HF’s food historian, Seren Hollins, digs into her rationing cookbooks for inspiration to turn fruit into slightly more wholesome preserves. Like our recipe for parsnip cake this brings out the natural sweetness of the fruit (or veg) to sweeten. Whilst some recipes suggest replacing sugar with stevia this one uses the fruit’s natural sweetness and fruit juice to add the sweetness to the jam.

Seren’s Tip: Pic the very best, ripest fruit you can find as there will be no added sugar to mask any tartness or pep up the end result.

INGREDIENTS

• 1.8kg pears, peeled and cored
• 2 lemons
• 60ml white grape juice
• 3 tsp pectin powder (for jam making)

METHOD

1           Quarter the prepared pears, cut each quarter in half, then place the pieces in a saucepan and cook (covered, with enough water to cover just the bottom of the pan) for 10–12 minutes, until soft.
2           Leave the softened pears to cool, then blend with a food processor, hand blender, or just a good old-fashioned potato masher if nothing else is to hand. Set aside the pear purée.
3           Finely slice 1 of the lemons after removing the pithy core. To do this, cut it in half along the stem line and remove the pithy centre, then turn each lemon half over and slice finely. Place the slices into a small saucepan, cover with water and simmer for 10 minutes.
4           Put the water in which the lemons simmered and the pear purée into a large saucepan, add the squeezed juice of the remaining lemon to the mixture, then bring to the boil over a medium heat. Once boiling, reduce to a gentle simmer, stirring regularly to prevent sticking or burning.
5           Blitz the lemon slices in a food processor and add the lemon pulp to the simmering pears, then stir well.
6           When the pear mixture has a soft, smooth consistency, remove it from the heat and add the white grape juice, stirring well.
7           Bring the pear mixture back to the boil and quickly stir in the pectin powder. Cook the jam, stirring constantly for exactly 1 minute, bring it back to the boil, then remove from the heat.
8           Pour the jam into sterilised jars, wiping the rims clean before sealing the lids.
This jam will keep for 8–10 weeks in the fridge, and is delicious in its own right, but is best spread on thick toast.
 https://homefarmer.co.uk

 

 How to Freeze Eggs

Andrea Chesman, author of Kitchen Know-How shares her advice on how to freeze eggs. Legally an egg can be laid as many as 30 days before it must be packaged. Its’ sell-by date is another 30 days after that. The egg is still considered fresh for another 3 to 5 weeks after that, so there’s no real hurry for getting eggs into the freezer. However, there is such a thing as too many eggs in the finite space of a refrigerator. In that case, freezing is a good option.
See also:

Selling Your Surplus Eggs

How to Pickle Quail Eggs

Why Chickens Lay Coloured Eggs

 

Eggs should be removed from their shells for freezing. They can be kept frozen for up to a year, and they should be thawed in the refrigerator the day before you intend to use them. There are textural changes: the yolks get rather gummy, and it is noticeable in omelets and scrambled eggs. They should be used only in dishes that will be completely cooked and combined with other ingredients, such as in custards and baked goods such as cookies and cakes. Cakes will not rise quite as high with frozen and thawed eggs, but the difference may not be that dramatic.

Whole Eggs

To freeze whole eggs, crack the eggs into a bowl and gently stir to break up the yolk, but do not beat them; you want to avoid incorporating air into the eggs. Egg yolks, gelatinize when frozen, becoming so thick and solid they are impossible to use. To prevent this and maintain the best texture, stir in ½ teaspoon salt per cup of eggs. Label the container with the date and the number of eggs.

Egg Yolks

The problem with egg yolks gelatinizing when freezing is even greater when you freeze yolks alone. To prevent this a much as possible, stir in either ⅛ teaspoon salt or 1½ teaspoons sugar per ¼ cup of egg yolks (about 4 yolks). Label the container with the date and the number of egg yolks and whether salt or sugar was added.

Egg Whites

Raw egg whites do not gelatinize when frozen, so no added salt or sugar is needed. Label the container with the date and the number of egg whites. Once thawed, whites will beat to a better volume if allowed to sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

Frozen Eggs – The Maths

You’ll want to freeze eggs in convenient sizes for defrosting relatively small amounts at a time. Some people like to use ice cube trays for freezing the eggs, then transfer the eggs into freezer bags. (if you use plastic ice cube trays, be scrupulous about removing any egg residue before reusing the ice cube trays for ice!)

1 whole egg = 2 cubes

2 egg yolks = 1 cube

1 egg white = 1 cube

2 cubes = ¼ cup

4 cubes = ½ cup

6 cubes = ¾ cup

8 cubes = 1 cup

1 tablespoon thawed egg yolk = 1 large fresh egg yolk

2 tablespoons thawed egg white = 1 large fresh egg white

3 tablespoons thawed whole egg = 1 large fresh egg

Fresh vs Older Eggs

Fresh eggs generally taste better than older eggs, but there are two instances where older eggs are more desirable than fresh eggs:

• When you are beating egg whites separately – to make meringues and mousses, for example, or to lighten a batter – the whites will achieve a greater volume if they are slightly older.
• When you are hear-boiling eggs, the older eggs will release their shells and peel more readily than fresher eggs.

This useful egg wisdom was from Kitchen Know-How by Andrea Chesman, published by Storey as part of their The Backyard Homestead range. Packed full of information and little gems of advice and myriad tips for the homesteader/home farmer and smallholder this is an extremely comprehensive guide giving plenty of ideas for making the most out of everything you grow and raise.
The book is split into 3 chunky sections: Getting the Most from Fresh Food, Food Preservation and Homestead cooking and is great for dipping in and dipping out for advice as well as ‘I didn’t know that’ nuggets making it a worth while read indeed.
www.homefarmer.co.uk