With an over abundance of cucumbers from the plot, finding things to make with it, is more difficult than it looks. We also had a bag full of small apples from the communal apple trees down there, so I made a lovely version of jam, that is more like a jelly version, as it was whizzed by my hand-held mixer until all the bits dissolved into the jam.
I suspect much of this will be added to stir fries over the winter, as it’s a perfect mixture of sweet, yet I can still taste the cucumber, which is odd, given that in the cucumber and courgette jam, I couldn’t taste it at all.
Apple & Cucumber Jelly Jam
Servings 8 Jars
Ingredients
- 1.5 kg Mixed Apple and Cucumber. Peeled washed and chopped into bite sized pieces.
- 1.5 kg Sugar. I used caster sugar for this recipe.
- 1.5 Sachets Pectin from Tate & Lyle
- 2 Knobs Butter
Instructions
- Put the apple and cucumber into a large pot with a thick bottom. This is a fairly large portion for a home preserve session, so a decent preserve making pot is a good idea. My one is a Lakeland special and is one of my favourite kitchen pots.
- Put the heat on and slowly let the fruit and veg break down a little, just enough to soften it. If you need to, add a tablespoon of water at a time, but be sure to bubble it off before you add the sugar.
- Add the sugar and pectin, along with the butter, and bring to a slow boil. This is when I take my hand mixer and whizz the mix, to smooth it out. Be very careful if you do this, as you're dealing with boiling sugar and it's very easy to spray yourself. I have managed to spark myself with boiling sugar and it's very painful indeed. Take extra care if you do.
- Let it rapid boil until your jam reaches the setting point, when the jam wrinkles slightly when you put a drop onto a chilled plate.
- Jar the mixture into sterilised jars, then simply enjoy whenever you need it.