My Gardening Year Flora and Fauna: Medlar Preserving ~ Medlar Jelly

Medlar In November
(and the jelly)

Before a frost

Two days later after a frost

The ripe but un-bletted fruit

Medlar Jelly Recipe

(With thanks to Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall)

Medlars picked and bletted in the freezer as we don't get enough frost at this time of the year in Hampshire and we want the jelly and chutney as Christmas presents

Quartered and de-pipped medlars
The de-pipping at this stage makes the chutney making stage very much easier

1. Quarter the medlars. Peel and chop the apples and tip the fruit into a preserving pan, or any heavy-bottomed, deep, wide pan, with just enough water to cover.
Or better still ask your husband to do it ;-)

2. Bring to a simmer and cook for 30-45 minutes, until the medlars are soft and pulpy.

Gently add the medlar and apple mixture ~ do not rush this or the straining bag might fall into the bowl!

3. Strain through a jelly bag on a stand set over a large bowl. Don't be tempted to poke, squeeze or force the pulp through the bag or you'll get a cloudy jelly, just leave it to drip over the bowl for several hours or overnight.

The resulting pulp should be saved for various chutney recipes

4. Measure the juice, pour into a clean preserving pan and bring to boiling point before adding the sugar (for every 1l of juice, add 650g of sugar). Stir, in one direction only to reduce foam, until sugar is totally dissolved then boil rapidly for 8 minutes or until the setting point is reached. If you have a preserving thermometer, it should read 104.5°C; if you don’t have a thermometer, drop a little jelly onto a saucer which you have chilled in the fridge. Let the jelly cool for a minute then push it gently with your finger. If it crinkles, it has reached its setting point. Remove from the heat and skim off any scum using a slotted spoon.