Grape Jam

Who would have thought I would one day be making jam out of grapes from my own backyard ! I managed to pick about 5 kilo from an unruly grape vine and it seems too much of a waste to give them all to the cows.

No idea of the variety but these were not tart. Only the purple grapes were used. The lucky cows (Scarry and Baby) were given all the green ones.

The actual act of cooking the jam is fast. It is the prep that takes a bit of work. First the skin has to be separated from each individual grape and then the seeds removed. I did all the prep work while watching TV at night.


It is a nice jam. Actually it tasted much like plum jam. Will I make it again....yes definitely....if I can gather enough grapes from the garden. It is worth the effort.

No pectin or setting agent is used as the jam sets beautifully with just the addition of some lemon juice.

Makes 1.6 Litre

Ingredients
2 kg 'purple' grapes
1 kg sugar
2 Tbsp lemon juice

2 Tbsp vodka

Method
1. If you do not have a thermometer for testing the setting point, put 2 saucers into the freezer for use later to check the jam's setting point.

2. Remove any unwanted spoilt grapes. Rinse. Squeeze each grape individually between the thumb and index finger. Put the flesh and juice in one pot and the skin in the food processor.

Pop the flesh out.

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Mandarin Whisky Marmalade

Every year our small mandarin trees supply us with just enough fruit to eat but never in excess that we have to think of plan B. This year even though only one of the trees bore fruit, it was a good heavy crop. Time to try our hand at making marmalade.

Mr Redneck is the marmalade eater and he has declared this jam to be 'Good '. Man of few words ! A delicious spread on toast. Love the tang and bitter sweet taste of the marmalade. The mandarins from our tree are seedless and this conserve will set without pectin.

My pantry is bulging at the moment with preserves, relishes, chutneys, jams, jellies all made from homegrown produce squirrelled away to be eaten in the coming months.

Makes 5-6 cups

Ingredients
2kg mandarins
800g-1kg sugar
3 cups water
2 Tbsp whisky/brandy
1 lemon, juice and peel

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Apple Jelly

I have made jam heaps of times but not jelly. Jelly was always delegated to the too hard basket. Guess it is about time to tackle jelly since my 3 apple trees are bursting with fruits. Actually making jelly was very satisfying and easier than I thought once I figured out a place to hang the bag to catch the drips. One does need patience. Leave the bag in a corner out of the way and ignore it.

The apple jelly is delicious as jam on bread, scones and even pork dishes. Yoghurt ice cream is delicious with a dollop of apple jelly added to it. Or serve it as you would an ordinary jelly to kids.

Part 1 : Extracting Apple Juice

Extracts about 6-7 cups juice

Ingredients
2kg sweet eating apples
1.5 liter (6 cups) water
grated rind of 1 lemon

Bag for straining

Method
1. Wash and roughly chop apples to smaller pieces. No need to peel or core.

2. Add apples, water and grated lemon rind into the pressure cooker.

3. Pressure cook for 10 minutes until soft and mushy. (With a normal pot this will take 25-30 minutes on gentle simmer).

4. Pour the mushed fruits into the bag and hang to strain out the juice. Leave overnight. Do not squeeze or you will get cloudy jelly.

5. You will end up with 6-7 cups of the strained juice.

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3 minute Homemade Creamy Peanut Butter

Normally I am quite happy to buy my peanut butter from the supermarket and it never crossed my mind to make my own. But way back in July our supermarket decided to replace our favourite brand with one made in Australia and they pushed the price up as well.

That was it. I refuse to be dictated to, and be told what I can or cannot buy, or where from. I decided to make my own !


It was actually ridiculously easy provided you have a gadget similar to the famous Magic Bullet and you can have fresh peanut butter jelly sandwich in less than 3 minutes. The proof is in the video.

The texture was in fact much creamier and not as dry as the bought ones. And you can actually smell and taste the peanut. Once you have tried some homemade peanut butter, you won't want to go back to that tasteless storebought 'paste'. Plus you know exactly what ingredients has been used.

