Ghillie James has taken a somewhat daunting cooking subject and made it easy. Many fantastic cooks think nothing of serving five-course meals to friends and family but baulk at the idea of making jams, jellies and relishes. Ghillie's Jam, Jelly and Relish recipe book demystifies the art. And it's packed full of delicious recipes. Linda Hall asks Ghillie a few questions about her latest venture.
As little as five years ago, preserving and making your own jams and jellies was considered old-fashioned. Why do you think it has made such a comeback?
I think there are a number of reasons. Firstly, we are seriously changing our attitude towards food and cooking - for the better. We have started to recognise that buying locally, and eating seasonally, is not only important but much tastier and cheaper.
There are loads of weekly farmers' markets around and people have included stocking up on veggies and fruit as part of their weekend's activities - less of a chore than a large supermarket shop. I'm also far more aware of friends making the effort to do a bit of gardening and start producing their own home-grown produce.
Jamie Oliver is one of a few key foodies who has been responsible for advocating this and has made growing your own, seasonal cooking and preserving a trendy thing to do. No longer are we impressing people by turning up for dinner with a swanky bottle of wine. Far more cool to arrive with a pot of homemade marmalade.
Also it's so much cheaper. We've all been affected by the credit crunch and making your own jams and chutneys does cut costs - not only for everyday living, but for making as presents too.
I also think that preserving books needed a bit of an update - there were too many options given for people to choose from and unnecessary equipment listed, too, which made the whole subject terrifying.
My aim with Jam, Jelly and Relish was to give the most straightforward easy method, so anyone can have a go and not end up with jam so runny you can eat it with a spoon.
With the price of sugar and other ingredients always on the up and up, do you really think it's worth making your own?
As long as you buy seasonally (or, even better, grown it yourself if you've got the room) and shop carefully for your sugar, you should find it much cheaper. If you've got a good-size storage cupboard at home just buy a larger bag of sugar and keep it for the next time - much more economical.
I had a huge sage bush last spring and I didn't know what to with all the leaves so I am really looking forward to making the Sage, Apple and Vintage Cider Sauce. What is your favourite recipe in this book?
I love the plum jam (it's my son William's favourite, too) and the plum and almond tart that you can make using the jam - dead easy made with shop-bought marzipan and pastry and really tasty. I also love the mincemeat palmiers for Christmas time - they look stunning on a pretty plate dusted with icing sugar and make a refreshing change from normal mince pies.
Are most of the fruit and vegetables used in your recipes from your own backyard?
Some are mine, some from my mother's wonderful garden and some kindly donated from friends with far more impressive vege patches than mine. The deal was that I used their fruit but then they got some homemade jam in return.
What couldn't you do without in your kitchen?
My hand-held blender - because I'm up to my ears in purees for my 6-month-old Jemima and it saves me a lot of fiddling about just whizzing it in the pan rather than transferring everything to another blender. I also use my food processor a lot.
What is your next project?
Watch this space. I'm talking to my publishers about what we tackle next - hopefully another subject that needs a bit of a shake-up, as I loved the challenge of taking such a scary subject like preserving and simplifying it for people, as well as offering other practical uses for the jams too. Any ideas for the next book are greatly appreciated.
Ghillie's Jam, Jelly and Relish, by Ghillie James. Kyle Cathie, $47.95.
Little chance of getting into a pickle preserving
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