Picking: Cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, Black Russian tomatoes, basil, lilly pilly berries.
Baking: Bread rolls:
Making: As I wandered around the garden this morning I noticed that the basil is starting to flower, so it's time for a big haircut to get some new fresh growth. Clearly then, basil pesto is on the menu! Obviously great minds think alike, as Kate is making some today too, head on over to her blog for her recipe. Like Kate, I use Australian almonds as they are local, and I actually prefer their taste to the oilier pine nuts.
I wish you had smell-o-vision...
Next job in the kitchen was to have a go at making Lilly Pilly Jam. Unlike the street trees in most of the rest of our suburb, the trees in our street are native Small-leafed Lilly Pillies, which bear small red berries in summer. I only found last summer (after they had all but finished bearing) that they can make a nice jam, so I thought I'd have a go this year, using the recipe below. It has quite a distinct flavour, I don't think I can quite describe it! Nice; a bit tart.
Lilly Pilly Jam
* Deseed berries and place in saucepan, just covered with water. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for around 30 minutes.
* If desired, strain the mixture through a sieve, or muslin. As I coudn't be bothered deseeding all the berries, I strained the mixture at this point, pushing it through a sieve and discarding the flesh and seeds.
* Measure the amount of liquid you have and return it to the pan. Add the same volume of sugar and the juice of 1 lemon per litre of liquid.
* Return to the boil, then reduce to a high simmer for around 30 minutes, before testing on a saucer to see if it has set (place a teaspoon full on a saucer and place in the freezer for a minute, if it has formed a skin when you run your finger through it, it is set).
* Bottle into hot sterilised jars.
Dinner: Free-range chicken vegetable soup and home made crusty bread rolls.
Reading: The Omnivore's Dilemma, Michael Pollan.
Contemplating: Whether hubby's electric-boosted bicycle will turn up on the latest arrival date of January 22 (a month after the first date he was given)...
Reading: The Omnivore's Dilemma, Michael Pollan.
Contemplating: Whether hubby's electric-boosted bicycle will turn up on the latest arrival date of January 22 (a month after the first date he was given)...
20 comments:
The jam looks great.
I love the new style of blogging that you do. It's very inspiring and it looks as though you are acheiving so much.
Wishing you a great year.
BusyWoman XX
Do you think the Lilly Pilly jam was good enough to make again Julie. I've never tasted them. Mine haven't had any berries yet :-(
That jam is an exquisite colour! I'd love to know what it tastes like.
I love, love, love this time of year in the garden (except on super-hot days). I'm posting more photos today.
Kate
Hi Busywoman, thanks! All the best to you as well :-)
Polly, it's not the most outstanding jam I've ever tasted but I think I might have used a lot of berries that weren't 100% ripe? Hard to know, but when I had another look today there were berries that were fatter and a deeper red in amongst them all. Yesterday I was distracted when collecting them, as WWIII broke out inside as soon as I stepped outside but I was waylaid by a neighbour who spotted me and was on for a chat, so I was randomly thrusting berries into the bowl whilst trying to tactfully sidle away! I will most definitely make it again but next time I will try just using the darkest berries - I will let you know how it goes. There are also purple-berried Lilly Pillies at the other end of the street so I might surruptitiously collect some of them one day too to see if the flavour is any different? Stay tuned...
Hi Kate, yes it's a gorgeous bright pink actually, it looks darker in the pic. I can't really describe the taste unfortunately, it's like nothing I've ever tasted. Sort of spicy-plummy-ish!
Cheers, Julie
Hi Julie, I just did a google for a Lily Pilly jam recipe & came across this sight its fab.
I sat for 2hrs yesterday deseeding Lilly Pillys & only have a 2 litre icecream container done.W
What a BRILLIANT yet simlpe idea to strain!!. Thanks for the great tip, I have the best harvest of Berries this year, they are so big, dark in colour & taste great. I'm looking forward to making the Jam, Kind Regards Renae
Hi Renae,
I hope your jam turned out well :-) I'm looking forward to my next Lilly Pilly harvest!
Cheers, Julie
Hi there Julie!
I love your site. My Husband and I are trying also to get more out of our suburban block on the Gold Coast. We have lots of "Cascade" Lilly Pillys throughout our garden, (the bright pink, larger leaf variety). Are these edible? If so, how do I tell if they are ripe or not?