Yield : > ½ cup

Ingredients
150gm (1 cup) roasted peanuts
½ tsp peanut oil or onion oil
¼ tsp salt

Method
1. Place all the peanuts into cup of the bullet. Use the flat blade and process until the nuts are roughly broken up.

2. Add oil and salt. Change to the cross blade. Continue to pulse (shaking and scraping the sides of the container every now and then). As you process you will notice the mixture will become more liquid and oily. Process until you are happy with the texture.

Flat Blade...............Cross Blade

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Plum Vodka Jam

Plums are in season at the moment and now is as good a time as any to make some jam. Plum jam is very versatile and can be used not only on bread but as a delicious sauce for ice cream.

This year the plum tree gave me a reasonably good crop which the birds kindly left alone. I have fourteen jars of plum jam safely stowed away in the cupboard. This should last us until next year.


Makes 7 x 400ml jars

Ingredients
2.6kg plums (skinned)
¼ cup water
1.75kg sugar
2 Tbsp vodka (optional)

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Strawberry Vodka Jam

Strawberry jam is easy to make and cooks in less than 20 minutes. With the fruit becoming quite cheap and abundant, now would be a good time to build up a supply.

Homemade jams will always taste better than store ones with the added advantage of being able to adjust the sweetness and also how chunky or smooth you like your jam. The balsamic vinegar gives the jam depth. Omit if you do not have any available.

Makes 2 : 250gm jars

500gm strawberry, hulled
1 Tbsp lemon juice
250-400gm sugar
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1½ Tbsp vodka

Method
1. Place 2 small saucer into the freezer.

2. Put the strawberries and lemon juice in a pot. If the fruit is too big, cut in half. (I did not crush the strawberries as the fruit will be boiled to the point of almost disintegrating)

3. Add sugar, balsamic vinegar and stir thoroughly.

4. Boil rapidly (rolling boil) for about 10-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5. Test whether the jam is ready by spooning a little onto a chilled plate. If the jam is ready, a skin will form on top when it cools and 'wrinkles' when pushed with a fingertip.

6. Add vodka and use a lighter to burn off the alcohol or just stir to mix

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Apricot Vodka Jam

There was an abundance of apricots from the fruit tree in January and since I don't eat apricots I made it into jam instead for Mr Redneck.

To a lot of people making jam seems like a lot of work but surprisingly it is not. The final reward and satisfaction in eating your own flavoursome jam justify the small amount of time and effort required.

By making your own jam, you have the flexibility of adjusting the sweetness, have it chunky or smooth or in this case we added some alcohol to our homemade apricot jam giving it an extra kick.

Makes 4 x 300ml jars

Ingredients

850 gm apricots
¼ cup water
800 gm sugar
1½ Tbsp vodka (optional)

Method
1. Put 2 saucers into the freezer for use later to check the jams's setting point.

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Feijoa Vodka Jam

I had an abundance of feijoa from my orchard and as I have never tasted feijoa jam before, thought it was about time I made some to try. Feijoa jam is not a jam commonly available in the shops. I found the taste quite smooth and milder in comparison to the strawberry jam which has a stronger and tarter taste. I quite like this jam.


Makes 4 jars

Ingredients
1.2 kg feijoa pulp (fruit minus the skin)
juice and zest from 1 lemon
¼ cup water
850 gm sugar
2 Tbsp vodka (optional)

Method
1. Scoop out the fruits from the feijoa. Either cut it into smaller pieces or use a potato masher to gently mash the fruit.

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Strawberry Jam

I had to try out this recipe which I got from kc - never had jam cooked with vodka before. The strawberries from the garden bed were a bit midget in size (a bit late in the season). Besides bread, this jam would be good as a topping for ice cream and yoghurt.

A very quick and easy recipe, takes less than 10 minutes to make.