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Taking time to live well
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Image: Kirstie Young

Image: Kirstie Young

Living: Jam making and preserving

Lottie Storey September 20, 2016

The growing season may be almost over, but the preserving season is in full swing. If you have a spare afternoon and a freezer fruit glut, it's the best time of year to stir some fruit in a cauldron-like pan

Turn to page 42 of October's The Simple Things for Lia Leendertz's recipes for Blackberry and vanilla jam, Spiced damson and apple jelly, and Pink grapefruit and ginger marmalade.

Want some tips on pickling, pantries and preserves? Issue 39 of The Simple Things (September 2015) has plenty of tips beginning on page 116 (get back issues here!), or read on. 

Jam-making, an act steeped in nostalgia and nest making, is hard to resist, and at this time of year when rich fruit pickings abound, not just in the garden or allotment but also in the hedgerow, it feels almost like a duty to do it. This simple act of husbandry fills the kitchen with comforting smells and activity, the pantry with provisions and distils the essence of summer in a jar.

But before you disrupt the household with bubbling pans and empty jam jars, pull on an apron and gather together a few items.

A preserving pan (sometimes called a maslin pan) is essential, the stronger the better and preferably made of stainless steel which won't corrode. A jam thermometer takes the guesswork out of reaching the setting point, and a long-handled preserving spoon is handy for safe stirring. A jam funnel makes pouring hot jam into Kilner jars a simpler operation and a variety of labels and covers gives the end result a decorative flourish.

Preserving brings a little of the summer's flavour and colour to the chillier months when the choice of seasonal food is limited. But which preservation method to go for? Here are some options:

Pickling: fruit and vegetables are immersed in a vinegar and spice solution

Fermentation: vegetables are soaked in a spiced brine solution. Sugar is sometimes added. Kimchi, a Korean food staple, is the ultimate fermented food

Chutney: chopped fruit and veg are cooked with vinegar, spice and herbs, to produce a sweet-sour mixture with a chunky texture

Brining: cuts of meat are steeped in salt water

Salting: meat and fish are coated with salt to draw out moisture and kill bacteria

 

Seasonal pickling

Spring: rhubarb, cabbage, cauliflower, citrus fruit, asparagus

Summer: raspberries, plums, beetroot, asparagus, baby carrots, cucumbers, runner beans, apricots, courgettes, tomatoes, peaches

Autumn: apples, damsons, garlic, quince, blackberries, red cabbage, tomatoes, fennel, peppers

Winter: apples, cabbage, quince, citrus fruit

From How to Pickle by Gerard Baker for Lakeland

 

More from the October issue:

Featured
Oct 25, 2016
The tallest oak was once just a nut that held its ground
Oct 25, 2016
Oct 25, 2016
Oct 24, 2016
How to make a corn dolly
Oct 24, 2016
Oct 24, 2016
Oct 19, 2016
Be a kitchen witch!
Oct 19, 2016
Oct 19, 2016

 

More jam recipes:

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Nov 6, 2021
Recipe | Homemade Jammie Dodgers
Nov 6, 2021
Nov 6, 2021
Mar 14, 2021
Recipe: Goose egg lemon curd
Mar 14, 2021
Mar 14, 2021
seville-and-blood-orange-marmalade-recipe.png
Jan 12, 2019
Recipe: Seville and Blood Orange Marmalade
Jan 12, 2019
Jan 12, 2019
  Buy ,  download  or  subscribe   See the sample of our latest issue  here   Buy a copy of our latest anthology:  A Year of Celebrations   Buy a copy of  Flourish 2 , our wellbeing bookazine  Listen to  our podcast  - Small Ways to Live Well

Get hold of your copy of this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe

View the sampler here

InLiving, Eating Tagsissue 52, jam, preserves, preserving, october
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  Buy ,  download  or  subscribe   See the sample of our latest issue  here   Buy a copy of our latest anthology:  A Year of Celebrations   Buy a copy of  Flourish 2 , our wellbeing bookazine  Listen to  our podcast  - Small Ways to Live Well
Feb 27, 2025
Feb 27, 2025

Buy, download or subscribe

See the sample of our latest issue here

Buy a copy of our latest anthology: A Year of Celebrations

Buy a copy of Flourish 2, our wellbeing bookazine

Listen to our podcast - Small Ways to Live Well

Feb 27, 2025
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The Simple Things is published by Iceberg Press

The Simple Things

Taking time to live well

We celebrate slowing down, enjoying what you have, making the most of where you live, enjoying the company of of friends and family, and feeding them well. We like to grow some of our own vegetables, visit local markets, rummage for vintage finds, and decorate our home with the plunder. We love being outdoors and enjoy the satisfaction that comes with a job well done.

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