The Complete Jam Cupboard

We are a little behind on cookbooks because we have been making jam! That our excuse and we are sticking with it!

While jamming, we have been pawing through old books and this is one of our favorites.  The Complete Jam Cupboard by Mrs. C.F. Leyel, Hilda to her friends. She was quite the lady, writing a series of cookbook and becoming a preeminent herbalist of her day.  She founded the Society of Herbalists in England in 1927.  She ran a chain of herbalist shoppes named after that founding herbalist, Culpeper.

He series of slight cookbooks turned the head of one of our favorite cookbook authors and writers, Elizabeth David who turned the head of Alice Waters.  Mrs. Leyel received a mention in one of the best modern preserving book, Saving the Season by Kevin West.  West came to Leyel from the David, Waters cookbook tree. In Saving the Season, West sets out to replicate one of the recipes for an apple jam with little success.  He ponders many reasons.  One he doesn't mention is the type of apple.  Leyel suggests "cooking" apples, but in today's marketplace, the range of cooking apples is slim.

My first attempt at a very generic family recipe for Pear Jam is a similar case in point. My great aunts used pears from an old, gnarled tree of questionable origin.  The pears, when fully ripened, were the shape and consistency of racked pool balls.  Standing under the tree could be quite dangerous. I set out to duplicate the recipe with Bartlett pears. Big, fat, soft, mushy, Bartlett pears. Needless to say, my pear jam bore no resemblance to my great aunts.

Therein lies one of the problems in cooking from old cookbooks. There is very little detail, and they assume that the reader understands how to cook, how to operate a wood stove, what the produce in a particular area might be, and a dozen other things you will not think of! In the end, after failing at Mrs. Leyel's recipe, Kevin West found his own recipe with a spark of inspiration from Mrs. Leyel.

In the end, that is what a great cookbook does, it provides a spark. Rhubarb is not a fan favorite here, but this recipe gives you a sense of what might be expected of your cooking skills in the 1920's.

Rhubarb and Fig Jam

Cut up a pound of figs for each seven pounds of rhubarb, and shred them finely, and cut the rhubarb into small pieces.

Put it all into an earthenware jar with five pounds of sugar for every seven pounds of rhubarb. Let it stand all night.

The next day boil it all together for over an hour, and add to it, before it is taken off the fire a quarter pound of chopped candied peel for each seven pounds of rhubarb.

As someone who makes jam on a regular basis, this recipe is scary.  Imagine what it looks like to someone who has never made jam. Who has an earthenware container that would hold eight pounds of fruit and five pounds of sugar, not to mention, what would one cook it in?  And what temperature does one cook it at and when, exactly in that over an hour cooking time does one add the candied peel?

Ah the joys of old cookbooks...

Pick A Pickle

You know we love us some preserving books.  We foresee a day when we will have more books ABOUT canning that we will have food that we have canned.  Fine! We exaggerate, but you know what we mean. 

People have been pickling vegetables since the invention of a salt and vinegar.  Grab some veggies, pour a hot brine of vinegar over them -- pickles.  It is not really brain surgery, but way more fun, and if you screw up, no one dies or ends up in a vegetative state.  But it is hard to screw up. 

So why another book?  Well, Pick A Pickle is one of those cookbooks that is not merely a cookbook but a kind of art. It is designed like a Pantone swatchbook. The recipes fan out of their carrying case to reveal a wide variety of recipes.  You have seen designers huddled over their swatchbooks finding just the right color, well we like to think of cooks sitting around pouring over exactly which pickle they will be making. 

Those cooks are in good hands as the chef behind Pick A Pickle is Hugh Acheson, who wrote one of our fave cookbooks of 2011 (and still), A Turn In The South.  Yes, there are recipes in the book that you have seen a billion times: Pickled Jalapeños, Pickled Okra, Pickled Watermelon Rind, and Pickled Beets and so on. But the true test of a good pickle book is this:  Does the author pickle something you never thought of pickling before?  So, alongside those old familiars, Acheson gives us his usual unusual turn in the South.

Are you one of those cooks who cuts out the nice bits of veggies and tosses the rest into the compost?  You will never do that again after this recipe

Pickled Turnip Stems

4 cups small turnip stems
2 garlic cloves
1 sprig fresh thyme
3⁄4 tablespoon pickling salt
1 tablespoon white granulated sugar
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
3⁄4 cup cider vinegar
3⁄4 cup water

Cut the turnip stems into 1⁄4-inch lengths. Pack the stems, garlic, and thyme into the jars, leaving 1⁄2 inch of headspace at the top, and set aside.

