I make - Sweet chilli sauce (or jam)

I love sweet chilli sauce. I use it for salad dressing, cooking and making dips. It's such a versatile sauce. I've been using Nigella's recipe for a long time and I can't believe I haven't written about it. Recently, I also tried a version with tomatoes. Both recipes are pretty good but Nigella's recipe is slightly simpler (and more precise) and the product looks prettier.

I like the fact that I can adjust the level of spiciness by playing the ratio between chilli peppers and bell peppers. Each time I make 4-6 jars and it lasts me for a year or two. They keep well in sterilized jars.

My Favorite Chilli Jam adapted from Nigella's recipe

150 grams long fresh red chilli peppers (deseeded and cut into 4 pieces)
150 grams red peppers (cored, deseeded and cut into rough chunks)
1 kilogram regular sugar, with 1 tsp of pectin added at the end
600 ml white wine vinegar
1 tsp salt
4-6 garlic cloves, minced

Method

You will need 6 x 250ml / 1 cup sealable jars, with vinegar-proof lids, such as Kilner jars or re-usable pickle jars.

Wash your jars and dry them at 120C in the oven for 20 minutes.

This is Nigella's method with food processor: Put the cut-up chillies into a food processor and pulse until they are finely chopped. Add the chunks of red pepper and pulse again until you have a vibrantly red-flecked processor bowl.
Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar in a wide, medium-sized pan over a low heat without stirring.
Scrape the chilli-pepper mixture out of the bowl and add to the pan.

This is the method I use without a food processor: Put roughly chopped peppers, garlics and salt in a pot along with the vinegar. Use an immersion blender to blitz up everything. Add in (regular) sugar and heat the pot over a low heat until sugar is dissolved (no more grittiness when scraping the bottom of the pot with a spatula/spoon). 

After dissolving all sugar, bring the pan to the boil, then leave it at a rollicking boil for 10 minutes. When I use regular sugar (no pectin added), I like to reduce the mixture by at least a third, usually by half. If you reduce the mixture by half, it should be quite thick and jelly like without adding pectin. I, however, still add a teaspoon of pectin at this stage to be on the safe side.

Take the pan off the heat and allow it cool. The liquid will become more syrupy, then from syrup to viscous and from viscous to jelly-like as it cools.

After about 40 minutes, or once the red flecks are more or less evenly dispersed in the jelly (as the liquid firms up, the hints of chilli and pepper start being suspended in it rather than floating on it), ladle into your jars. If you want to stir gently at this stage, it will do no harm. Then seal tightly.

Thane Prince's Chilli Pepper Jam

Ingredients
5 red peppers
8 red chillies
1.25kg granulated sugar
360ml white wine vinegar or cider vinegar
225g canned chopped tomatoes
125g liquid pectin

Method
To clean the jars, preheat the oven to 140C/275F/Gas 1. Wash the jars well in warm soapy water then rinse thoroughly under running water. Leave the jars and lids to dry, upside down, in the oven. (Or you can clean the jars by putting them through the hot cycle of a dishwasher.)

Place a clean plate in the freezer to chill. This will be used to test if the cooked jam has reached setting point.

For the jam, cut the peppers and chillies in half, then remove the seeds and white membranes (keep the white membranes of the chillies if you want more spicy heat). Either chop the peppers and chillies finely by hand or, alternatively, roughly chop them, then place in a food processor and pulse to chop finely.

Place the chopped chillies and peppers into a wide, deep saucepan with the sugar, vinegar and tomatoes. Bring slowly to the boil, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved.

Bring the mixture to a rolling boil for 7-10 minutes to reduce the liquid by a half. Remove from the heat and stir in the pectin. Return the pan to the heat and boil for another couple of minutes.

To test if the jam has reached setting point spoon a little onto the chilled plate. Leave for a moment, then push the edge of the jam with your finger - if the jam is ready the surface will wrinkle as you push.

Once the jam has reached setting point, let it cool for five minutes before potting into the sterilised jars. The jam will keep in the sealed jar for up to six months.

Tasting Note: The sourness is not as sharp as in Nigella's recipe, a milder chilli jam. I prefer the sourness sharper in my sweet chilli jam. 

