nice in greek yoghurt.

The fruit pulp also freezes, I put mine through a strainer so all pips, skin etc are removed, a bit of extra work but worth it in my view.

I've also made some apple sauce. One lot in a jar, the rest I put into ice-cube trays and froze several portions. Pop them into a bag or tub and you have individual apple sauce portions.

[Mo]

Mostly I give mine away, after I've filled the freezer with pies. I take them to dance club, they are frugal sorts there, so they fill their freezers with pies too.

[Mo]

When I make fruit juice I have to use it quickly or freeze it (at a time of year when there isn't much freezer space).
How does the cordial keep?

[HedgeHugger]

The sugar content I guess. Sugar is a great preserver.
The cordial can be made with equal amounts sugar to juice, same as jam (too sweet for me so I use less).
Airtight bottles. Not sure how long it lasts once opened, but we've got a bottle on the go that's been opened a couple of weeks. Kept in the fridge.
This is my first year trying cordial, and I've made it with apples and blackberries.

No doubt you could freeze the strained juice and make up cordial as and when wanted.
I am seriously running out of freezer space though atm :)

[Mo]

I suppose I meant how long does the cordial keep.
I made some blackcurrant cordial once, and that fermented in the bottles (don't particularly want to chuck Camden tablets in), and like you, my freezer is full.

[Totally Scrambled]

CHUTNEY
Dom

[Linda S]

Have you got a recipe please Dom,
I do fancy the chutney idea and i suppose if it has raisins in it for tatse i can pick them out when i have some like i do with scones Lindaxx

[Totally Scrambled]

Pumpkin Chutney.
1.5 Kg/3lb pumpkin.
8 ripe tomatoes (about 500g/1lb).
4 onions (about 500g/1lb)
2 large cooking apples (500g/1lb)
250g/8oz sultanas
500g/1lb light muscovado sugar
2tsp salt
1tsp fress ground black pepper
2tsp ground ginger
1tsp ground allspice
750ml/1.25pt distilled malt vinegar

Cut of the rind and de-seed and finely chop the flesh. Bring a pan of water to the boil, add the pumpkin and simmer for 10 mins, drain well and mash.
Skin the tomatoes, cut in half and scoop out the seeds and finely chop the flesh.
Finely chop the onions. Peel core and chop up the apples.
put them all in a non reactive pan with the pumpkin and add all the other ingredients, bring to the boil and then simmer gently for 2 hours or until quite thick.
Then bung it all in jars and seal. Leave it to mature for at least 2 weeks before using.
It will keep, unopened, for just over a year

Green Tom Chutney
3lb green toms.
2 x green sweet peppers.
12oz onion.
1.5lbs apple.
8oz granulated suggar.
1 lemon, grated rind and juice.
1tbsp salt.
1tsp fresly ground black pepper.
1tsp ground mace.
1tsp ground ginger.
Toms in a pan of water, cover, gently bring to boil and simmer for 15 mins. Using a slotted spoon remove skin, one tom at a time, cut in half and remove seeds then rub seeds through a sieve and finely chop the halves.
Core,de-seed and finely chop peppers.
Finely chop onions.
Peel, core and finely chop apples.
Throw everything in a non reactive pan, gently bring to the boil and simmer for about 2 hours until quite thick and into the jars it goes, then seal.

Keeps for about a year.

This one doesn't use any apples but is really nice and spicey
Marrow Chutney
4lbs marrows/courgettes.
1.5lbs onions.
2lbs demerera sugar.
2 lemons (grated rinds and juice.
2tbsp ground corriander.
1tsp ground cumin.
1tsp cayenne pepper.
2tsp salt.
1litre white wine vinegar.
Peel, quarter and de-seed marrow. Cut into half" x 1" cubes.
Thinly slice onions.
Put these in a non reactive pan with all the other ingredients and bring slowly to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer, stirring occasionaly for 3 hours.
spoon into warm sterilized jars and seal.
It may look a bit runny but thickens up as it cools.





Dom
PS If I can make it anyone can.

[Linda S]

Thanks Dom they all look very tasty, would butternut do for the first one if i couldnt get pumpkin, although its halloween soon so they will be plentiful soon

I fancy the sound of the greem tom one but dont grow them and wouldn't know where to get some, so i might just have a go with ripe ones, do you think that would work


Thasnks Mo and HH the only apple juice i like is cider, i really dont like the juice you buy and i cant stand apple flavoured stuff it tastes so false i think

Iwas wondering about drying the pears in the oven but not sure how to do it
We allways leave some on the tree to go red and then they are lovely and sweet and can be eaten like that Lindaxx

[redd_angel55]

Some lovely and tasty ideas!
But Linda....all those syns!

[fabindia]

Dom: love your recipes - I have enough to try them all :-)

If you have lots of apples then you could make cider. That's what I do with mine. I put mine through a juicer, steralise using Campden tablets (kills off any natural yeasts) and add a high alcohol tolerant yeast. Leave to ferment in a large beer making plastic tub (holds 25 litres - 40 pints) with an airlock fitted. After stops fermenting, siphon off into a clean plastic tub, bottle adding a little more sugar to assist 'in bottle' conditioning.

I bought a book cider making on a small scale but it can be summarised as above - it is as easy as that.

[Snoopy]

Hi Dom,
Thank you for posting your recipes, they all look good.
I usually try a new chutney recipe every year made during the October half term, so this year I think it will be your pumpkin. Anything home made usually doesn't last very long...
I made 6 jars of blackcurrant jam at the start of the Summer hols, it was all gone by the end of the hols.
However, courgette jam doesn't vanish in quite the same way!?

Snoopy.

[Snoopy]

Plum Chutney.
Contains apples and plums! Makes 3 jars. Keeps for up to 12 months.

1kg Plums (stoned and quartered)
350g Apples (Peel, core, dice)
250g Onions (Peel, finely slice)
125g Raisins (can be replaced with chopped dried soft prunes/apricots)
300g Light soft brown sugar
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Allspice
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Coriander
1 tsp Fennel seeds (optional)
1 Dried Chilli
600ml(1pint) White wine or cider vinegar

Method: Place all ingredients in a pan, bring to boil, turn down and simmer for 2 hrs until thick, bottle in sterilised jars; warm from the dishwasher or on a tray in a warm oven.