Alana
Hi Alana,
Yes the Cascade Lilly Pillies are edible! The fruit is supposed to be pale pink when ripe apparently. My lilly pillies have red berries, and when you look closely you can see that the ripe ones are larger and darker in colour than the rest, so perhaps keeping an eye on your berries to see when some of them change in colour and/or grow a little larger and/or softer might be an idea? Sorry I can't be more specific! The Cascade fruits are supposed to be very nice though, so enjoy :-)
Cheers, Julie
I have just made 34 jars of Lilli Pilli Jelly ( I strained it through an old, but clean!, cloth nappy!) I added 1 litre of apple juice, about 4 limes, and 4 packets of "Jamsetta". The colour is superb and so is the taste, a lovely sweet apply spicy flovour. I'm looking forward to trying it with Ice Cream too, not just on toast!
Yes I do have an huge saucepan!
Hi Anonymous,
Oh yum! The purple lilly pillies near my daughter's school are ripening soon so I will definitely have to try your apple juice and lime juice addition, thanks :-)
Cheers, Julie
I haven't had lilli pilli jam since I was a kid. I made strawberry jam last week (we have strawberries comining out of our ears lol) and I've been watching our small lilli pilli tree wondering when it will produce enough fruit to actually do anything. But I thought I should at least find a recipe for when I have enough. Love the sound of the jelly with apple juice too, so I might have to add that idea to my recipe (although I don't think I will be making quite as much!
Just wondering how and when you add the limes and the apple juice. I have a lime tree that is bursting with fruit so would be good to use them. I have my 9 year old son outside at the moment deseeding a bucket of lillypillys he picked off our tree this morning. He is trying a cherry deseeder and it seems to be working.
Hi anon,
I've yet to try the apple juice myself, but I would add the juices after I strain the berries, ie after they've cooked down a little, then take it to setting point. I hope it's nice :-)
Cheers, Julie
Hey,
Very nice work.
I must say though, if you're allergic to nuts, pine nuts, not being a nut, are fantastic in pesto!
A question though. With your lilli pilli jam, is it necessary to add so much sugar? Are the lilli pilli fruit (riberry?) particularly tart? I don't think I've ever seen Jam made with a 1:1 ratio, it's not too sweet?? Not to doubt you, simply curious.
Great bloggering, keep it up.
Hi anon,
Yes, riberries are quite tart. If you like tart jams, then reducing the sugar would be fine. It may be that my variety of berries are tarter than others? So you might like to experiment :-)
Cheers,
Julie
Dear Anonymous (with excess lime fruit): I make lime butter with my excess limes. Follow any lemon butter recipe, but use limes instead. Perfectly heavenly on toast and scones/biscuits, but also on ice cream.
I am just about to start harvesting my Cascade lilly pilly fruits for jelly-making.
Hi Julie, I live in a seaside village outside of Cape Town, South Africa and we also have Lilly Pilly treas in our gardens and streets. I started making Jam (not Jelly) last year as the crop was magnificent. I picked cascades as the fruit is bigger and pipped them with a fruit knife easily as they are very crisp and crack open when cut. I always add apple to my jams for the extra pectin as I don't use commercial pectin at all.
If you peel the apples and cook the peels and pips in water in a separate pot for 10 - 15 mins,the resulting liquor is rich in pectin, so add that with the apple flesh chopped. I like the texture of the whole berries and apple chunks better than plain jelly, and it comes out a very deep red colour. I use three quarters to one of sugar to control the sweetness and that works. Going to make some this week as the berries are ready now!
Regards from sunny SA.
Noel
Hello Noel,
Terrific tips! Thanks for taking the time to add them here, particularly the liquid pectin tip - I frequently use apples in other jams for the pectin but I'm sometimes not so fond of the apple texture in with it (eg strawberry jam) but the liquid pectin would be just the thing.
Happy lilly pilly jam making!
Cheers, Julie
Just about to tackle the lillipilli jam. My lillipillies do not have a hard seed. We eat the lot in fruit salads, and they give a really nice tang to the fruit salads. They have a lingering aftertaste which I hope will come through in the jam. I am going to try a lot less sugar than you but worry that it may not set. Ideas?
Hi Anon,
The previous comments have some great tips on setting - try 'Jamsetta' and/or natural sources of pectin such as cooking apples (especially Granny Smiths) or lemon or lime juice. Using substantially less sugar may also affect the storage of the jam, so it would be best to keep it in the fridge - in which case, having a slightly runny jam wouldn't be a problem.
Have fun :-)
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