Category Archives: Fruit – All About

Blueberry Picking Bliss

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We chose the perfect Dunedin day for blueberry picking.  Warm, sunny , light breeze, AND we had the orchard to ourselves! To pick the fattest, blackest berry one has to focus, there is no time to worry about anything else. The only rule for the little ones is ‘do not eat from the bucket before we have paid’ . We did suggest that the owners weigh the one year old  before and after to calculate how much he ate, knowing that he would park himself under a bush and stuff berries into his mouth as fast as he can. 

The address is: 133/B Martin Road, Fairfield. Price  $12 per kilo (bring your own bucket, hat, sunscreen and sturdy shoes).  Open Sat 1pm – 5pm and Sun 9am to 5pm or call 0272486166 to arrange other times during the week.

The entrance to the farm is from a suburban street, with a driveway entrance that looks like any  other driveway in the neighbourhood. One passes a  house in progress, past a lovely pond and garden to where the blueberry bushes are.

Jams!

I am the proud maker of 186  jars of jam (and more to come)! Each jar contains about 130 g of product. I used small glass jars because I like to eat a different jam every day, and, the most important reason, I already had little jars ( bought 10 years ago).  They have been used many times but have been kept in their original boxes between use, so they have traveled well. I lubricate the rubber seals with Vaseline in the off season which keeps the rubbers soft and pliable forever. Having spent a great deal of time in laboratories in my undergraduate days, sterilising everything is something I spend a lot of time on.  Also, I label and date every jar properly. 

I still want to make banana (I shall buy from the little local greengrocer) and tomato jam (my tomatoes are not growing well so the local greengrocer will have to supplement),  then I think I may have a good supply of jam to eat and give away to last until the next berry season.

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In the first picture I am cleaning bottles.  Second picture shows the jams inside the bottles  being pasteurised .  Pictures 3 and 4 shows everything labled and packed. The jams pictured on toast are cherry (unsaleable seconds given to me by a farmer/market vendor), blueberry (picked on a local farm), apricot bought from the farmer on the Sunday market (most of which were eaten and given to the grand kids), plums from our tree, apples from our tree. I bought about $10 worth of sugar, and traded some eggs for lemons. All up costs for the lot was less than $30, or 16 cents per jar and I know what is in them – no preservatives, no thickeners, no setting agents, no coloring, no flavoring, no nothing – only fruit and sugar and it tastes FANTASTIC!

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I spent many happy evenings pottering in my kitchen – all in all a great project.

Apricot Time

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The apricots are beautiful and sweet at this time of the year in Dunedin and I am preserving as many as possible.

APRICOT STONES

Never throw the kernels away as it is a wonderful flavoring for  Amaretti Biscotti, Amaretto Liqueur, Almond Extract for cooking and Almoncello ( a liqueur I make similar to Limoncello, but with Apricot Stones). Apricot kernels are used to intensify the flavor of almonds and have been used for hundreds of years. A little goes a long way. Yes they contain some cyanide, but are not dangerous unless a lot is consumed. Do not eat them as snacks like one would eat almonds for instance. There are a lot of unsubstantiated claims that it cures cancer as well. Recipes for cakes and drinks when I start using the kernels!

APRICOT JAM

Wash and quarter the apricots. Put 3 Kg Apricots, 2.5 Kg White Sugar and 200 ml Lemon Juice in a large pot and boil slowly. Do not add water. It may be difficult in the beginning, before the sugar has melted, to turn the mass over, but be careful and turn it over frequently without damaging the fruit or letting the sugar burn at the bottom. As soon as the sugar starts to melt it is easy to stir. It is easier to use a larger pot than a smaller one. Boil slowly for half an hour, stir frequently and skim off the scum. Turn off the heat and let it rest for at least 12 hours for the flavors to amalgamate and intensify. Boil again slowly while continuously skimming off the scum.  When the jam reaches the correct density using the Freezer Setting Test, turn off the heat. Bottle as soon as the jam is cooler and easier to handle. Seal the containers and sterilise with the Hot Bath Method.

Freezer Setting Test – Place a small plate in the freezer for a couple of minutes. When well cold remove from the freezer and put a teaspoon full of the jam onto it. If it is the correct consistency after a minute the jam is ready. If it is still too runny, simmer some more and repeat test later until jam is ready to be removed.

Hot Bath Method – Sterilise bottles of jam by submerging them into water in a large pot (bottles must be completely covered by water)  and boil for twenty minutes after the water and jam bottles commenced boiling. Remove and let cool.

Comparing Cherries with Plums

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The massive cherries I had to buy in Dunedin because the resident Kereru ate all the cherries on my cherry  tree. The plums are from my tree, though and the Kereru swallows them whole, too. The plums are small, but plentiful. We have made jam, given basket fulls away, made tarts, put some in gin, trying our hand at candies, etc and are eating as many as we can.  No more plums for the grand kids due to runny or plum tummies!

PLUM JAM TIME

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The Plum Trees were heavy this year and when the Kererū and Blackbirds moved from the Cherry trees to the Plum tree I knew it was time to get started if I wanted some plums. I picked about 10 Kg to start with and made some wonderful Plum Jam, Preserved about  5 KG for later use, started some Plum Vinegar as well as fermenting all the over ripe Plums for distilling Plum Grappa. The next crop that I am picking in a few days time will definitely be made into Plum Wine. Over and above this we are doing all the other plum  related baking and cooking and have beautiful fresh plums  every day. What a productive tree! I just wished I could have slaughtered the over fat Kererū and Blackbirds as well.

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Washing, Sorting and Taking stones out with a Cherry Pipper

PLUM JAM

3 Kg Stoned Plums – Juice in stone container added back to Plums

3 Kg White Sugar

100 ml Lemon Juice (Only if fruit is very sweet)

50 g Lemon Rind (Fresh)

Mix all ingredients in a large enough pot and simmer for at least 30 minutes from the time it starts to boil. Stir frequently. Leave to settle and cool for at least 6 hours. Simmer for another 30 minutes after commencement of boiling. Stir frequently. Skim off and discard froth from the surface. Perform the “Freezer Setting Test” and remove from heat when ready. Bottle while warm and “sterilise” containers. Add labels.

Freezer Setting Test – Place a small plate in the freezer for a couple of minutes. When well cold remove from the freezer and put a teaspoon full of the jam onto it. If it is the correct consistency after a minute the jam is ready. If it is still too runny, simmer some more and repeat test later until jam is ready to be removed.

Sterilise bottles of jam by submerging them into water in a large pot (bottles must be completely covered by water)  and boil for twenty minutes after the water and jam bottles commenced boiling. Remove and let cool.