This Rowan Berry and Redcurrant Jelly is a perfect blend of sweet and sour berries and such a tasty jelly to have on hand for meat dishes, toasties, sandwiches and the like.
Autumn is upon us, that season of mellow fruitfulness. A walk cannot be contemplated without being armed with some sort of basket or bag lest you miss something exciting in the hedgerow just crying out to be jam!
Today I’m not just sharing a recipe with you I also want to tell you a bit about my latest book Simply Scottish – A Wee Taste Of Scotland which is due for release on 31st October.
This is a book about party food, all those great traditional (and some modern too) recipes of Scotland scaled down to nibble and bite size just perfect for parties, snacking or picnics.
(SIMPLY SCOTTISH – A WEE TASTE OF SCOTLAND available here!)
Although the book is full of recipes for such goodies as mini venison burgers, Burn’s baubles, Drambuie souffle and the like, there are also recipes for those little extras that make your party table extra special. Things like this rowan and redcurrant jelly which goes so well with those mini venison burgers!
This was a fun book to write and photograph. Being more of a savoury person I enjoyed all the testing and sampling of this one far more than the baking book. Give me a party nibble over a scone any day!
It certainly cheered up the start of the year for me when I was trapped on the sofa with the disastrous foot surgeries. The fact that all the cooking and photography was completed while on crutches and hopping about the kitchen crashing into things was just an added little challenge.
Never let anyone tell you that there is glamour in producing a cook book, there is much swearing, too many calories, eating way too much and a huge lot of washing up every day.
Ingredients for rowan and redcurrant jelly
- rowan berries
- redcurrants
- cooking apples
- water
- sugar
How to make rowan and redcurrant jelly
- You want to simmer the berries and apples till they are pulpy and soft and then hang then in a jelly bag over a bowl overnight. Resist all temptation to squeezer the bag to release more juice in the morning. If you do this you’ll make that gorgeous jelly all cloudy.
- Discard the fruit pulp and measure the juice and use 450g sugar for every 600ml juice
- Heat till sugar dissolves then boil to setting point and ladle into sterilised jars.
New to preserving? Then don’t panic, I can take you from zero to hero in no time at all.
Just check out these handy articles to get you heading in the right direction fast;
How to make great jam and marmalade
How to make chutney and relish
How to sterilise jars and bottles
How long will this rowan berry and redcurrant jelly keep
It will last for up to a year in a cool cupboard. Once opened store in the fridge and use within a month.
How to serve rowan and redcurrant jelly
This jelly goes great with all sorts of cold meats from gammon to chicken.
Use this jelly as a glaze when roasting chicken, turkey or beef.
It is perfect with venison (venison burgers are a dream with this one).
Stir your rowan and redcurrant jelly into gravy for more depth and flavour.
Serve it on a grilled cheese sandwich and put it out with your cheeseboard too.
Looking for more fun foraging recipe ideas? Then check these out before you go;
Crab apple jelly with Scotch whisky
Homemade spiced blackcurrant vodka
Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.
Rowan Berry and Redcurrant Jelly
Ingredients
- 450 g rowan berries
- 450 g red currants
- 675 g apples cooking apples
- 450 g granulated sugar for each 600ml/1 pint of juice
Instructions
- Wash all the fruit and remove stalks. Roughly chop the apples but there is no need to peel or core them.
- Put all the fruit into a large pan and just cover with water. Bring to the boil and then simmer for approximately 20 minutes or until all the fruit is soft.
- Pour into a jelly bag (or muslin in a sieve/ even old tights will do) and let it drip into a bowl over night.
- Discard pulp and measure the juice. Pour this into your pan and add the correct amount of sugar (see above), heat gently to dissolve the sugar and bring to boil for about 5 minutes until the setting point has been reached.
- Spoon into sterilized jars and seal.
- The recipe makes about 4 small jars.
Your cookbook sounds like a wonderful idea but to an American with Scottish ancestry of course, what is a rowan berry& is there something maybe local or frozen that I could substitute. it sounds very interesting and I’d love to try it, your recipe that is. best of luck on book sales
Hi Cathie,
Seemingly you can get rowan berries growing in USA, they are also called Mountain Ash or Sorbus Americana. They are never sold commercially here as are only really used in jam and jelly making and not something widely used.
Hope you can find some.
Kx
You are a whiz-bang to be sure! Another book, I am so impressed! I need to email you – I have so many questions!! Love the look of the new book, hope it sells like hotcakes at the fair! xoxo, Nan
thanks Nan,
That is so kind of you.
K x
Well your new book is straight on my wish list for Christmas Karon, looks fab. 🙂
Your book looks fabulous! Congrats, Karon! Being from the states, what would be the closest thing to a Rowan berry in the US? This jam looks delish!
Patti xxoo
Hi Patti,
Apparently you can get rowan berries, or Mountain Ash/ Sorbus Americana, in USA so have a look. Unfortunately not something ever sold commercially. They are very bitter so can’t really think of a substitute.
Thanks for nice comment on the book.
All best
K x
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Nice blog! Is your theme custom made or did you download it
from somewhere? A design like yours with a few simple tweeks would really make my blog jump out.
Please let me know where you got your theme. Bless you
This is just the free 2011 theme from wordpress, nothing fancy.
Glad you like it.
K x
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