Woodstove preserves

[Joeboy]

As this is the 1st Autumn with the woodstove in the house I am going to do my traditional plum & apple chutney (all grown here) and plum jam also on the woodstove instead of gas.
Picking the plums today and more excited than I probably should be! Gotta get some final spices today and some dark sugar and we'll be good to go tomorrow.

[Joeboy]

And they're off!

[Joeboy]

Batch has been split in 2 so I can experiment with a 4 chilli type version for strong cheese and wine. It has went very well, one more hour of reduction I think. All ingredients where possible sourced from our garden and when not, local green grocer where possible. I am as you know amazed at the capability of this stove. I have saved at least 5 hours on the gas hob here with two burners running. No idea how many kWh's that would be?

[Bugtownboy]

Joe, I know every time we have something cooked on the stove, as a bi-product of heating the house, the taste is superior.

I know it isn’t really, but it’s that little umami of getting something for nothing (sort of) but mainly the comfort of not using FF’s.

Know I’ve mentioned it before somewhere, but get yer’self organised for the foraged chestnuts. It will be in the next few weeks - a cheap steel perforated pan, the last embers of the stove.

Delightful.

And all that Vitamin E

[Joeboy]

Will do, I actually brought in some cedarwood logs and placed them at back of top stove for the last 90 minutes to see if the venting off beautiful fumes would infuse to chutney.

10.30 am to 5 pm to be finished and it was epic. Whole house is sitting at 25 degs AND I had the patio doors open for 3 hours. Woodstove cooking is hugely connective and I absolutEly love it. Stick on classic fm, xrank it up (tunes & stove) and off we go. Plum jam tomorrow.

Standard chutney


Scotch bonnet chutney


I will bring some down to the Spring Ripple picnic.

[Joeboy]

Today's batch is a plum jam, particularly impressed with the shade of red from the skins. Really enjoy using the oldskool visionware pots as they clean up just as well as they did 40 years ago when launched and I am never bored with seeing it all happen. I went on an eBay pot & pan hunt years ago along with charity shops and scored a huge amount of them.

[Mr Gus]

Smokiness is likely best tested Joe (i've cold smoked a plethora of household stuff inc marmalade) lest it be godawful.

(also standing time, my "tarmite" needs a year to imbue its delicate smokey nature, ..or 45+ hours under the proverbial smoke hammer ..that's a lot of bowl stirring)

Chutney I'd start with a few mere hours on a sample or 3 & work it up from there, less chance of tears before bedtime.

Smoked Marmite? ..you know you want to!