Combine the salt, sugar, mustard seeds, vinegar, and water in a nonreactive saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.

Carefully ladle the hot pickling liquid into the jars, leaving 1⁄2 inch of headspace in each. Cap with lids and bands, cool for 2 hours, and then either refrigerate or process according to the jar manufacturer’s directions.

The pickles can be refrigerated for 7 to 10 days; if processed, they will keep for up to 10 months.

Yes, Pick A Pickle it is a Hugh Acheson book, but we would like to give a big shout out to Rinne Allen who photographed it and Danielle Deschenes who designed this culinary swatchbook.  Now get out there and get yourself in a pickle.

Preserving by the Pint

 Marisa McClellan's blog, Food In Jars has spawned its second cookbook, Preserving by the Pint.  If you read McClellan's blog, you know she cans in a very small kitchen.  She is great at taking a handful of ingredients and turning them into a couple of jars of jam.  When introducing this book she wrote:

All the recipes start with either a pint, a quart, or a pound (or two) because those are the units of measure that so many of us end up with after a trip to the green market, grocery store, or farm share pick-up.

We often lament the fact that we are not endowed with friends who have Meyer lemon trees in the back yard, or fig trees, or gigantic tomato patches.  We are often in the produce section facing 3 quince, a pound of Meyer lemons, or 6 blood oranges.  Most folks don't look at these tiny bounties and think -- marmalade!  Well you should.  Preserving by the Pint will be just the inspiration you will need.

We are notorious for buying EVERY canning, confiture, preserving book out there.  Yes, the repetition is astounding.  So picking up Preserving by the Pint was truly a joy as there are many recipes that seem familiar, but offer up a unique twist -- other than being calibrated to cook up a pint!

For years, when I thought of pickles, I would see my great-aunts with gigantic quart-sized jars, laboring away.  Frankly, I always thought buying them at the store was easier.  Then I realized one didn't have to "put up" forty quarts to get pickles.  But just try to find a recipe that makes one quart.  Well now you have a place to turn.  I was also weighted down by the notion that pickles had to be processed, yet hardly a meal went by that we didn't have some sort of refrigerator pickle that was made the night before.

Here is a a fine recipe for a quart of sugar snap peas.  You may find a really lovely mess of these peas at the store and think, "How could I use these?"  Well make these pickles. 



Marinated Sugar Snap Peas with Ginger and Mint

Makes 1 (1 quart/1 liter) jar

11⁄2 cups/360 ml unseasoned rice vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon finely milled sea salt
1 pound/460 g sugar snap peas
1 green onion
1 sprig fresh mint
3 thin slices fresh ginger

In a small saucepan, combine the vinegar, honey, and salt. Heat until the honey and
salt are entirely dissolved.

Wash the sugar snap peas well. Using a knife, trim both ends and remove the
tough string that runs along the back of the peas. Cut the green onion into 2 or 3 segments,
so that they fit the jar. Stand them up in a clean 1-quart/1-liter jar, along with
the mint sprig and the ginger slices.

Pack the prepared sugar snaps into the jar. If they don’t all fit, set them aside. You
may be able to sneak them in once the pickling liquid is poured.

Pour the hot vinegar mixture over the sugar snaps. Tap the jar gently on the counter
to remove any air bubbles. If you had any remaining peas, try to pack them into the jar
at this time.

Place a lid on the jar and let the jar rest until it has cooled to room temperature.
Refrigerate. Let these pickles sit in the vinegar for at least 24 hours before eating.
They will keep for up to a week in the refrigerator.

Note: Make sure to use the freshest sugar snap peas you can find. No pickling
brine can restore crunch to a pea that’s lost it to age. If you can’t find sugar snaps,
this recipe works equally well with crisp snow peas.

You know you have a saucepan, a jar, and a refrigerator.  Go forth and preserve!

Southern Living Little Jars, Big Flavors

This weekend I got an e-mail from a friend who was in a proper hardware store.  She said she found 1/2 gallon Ball jars and commented that she hadn't seen jars that size in a long time.

Indeed, if there is a canning "trend" out there in the air it is for small jar canning.  Rarely these days does anyone can much more than a pint?  I recently bought some jars that were 9 ounces and when I got them, I thought they were too big for most things.  If you grew up in the South, you are probably familiar with long shelves of canned good that your grandma "put up."   Today smaller is better.  Grandma still has long shelves of jams and pickles; they are just smaller and easier for you to take home!

