Pickle and Preserve

Essential preserves for January and February

pickleandpreserve — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 12:25:32 +0100

January and February are a barren time as far as preserving fresh produce goes, but there are some delicious recipes still worth getting on with.

Most of these involve imported citrus fruit, such as Seville oranges, which are at their cheapest and most plentiful at this time of year.

This is also a sensible time to explore your preserve cupboard and use up and jars Read More...

Ten Facts About Pumpkins

pickleandpreserve — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0100

image source wikimedia commons

1. The pumpkin is a squash of the genus Cucurbita, and can refer to one of many species, they all originated in North America.

2. Seeds similar to pumpkins have been found in Mexico, dated to between 7000 and 5500 BC.

3. 680,000,000 kilograms of pumpkin are produced in the US each year.

4. When carved with a face a pumpkin becoRead More...

Ten Facts About Pectin

pickleandpreserve — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0100

1. The word pectin derives from the Greek word pektikos, meaning "congealed, curdled".

2. Pectin is a naturally occurring carbohydrate found mostly in the skin and core of fruit, when combined with acid and sugar it forms a gel, the essential process for setting jam.

3. Pectin molecules are long, and easily entangle with each other, causing thicRead More...

Ten Facts About Runner Beans

pickleandpreserve — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 21:03:49 +0100

image source wikimedia commons

1. The latin name for runner beans is Phaseolus coccineus.

2. The runner bean originates from Central America, and was brought to the UK in the 17th Century.

3. The starchy roots are still eaten by Central American Indians.

4. Many people in the US grRead More...

Marrow, Pumpkin and Ginger Jam

pickleandpreserve — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 19:08:39 +0100

It's about this time of year that the question of what to do with the last of the marrows raises it's gnarled green head over the edge of the vegetable bowl.
The marrow is unquestionably a beast, and sadly it's culinary uses are usually limited to being stuffed, but it can make the base oRead More...

Christmas Chutney and Preserves

pickleandpreserve — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 11:58:10 +0100

The nights are drawing in, the clocks turn back soon and it's cold enough to put the heating on, we've even been tempted to light the fire early and play some http://www.foxybingo.com/.

Christmas will be on us before we know it, and thoughts are starting to turn to presents for friends and family. Edible treats always go down well in ourRead More...

Is It Safe To Reuse Jam Jars?

pickleandpreserve — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 15:57:11 +0100

Recent news articles ( in the Daily Mail and on the BBC) have highlighted a Food Standards Agency regulation regarding safety criteria for food packaging. It has come to light that selling homemade jams and chutneys in reused jars may be punishablRead More...

Runner Bean Chutney

pickleandpreserve — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 15:28:47 +0100

Runner bean chutney is something I've eaten at friend's houses, but never made myself. This year, while many crops in the garden have done badly due to the bad weather, the beans have romped away. So, to use up a bit of a glut, I picked a trug of the larger of both runner and green bRead More...

Reusing Glass Jam Jars

pickleandpreserve — Fri, 18 May 2012 12:36:25 +0100

Recycling glass jars by reusing them is a good way of keeping costs down, and of course helps save the energy used to recycle them through the bottle bank. Jars can be used again and again, and after some time you can end up only having to replace a few each year.
Think of it as milk bottles for jam.

There are, however, some precautions to take to makeRead More...

Four Fruit Marmalade

pickleandpreserve — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 20:02:10 +0100

If you prefer a bit of variety at breakfast then combining citrus fruit to make a three or four fruit marmalade is as easy as making a traditional recipe.

I'm a convert to the whole fruit method of making marmalade, and this recipe is based on that.

I used mainly seville oranges, with a few each oRead More...