Leslie G wrote:
> Rowanberry Jelly is something not usually seen in North America. It is best
> to pick the berries after a good hard frost, which tends to "sweeten" their
> tart astringent flavour.
Or, as most berries will either be gone or moldy by the time there's
frost, pick them, clean them, and throw them into the freezer for at least
two days before you continue your processing. In an abundant rowanberry
year (about every three years) you can get a bucket full within half an
hour or less; cleaning them is more involved, if you want to make jam. For
jelly just pick out the worse berries and throw the lot into the top part
of a "mehu-liisa" (mehu-maija over here). Add one part apples to one part
berries, add sugar to taste, let the juice drip, make into jelly.
Also, taste the berries on the trees, and if it's an abundant year, only
pick the "sweetest" (this is relative - they're still all rather bitter).
> This jelly is not something I would use on toast in the morning, but it
> makes a wonderful accompaniment to game, goose, or duck.
Then you're doing it wrong. Ah, found the mistake:
> Rowanberry Jelly
> ================
> 2 Pounds Rowanberries (about 7 cups)
> 2 Pounds Crab or tart cooking apples,
> Unpeeled, cut into chunks (about 8 cups)
> 3 Tablespoons Strained fresh lemon juice
> Sugar
(snip)
> until the jelling point is reached (about 10 - 12 minutes). Remove from
> heat, skim off foam, pour into sterilized jars, and seal.
You need to add 1 tablespoon of a _good_ liquor to each half a kg (or
each pound) of jam/jelly/whatnot. If you add this your product will fly
off the shelves of your fridge or cellar; if you don't, it'll sit there
forever. Quality liquor is a good whisky, good gin, or Cointreau. I
haven't tried others as those suffice.
Add your brandy just before you pour and seal.
Don't make the mistake to add a cheap whisky or gin - that'll make it
taste even worse.
Another fruit that pretty much requires both
1) one part apples to one part berry, and
2) good liquor
is aronia berry.
In fact, use your rowanberry recipes for your aronia. Yum!
Henriette
--
Henriette Kress, AHG Helsinki, Finland
Henriette's herbal homepage:
http://www.ibiblio.org/herbmed
Best of RHOD:
http://www.ibiblio.org/herbmed/rhod