As autumn descends the hedgerows become full of wild berries. A valuable source of winter food for birds, why not harvest a few hawthorn berries and have a go at making this old fashioned jelly.
Find a crop of berries that appear juicy and are nice and ripe. Three pounds of berries will make around two jars of jelly.
Ingredients
3 lb hawthorn berries
water
Sugar – 1 lb of sugar per pint of liquid
Juice of 1 lemon
Method
Take the berries, remove all the stems and wash
Put in a pan, cover with water and bring to the boil
Simmer for around an hour and mash the berries part way through
Strain the mixture through some muslin
Take 1 lb of sugar per pint of juice and put in a heavy saucepan
Add the juice of a lemon to the sugar
Add the strained hawthorn juice
Bring to the boil and stir well to dissolve the sugar
After a few minutes add a teaspoon of the mixture to a saucer and allow to cool. With a knife cut across the mixture and if a thin skin has formed the jelly is ready
Pour the mixture into sterilised jars and seal securely with lids.
