Taken from Lynne’s weekly column ‘Green Scene’ for the Western Mail
28th September 2024
Green Tomato Jam
It’s been a challenging year for veg growers this year. A lot of veg has been late to harvest and that includes many tomato varieties. If your tomatoes are still a stubborn shade of green, it’s time to celebrate. After a client gave me the following recipe a few years ago, I have been just as happy with a glut of green tomatoes as the red ones.
I also feel smugly ‘relevant’ as I share Gerald’s Green Tomato Jam recipe in the wake of, and amid the write ups of, Abergavenny Food Festival. It is, by his admission, a fusion of several recipes and is, as the name suggests, much more of a jam than the more familiar ‘green tomato go to’ – chutney. It is delicious and can be used in a myriad of mouth-watering ways, including an accompaniment for meats, as you would use a chutney. The recipe below is exactly as I received it from Gerald and, as he concludes, it is indeed ‘easy peasy!’.
Do try it, and if you haven’t got green tomatoes of your own, I guarantee you won’t have to look far for a grower that has. Enjoy.
Green Tomato Jam (Recipe culled from several; seems to work.)
Ingredients:
- 1kg green tomatoes, cored and sliced (2-3mm) with seeds
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 600g jam sugar or ordinary granulated sugar (I usually use ordinary)
- 20 g candied peel
- Crystalised ginger
Put tomatoes, lemon zest and juice, and sugar in a large pan. Cover and leave overnight at room temperature. You’ll find it produces a lot of liquid.
Bring to a “rolling” boil, stirring frequently. Takes about 45-60 minutes: goes transparent green>amber, and bubbles “crack”.
When ready, add candied peel and/or crystalised ginger (happened to have some CG, so just cut a few cubes into bits and added – lovely subtle gingeryness!)
Jar up. I always put lids on while jam still hot – gives vacuum seal and no mould, however long you keep them (not long, we find!) Many jam recipes advise letting it cool before lidding, but never say why. Doing so, we’ve often found mould on surface of jam after storage.
!!EASY PEASY!!
Golden Gem
If you are already planning your seed purchases for next year’s veggies, then have a look at the new ‘Golden Lettuce’, which has been genetically engineered by Spanish boffins to contain 30 times more nutrients than our traditional varieties.
Apparently the ‘golden gem’ has enhanced levels of beta-carotene, an antioxidant that helps the body produce vitamin A. This is crucial for healthy vision, immune function and cell growth, and is also thought to protect against Alzheimer’s, heart disease and some forms of cancer.
Beta-carotene is more commonly found in orange veggies such as carrots and sweet potatoes – but, although in this case the future may ‘not’ be orange, it seems the yellow lettuce may well have a golden future.
Tools For Self Reliance Looking for Volunteers
I have a quick plea from one of my favourite charities, Tools For Self Reliance, (TFSR Cymru) in Crickhowell. The volunteers carry out outstanding work refurbishing old tools, which are just the best to use in the garden, and raise essential funds for numerous projects.
They are currently asking, “Are you a retired engineer, mechanic, tool maker or similar? Do you have a couple of hours a week to help a tool charity sort through donated tools and collectibles looking for valuable items to put on eBay (and sell from the shop) to raise funds to help artisans in Tanzania. Or could you contribute by joining the Board of Trustees?”
If you can help, please contact them through www.tfsrcymru.org.uk or call 0330 355 0122.
Aster the Vista
I love the autumn Asters. Just when most other things in the garden are giving up and fading away, the Asters come into their own – and not in a show-offy way but in a soft, confident, unassuming sort of way. Although some varieties flower in July, many asters bloom through to October and even November, providing a great bridge of colour from autumn to winter in the garden. There are numerous different species of this hard working plant with enough cultivars to make sure that there are suitable options for every one and every garden with heights ranging from 6 inches to just over 6 feet. The purple aster at the front of the border in the photo is Aster ‘Purple Dome’, reaching about a foot tall, whilst the ‘pinkier’ Aster ‘Harrington’s Pink’ (New England Aster) behind it is nearly 6ft tall.
The small daisy-like flowers are long lasting, loved by pollinators, tolerant of spiteful autumnal weather and make excellent cut flowers too. There is a wide range of colours to choose from and although you will read that most asters prefer full sun, experiments have proved that that many are also cheerful in shade.
The name aster comes from the ancient Greek word for “star” because of the flower’s shape, although they are more often referred to as ‘daisy-like’.
If you are lacking colour in the garden at this time pop to your local garden centre and see what they have in flower or with good foliage colour. Or have a good look in other people’s gardens – most gardeners are happy to share details of something that’s being admired!
Glove That Idea
I have recently impressed myself with an accidentally discovered ‘top tip’ or ‘hack’ I think they are called these days. They do say ‘Necessity is the Mother of Invention’. I often have trouble getting tight lids off of jars, bottles and even the champagne-type corks out of Nozecco (yup, Nozecco not Prosecco) and when the tea-towel-wrapped-around-it-trick failed, I reached for my grippy gardening gloves that were on the windowsill to try those for some purchase. Bingo. They worked a treat. So I now keep a left-handed grippy glove (I have loads of the left hand gloves as the fingers of the right handed ones wear through first) in the kitchen.
Rest assured, the irony that the very gloves that have played a big role in contributing to the responsibility for my arthritic wrists are now helping me combat what arthritis is curtailing, is not lost on me.
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