Blackberry and apple

4lb blackberries

1.5lbpeeled and cored cooking apples

0.5pint water

6lb sugar

Simmer washed berries using half the water, until soft. Add chopped apples to the remaining half of the water, and simmer. Mash both to a pulp and then mix the two fruits. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Boil rapidly to setting point. For seedless jam, strain off pips from pulp before mixing and use only 4.5lb sugar.

Plum

6lb plums

1.5-2.0 pints water.

6lb sugar

Wash, dry, and stone plums. Crack open about 20 stones, discard any shrivelled kernels, add good kernels to fruit and water and simmer until reduced by half volume. Add sugar stirring until dissolved. Boil rapidly to setting point.

Crab apple jelly

(For Rowan jelly, use 3lb berries plus 0.25 their weight of apples)).

3lb apples washed and quartered. (Reject any grubby ones!)

Juice of half a lemon

Sugar and water, as required

Put apples in large pan and just cover with water. Simmer until reduced to a pulp. Strain and measure juice volume and return to a clean pan. Bring to the boil adding 1lb of sugar to every pint of juice. Boil until setting point.

Sloe and apple jelly.

2lb sloes

4lb apples

Juice and jest of a lemon.

Sugar and water

Wash and drain sloes. Prick skins with a silver fork. Add to pan with lemon juice and zest, barely cover with water and simmer until pulpy. Wash and quarter apples, simmer in a separate pan with water to cover, until soft and pulpy. Strain both fruits and measure total juice. Bring juice to the boil and add sugar at rate of 1lb per pint. Boil to setting point.

Elderberry jelly. (Bilberries are done to same recipe)

4lb berries rinsed and picked free of stalks.

0.5 pint of water

1 tsp citric acid

Pectin.(Certo or apple juice) (Add according to manufactures instructions)

Place berries in a pan with citric acid and water and simmer gently. Strain pulp for at least one hour, ideally leave overnight. Reheat juice, add pectin, bring to the boil and add and 0.75 lb sugar per pint. Boil to setting point.

Spiced crab Apple Butter

6lb crab apples

2pints water

2pints cider

1tsp ground cloves.

1 tsp ground ginger

Wash and quarter apples cooking gently with the water and cider until soft. Rub through a fine sieve and weigh pulp. Allow 0.75lb sugar per lb of pulp. Simmer pulp until reduced by one third and thickened. Stir in the sugar and spices and simmer until creamy.

Nettle syrup.

2lb young nettle tops.

White sugar

3 pints water

Wash, drain and simmer nettle tips for one hour. Strain through a muslin jelly bag. Add 1lb sugar to each pint of juice. Return to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring to dissolve all sugar. Pour into sterile bottles, sterilise and seal.

This old recipe was designed for purifying the blood but is lovely when diluted with soda water.