Apple Pear Butter

 Last year was our first year of a fairly bountiful harvest of pears from our miniature tree.  The fruit was hard and not too flavoursome for fresh eating so I had to find a way to use it up.  After searching YouTube ( as you do ),  I found general instructions for pear butter.

This year we had the pears again but I was also given small green apples from a friend.  I decided to combine the two fruits and made this recipe up as I went along.

The result was a fruity yet slightly tangy spread.   It makes a delicious spread on toast,  crumpets and muffins.   Maybe you will find some other uses for it too.  Perhaps spread it on  dry crackers with a little Camembert cheese.

8 large Pears or 1 - 1.5 kilos

4 medium Green Apples or 0.5 - 1 kilos

1/2 cup of tap Water

Juice of 2 Lemons

1/2 cup of Brown Sugar

2 teaspoons of dried Cinnamon

1 teaspoon of dried Nutmeg 

Turn your slow cooker on low ( if it runs very hot ) or high if it's a very slow cooker 

Peel,  core and slice the pears and apples.

Place in the slow cooker.

Add all the other ingredients to the slow cooker.

Cook for 8 - 10 hours or overnight

Lift the lid and give it a good stir.

Use a stick blender to blitz the fruit until it's smooth.

Leave the slow cooker lid off and continue to cook for another 4 hours or so until some of the liquid has reduced.

Spoon into hot ,  sterilised jars and seal.

Store in the fridge for 2 - 3 weeks or freeze for longer storage.

The finished product

Getting the fruit ready

Cooking in the slow cooker

Tomato Relish

It's finally here.  The much awaited,  much requested tomato relish recipe that I make. Tomatoes will be ripening soon and / or coming on sale in the fruit and veg shops.  This recipe is fairly simple to make.  Just make sure you have all the ingredients on hand before you start.  You'll also need lots of glass jars with metal lids ready to fill.

Tomato relish is great to have with Krispy Fried Chicken drumsticks     ( or any chicken for that matter ),  ham or silverside.  It's also wonderful in a cheese and meat sandwich.

3 kilos of tomatoes - diced
8 medium onions - peeled and diced
4 tablespoons of salt
4 1/2 cups of malt vinegar
4 green chillies - de-seeded and very finely chopped
4 cups of brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons of curry powder
2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard
4 tablespoons of plain flour
1/2 cup of water

Place the tomatoes and onions into a large plastic or glass bowl

Sprinkle with the salt,  mix,  cover with cling wrap and leave for 12 hours ( overnight )

Drain off any excess liquid

Place the tomatoes and onions into a very large saucepan ( or two ) and add the sugar,  vinegar and chillies.

Gently boil for 1 1/2 -2 hours stirring occasionally until the liquid has reduced a little.

Mix the flour,  water,  Dijon mustard and curry powder into a smooth paste in a measuring jug or glass bowl.

Very slowly add the paste to the tomatoes while stirring constantly.

Gently boil for another 10 - 15 minutes.

Spoon or pour into sterilised glass jars and seal immediately.

The relish will keep for up to one year in a cool dark place.

Refrigerate after opening and consume within a few weeks.


NOTES -

*  I once made this recipe without doing the overnight draining process ( I forgot ).  So I added the tomatoes,  onions and 1 tablespoon of salt to a large saucepan then continued with the recipe as per usual.  It still worked out just fine.

*  Feel free to add more chillies if you like it hot.  I don't like chillies at all but with four in the recipe,  you don't really notice them.

*  Make your own brown sugar to save some money.  The recipe is in the recipe section under mixes.

*  Malt vinegar is a type of brown vinegar.  The label on the container must say malt.

*  Sterilise the jars in an oven on about 150 degrees Celcius for approx, 30 minutes.

*  The original recipe was given to me from a book.   I've adjusted it to suit my family's tastes.  Feel free to change it to suit your own tastes.

*  This recipe is a double batch of the original version.  I doubled it to save time and to fill more jars.

*  From memory,  you need at least 10 - 15 small / medium sized jam / relish/ pickle jars.

*  Remember,  when bottling relish,  the lids will retain some of the smell after washing.  I don't use these jars for anything other than relish..

*  This relish makes a wonderful present when you add a hat ( material circle ) and gift tag.  It's also great to give with homemade pita chips.

Strawberry And Apple Jam

I love homemade jam.  It just tastes better and you know exactly what is in it.   Here's my Strawberry and Apple Jam recipe.  It makes a delicious and slightly tangy jam full of flavour.

1.5kg of strawberries
1.3 kg of white sugar
Juice of 2 - 3 lemons
2 medium to large Granny Smith Apples
1/4 cup of water.


Cut and hull the strawberries and place in a large saucepan.

Peel,  core and quarter the apples

Grate the apples or blitz them in a food processor.

Add the grated apples, water and lemon juice to the strawberries  in the saucepan and slowly bring to the boil stirring occasionally.  Cook for 10 minutes

Add the sugar in small batches while stirring. and bring to the boil again. Skim off any foam the forms on the top.

Cook until setting point is reached.  Test this by placing a couple of teaspoons of jam on an icy cold saucer.  Let it sit for five minutes and run your finger through the jam.  If it wrinkles then setting point is reached.

Pour while hot into hot sterilised jars and seal immediately.  Once cool, store in a cool,  dark  and dry place for up to one year.

This recipe makes just over 2 kg of jam.


NOTES -

*  Frozen strawberries can be used.  I blitz them in the food processor.

*  Strawberries are low in pectin.  This means the jam will set runny.  The Granny Smith apples help to set it into a firmer jam.

*  Jars must be made of glass and lids must be metal,  clean and in good condition.

*  To sterilise jars and lids,  wash in hot soapy water and rinse clean.  On an oven tray place a clean tea towel and turn the jars and lids upside down on the tray. Place them in the oven and turn it on to 110 degrees.  When the oven reaches this temperature turn it off and let them sit in the oven for 10 minutes.

*  Always sterilise more jars than what you think you'll need.

*  Sterilise funnels,  tongs,  spoons and any other equipment that comes in contact with the jam when bottling it.  I pour boiling water over them.

*  If I can I like to use lids with the pop button.  I know a true seal is made when the button pops down.

*  Always wipe the jars down after you have filled them.  Make sure there is no jam spilled on the top rim of the jar before you seal it.

*  If you have smaller of larger quantities of strawberries,  change the recipe accordingly.

*  A jar of jam makes a fabulous,  frugal present and is well received