After all these years of chronicling Southern living, Southern Living has published its first book of preserves.  Southern Living Little Jars, Big Flavors enlisted non other than Virginia Willis to write for this book.   Now as often happens with this blog, we were sure, SURE we had written about Virginia Willis' book, Bon Appétit, Y’all.  Well, evidently, we were remiss.   How did we not write about a Southern, French book?  We sincerely apologize for this and will make amends soon.

We do, indeed, love our canning books. There have been tons of them published recently, from the very basic to the overly complicated.  Like many Southern Living cookbooks, this one is grounded in the basics.  If you want summer's berries in a jam next spring, this book will show you how.   But what if you just want to make some jam for a Valentine's breakfast?  This book will also give you a range of refrigerator recipes, that a quick and require a minimum of equipment.

In Alabama, we always had jars of pickled vegetables in the refrigerator.  I never thought much about how they got there, nor about how easy they must have been to produce, since I never remember any grand process for making them.  When I saw Virginia Willis' recipe for Confetti Pickles, I remembered how wonderful those crisp, tangy vegetables were as a compliment to dinner, and how simple they were to make.   They are the essence of little jars with big flavors.

Quick Confetti Pickles

1 English cucumber
1 medium-size yellow squash
4 Tbsp. canning-and-pickling salt, divided
1 long, slender medium carrot
2 pink, purple, or red icicle radishes or 10 standard-size radishes
4 dill sprigs
1 cup cider vinegar (5% acidity)
¼ cup sugar
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. dill seeds

1. Wash vegetables. Score cucumber and squash lengthwise with a fork, leaving furrows in the peel on all sides. (This makes scalloped edges when vegetables are sliced.) Trim stem and blossom ends of cucumber and squash; cut into 1⁄8-inch slices. Place in a colander in sink; sprinkle with 2 Tbsp. salt, and toss gently. Let drain 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, peel carrot, and cut carrot and radishes into 1⁄8-inch-thick slices. Toss together with drained cucumber and squash.

3. Place 2 dill sprigs in each of 2 clean (1-pt.) jars or nonreactive containers with lids. Pack vegetables in jars, leaving ½-inch headspace.

4. Bring vinegar, next 3 ingredients, remaining 2 Tbsp. salt, and 2 cups water to a boil in a 1½-qt. stainless steel saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar and salt dissolve. Pour hot vinegar mixture over vegetables to cover. Apply lids. Chill 24 hours before serving. Store in refrigerator up to 3 weeks.

Don't delay!  Make up a jar or two of theses this week.  

Virginia Willis has a cool site here.  Her new feature on the FoodNetwork.com is called Down Home Comfort. 

Saving the Season

if there is a preserving book we want it. Like our profound love of French cookbooks, we also covet every preserving book. By now, if you can cook it syrup or douse it in a brine, we have stuffed into canning jars. While most canning books are fine, fun, and full of info, few are comprehensive guides to putting up food. Saving the Season by Kevin West is that comprehensive book.

West grew up in the South and watched his grandmother make jam. Living in California for years, West, was a writer and pretty fine cook. On day he impulsively bought a flat of strawberries and realized that he and his friends could never use them all before they rotted. Holding those strawberries pulled him back to his past, like a powerful sense memory. When he thought of all those years he watched his grandmother make jam, he came to the stark realization that he never really knew how she made the jam. Trying to recreate that flavor, he found recipe after recipe of strawberries covered in sugar, pectin, and boiled. West's reporter side kicked in.

 

He started studying and cooking and cooking and finally blogging. His blog, Saving the Season turned into an opus of the same name. Yes, Saving the Season will explain how to make jam, jelly and pickles, but it does much more. You will also find:

 

Lovely photographs

Recipes for using your canning products

Master canners

Food writers

Fiction writers

Poets

Artists

Road trips

An extensive bibliography

An appendix of fruit varieties

An appendix of peak fruit by months

 

If you have never touched a Ball jar, there is something in this book for you. Ever walked into the kitchen after your friends offer to make margaritias. The drinks were great but there is a huge pile of squeezed lime halves. (you know some of them were not squeezed that well as the drinks went on, so there is a lime juice pooling up.) This is a great recipe to make use of those limes. you don't have to make it right now. Stuff the lime carcasses in a Ziploc bag and wait till the buzz is over.

