Make a unique Jelly from Country Hedges & Wild Plants

This recipe uses fruit commonly found in mixed hedges and wild plants (identify before eating them).
Wild plums generally ripen around late summer, apples & crab apples generally ripen later, both can be found in quantity in time to mix with blackberries, and whatever else is ripe.

Hawthorn and Blackthorn are the most common country hedge plants, often with wild roses.

Elderberries tend to find their way into hedges, rather than be planted in them, and they grow wild everywhere, wild Rowans are common, all the better if you have an Edulis Rowan in your garden.

Ingredients

Average yield 2kg of jelly

• 3lbs (1.4kg) crab apples / windfall apples / cookers
• 2lbs (900g) blackberries / elderberries / sloes
• 2lbs (900g) rowan berries / haws / rose hips
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Sugar

Instructions

1. Wash & drain the fruit well.
2. Put all fruit except rowan berry in a large, heavy-based pan with most of the lemon juice, and cold water to the level of the fruit.
3. Put the rowan berry in a separate pan, with the remaining tablespoon of lemon juice, and cover with water.
4. Bring to the boil, then simmer gently until all the fruit is tender and well broken down. Rowan berry will take longer.
5. Strain both pans through a scalded jelly bag for at least 4 hours. Do not squeeze the bag.
6. Measure the strained juice and weigh out 1lb (450g) sugar for each pint (575/600ml) of juice.
7. Pour the juice back into the pan and heat very gently. Add the sugar and stir until completely dissolved.
8. Bring to the boil and cook rapidly until setting point is reached.
9. Skim, pot and seal in the usual way.
10. Enjoy

Hedgerow Jelly Recipe by
Charles Simon is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales License.

Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available if you contact us.