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Farm Kitchen:  Am I doing something wrong ?  |
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belvederebabe
Farmgirl in Training
21 Posts
susan
great yarmouth
Norfolk
United Kingdom
21 Posts |
 Posted - Sep 23 2006 : 11:00:41 AM
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Hi there,
last year I started making jams and chutneys but my problem is it always takes far longer to cook than the recipe suggests.
For example this afternoon I made a Victoria plum and apple jam the apple took over an hour to break down before I could add the sugar. Yesterday I made an apple chutney and the vinegar kept drying up before the onion would soften. ( The recipe suggested adding 1 eight of a pint of vinegar to 1lb of onions ( sorry I don't know what that is in metric)
eventually I was told to add the 2LB of apples with with the rest of the vinegar in total half a pint, but it seemed to take forever to cook and kept going dry...... It took an age before I could add more vinegar and the sugar. On the other hand sometimes the vinegar takes hours to disappear. Please tell me am I doing it all wrong or it usual for these things to happen.
I would also appreciate any tips to help me. From whether or not I can soften fruit and veg in the microwave first to how to get the labels of the jars with ease.
At the moment I only do small batches so it is costing so much in electricity.
Please any suggestions greatly appreciated
SwampieSue |
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DaisyFarm
True Blue Farmgirl
1646 Posts
Diane
Victoria
BC
Canada
1646 Posts |
Posted - Sep 23 2006 : 11:09:25 AM
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Hi Susan...I'm sure you will get lots of help from the great gals here. A couple of things came to mind in reading your post. First, what kind of apples are you using? Some are far better for cooking than others and will break down much quicker when cooked. The same might be true for the onions, but would it help if you simmered it really slowly so the vinegar didn't evaporate so quickly?
That's my two cents..
Di
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belvederebabe
Farmgirl in Training
21 Posts
susan
great yarmouth
Norfolk
United Kingdom
21 Posts |
Posted - Sep 23 2006 : 11:39:32 AM
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Hi Di,
The apples were granny Smiths cooking apples, I cook on an electric hob usually I start high then turn it down to 2, would I be better it stay on a low heat right from the start?
Swampie Sue |
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DaisyFarm
True Blue Farmgirl
1646 Posts
Diane
Victoria
BC
Canada
1646 Posts |
Posted - Sep 23 2006 : 11:46:56 AM
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You might give it a try Sue...the vinegar might be evaporating quite quickly on the higher heat. The apples are sure a good variety. Unfortunately this year, my cooking apples are all in some squirrel's winter pantry!
Di |
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belvederebabe
Farmgirl in Training
21 Posts
susan
great yarmouth
Norfolk
United Kingdom
21 Posts |
Posted - Sep 23 2006 : 12:45:07 PM
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Sorry to hear the squirrels have stolen all your apples, here in the UK we have had a bumper year for most most fruits including apples. I am not aware that our squirrels take apples. We mostly get grey squirrels that prefer nuts and acorns.
Unfortunately I am not a true farm girl but have a small cottage in a tiny village in the country. My garden in quite small but I have lots of kind neighbours who give me some of their fruit. I would love to own a larger property but prices here in the UK sky high.
I have Rhubarb and I have planted two apple trees but will have to wait a few years yet. My Gooseberry had one gooseberry this year and my black currant bush failed to do anything. I am not sure if I had a farm anything would grow but I can dream can't I.
Swampie Sue |
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LJRphoto
True Blue Farmgirl
760 Posts
Laura
Hickory Corners
MI
USA
760 Posts |
Posted - Sep 23 2006 : 7:53:54 PM
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Are you keeping the pot covered while it is simmering? Maybe keeping it covered will help keep the moisture inside the pan where it needs to be. I also just don't like cooking on an electric stove. I think it is much harder to control the temperature... not that it would be practical advice for me to say you should run out and buy a gas range. But, I would keep the temperature low from the start just because you can't back the heat off as quickly with an electric range.
