Bamble Butter or Cheese! (by sarah)
Autumn is here as is harvest time and so when ever possible I have been out foraging! I have already made two batches of chutney, crumbles and cakes and sauces with the various fruit and veg so I thought I would try something different this year before heading down the jam and wine making path again.
I found some old recipes for butters/cheeses and thought I'd give it a go - there is no dairy in these but they either spread like a curd or you can cut them like cheeses and the names pre-date the modern terms which have a narrower meaning.
Basically it is just a butt load of blackberries and crab apples cooked until mushy, pushed through a sieve, the puree is then put in a pan with lots of sugar and reheated and stirred like making fudge - I was aiming for a cheese but my arm started to spasm so I had to give up but I'd already gone paste the butter consistency. I was really pleased it kept it's shape when removed from the mould!
Interestingly I discovered that depending on the age of the book there is a huge variance on how long such a thing will keep - 2 or 3 months in the newest book, 2 years in ones from before 1985 and indefinatly but will become more crystalline the older it gets in my older early last century and victorian cook books. We plan to just see what happens with it as it is going to take some time to get through!
Next step with this stuff I think is going to be a) seeing if adding some condenced milk turns it into a lovely fruit fudge and b) if I get even more fruit to reduce down can I make it without adding sugar? Lastly c) make it with lots of other fruits 🙂
Domestic, Recipies, Wines and Preserves | sarah | 
Thu 19th Sep 2013 8:38 am
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