From Spade to Plate: 24th July: Black Berry Jam and Courgetti with Spinach and blue cheese sauce

The season of black berries has arrived!  It seems to come earlier and earlier and this year the fruits are plump and sweet, perfect for jam, cordials, fruit leathers and crumbles.

And even better to show the dear friends from the Newcomers and visiting scholars the delights of the British hedgerows.

As the weather was bad I went out before the group came and harvested 1.5kg yesterday with Thomas and Mark, bringing back memories of blackberry pick with my mum as well as with my own children in years gone by.

Today I went again to pick the berries in Garden Walk. They were large and very juicy. Turned them into 6 jars of jam.

Andrea, came today with a 2kg bag of damson that she still had in the freezer from last year. We decided to make a selection of different jams.

1. Using the Dutch Gelei suiker, half zoet (500gr sugar to 1225 gr of black berries)
2. Using jam sugar bought from ASDA (800 gr black berries to 1kg sugar)
3. Using the jam sugar and a mix of black berries and damsons.

We also turned the berries and damsons into 10 bottles of cordial and some fruit leather.



In addition the courgettes and spinach beet are abundant in the allotment so I am planning  to try out the borrowed Spiralizer to turn it into a courgetti dish.

The Spinach and blue cheese sauce came from the Riverford website.

The healthiest way to cook courgetti, because no fat is involved. Simply put the courgette noodles into a sieve and pour over a kettle of boiling water. This takes the rawness out the noodles without breaking them down too much. Strain well before adding pesto, sauce or toppings.

Glo, June, Miyoki, Simone and Michaela, Andrea, Anne-marie and Sarolta will come to share the lovely produce into some tasty dishes.


I already look forward to this next session.