 

Limeade Syrup

1/2 pound of lime rinds

2 1/2 cups of water

3 cups sugar

10 coriander seeds

2 cloves

2 allspice berries

Two 1/4-inch slices fresh ginger root

Optional: 1 Kaffir lime leaf and 2 inches lemongrass stalk, crushed

Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan, and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve. Store in a sealed bottle in the refrigerator for up to 6 months

 

We were thrilled to see that Saving the Season was one of Amazon's Best Cookbooks of 2013. It was clearly one of ours.

 

The Little Book of Home Preserving

Preserving books are another of our weaknesses. Really, if you know how to make jam, you really don't need a cookbook. If you don't know how to make jam the vast number of books explaining how to make jam can be daunting. What's a cook to do?

Here's an idea. Grab a copy of The Little Book of Home Preserving by Rebecca Gagnon. It has everything one needs to know about canning a some interesting spins for those of you who can every week. It is the best of both worlds. Yes, it is a little book, but don't let its size fool you. Just because you can slip it into your pocket, might just be a good thing. Ever gone away for the summer and needed to find a reicpe? This book is perfect to toss into your hamper and take on the road.

The recipes are fresh; familiar with a zippy spin. Try the Kumquat-Habanero Marmelade. How about Jicama Apple Cumin Kraut? Or the Citrus Chai Ground Cherry Preserves. She calmly explains that preserving is not always a precise endeavor and she wallks the reader through the vexing variations that occur while canning.

We just love a good shrub, and this one will definitely be on our list.

Elderberry Drinking Vinegar

2 pounds ripe elderberries

1 quart raw apple cider vinegar (such as Braggs)

4 to 6 cups granulated sugar

1. Separate the tiny elderberries from their stems. (An easy way to do this is to place them in the freezer for a half hour and then comb through them with a sterilized, wide-toothed comb.)

2. Place the elderberries in a large glass bowl, crush them gently with a masher, and cover them with the vinegar. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, and store somewhere at room temperature out of direct sunlight for 1 week.

3. Strain the vinegar out of the elderberries into a large bowl, using a fine mesh sieve. Press gently on the berries to help them release all of their remaining juices. The vinegar will be a beautiful purple color.

4. Measure the vinegar and pour into a preserving pot. For every 1 cup of vinegar, add 3/4 to 1 cup of granulated sugar. Over very low heat, stir the vinegar until the sugar melts. (Keeping the vinegar well below the boiling point helps it to remain "raw" and healthful.) Once the sugar is fully dissolved, turn off the heat and remove the pot.

5. Sterilize the jars.

6. Let the drinking vinegar cool completely before storing in sterilized airtight glass bottles or canning jars at room temperature, where it will remain good for one year. To enjoy, pour 2 tablespoons in the bottom of a glass, and top with seltzer or still water.

If you are looking for a niftly stocking stuffer this Christmas,The Little Book of Home Preserving is just the ticket. You can read more from Rebecca Gagnon at her popular blog, CakeWalk.

 

Salt Sugar Smoke

 Sometimes there is a book out there that catches your attention from the moment you hear about its impending publication.  That was the case with Salt Sugar Smoke: How to preserve fruit, vegetables, meat and fish by Diane Henry.    I pre-ordered the book about a week before it was written!   In fact, I ordered it so long before it was published that I almost bought a second copy because I had forgotten I ordered it.

The book did not disappoint.  It was one of those books that sat on the table a while because I didn't want reading it it be over so I was sad to even start reading.   Since then, Sugar Salt Smoke has been like a favorite novel, read and re-read.

I know what you are thinking, there are tons of new preserving books out there and I don't need another one.  I beg to differ -- you need Salt Sugar Smoke, trust me on this one.

My favorite recipe is for the Beet-Cured Gravlax.  Stop buying smoked salmon and do it yourself.  The beets impart a glorious red color to the salmon without a "beety" taste.  Set out on a buffet this dish is a showstopper.

Beet-Cured Gravlax
 

2 3/4 pound tail piece of salmon, cut into halves, filleted, but skin left on

1/3 cup vodka

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup sea salt flakes

2 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper

large bunch of dill, roughly chopped

5 raw beets, grated

Check the salmon for any bones your fish dealer might have missed (rubbing your hand along the flesh is the best way to find them). Remove any you find with tweezers.

