Garden fruit crops - Harringay online2024-03-28T12:44:16Zhttps://harringayonline.com/forum/topics/garden-fruit-crops-1?commentId=844301%3AComment%3A1508697&xg_source=activity&feed=yes&xn_auth=noI am glad to say, Sarah, that…tag:harringayonline.com,2022-10-21:844301:Comment:15129432022-10-21T14:46:18.790ZDick Harrishttps://harringayonline.com/profile/DickHarris
<p>I am glad to say, Sarah, that my first try at quince gin has turned out pretty well. That's an addition to the repertoire.</p>
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<p>I am glad to say, Sarah, that my first try at quince gin has turned out pretty well. That's an addition to the repertoire.</p>
<p></p> Yes. The same process as for…tag:harringayonline.com,2022-09-30:844301:Comment:15097092022-09-30T11:55:05.792ZDick Harrishttps://harringayonline.com/profile/DickHarris
<p>Yes. The same process as for quinces except that it's easier with apples.</p>
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<p>Yes. The same process as for quinces except that it's easier with apples.</p>
<p></p> That's good to know. I tired…tag:harringayonline.com,2022-09-30:844301:Comment:15097082022-09-30T11:33:31.038ZJustin Guesthttps://harringayonline.com/profile/JustinGuest
<p>That's good to know. I tired stewing crab apples last year to make pectin but failed miserably. Might try again this year.</p>
<p>Did you just boil the crab apples and take off the liquid for pectin?</p>
<p>That's good to know. I tired stewing crab apples last year to make pectin but failed miserably. Might try again this year.</p>
<p>Did you just boil the crab apples and take off the liquid for pectin?</p> If you add a spoonful of meth…tag:harringayonline.com,2022-09-30:844301:Comment:15095092022-09-30T11:19:49.240ZDick Harrishttps://harringayonline.com/profile/DickHarris
<p>If you add a spoonful of meths to a spoonful of the fruit syrup the pectin will form a clot. You can judge the pectin content by the firmness of the clot. If you tried it with black currants, gooseberries or plums it would usually show a loose clot which is still good enough for jam but with raspberries, strawberries or black berries there would be barely a trace of clotting. To avoid adding a commercial gelling agent (or loads of lemons), a good way to increase the pectin content is to…</p>
<p>If you add a spoonful of meths to a spoonful of the fruit syrup the pectin will form a clot. You can judge the pectin content by the firmness of the clot. If you tried it with black currants, gooseberries or plums it would usually show a loose clot which is still good enough for jam but with raspberries, strawberries or black berries there would be barely a trace of clotting. To avoid adding a commercial gelling agent (or loads of lemons), a good way to increase the pectin content is to add apple syrup. I usually keep some frozen ready for the following Summer jam making.</p>
<p>This is what a firm clot looks like - this one was from crab apples.</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10831435290?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10831435290?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-left" width="405" height="385"/></a></p> That is an interesting walk t…tag:harringayonline.com,2022-09-30:844301:Comment:15095032022-09-30T11:03:31.110ZJustin Guesthttps://harringayonline.com/profile/JustinGuest
<p>That is an interesting walk through Dick.</p>
<p>I cut my quince into 1-2cm cubes, and just covered with water, and got about 3l of liquid out of my 4kg. I actually strained the liquid through a colander first, then ran that through a fine sieve as I find the muslin gets blocked very quickly. I then hung the remaining pulp (still in its cube form just about) and collected that liquid too. I know it says never squeeze the bag, but I did (and I do) and got a bit more out (I should have…</p>
<p>That is an interesting walk through Dick.</p>
<p>I cut my quince into 1-2cm cubes, and just covered with water, and got about 3l of liquid out of my 4kg. I actually strained the liquid through a colander first, then ran that through a fine sieve as I find the muslin gets blocked very quickly. I then hung the remaining pulp (still in its cube form just about) and collected that liquid too. I know it says never squeeze the bag, but I did (and I do) and got a bit more out (I should have measured it, but I reckon about 300ml). I did not squeeze too much as it would have had pulp coming through and making the final jelly cloudy.</p>
<p>You said you tested your initial liquid for pectin, how did you do that Dick, the classic cold plate in a fridge that you used at the end as well? Or, some other approach?</p>