I make - Quince Jelly

Or gelée de coing, as known in our household. Quince is a fruit I came to know after I married a French man. The first time I discovered this knobbly looking thing was from a quince tree planted in my father-in-law's garden. Attracted by its wonderful green-apple like smell, I asked my father-in-law what that was. He replied: coing (followed by a string of other words). Of course my French vocabulary was not that good then, I nodded and smiled, mostly by its cute sound.

Then I discovered its incredible complexion transformation from raw to fully cooked. This deep rusty amber red color is only revealed after long hours of cooking, matching perfectly its harvest season.

It didn't take long for me to realize gelée de coing has a special place in hubby's heart. But making gelée de coing is a labor intensive process which can take two days. Raw quinces are hard and take some effort to work with. Making the gelée, well, if you've made jam, you probably know it can't be rushed. I don't make gelée de coing every year because of that.

Remember the pressure cooker I acquired this summer? Well, it might be a game changer for me, at least for gelée de coing. It used to take me hours to get this autumnal rusty red color with conventional stove top cooking. I found out that pressure cooking for 10-15 minutes is sufficient to reveal its glorious color. How good is that!

I decided to write down the recipe I used this time as this produces a particularly good batch of gelée. I can't bear throwing food away so this recipe intends to enjoy quinces two ways, eating the fruit as compote and gelée. You can discard the solids (flesh, pips and peels) after the first stage of cooking if you just want gelée.

Gelée de coing et Compote de coings

- 1.8-2.0 kg of quinces (6-8 quinces, size dependent)
- 1.0-1.5 liter of water
- Equal amount (in weight) of sugar for the quince juice extracted; extra sugar for the compote
- Juice from 1-2 lemons, to taste
- 7 bonne maman jam jars, sterilized and ready to use

Clean the quinces by scrubbing the skin with a sponge to remove its fuzz. Wash and towel dry the scrubbed quinces. Top and tail each quince and cut into quarters or sixths. Remove the cores and peel the quince wedges. Save the pips and peels in a separate mesh bag.

Cut and peeled quince wedges

Pips and peels before putting into mesh bags

Put all the quince wedges and the pip bag in a pressure cooker, pour in 1.0-1.5 liter of water. The goal is to extract 1 liter of quince juice for the jelly. Put the lid back and cook for 10-15 minutes at full pressure, followed by a natural release method. Let the cooker content cool down completely before next step. I usually leave it overnight.

When the pressure has cooled down, remove the lid (the content should be in gloriously amber color) and scoop out the quince wedges, discard the pip bag and strain the juice. If you want to make the compote, scatter 1 cup of sugar (or to taste) onto the quince wedges. Stir gently and let it macerate overnight. Keep the juice if you just want the jelly.

Quince juice

For each liter of quince juice, add one kilo of sugar and juice from 1 lemon. Bring the pot back to gentle boil until it has reached a setting point (15-30 minutes). I taste again my jelly towards the end to see whether I need extra lemon juice. When the jelly is approaching the setting point, the foam will start to form on the top. When it passes the jelling test, pour into sterilized jars.

This recipe produces jelly enough for 7 bonne maman jars, each of 300ml.

British summer, London Olympic and Confiture d'Abricot

British summer is a funny thing. It can be sunny all right but when you step into the open, you realize that you've been fooled. The temperature simply does not meet its sunny expectation. That's when it chooses to show up at all. It seems to always arrive when least expected. Popping up one day, with heat lasting for as long (or short) as it pleases and vanishes the next day without a sign. This year it came rather late, coinciding with the Olympics. I would love to say that the London Olympic organization committee even had that covered but hey who doesn't like some lucky coincidence?

I have the same feeling about apricots. It's a photogenic fruit and let's just leave it like that. I can't tell you how many times I have been disappointed by its bland and acidic taste hidden underneath its reassuringly sun-kissed skin. However, this year I had my first wow moment with apricots. About one week before the Olympic due to start, I spotted some plump and delightfully looking apricots in my local farmers' market. I hesitated, wondering whether I wanted to be fooled again. I bought just under 500 grams of it, thinking that the amount would ease my disappointment quicker. When I bit into my first apricot of the year, I knew I would go back for more. They are sweet, juicy and even fragrant this year. Totally outside and exceeding my expectation of apricots. With that being said, it is still a funny fruit, because it's one of the few fruits which tastes better and smells many times more wonderful when cooked. I love making tart and jam out of it. Especially jam, its color can go from cheerful yellow to luscious amber, depending on the batch of the fruit. Either way, the taste is divine. I have made several batches this year and you can see how the color changes from batch to batch. I think that's part of the fun and they are all equally delicious.