Line a dish big enough to hold the salmon with a double layer of aluminum foil (I usually use a roasting pan). Put one of the pieces of salmon, skin down, on top. Rub it with half the vodka.

Mix together the sugar, salt, pepper, dill and beet and spread it over the salmon. Pour the rest of the vodka over the fish and put the other piece of salmon (skin up) on top.

Pull the foil up around the fish, then put some weights on top (such as cans, jars or a heavy cutting board).

Refrigerate and let cure for two to four days, turning every so often. Liquid will seep out of the salmon in this time; just pour it off.

Remove the foil and scrape the cure off both pieces of fish. To serve, slice as you would smoked salmon (leave the skin behind). Use as needed and keep, wrapped, in the refrigerator for a week.

At thefoodiebugle.com they published this photo of Diane Henry's window filled with preserves.  

Not to mention she has gigantic wall of cookbooks.   If you have never read Diane Henry, I can't think of a better book to start with.  Once you finish it, you will buy them all.  And why do they always choose better covers for the British editions of books??

For more about Diane Henry,  the Telegraph has a wonderful article about her life as a writer. 

Food In Jars

Over at Lucindaville we posted photos of the new Canning Jar Closet and what better accompaniment to those photos than to feature one of new favorite canning cookbooks.  Food in Jars by Marisa McClellan grew out of her wildly popular blog, Food in Jars.  I just love to click onto Food in Jars, especially on those days that are not going so well.  A brief click on oozing jams, bright jellies, and comfy conserves and I am a happy camper.

So one can just imagine how ecstatic I was to find that Marisa was doing her very own Food in Jars cookbook.  I waited and waited and it finally arrived.  What can I say, some girls love jewelry, I love shiny jewels suspended in canning jars.  The book did not disappoint.  There is very practical information for those of you who have never canned before.  She debunks the myth that canning requires specialized equipment (or a canning jar closet for that matter!) as well as my favorite myth, that canning must be done in industrial sized batches.  Long ago, before there was a Trader Joe, one did need to provide for the family for those long winter months while the garden was under snow.  And there were times when women canned gigantic quarts of tomatoes and beans, but those days are waning.   Today we just want lovely little jars of our own jam.  And while one does not need specialized canning equipment, it was Marisa who caused me to buy one of my favorite specialised canning tools the Kuhn 4th Burner Pot which can be used for various other things besides canning three small jars of jam, but I digress...

Another of my favorite cooking techniques that Marisa employs is the slow cooker.  I do love my slow cooker for apple butter and Maris shown a light on the multiple other butters one could make.  This a favorite.

Slow Cooker Blueberry Butter

8 cups of pureed blueberries
2 cups/ 400 g granulated sugar
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Put the pureed blueberries in a 4-quart capacity slow cooker. Cover and turn it to low. After it has cooked for 1 hour, remove the lid and stir. From this point forward, you will want to keep the lid slightly  cracked.  Propping it open with  a wooden spoon or chopstick allows for the evaporating steam to escape.

This butter needs between 4 to 8 hours total in the slow cooker.  The time varies depending on how hot you slow cooker cooks.  Check the butter at least once and hour to check the progress.
In the final hour add the sugar, lemon zest and juice, and spices.  If you want to speed the evaporation, remove the lid and turn the cooker up to high.  If you do this, make sure you check the butter every 10 minutes to prevent scorching.

(When the butter is nearing completion,prepare a boiling water bath and 4 regular-mouth 1-pint/500 ml jars  and lids according to processing. )

Once it is thick as ketchup and spreadable, determine whether you like chunky or smooth butter. Puree the butter for a smooth texture; for slight chunkiness, leave it as is.

 (Ladle into jars and process for 10 minutes.)


The great thing about this book is the range.   From beginner to advance jam maker, there is something to get you into the kitchen. For those days you can't get into the kitchen, check out the blog!  Either way you will find yourself very happy.

Tart And Sweet

We love confiture.

The last couple of years has seen a boom for canning cookbooks. It seems everyone with some Ball jars and deep pot is out there canning. Well good for them. What is really great about these newer canning book is their detail to size. Many older canning books go for that big batch, supporting the family for the entire year approach. Newer canning books tell you how to grab up a few pints of berries and turn it into jam without commandeering the entire neighborhood or kitchen for that matter.

So here's the deal with many of these cookbooks: they tend to be overwrought with info, making you believe you need to be a rocket scientist to make a simple jam... Houston we have blueberries! Then there is the other extreme, add fruit, sugar, cook, and can. Tart and Sweet has a nice medium. There are photos of things you need to know, like how much head space does one really need in one's pickles, or jam for that matter.

