I find it hard not to concentrate on fruit and nut cooking this time of year. I've tasted some lovely pan fortes over the last month and have decided to experiment with these to work out the ideal recipe for gifts late this year.
Meanwhile, the day before yesterday I made plum jam. It was very simple. I stalked and washed 3kg (about 40) tart plums and put them in a large saucepan with 2 cups of water, brought them to the boil and simmered them until they virtually disintegrated. Making sure the bottom was not sticky I added 3kg brown sugar and stirred well as I brought the mixture to the boil again. At this point the stones tend to surface and you can remove them with a spoon. I boiled the mixture for 15 mins or so until it reached setting point and then bottled it in 12 jars.
It's hard not to get a spot or two on the walls, surrounding surfaces and clothes. On clothes we found soaking in milk did the trick.
This informal (non-monetary) economy network connects growers and consumers of local fruits and nuts in the Blue Mountains ('Lapstone to Lithgow', NSW, Australia) See calendar of fruits and nuts harvested locally (top right column) and kinds of fruit and nut plants registered by our contributors as currently growing (bottom right column). Are you growing interesting or unusual fruits or nuts?
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
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BLUE MOUNTAINS FRUIT CALENDAR
We can harvest a wide range of fruits and nuts locally each season.
Local fruit and/or nut gardeners are invited to make additions or suggest modifications to the following work-in-progress compiled by Lizzie Connor.
SPRING HARVEST
Across the mountains: loquat, mulberry, rhubarb, strawberry and (in late spring) raspberry
Best in the lower mountains: avocado, jaboticaba, lemonade
SUMMER HARVEST
Across the mountains: apricot, blueberry, boysenberry, cherry, currant (red, black, white), gooseberry, kumquat, loganberry, loquat, mulberry,nectarine, peach, plum, raspberry, rhubarb, strawberry and (in late summer) almond, apple, fig, hazelnut, passionfruit, pear (incl. nashi), pomegranate, youngberry
Best in lower mountains:lemon (Eureka), lemonade, lime, mandarin, orange, persimmon (non-astringent) and (in late summer) avocado, babaco, macadamia, rockmelon, wampee, watermelon
Best in upper mountains: jostaberry, lemon (Meyer), persimmon (astringent)
AUTUMN HARVEST
Across the mountains: almond, apple, chestnut, feijoa, fig, grape, hazel, kiwi fruit, kumquat, medlar, olive, passionfruit, pear (incl. nashi), plum, quince, raspberry (some), rhubarb, strawberry, strawberry guava, walnut
Best in lower mountains: avocado, babaco, cherimoya, grapefruit, lemon (Eureka), macademia, monstera deliciosa, orange, pine nut, pistachio, rockmelon, tamarillo, walnut, watermelon, white sapote
Best in upper mountains: lemon (Meyer), mandarin (Satsuma)
WINTER HARVEST
Across the mountains: apple, hazelnut, kiwi fruit, kumquat, pear (incl. nashi)
Best in lower mountains: grapefruit, lemon (Eureka), orange, tangelo
Best in upper mountains: avocado (Bacon), lemon (Meyer)
15 mins is very quick. It takes me more than an hour to get the correct consistency; otherwise it’s runny. I've never timed it, but could be a lot more than an hour. Do you add pectin?
ReplyDeleteI have made many jars of plum jam (from feral fruit) this year, as well as stewed and frozen a lot. A couple of days ago I made apricot jam from my own trees, yesterday I picked and bottled (feral) blackberries and today bottled apricots. I have gathered fruit for years, and last year made many bottles of plum sauce, but I still have heaps so I am not making any this year. I check out my regular trees each year waiting for the fruit to ripen. I’m now waiting on a feral nectarine, although I have competition for that one, because I don’t always manage to get them first.
Hi, the 15 mins was from when it boiled so it had already been cooking a while. They were quite hard plums so they absorbed quite a bit of water. I find the cooking times vary with the amount of water and state of the fruit. No, I didn't need to use pectin. I only ever add lemons for pectin if they are low pectin fruit and under ripe plums have a reasonable amount of pectin. Still it is a jelly consistency rather than a thick sticky jam like you get with marmalade. Great to see you using that feral fruit and being so industrious!
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