Two pounds of apricot make about three jars like you see in the above picture. That's the way I like to make jam now, a small scale production. Not only is it faster, but also I feel no pressure to finish them completely before making another batch in the kitchen. Below is my favorite recipe.

Confiture d'abricot

- 900 g washed, stoned and quartered apricots
- 630 g white sugar (70% of the fruit weight)
- juice from half of a plump lemon
- 1 tbsp of apricot liquor (optional)

Combine apricot and sugar in a non-reactive bowl. Macerate the fruit for at least a couple of hours. Overnight is fine. I noticed that the apricot flavor was drawn out greatly by this maceration process. Just smell the pot at the beginning and at the end of maceration. You will see what I mean. Also, it is said that sugar maceration firms up the fruit which will remain intact in the final jam.

You can see water coming out during the maceration process. All the flavor and pectin are there. Take a deep breath. Arhh. This picture produced the leftmost jar in the first picture.

Bring the pot to a lively boil for 10 minutes until apricots are softened. Stir occasionally and gently. You can use microwave to speed up the process. Make sure all sugar has dissolved at this stage. This is how it looks like after 10 minutes. Don't be alarmed by the foam. The foam will dissipate further during cooking. Skimming too early or too diligently leads to less jam in the end.


Then turn the heat to medium or low. This is to have a clear jam in the end. Keep cooking the apricot for another 20 to 30 minutes. Stir from time to time. This is how it looks like after 20 minutes (since cooking started). You can see how foam has disappeared from the surface.


At this stage, the apricot jam should be near setting point. Add in lemon juice and apricot liquor (if using). Stir to mix and cook for another 5 minutes. Use a candy thermometer to see whether the jam internal temperature has reached 105C. Pour into sterilised jars. Screw the caps tight while the jam is hot. This picture and the above made the jam which is in the middle jar of the first photo.

I like to have it on lightly buttered toasted bread or on plain yogurt. Or if you are like my hubby, on its own with a spoonful. I hope you like it.

I make - Lime and pineapple jam

Yes, I know, another jam recipe. Canning is such a fun way to experiment flavor combination, don't you think? I seem to get a kick out of it. Please bear with me for a while. I got the idea of lime and pineapple combo from visiting Chatsworth House shop which mentions Lime and Pineapple Jam as Duchess's favorite. Hmm, you can't get more tropical than lime and pineapple. Plus, pineapples are currently half price here. How can I resist?

By the way, Chatsworth House is a wonderful place to spend a day. Its elegant architectural and landscape design is one of the best examples saying Less Is More. In addition, the staff and and the management team are some of the best I've seen, in friendliness, estate knowledge, interactions with visitors and efficiency. If you happen to be in England, you will not regret visiting the estate.

Ok, back to my lime pineapple jam. There are many pineapple recipes floating on the internet. They are more or less the same. The main ingredient is, of course, pineapple. The sour ingredient usually comes from lemon or lime. Some choose to flavor it with spice, like cardamoms or cloves. I prefer making my own plain, especially for the first time, to truly appreciate the original flavor of a recipe before adapting it further. One common thing from all the internet posts is many commenting on the extended time for pineapple jam to jell. One solution is to add commercial pectin which is as good and convenient. I opt to making my own pectin rich water. Just for fun.

Lime and Pineapple Jam

- One large pineapple, cored and grated, roughly 5-6 cups (juice and flesh)
- Juice from one lemon
- Juice from one orange and zest from half of the orange
- Zest and juice from two limes
- 2.5 cups of white sugar
- 2 cup of pectin rich water obtained with the method below (could be replaced with 1 cup of plain water)

Pectin rich water
- 2 Bramley apples (or other cooking types), roughly chopped including skins, pits and all
- Shells of juiced and zested lemons and limes
- 3 cups of water (or enough water to cover the fruits)

First, macerate grated pineapples with 1 cup of sugar for at least one hour. Longer if desired.

