Sunday, June 30, 2013

Boiling hot


It's hot in Southern California. Record highs are being recorded, from 109 in the Valley to 99 downtown.

Here in Topanga, our thermometer read 96 yesterday. So I would excuse you if you called me nuts to be putting up some plum jam today.

The tree's bounty has peaked. I picked 6 pounds of plums yesterday morning, and got up early today - Sunday - to make some jam.


It always seems to take longer to boil down on the stove than the recipe says.

Chutney ingredients
Batch two was a plum chutney - Here's the recipe:

4 cups chopped plums
1 cup minced onion
3/4 cup raisins
2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 orange, zested
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Combine in a saucepan and boil down until reduced and thickened, about 40 - 60 minutes. Process in a water bath for ten minutes.


Then, turn off the stove!
at

4 comments:

  1. CassiJune 30, 2013 at 12:46 PM

    Plum chutney sounds yummy! Except for those yucky raisins :-)

    So, you don't have heat (I remember) --do you have air-conditioning?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Big Bad Bald BastardJuly 1, 2013 at 6:06 PM

    I froze a lot of the mulberries I picked last week (I will be taking another mulberry walk this week, there are plenty of unripe berries). The wild raspberries (wineberries) will be ripening soon.

    This is a mighty fine time of year for the frugivore.

    Stay cool, Aunt Snow!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Claudia from Idiot's KitchenJuly 2, 2013 at 8:05 AM

    I've been worrying about you and the hot temps. Good to see it hasn't kept you out of the kitchen! Plum chutney sounds divine!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Karen (formerly kcinnova)July 2, 2013 at 7:09 PM

    My MIL lives in the desert with temps like you have at home, and she always canned early in the morning, too.

    I don't live in the desert but we are having those same temps. I'm sitting in front of fans with no appetite.

    Stay cool!

    ReplyDelete