Hot Pepper Rowan and Apple Jelly is a modern British recipe for classic jelly made from a blend of rowan berries and apples that's flavoured with hot chillies and vinegar and which is typically used as an accompaniment. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Hot Pepper Rowan and Apple Jelly.
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This is much less tart that the more usual rowan jellies, but it's given the chilli kick that my wife likes. I like to make this to serve with game meats, but I also eat it for breakfast. It also makes an interesting accompaniment to Christmas or Thanksgiving turkey.
Note that Rowan berries are very bitter and you will need to add both sugar and salt to balance this. Much of this bitterness is caused by the compound sorbic acid. You should also note that raw Rowan berries also contain sorbic acid's precursor parasorbic acid. This causes indigestion and in high doses it can lead to kidney damage. However, heat treatment converts parasorbic acid to the benign sorbic acid. Thus if you have cooked the fruit in some manner they are entirely safe to eat. Freezing also helps in this conversion process so if you collect the fruit immediately after the first frost and then freeze them before preparation this will also help reduce the levels of parasorbic acid in the fruit.
Rowan berries are very variable in flavour. The best are ones that are not too bitter. When you come to a new tree, taste a berry from it. If it's very bitter, move on to another tree. This recipe is also a good way of using under-ripe windfall apples, which are common right now.
Ingredients:
500g rowan berries, freed of their stalks
500g crabapples (or tart cooking apples), roughly chopped
4 fresh red chillies, finely chopped (cayenne for milk, habaneros for hot)
450ml cider vinegar
420g sugar per 500ml of liquid
100ml liquid pectin
Method:
Combine the rowan berries, chopped apples and chillies in a large pan. Pour over the vinegar then add just enough water to barely cover the fruit. Bring the mixture to a simmer then cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid, reduce the heat slightly and simmer gently until the fruit are reduced to a pulp (between 30 and 40 minutes).
Take the pan off the heat then turn its contents into a jelly bag and set aside to drain naturally into a bowl (do not be tempted to press down on the fruit pulp, or the final jelly will be cloudy). It's best to allow the juice to drip naturally from the fruit over night.
The following morning, measure the volume of juice then weight out 420g of sugar for every 500ml of juice. Combine the rowan and apple juice and sugar in a saucepan. Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved then stir in the liquid pectin and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 25 minutes. AFter this time test for setting.
Put a plate in the refrigerator to cool for at least 30 minutes. When you think the jell is ready, place a teaspoon of the jelly mix on the plate then move with your thumb. If the jelly form a skin it's ready for potting. If not, cook for 5 minutes more and test again.
Ladle the jelly into cleaned and sterilized jars that have been warmed in the oven. Fill the jars up to 1cm of the top (I keep old jam jars for this). Close the lids securely on the jars and set aside to cool. Label and store in a cool, dark, cupboard. They will keep the whole winter if not opened.
