True to our word we returned to the allotment with our young friends, this time armed with suitable containers to transport our harvest. Careful not to look greedy we gathered a small collapsible crate-full of apples, with just a few pears. In the meantime, I was on crabapple duty – a task which was more tricky than I imagined. As I pulled a bunch of them off the tree many more fell to the ground, needing to be gathered as well. Help was at hand and very soon we had a shopping bag full of golden cherry-sized fruit. The next day it dawned on me that making jelly with all those would take a very long time, so I started early in the morning. Because of the sheer quantity I couldn’t leave the fruits to drip overnight so the pulp was composted quite rapidly. Measuring the juice and calculating how much sugar to add was left to my Maths expert but nearly 3 kilos went in. Bubbling away for nearly an hour, skimming off the scum and bottling nearly 11lbs of the stuff was very satisfying and will provide our young friends with produce to share!
Becky Bakes... 