Monday, January 23, 2012

Seasonal

Last week we were gifted 2 big boxes full of the sweetest home-grown Nectarines I think I've ever tasted (thanks Hansen family) so what were we to do with this yummy, juicy, extra ripe seasonal fruit apart from eat it??? Make Jam of coarse....  
jam 1 
Having never made Nectarine Jam before, and a lack of being able to find a recipe in my trusty old preserving book, I decided to 'wing it'.....
jam 2 
My girls started by removing the seeds from the fruit and slicing the flesh, thinly, until they had enough to fill a 4 litre pot. I then placed the pot full of sliced fruit on the stove over a low heat for approx an hour (do not add any water or your jam will be too runny) - the flesh will be all nice and gooey like baby food after this time.
jam 3 
We then added 4 cups of sugar to our baby food goo and bought it to a simmer. Because Nectarines have a very low pectin level we had to simmer our mixture for approx 2 hours before the 'setting' stage was reached. A good way of telling if you've reached this 'setting' stage is to have a small plate handy in the freezer, place a teaspoon of your hot mixture onto the cold plate and freeze for a couple of minutes. If, when removed from the freezer, your mixture wrinkles and separates when your finger is run through it than your jam has reached the 'setting' stage - remove it from the heat and bottle it. If the mixture doesn't wrinkle simmer for a further 10 mins and repeat....
jam 4 
We've also got an abundance of passionfruit here on the farm at the moment so I tried my hand at some passionfruit syrup, so far so good it's a hit with the whole family!!!!
jam 5 
For our syrup we took 2 cups of fresh passionfruit pulp, 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water and bought it all to a rapid boil for 10 mins.
jam 6 
While it was still hot we poured it into some sterilized jars....
jam 7 
And then I couldn't help but pour it all over a butter cake that we'd made the day before and fill it full of cream - so delicious!!!!!
jam 8 
I'm still knitting away happily and have been dying to share this shawl with you all...
sand 1 
The pattern is Sand and Sea from the Coastal Knits book and the yarn I've used is Malabrigo (lace for the green and sock from the edging)
sand 2 
What can I say.... I simply loved making this shawl. There was just enough detail to keep me interested the whole way through and I even learnt something new - picking up wraps from a purl side. I can see another one of these simple lightweight Summer shawls whipped up very very soon....
sand 3 
And thanks to my little Millie, it's being modelled just beautifully..... :)
sand 4
{{{{Big Hugs}}}}
Jodie

19 comments:

  1. Love this Jodie, great photos. I want a slice of that cake now with my cup of tea! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yum! We lost all our nectarines this year to a critter with a taste for rock hard, unripe fruit.
    That cake looks soooo good!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your jams look just divine and that shawl is almost as beautiful as the model who's wearing it!

    MGM

    ReplyDelete
  4. Good on you getting into the jam making, nectarine jam sounds so delicious.
    And you've got one amazing model there.x

    ReplyDelete
  5. Can't believe how productive you've been... the jam and syrup look yummy.. and the colors are great in the shawl... the girls are sure growing up!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Yum, Yum, Yummo, and Lovely! :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. oh Jodie, so delish. I love your shawl too. That green is stunning.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Your shawl looks beautiful Jodie. I think the cake looks absolutely delicious with the passionfruit syrup and cream!

    ReplyDelete
  9. My mouth is watering - I love nectarines and passionfruit...and cake too!! Caz W xo

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh gracious! I want the recipe for EVERYTHING...shawl included! LOL! Your blog is always a feast for the senses and the eyes and the taste buds and the heart! The model did a beautiful job and the shawl looked very nice on her too!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Love the jam model and the jam looks so delicious... so does that cake makes me think I might make one myself... gorgeous shawl as well xxx

    ReplyDelete
  12. Yummm!!!!! Looks divine....think we need to catch up for smoko;) I've been busy with tomatoes...sweet chilli sauce and next up, some relish. You bring the cake..I'll bring the sausage rolls!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Passion fruit is my favourite, and that looks yummy! My mum's tip for extra pectin is a handful of red currants. Gets strawberry jam to set well anyway. We don't get enough nectarines here for me to ever think of making jam,as they are an expensive fruit even in the summer, that you buy individually. I imagine they are wonderful straight off the tree, like most fruit so much better than picked under-ripe and transported miles. You make me think of summer. It is a cold and stormy morning here.

    ReplyDelete
  14. There is nothing like home made produce...

    ReplyDelete
  15. That jam looks delicious! That is something I really need to get into

    ReplyDelete
  16. Your jam looks delicious and so does that cake!!

    Maybe I should be doing this shawl before I attempt Cladonia, the lace sections looks a bit easier to follow!

    Gorgeous model too :-)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Next time you're making jam with low pectin fruit, add one or two slices of apple - you won't need to cook so long, and it won't change the flavor.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Wow your home aming talents are to be admired. This cake looks devine

    ReplyDelete
  19. PS I'll follow on the way out
    Carolyn xx

    ReplyDelete

Spring Seed Swap?

I had big plans of sharing a late Winter garden update with you all this post, full of beautiful pictures of Wintry produce such as peas (...