This year has been a strange one for fruits, with many ripening at the same time, including (for the first time in years) crab apples and rowan berries. We make a preserve from crab apples and rowan berries every year, usually with frozen rowan berries and apples picked fresh from the hedgerows.
This recipe is a jelly of the jarred variety – not the type which you make in a mould. A very versatile preserve which compliments both savoury and sweet dishes, perfect for winter days as a condiment for venison or spooned into rice pudding.
This recipe will make enough jelly to fill 2 average sized jam jars, you’ll need to wash these jars well with hot soapy water or sterilise them before filling with the jelly.
- Rinse the rowan berries and crab apples with cold water and remove any stray leaves or stalks.
- Put the berries straight into a heavy bottomed saucepan and add the halved or quartered crab apples – there is no need to peel or core the apples as you will be straining the juice from the fruit.
- Add cold water to the saucepan to just cover the fruit and heat gently whilst stirring.
- As the mixture heats up and the fruit softens, mash it with a wooden spoon.
- Bring the pan to a simmer and keep at a simmer for half an hour or until the fruit is completely soft, mash any fruit which still looks hard and then spoon into a jelly bag if you have one and leave to strain. Alternatively you can strain through a sieve lined with a muslin cloth or cheesecloth, or suspend a clean tea towel between the legs of an upturned stool and strain through this (the tea towel will become permanently stained if you choose this method!) Leave to strain for several hours or overnight – the end point is when it has stopped dripping.
- Measure out how much liquid you have and pour into a clean heavy bottomed saucepan along with 450g sugar for every 600ml liquid. Stir the sugar and juice continuously over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved and then turn the heat up and bring the mixture to a rolling boil.
- Boil for 8 minutes and then perform the saucer test and follow this process or use a thermometer until the jelly reaches setting point. Once the jelly is ready, turn off the heat and transfer it whilst still hot into your clean jars and seal the lids.
The sugar in this preserve will keep it for years in sealed jars, once opened it is best to keep it in the fridge.
If you would like to learn about other autumnal fruits, how to find them and what to do with them, we have foraging courses in North Wales every year in the autumn.
