What's boiling in the pan?

A lot is boiling in the pan right now. It is summer, our busiest time of the year. But literally speaking,  I have been  making a very British, delicious rhubarb and strawberry jam with my culinary gifted daughter.

The most colourful naturally grown rhubarb from a friend and supplier kitchen garden, succulent British strawberries and the job is almost done. And by this I mean ingredients are key, the rest is a bit of boiling, a touch of vanilla and a few lavender flowers just to keep it interesting. 

This time we have made a conserve, a runnier and less cooked version of a jam, ideal for pouring over hand made ice cream, semifreddo and our baked vanilla cheesecake in the TRATTORIA.

My son was saying to me yesterday while I was dishing out a dessert for our guests: "Mum, you made the cake, Macrina the conserva, you decorate with flowers picked by myself, so everything is truly home made". And that really sums up what Tredethy House hospitality is all about, a caring loving personal "homemade" service.

STRAWBERRY AND RHUBARB CONSERVE RECIPE

750 gr. organic British strawberries (3 punnets)

200 gr. rhubarb (I used the one frozen from last month)

500 gr sugar or Xilitol

2 teaspoons of organic vanilla extract

a few lavender flowers from the garden (untreated)

1 organic lemon juice and zest

Wash your beautiful British strawberries and cut them in half. Cut the rhubarb into chunks and put in a bowl with the sugar, lemon juice and zest, vanilla extract and lavender flowers. Leave to rest for a while (a couple of hours will do nicely) and transfer to the pan for simmering. It will take around half an hour for it to be ready. Bear in mind you are making a conserve for pouring so you are looking to achieve a runnier consistency and you want the colour to be still "alive". Pour in extra clean jam jars and leave to cool upside down. When ready, turn them, enjoy the sense of achievement and start thinking about sticking pretty labels with the production date on and may be that little scrap of fabric to cover the lid. This will just add to the fulfilling experience of making your own.

A little note on the sugar I use. It is called Xilitol, it is a healthy fantastic alternative to sugar, and as it happens it has turned out to be the perfect bonding consistency for jams.  Oh! and the flavour is just right.