Recipe
for :
 This
recipe for Strawberry
Conserve comes
from Sue Brewer who is lucky enough to live in
Brittany where she has her own gites to rent - have
a look for yourself <click
here>
I
asked Sue to do her own introduction . . . . .
"Originally
from London my better half and I have lived in a little
hamlet called Le Millet near Ploeuc sur Lie in France
for the past three years. Although life in the Cotes
d'Armor region of Brittany is quite idyllic there are
some downsides, notably the price and strength of tea
bags, unavailability of sliced back bacon (who can live
without bacon sarnies) and finally the lack of Indian
cuisine.
The
first two things we must stock up on during our infrequent
visits to England, but curries and bhajis - pas du problem!
I
realised that the only way I was ever going to have
an 'Indian takeaway' in France was to make it myself.
Now this isn't as silly as it sounds; I always make
the curries or whatever in large quantities and then
freeze them in meal-sized portions. So Saturday night
is still takeaway night, either sharing the meal with
friends or to eat whilst watching some rubbish on the
television - you know the sort of thing that's on TV
on a Saturday night.
OK
I do bring back the spices from dear old blighty as
here in France they are rare and, if found, expensive
(except for that awful pale yellow curry powder) but
the rest is down to moi."
"Forget
strawberry jam. This recipe is fantastic! You get lovely
whole strawberries throughout the preserve, the colour
is great and it sets like a dream. OK, you do get less
in quantity than with jam recipes but I think the above
outweighs this. I happily found the recipe in The
Sainsbury Book of Preserves and Pickles by Heather
Lambert. The only adjustments I made was to increase
the amount of lemon juice and the stage at which it
was added, and I didn't transfer it to a bowl for the
second stage but left it in the pan and just put it
back on the hob the next day."
This
was a recipe of the month on Sue's web site so be sure
to pay regular visits
<click
here>
Ingredients
for Strawberry
Conserve
2
lb 2 oz / 1 kg small strawberries
2 lb 2 oz / 1 kg preserving sugar
Juice of 2 lemons
How
to make Strawberry Conserve
- Put
alternate layers of strawberries and sugar in a basin.
Cover and leave to stand in the fridge for 24 hours.
- Transfer
the fruit and sugar to a pan, bring slowly to the
boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Pour
back into the basin (or if you are using a stainless
steel pan just leave it in it) cover, and leave on
the side for another 24 hours.
- Transfer
to a pan or if you didn't transfer to a bowl put the
pan with the fruit and sugar mixture back on the hob
and bring to the boil (not too fast in case of burning),
and boil until setting point is reached. I boiled
it for 8 minutes and it set first time.
- Remove
from the heat and leave to cool a little until the
fruit begins to sink in the syrup.
- Stir
and pour into small, hot sterilized jars. Cover immediately.
Makes
about 3 lb / 1.5 kg of Strawberry Conserve
Sue
Brewer
If
you would like to stay in one of Sue's cottages at Le
Millet or learn more about Brittany visit her website
- www.french-holiday-cottages.com
or send her an email to sue@french-holiday-cottages.com
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