Rowan berry jelly is not something I'd tried before and the feedback on making it was mixed ... bitter, too tart, unpleasant was just some of the feedback I received from my twitter foodie crowd. I also had a number of people advise me that with game it adds something special so it was worth trying and our forager had brought two containers full into the restaurant.
About 600g picked rowans
3 Apples
Reduce over moderate heat
Strain
Add approx 2 cups of sugar
What I was left with was a very strongly flavoured, bitter and extremely dry jam ... way too strong to serve and not very pleasant. It did, however, have an unusual flavour that, just before binning the jelly, I tried to keep by adding to some blackberry reduction we use to sauce our venison ...
At a ratio of about one spoon of rowan jam to 1/2 cup of blackberry reduction we suddenly have a very good sauce with a back taste of rowan and a dryness that adds really well to venison ... and is now on the menu.
http://www.localfoodadvisor.com/blog
Just saw your recipe for the smoked scallops with the wild garlic butter. Brilliant!
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing what comes from experimentation. I've just had a deer stalker move in next door so will keep your recipe for future use.
ReplyDeleteInteresting stuff. Last time I made it with a mix of rowan, crab apples and rosehips. Goes great with duck, pheasant & the Christmas turkey....
ReplyDeleteI really enjoying using hedgerow ingredients. There are so many plants which have more than just decorative uses. I thought this recipe was really interesting and seems very useful with strong meats.
ReplyDeleteAll the best
Paul.
Thanks for this great recipe. Love anything with a wild twist.
ReplyDelete