Tutti fruitti!

The preserving season is definitely in full swing! Last weekend I made some raspberry jam and a new jam for jillicious!; Tutti fruitti jam. The photo below illustrates the ingredients nicely....!


It's chock a block full of strawberries, blackcurrants, raspberries and redcurrants from Rectory Farm (where else?!) and may even count as 4 of your 5 a day* ..... Try it on toast, scones, or in the middle of a Victoria sponge cake.

* although perhaps that is a bit optimistic!

New arrivals!

It's been a long time since I've updated this blog.....I've still been preserving, just not shouting about it as much!

The marmalades are just about sold out, and we're onto early summer fruits and vegetables. Thanks to Ruth and Laura, who both donated some rhubarb so that I could make some Spring rhubarb relish! There doesn't seem to have been as much rhubarb around as last year (our rhubarb patch is looking a bit sorry for itself this year!) but I do have a handful of jars of rhubarb relish for sale. This relish was popular last year, especially with people who don't like onions, as it is onion-free!

Rectory Farm has been my source of strawberries and beetroot again this year.

The strawberries I used were 'Sonata' a mid-season variety, which were very tasty (well, obviously I had to check to make sure that they tasted good enough to make jam with!).

There's something quite satisfying about walking up and down the rows of beetroot at Rectory Farm, choosing which ones you like and pulling them out of the ground! My beetroot relish was made with fresh beetroot that I harvested the same day (can't get much fresher than that!) and is made to a recipe that my grandma gave me. It's lovely with cheeses or cold meats and again was popular last year, with reports of people even eating it straight from the jar (Good grief!). Some people even told me that they don't usually like beetroot, but were converted to die hard beetroot eaters after trying some of this relish.

Prices for the jars are £2.20 per jar, or two for £4.00. I should be able to maintain these prices, if everyone continues to return their empty jars to me. (and thank you to those who have been doing so!) This means my costs are reduced, you receive 20p off your next purchase for each jar returned and we all have a warm feeling inside as we're doing our bit towards re-using and recycling. Everyone's a winner!

Marvellous marmalades!

All has been quiet on the jillicious! front for a while, but I have been busy over the past few weeks, making marmalade while Seville oranges are in season. The gorgeous orangey smells coming from the jam pan have been the perfect antidote to those symptoms of January-itis (being sleepy-headed and generally grumpy!) and having a jar of marmalade ("sunshine in a jar") on the breakfast table will really lift your spirits. Apart from all that of course, it tastes bloomin' marvellous!

I've made several different types of marmalade, some the same as last year and a couple of new ones....

• Medium cut Seville orange marmalade - does exactly as it says on the tin!


• Chunky Seville orange marmalade - my favourite type - big chunks of peel and a beautiful amber colour. (Warning: this marmalade is not for the faint hearted or those of you who like dainty slivers of peel and lots of jelly in your marmalade...)


• Wakey wakey! Seville orange and ginger marmalade - Seville orange marmalade with slivers of crystalised ginger. Puts a bit of a zing into breafast!


• Rise and shine! Seville orange, blood orange and pink grapefruit - Seville orange is still the main fruit, so the grapefruit and lemon aren't overpowering but can still be tasted. Yum!


• Seville orange and lemon marmalade - A lovely refreshing marmalade, paler in colour than the others and thinner cut.


• Seville orange, pink grapefruit and lemon marmalade - Another thinner cut marmalade, and a softer set, with lots of citrussy flavours.


• Dark Seville orange marmalade - This marmalade is darker, as a quarter of the sugar content is soft brown sugar rather than granulated ywhite sugar. This means that it has more of a rich treacley taste and is a little less sweet than the others...and v tasty!

The prices and availability are on the right hand side of this post, so let me know if you'd like to order any! (jill.mceachern@ntlworld.com)

Happy New Year!

Just wanted to say Happy New Year to everyone and thanks to those who have supported my jillicious! venture over the past year.

Hope you all had a good Christmas (mine was jam-packed (ho ho) with family, food and pressies!) and that you all have a happy and healthy (and preserve filled....!) 2011.

Jill x