Mrs BALLS CHUTNEY

I discovered all too often, that I am not the only one that simply loves Mrs Balls Chutney, but who also have troubles to find the stuff for a decent price....
Someone told me that she is making her own Mrs Balls using their original recipe.
So I had a look and indeed found the original recipe shared on their own Homepage!

 

Edward Ball, Mrs. Ball’s grandson scaled down this original recipe to make 18 bottles of (mild) chutney.

612 g dried peaches
238 g dried apricots
3 litres brown wine vinegar
2 1/2 kg white sugar
500 g onions
12 g salt
7 g cayenne pepper
1 to 2 litres of brown wine vinegar for soaking
About 2 litres of brown wine vinegar for mixing

The fruit should be left in the soaking vinegar overnight, then cooked in the same vinegar until soft. Drain. 

Put the fruit through a mill. 

Add the sugar (dissolved) and onions (minced) and cook in a pot with the brown wine vinegar. 

The amount of vinegar depends on the consistency: it should not be too runny or too thick, but have the same consistency as the end product you find in the bottle. 

Add spices and cook for one to two hours. 

Stir occasionally with a wooden spoon to prevent burning. 

Sterilise your bottles and spoon in the mixture. 

That's it - you've got Mrs Ball's Chutney.

I will definitely give it a try.....
This will make a great gift for some of my friends who are in love with South  Africa as well!!!

 

Sweet Chilli Jam

I love Sweet Chilli Jam especially with Cheese…

This is a pretty easy recipe to prepare.

Makes about 6-7 250ml jars

Ingredients

8 red Peppers , deseeded and roughly chopped

10 red Chillies , roughly chopped

finger-sized piece fresh root Ginger , peeled and roughly chopped

8 Garlic cloves , peeled

2 large red Onions, peeled and chopped

400g can tomatoes

750g golden caster Sugar

250ml red Wine Vinegar

Method

Tip the peppers, chillies (with seeds), ginger, onions and garlic into a food processor, chop finely.

Place into a heavy-bottomed pan with tomatoes, sugar and vinegar, bring everything to the boil.

Then turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for about 50 minutes, stir occasionally.

Once the jam is becoming sticky, continue cooking for 10-15 minutes more, stir frequently so that it doesn’t burn.

It should look like thick, bubbling lava.

Cool slightly, transfer to jars with a twist off cap, close the cap and then leave to cool completely, turned upside down.

Keeps for 3 months in a cool, dark cupboard - refrigerate once opened. 

Egg, Ham and Bell Pepper Spread

We have got wonderful bread here in Germany.
But always only enjoying it with jam, cheese or cold cuts makes it a bit boring......
So I thought, well why not make your own spread?!
Definitely healthier and tastier than the stuff you can buy.
And it's really easy to make.

Ingredients

4 hard boiled Eggs
130g Ham
1 yellow Bell Pepper
Parsley
Chives
Salt, Pepper
150g Crème Fraiche

Method

Chop the eggs, ham and bell pepper really fine. Place in a bowl and add chopped parsley and chives. Now mix everything well and add the crème fraiche and some salt and pepper.



That's it !!

It's delicious on fresh bread, but I also like it just like that as a kind of salad....

Autumn

Undeniably autumn is coming closer with huge steps....
The trees already start to change their colours, the big tree I can see from my window is full of chestnuts and the Squirrels are busy collecting their stocks for the winter.

Autumn and some tastes are inextricably linked with each other, like plums and cinnamon.
Now is the time to prepare my homemade Plum Jam.
Homemade jam is always great, since I started to make our own two years ago, we never had to buy jams anymore.
But this one here is my absolute fave.

Plum Jam/ Pflaumenmus

Ingredients

3 kg sweet and ripe Plums
250 g Caster Sugar
250 g Brown Sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon

Method

Wash and deseed the plums.
Cover the plum halves with the sugar and cinnamon .
Let it steep for at least 2 hours.
Now place it in a drip pan, a shallow ovenproof dish or a roasting pan.
Preheat the oven at 180°C.
Put the pan/dish in the oven and let it simmer for about 2 hours.
Try to leave the oven door ajar for the first hour ( I always use the handle of a wooden cooking spoon ).
Stir occasionally.
By the time the jam has thickened fill it into jars.
Store them in a cool dry place.

For me this is perfect for a wonderful sunday morning breakfast.