Now, prepare the pectin water. Put apples, shells of juiced lemons and limes, and water in a non-reactive pot. Bring it to boil and turn the heat down to simmer for at least 30 minutes. Filter the water out and discard all the fruity bits.

In a large pot, put the macerated pineapples in, juice and all. Cook the pineapples for 45 minutes. Then add in citrus juice and zest, the pectin water and remaining 1.5 cup of sugar. Bring the pot back to boil and cook the mixture until your candy thermometer registers 105C. You may need to taste the jam a few times to adjust the sugar or acidity level to your liking. Be careful when you do so, because the jam is hot and remember that hot jam tastes sweeter than room-temperature one. Be sure to take that into account when you adjust the sugar/acidity.

Pour the finished jam into sterilised jars.

I make - Strawberry Rhubarb Confiture

I have been busy canning this year. The successful batches include quince jelly, strawberry jam (detailed in this post) and sriracha. The much less satisfying experiments are forest fruit jam (great taste but turned out to be coulis) and three-fruit marmalade (bitter and refused to jell). You can see that my main problem of making jam was to set it correctly. All changed after I got myself a candy thermometer. You've got to respect the good old chemistry.

When it comes to bottle flavors in a jar, it's hard to beat Christine Ferber. Her unique way of making jam usually consists of three stages: maceration, repeated boiling and resting, and a final boil. The whole process can take up to three days, even though the active time is much less than that. This is not about being frugal and using up the excess in the kitchen. This woman has thought long and hard about flavor conservation. Her unique (3-stage) method yields jams with the most vibrant and intense fruit flavor I have ever tasted. This is, without a doubt, an artisan way of conserve making.

Over the years, I have distilled the essence of her method and simplified into just one afternoon exercise. I don't claim that the simplified method produces jam comparable to hers. However, if you only have time and patience for an afternoon, my adaptation works out pretty well too.

Strawberry Rhubarb Confiture (adapted from Christine Ferber)

- 400 g strawberries, washed, hulled and roughly chopped into big chunks
- 400 g rhubarb, washed and cut into 1-cm dices
- 400 g granulated sugar (adjust the sugar to the sweetness of your fruit and taste)
- juice from one big lemon

In a large cooking ware (I used a Pyrex round casserole. Any nonreactive bowl would do), layer in the strawberries, rhubarb and sugar. I started with sugar on the bottom, then a layer of strawberries, another layer of sugar and so on, until you finish all the fruit and sugar. Use a large spoon to mix everything gently but thoroughly . Let the fruit macerate in the sugar for at least one hour. Longer or overnight (as Christine Ferber suggested) even better.

After one hour, the fruit should almost submerge in the water coming out during the maceration process. Scoop out the fruit and leave them aside. Add the lemon juice to the pot and place the pot over high heat and bring it to a lively boil. When bubbling hot, tip in the fruit and cook the fruit along with the juice for three minutes. At this stage, scoop out of the fruit again. Continue to boil the pot of fruity syrup until a candy thermometer reads 105C (~220F). Just let you know that a setting temperature of 105C yields jams tasted a bit too soft for me, so I always boil the syrup to 110C to produce a slightly firmer texture I prefer. If this is your first time, start with 105C this batch and decide what to do next.

When the internal temperature of syrup reaches a desirable setting temperature, put the fruit back to the pot and bring the pot back to a boil again. Here is what Christine Ferber said: "Watch the bubbles in the boil as you stir. Foam will form because the water in the fruit is drawn out, to be replaced with the syrup. In about 10 minutes, when the confiture is almost ready, the foam will begin to dissipate, the bubbles breaking more slowly and exposing a clear syrup below. Turn off the heat. Let the bubbling stop. The fruit should have absorbed the syrup and be suspended through the jam. If the fruit is floating, return it to the heat for another 2 minutes of boiling." Who am I to argue with the conserve queen? I followed her recommendations to the T.

Spoon the finished jam into sterilized jars. Fill a jar all the way just under the cap rim. Screw the caps tightly while the jam is hot.