"I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority." -E. B. White
http://www.betweenthecities.com/blog/ljr/
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bramble
True Blue Farmgirl
2044 Posts
2044 Posts |
Posted - Sep 23 2006 : 8:44:13 PM
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Susan- Hello! Granny Smiths are a low moisture/high fiber apple so maybe add a few juicier apples to the pot might help. I had an electric stove in my last house and now by choice have a gas range. It's not an impossiblity to have a good outcome with electric, just more watching I think! Chutneys are tricky because you want them relishy and not soup like. I've had both! A certain batch of picalilli comes to mind...Does your recipe add the vinegar right at the start?
I have never had a problem w/label removal...just scalding water and they slide right off. Is the adhesive different in the UK?
with a happy heart |
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belvederebabe
Farmgirl in Training
21 Posts
susan
great yarmouth
Norfolk
United Kingdom
21 Posts |
Posted - Sep 24 2006 : 04:54:29 AM
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Hi There,
Thanks for your replies, firstly would love gas but where I live in rural Norfolk we don't have Gas, just one of the things that I miss since moving to the county. I too hate electric and just can't get used to it. Unfortuanately the kitchen is only just over 3 years old but when the hob needs replacing I am going to look into one that uses gas cylinders.
I will try covering the pot, but I have to find a large enough lid the preserving pan I use did not come with one. I will also try adding a few juicer apples. Yes Bramble, the recipe told me to add just a tiny amount to stop the burning.
To be honest with you I am not having a good day today, I made some rhubarb and ginger jam this morning that despite tasting wonderful looks more like rhubarb chutney. I tried breaking the last few pieces of rhubarb down using a hand held liquidiser before adding the sugar maybe that did not help. I am now on a batch of tomato chutney, I used chopped semi-frozen tomato's and It looks like the liquid is never going to evaporate, I still have the nearly a pint of vinegar & the sugar to add yet!!! That will teach me to take short cuts......
With regards the labels it depends on the maker. Some slide of after a short soak but some of them leave the glue behind and it just won't shift without a long hard scrub with a knife.
Swampie Sue |
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belvederebabe
Farmgirl in Training
21 Posts
susan
great yarmouth
Norfolk
United Kingdom
21 Posts |
Posted - Sep 24 2006 : 10:12:30 AM
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| Good news the chutney turned out just fine!! |
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LJRphoto
True Blue Farmgirl
760 Posts
Laura
Hickory Corners
MI
USA
760 Posts |
Posted - Sep 24 2006 : 11:19:17 AM
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I'm glad the chutney worked out. Are the labels that you are having a hard time getting off the ones that sometimes come with the ball jars? I got some of those last year and thought they were so great and pretty but now I rue the day. I can't get them off at all. So now some of my jars just have the remnants of the stickers even after all the sterilizing and scrubbing and going through the water bath again! I figure they'll wear off eventually.
"I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority." -E. B. White
http://www.betweenthecities.com/blog/ljr/
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belvederebabe
Farmgirl in Training
21 Posts
susan
great yarmouth
Norfolk
United Kingdom
21 Posts |
Posted - Sep 25 2006 : 10:24:02 AM
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Hi,
No they are just general household all purpose jars. Sometimes I think it would be better to buy the jars rather than have to rely on kind peoples hand outs, on the other hand It might be that I am just not soaking them long enough.
Swampie Sue |
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DaisyFarm
True Blue Farmgirl
1646 Posts
Diane
Victoria
BC
Canada
1646 Posts |
Posted - Sep 25 2006 : 11:12:53 AM
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| Gummy residue + isopropol alcohol = poof gone! :) |
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belvederebabe
Farmgirl in Training
21 Posts
susan
great yarmouth
Norfolk
United Kingdom
21 Posts |
Posted - Sep 26 2006 : 03:33:26 AM
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| Thanks, will try that. |
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Farm Kitchen: Am I doing something wrong ? |
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Am I doing something wrong ?
