Celebrate the Harvest

The very essence of harvest and utilising the abundance of free food in our orchards and hedgerows is to use it quickly and allow the true flavour of the fruit to come through.
All fruit begins to deteriorate as soon as it is picked, so identify the fruit, choose a dry day and be prepared! Make sure you have all the ingredients and equipment you need. Don’t stint on the quality of the “bought in” ingredients as you will be eating the results. Good quality vinegars are essential, at Cranfi eld’s we only use wine or cider vinegar as we believe spirit vinegars are too coarse, you want to complement not disguise flavour.
Hedgerow jellies can be remarkably satisfying, aim to collect brambles, sloes (pick beforehand so you can pop them the freezer for 24hours to give them their first frost) rose hips and crab apples. Make sure you have at least one third apple otherwise the jelly may not set. Add just enough water to cover the fruits of your labours and cook gently until the fruit is mushy. Pass this mash though a jelly bag (a clean cotton pillowcase will do for this) and set it to drip into a pan. DO NOT squeeze or fiddle with the bag or you will get a cloudy jelly. We put all jellies through the bag over night so they are ready
for the morning.
The following day measure the juice and use approximately 450g/1lb sugar to every 600ml/pint of juice. Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved and then boil rapidly to a set. If you use less sugar, as we do at Cranfield’s (lose up to a quarter) you will intensify the taste but it will take longer to reach a set. Once you are sure of a set (we use temperature and wrinkle tests) take the jelly off the heat, skim well and if you like add a small sherry glass of gin/brandy to approximately 4 pints of original juice. This is fun, it bubbles and spits so be careful, and it gives the jelly more body. Pour the jelly into clean sterilised jars and seal with boiled lids. Finally leave the jelly to set in a cool place and then admire your crystal clear handiwork!
Cranfields enjoy making jellies from local fruits, the fruit of their labours can be found at Mill street Deli, Bideford, Ballantynes Deli Butchers Row and Orchard Farm Shop at St Johns in Barnstaple. For a full list of stockists and range of products their website is www.cranfieldsfoods.com