Kitchen Diary

 
Oh my!!! I wish I could harness the gorgeous aroma’s coming from my kitchen this week and bottle them for those long, dark, misty, wet, depressing winter months……I am sure that just a whiff from that bottle would lift a depressed spirit and cure all ails!! If only!!! This morning saw browniegirl in the kitchen before the sun rose in the east. I have already steamed 2 Christmas puddings and made a batch of fudge, another one on the go now…..the wind is still blowing crazily, the mercury is rising quickly outside. As I sit here I wonder whether the fire departments have managed to successfully douse the roaring flames. Summer is always high alert time for fires in the Western Cape and with the current heat wave and wind they have been raging in certain areas since Sunday.

Anyhoooo, having been to Ceres last weekend and picked some cherries at Klondyke Cherry Farm I had to do some serious pitting and chopping before the heat destroyed my beautiful bounty. Half of the cherries I decided to turn into jam, I made one large bottle of Cherries in Brandy and the rest (bar those that have been eaten as is ) YUM YUM) are going into a cherry pie or two before the week is over!!! Sorry DINX but they won’t last until I see you………..I am so thrilled with this jam…it is one of the best that I have made ) So I share my recipe with you all today

MOO’S CHERRY JAM

1 Kg Fresh Cherries – I used the yellow cherries with blushed red cheeks
750g Sugar
2 Lemons – zest of 1, juice of both

Wash and dry cherries, remove stems and pits but keep the pits

Cut about ¾ of the cherries into quarters and leave the rest in halves

Place cherries (and their juice from cutting) in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan with the lemon juice and zest – I also added a scant half cup of water

Tie the pits up tightly (using string) in a clean, damp piece of muslin or cheesecloth and place them in the saucepan with the cherries

Bring all to the boil then reduce heat to medium and, stirring occasionally, cook the cherries until they are soft – about 15-20 minutes depending on the heat

Remove from heat and pour over the sugar

Allow to stand about 20 minutes or so just swirling the contents around from time to time until all the sugar has completely dissolved

Return to heat, bring up to a fast boil and continue boiling until setting point has been reached – start testing it at around 15 minutes. Have a small plate in the freezer, switch off heat, spoon a bit of jam onto the icy cold plate and place in the fridge for 10 minutes. Push the jam with your finger and when it wrinkles it is ready. If not then return it to the pot, bring back to boil for a few more minutes and re-test until you are happy with how it is set. Always remember to remove from the heat while testing otherwise you will overcook your jam

Have your sterilized bottles ready – I wash the bottles and lids in warm soapy water, rinse in hot water then pop them, with lids, into my roasting pan in the oven at 120⁰C for about 20 minutes while the jam is cooking

Remove the pits from the jam and discard – keep that piece of muslin for next time )

Ladle the hot jam into the hot bottles, wipe away any spillage with a damp cloth and seal immediately

Delicious on hot buttered toast with a wedge of Zevenwacht 9 month matured White Cheddar…….

Enjoy and have a great day………
browniegirl xxx