Kelly Geary runs Sweet Deliverance NYC in New York City or Brooklyn, you know somewhere "up there." Jessie Knadler used to be a big old New Yorker until love intervened and now she live in Virginia and can be found at Rurally Screwed. Their recipes are easy, the pictures are lovely, and they give you options for what exactly to do with all this stuff once you get it canned. I love using my jams and conserves as cocktail ingredients and so do they.

If I do have a big old criticism it is using Pomona's Universal Pectin. I have used it before, but being one of those people who is "rurally screwed", it is a tough product to find in West Virginia. But then, I try to stay away from pectin all together. But seriously, what do I do.

That being said, this is a good book for someone who is starting out and needs to know the basics. This book includes one of my favorite pickles, pickled fiddleheads. Now if you think Pomona's Universal Pectin is tough to find, try finding fiddleheads at your local grocery.

I first tried these great pickles in Vermont. I swore my friend Barbara said her mother-in-law made them, but both Barbara and her husband, Steve, swear I made that up. Several years later I found a forager and pickle maker in the backwoods of Vermont. The guy had no e-mail, nothing but a PO Box. I would request two jars of pickled fiddleheads and send cash. Several months later I would eventually receive a box packed with two pints of pickled fiddleheads. I would admire them for several weeks before breaking into them. I lost track of my forager, but if you find the fiddlehead guy, tell him to call. In the meantime if you've got the fiddleheads....

Pickled Fiddleheads

3 1/2 cups white wine vinegar
2 1/2 cups water
2 Tbsp. kosher salt
1 3/4 lbs. fiddleheads (see note)
Per jar:
1 bay leaf
2 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp. brown mustard seed
2 tsp. coriander seed
1/2 tsp. black peppercorns
1/2 tsp. dill seed
1/4 tsp. celery seed

Note: Fiddleheads can taste bitter if not cleaned properly. To prepare, trim the “tail” of the shoot just to where it starts to coil. Soak the heads in cold water and swirl them around, picking and rubbing away any brown flaky bits. Repeat as necessary until all the brown bits have been removed.

1. Bring the vinegar, water and salt to a boil in a medium nonreactive pot. Stir to dissolve the salt.

2. Pack the fiddleheads, bay leaf, garlic and spices into hot jars. Pour boiling brine over the fiddleheads, making sure they are covered and leaving 1/2 inch head space.

3. Check for air bubbles, wipe the rims, and seal. Process for 10 minutes , adjusting for elevation.

Or you could just grab a pint or two of berries.

The National Trust Book of the Country Kitchen Store Cupboard

The National Trust Book of the Country Kitchen Store Cupboard by Sara Paston-Williams has a title almost as long as the book itself. Sara Paston-Williams is one of those cookery writers with a profound sense of history and the historical place that food plays in that history. She has worked for the National Trust, managing restaurants and writing about much of the traditional fare that would have graced the tables of many a stately home.

As you know, I love larders, pantries, and store cupboards, so this book speaks to me. There is a section on fruit cheeses. A fruit cheese is a type of curd. As a child, one of my favorite cakes was a Lemon Cheese Cake. Yankee's (especially the New York kind) don't understand Lemon Cheese Cake, an airy white cake filled with a pungent, jaw-aching lemon "cheese." I remember making one and my roommate saying, "That's not cheesecake!" We have always tried to forgive the ignorance of those less fortunate individuals who never resided in the South.

I make a wonderful Tomato/Orange Marmalade/ChowChow confiture, so I was intrigued with this jam.

Tomato and Orange Jam

2lb (900g) red tomatoes
Grated rind and juice of two oranges
Juice of 2 lemons
2lb (900g) sugar

Choose firm tomatoes. Wash and skin the and cut into quarters. Put in a pan and add grated rind and juice of the oranges. Cover a the pan and cook gently for about 10-15 minutes or until tomatoes are very tender. Add lemon juice, and stir in warmed sugar, heating gently until the sugar has completely dissolved. then, increase the heat and bring to a boil. Boil rapidly for 10-15 minutes, until setting point is reached, stirring occasionally. Allow jam to cool for about 5 minuets before pouring into jars. Cover and store. This jam is very good spread thickly on wholemeal or granary bread or scones.

Seems to me, it might be great right out of the jar.