Nearly time to make peach butter

[mantra.]

Dita - recently on PA2 - you posted a photo of part of your garden with some fruit trees (from memory). There was a plant on the left hand side partially in the photo with an empty black pot in front of it. I've got one that looks exactly the same, don't know what it is - but it has little pink flowers and these blue/black berries which look quite tasty, but might be poisonous. What's the name of the plant and is it the same as I've described with the flowers and berries?

[Jovial Monk]

You mean this one?

The tree is a bay laurel tree, does sometimes get berries which I wouldn't eat but the leaves are bay leaves for use in making stock etc.

[Jovial Monk]

Bought pineapple, dragonfruit (bloodred!) banana, redcurrant, guava etc at the market today.

Here is one I prepared earlier:



Just for Sinik.

[Jovial Monk]

BTW kiddies, red, black, white currants, blue berries, raspberries, blackberries etc etc are everywhere right now. Buy them, eat them! By the kilogram! Healthy! Antioxidents! Fucking delicious!

Be making pannacotta later today & very lightly poach delish deelish delicious currants and berries. Fuck they go good together!

[Hebe]

And fuck they're expensive!

I think I might give growing blueberries a go - anyone here grow them?

[Jovial Monk]

Not that expensive if you steer clear of supermarkets: try farmers markets.

Dunno where you ar hebe (Tassy?) but currants & blueberries shd be fine as long as you have acid soil: if not, grow blueberries in pots filled with acid potting mix. Western red cedar shavings are an excellent acid mulch for both.

[Hebe]

Yep, Tassie. And our soil is acid, if the conifers are any indication. We hardly have any farmers' markets down here and those we have are so far away that it wouldn't be economical to travel there.

Thanks for the tips.

[Jovial Monk]

No probs

[Jovial Monk]

Hmmmm batch of apricot & (dry) ginger butter is in the slowcooker. Tomorrow will pick nearly all the apricots and make jam & stewed apricots.

Not going to sweeten this lot of apricot butter: it will be gorgeous with chicken or chicken curry etc unsweetened.

[Jovial Monk]

Apricots still cooking down, about 1/4 of original volume has been cooked off so more to go.

Of course, the fruit darkens with all this cooking down. Took a taste, hmmmmm!

Not everybody has a garden, but right now fruit is plentiful & cheap: visit some growers and ask for second grade fruit. For a beer (a Flemish Sour Red) I bought 5Kg of cherries for just $20--rain had spotted and slightly split some fruit! So grab, some, wash, pit, segment & bung into slowcooker to have delicious tangy fruit butter available for sweet or savory dishes.