<p>I am interested in your approach to adding more water if needed. I felt mine might have boiled down a little too much (I could not initially see sufficient set when I tested, so I kept going). I may have over boiled it, and did not think to add more water back in to soften what is now a very stiff jelly. </p> I started with about 4kg of q…tag:harringayonline.com,2022-09-29:844301:Comment:15096752022-09-29T16:29:35.725ZDick Harrishttps://harringayonline.com/profile/DickHarris
<p>I started with about 4kg of quinces roughly cut up and boiled them for an hour or two. Then I mashed them with a potato masher and hung the pulp up in a net to drain. Too little syrup dripped out so I whizzed up the pulp with a hand blender and a couple of litres of boiling water. After hanging this lot up I ended up with 2.1 litres of pretty thick syrup. A test showed it was rich in pectin. I quartered five hot chilies, boiled them, whizzed them, poured the slurry through a sieve and…</p>
<p>I started with about 4kg of quinces roughly cut up and boiled them for an hour or two. Then I mashed them with a potato masher and hung the pulp up in a net to drain. Too little syrup dripped out so I whizzed up the pulp with a hand blender and a couple of litres of boiling water. After hanging this lot up I ended up with 2.1 litres of pretty thick syrup. A test showed it was rich in pectin. I quartered five hot chilies, boiled them, whizzed them, poured the slurry through a sieve and kept the liquid on one side. Today I added a little more boiled water to the syrup, boiled it and added 2.5 kg of sugar. I added the chili slurry in stages to avoid the risk of over doing it. In the end most of the slurry went in and the resulting jelly is pleasingly hot. I judged the setting point partly by a test on a cold plate and partly by the fact that my maslin pan has a volume scale and I knew that, at the right time, there should be 3.5 litres of liquid. There are ten jars containing 400g each. This is just what is expected from 2.5kg of sugar because properly set (and self preserving) jams and jellies should be 60% sugar by weight.</p> I tried to find some advice o…tag:harringayonline.com,2022-09-27:844301:Comment:15093742022-09-27T08:23:05.335ZJustin Guesthttps://harringayonline.com/profile/JustinGuest
<p>I tried to find some advice online Dick and did not get much clarity, so I made it up... haha Let me know what you did and how you get on.</p>
<p>I tried to find some advice online Dick and did not get much clarity, so I made it up... haha Let me know what you did and how you get on.</p> Thanks for this timely advice…tag:harringayonline.com,2022-09-27:844301:Comment:15091962022-09-27T08:20:58.353ZDick Harrishttps://harringayonline.com/profile/DickHarris
<p>Thanks for this timely advice Justin. I am part way through the process and had been wondering about quantities.</p>
<p>Thanks for this timely advice Justin. I am part way through the process and had been wondering about quantities.</p> I made some Quince Jelly over…tag:harringayonline.com,2022-09-26:844301:Comment:15091182022-09-26T17:35:05.899ZJustin Guesthttps://harringayonline.com/profile/JustinGuest
<p>I made some Quince Jelly over the weekend. I used about 4 kg of quince, got about 3kg of liquid and ultimately made about 14 small jars of jelly.</p>
<p>I bought a pack of scotch bonnets from Sains, and used 4 (de-seeded) of then.</p>
<p>I actually chopped them very finely and added them to the liquid on day 2 hoping for an effect of having some chilli evident in the jelly. It took longer than expected to get a set so they pretty much dissolved into the jelly. The jelly has a very dark red…</p>
<p>I made some Quince Jelly over the weekend. I used about 4 kg of quince, got about 3kg of liquid and ultimately made about 14 small jars of jelly.</p>
<p>I bought a pack of scotch bonnets from Sains, and used 4 (de-seeded) of then.</p>
<p>I actually chopped them very finely and added them to the liquid on day 2 hoping for an effect of having some chilli evident in the jelly. It took longer than expected to get a set so they pretty much dissolved into the jelly. The jelly has a very dark red colour, darker than I remember seeing the last time I made any.</p>
<p>Anyway. They have a bit of a kick, so use less than 1 per kg if you are looking for a bit less zing, and do not waste time chopping finely like I did if you intend to cook them down!</p>
<p>Good luck.</p> Sorry Roslyn, all the surplus…tag:harringayonline.com,2022-09-25:844301:Comment:15090252022-09-25T12:53:13.472ZDick Harrishttps://harringayonline.com/profile/DickHarris
<p>Sorry Roslyn, all the surplus quinces have gone.</p>
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<p>Sorry Roslyn, all the surplus quinces have gone.</p>
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