PEAR JAM
19 September 2007
PEAR JAM with VANILLA BEAN
Seasonal fruit…. a delicacy, a rejuvenation of the senses and a welcomed change with each calender month that passes. But I find it sad how people seem to be increasingly unaware of which fruit belongs to which season and thus buy on a craving basis. It is no wonder though… with the grocery stores offering strawberries, peaches, mangoes, melon… (I could go on here) 365 days a year! Unless you have tasted a hand picked, perfectly ripe, home grown fruit, how are your sense suppose to know the difference.
I am getting off my soapbox … and have decided to dedicate this post to THE PEAR – ‘poire william’ to be exact, currently in season and picked from the farm trees a few days ago.
There are two main types of pears in Europe, the Anjou and the William (or Bartlett as they are known in North America) Anjou pears are a hardy winter pear, light green in colour and available from the autumn through to spring. Whereas the William pears are a sweeter variety (great for jam making) golden yellow with a fleck of red and ready to pick from late summer through the autumn.
PLUM AND CINNAMON TARTLETS
10 September 2007
{TARTELETTES AUX PRUNEAUX ET CANNELLE} I know I know, I promised more savoury & less sweetie recepes - but little purple plums are TAKING OVER MY KITCHEN!!! Everywhere I look there is a bowl, box or plate of them. Why you might ask – well it just so happens that Olivier’s parents have plum trees at their country house in France…. and as they cannot keep up with them, the torch has been passed! Something had to be done….
As I have already made ‘PLUM, GREEN GAGE & CINNAMON JAM’ (soon to be posted on the SP blog) I thought I would turn my attention to tart making… before the plums turn or the season passes! And seeing as the cinnamon was a nice added touch to the plum jam, I decided to make a sweet cinnamon pastry crust for this recipe.
PEACH & PINK PEPPER JAM
13 August 2007
{CONFITURE DE PECHE ET POIVRE ROSE} First a funny fact about me and the sweet little peach…, the fuzzy skin gives me ‘les frisons’ (shivers / goose-bumps) like scratching your nails on a chalk board – not apricots or quince, just peaches – I know I am odd!
This fact however did not hinder my enthusiasm to make jam, nor Olivier’s ability to eat it (funny that – I think he may have an addiction) As do I for pepper… white, green, black or pink, so perhaps that is the source of my inspiration to combine peaches and pink pepper (poivre rose). Pink peppercorns (schinus terebinthifolius) come from Brazil or Peru and are not in fact a true peppercorn but a dried fruit from the Baies Rose. They have a lovely soft flavour with a little spice which compliments the white peaches very sweet taste.
Peach Jam HELPFUL HINTS:
- Peach season in Europe is from June to the end of September
- End of season peaches are sweeter as they have had more sunshine
- To easily remove peach skin, choose ripe peaches. Plunge them in boiling water for 30 seconds, then in cold water for 10 seconds. The skin will peal off easily.
- Use lemon juice as natural pectin
- If your peaches are not very ripe, they will not completely disintegrate when cooked and your jam will require a little hand mixing (see recipe below)
APRICOT & ROSEMARY JAM
3 August 2007
{CONFITURE D’ABRICOT ET ROMARIN} I was recently on holiday in Provence when the apricot season was in full bloom. To some this is a dream come true, to my father, whose keen desire to keep up with the overly abundant apricot tree in the garden (which was apparently getting the better of him), it was a loosing battle.
By the time I arrived he couldn’t look, let alone eat another one. Help was on the way 
Perfectly juicy and ripe, just waiting to be plucked and in close proximity to the rosemary bushes…. I couldn’t wait to make jam and thought how nicely the two would go together.
Jam Making WITHOUT PECTIN:
- I use the juice of a lemon = natural pectin, as the thickening agent for jam
- Certain fruits / berries such as blackberries naturally contain a high % of pectin, requiring less cooking time when making jam & little or no lemon juice
DENOYAUTEUR
19 June 2007
It is cherry season, and if I eat one more handful I think I am going to look like a cherry….. so I have decided to turn my attention to making jam!An enjoyable, even relaxing project, that marries well with Olivier’s love for tartines and our continued shortage of confiture! Tartine is the French delicacy of a lovely thick slice of bread with creamy butter topped with homemade confiture (jam).
However a black cloud, or should I say frustrated very red finger tips, began to settle over my little jam making jamboree, as I struggled with a paring knife in a feeble attempt to separate the clinging cherry from its pip! Lucky for me, help was not far away. While chatting with my mother, who is currently in Provence surrounded by les cerisiers (cherry trees), I recounted my sad story and she introduced me to the “Dénoyauteur“!
What you may ask is a Dénoyauteur… well, it is my new best friend! A simple little handheld machine that removes the cherry pip in one simple action. Place the cherry in the holder squeeze handles together and voila! De-piped cherry ready and willing to hop into a pie/ cake / jam, I could go on…. There are more complex devices, that are perhaps better for larger batches of cherries, but as I live in the city and storage space being at a premium, the smaller the utensil the better. Not only does this wonderful invention eliminate the red finger problem (attractive as this is at work…), decreases the de-pipping time and cherry loss, but it can be easily purchased in your local shops for about €2!! Naturally best to drop everything and run out and buy at least one if not two
