Thursday we picked lots of fruit in the company of several tayberry loving birds and a jostaberry loving wood pigeon.
As long as the birds leave plenty for us we haven't covered these fruits. The redcurrants and cherries are a different story as uncovered all the fruit would disappear very quickly. The predominant sound on our plot at the moment is the chortling of disgruntled blackbirds! I'm sure that I saw one blackbird trying to figure our how to get under the net covering the cherry tree - it seemed to be pecking at the string that is tying the net in place but surely not!
Soon we'll let the birds in to finish off the redcurrants so maybe then they will be happy.
We were confined to the house yesterday waiting for a delivery so I spent the time making compote .
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What a lovely selection you have. Do you add any sugar to your compote or is it just fruit?
ReplyDeleteWe do add sugar, Debbie - half the weight of fruit which cuts down the amount needed for jam by 50%. The blackcurrant needs popping in the rubs fairly quickly as it starts to set like jam!
DeleteWe also have some redcurrant and strawberry compotes in the freezer made earlier and will be adding plum, greengage, apple and pear later. Oh and quince too.
I imagine that those compotes would be lovely served on top of some porridge in the middle of Winter!
ReplyDeleteThat's one of the ways we use them, Mark and also with natural yoghurt to make our own fruit yoghurt. You could also use as a pie or crumble filling.
DeleteYour crop looks super and I wish I had a freezer, we are trying to eat as much as possible but the birds are getting a real treat this year. Next year they won't be so lucky! They say that you should never underestimate the intelligence of animals, obviously birds too xxx
ReplyDeleteBirds are certainly not stupid, Fran. We have a male blackbird that has only one useful leg and he waits on a morning for Martyn to put some buggy nibbles on the bird table for him.
DeleteI might make some gooseberry compote, I'm making jam & cordial this weekend so it would fit in nicely.
ReplyDeleteMartyn made elderflower cordial, Jo which was lovely and is thinking of trying redcurrant cordial before we take the net off and let the birds in.
DeleteWow! That looks fabulous!
ReplyDeleteThanks Belinda
DeleteAwesome Sue lovely lot of fruit you have I never made compotes before I take it it's just another word for stewed fruit be for you make the jam ?
ReplyDeleteThe definition of compote, Linda is - "a compote is a recipe consisting of some sort of fruit, fresh or dried, that has been stewed in a syrup of sugar and maybe other flavorings" There is no liquid added to a compote other than what is produced by the fruit. Jam also has more sugar than a compote.
DeleteThis year my mom's made a green gooseberry jam. We were astonished when after two days of slowly boiling the fruits - they turned pink! We were sure the jam would be yellow :)
ReplyDeleteSue, I love photos of your harvested fruits! They look so appetizing!
I would have expected green gooseberries to make a yellowy green jam too Dewberry
DeleteWow, your harvest looks amazing and your compotes will be lovely to have over winter! Unfortunately our berry bushes are not producing enough for freezing yet and most of the berries have been eaten before we get home from the allotment, but the taste of homegrown berries are appreciate nevertheless.
ReplyDeleteWelcome Mr and/or Mrs V. Your berry bushes will be producing before you know it!
DeleteWhat a wonderful assortment of berries... they would be lovely on top of a home made rice pudding in the colder months :o)
ReplyDeleteThey are, Julie we have used it like that too.
DeleteWhat a fantastic harvest Sue! I plan on being a bit more organised next year as, once again, I'm not getting as much as previous years, but looking at your beautiful bounty I know what can be achieved in these wierd and wonderful summers we are having lately. xx
ReplyDeleteI think fruit is a very cost effective crop, Chel as berries are so expensive to buy. Also in many ways they don't need as much attention as vegetables.
DeleteI love the idea of freezing produce for winter. My mum always freezes her raspberries & uses them in the Christmas day trifle :)
ReplyDeleteIt's better than stuffing yourself with gluts, Anna until you are totally fed up of eating something.
DeleteI'm with your Mum, Anna! My aim is to make a Summer's Pudding for Christmas Day dessert from home-grown fruit :}
DeleteI'm envious of your food crops every time you post. Is your compote similar to jam?
ReplyDeleteSimilar LSS but less sugar and more runny. More like pie filling really - although the blackcurrant sets quite a lot.
DeleteBeautiful! I'll be off to check the gooseberries and blackcurrants later.
ReplyDeleteI think your blackbirds are related to mine - deeply unhappy at the fruit cage netting so they have retaliated by stripping the cherry tree before I could get a net over it.
PS: how long do you tend to cook the compot for?
We managed to net the cherries, Bilbo but it hasn't stopped the blackbirds trying to get at them.
DeleteWe cook the fruit until it softens - on average about 30 minutes but some goes faster such as the raspberry type fruit and others such as gooseberries may take a but longer
That's a fantastic variety of berries you have. Sparrows are the main problem for my Dad's raspberries - haven't seen a blackbird, probably because there are so many sparrows. At home in Edinburgh I imagine the blackbirds will have had their fill of our blackcurrants. We didn't have time to net them before we left, but I did manage to freeze 9lbs of berries. We'll see at the end of the week whether we have any left!
ReplyDeleteI wish our problem with raspberries was only sparrows Linda - our summer fruiting ordinary canes are all dead!
DeleteThe birds tend not to be too much of a problem with the blackcurrants so we share!
What a fabulous selection....I'm salivating just looking at them!xxxx
ReplyDeleteAll now safely stored away in the freezer, Snowbird.
DeleteIt's a great time of year for harvests isn't it - your compotes look delicious
ReplyDeleteIt is Elaine, we spend ages picking every two or three days
DeleteVery nice compotes and colorful too. A great fruit year (except for my plums) and the birds have left the fruit alone even though its not netted.
ReplyDeleteLast year was our poor plum year Rooko. Our trees fruit well every other year. Just wish they would share the years evenly instead of all choosing the same one to be productive
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