Ok, so 56 Fowlers vacola jars of blood plums have been bottled. Now, what to do with them.
Photo by
Jaci Hicken
Jaci Hicken, a seasoned Riv journalist and trained chef, shares her wealth of knowledge on growing, cooking and preserving homegrown produce and insights from running her cooking school. In this edition, Jaci shares one of her favourite preserving recipes: plum hot sauce.
A couple of weeks ago, in Jaci can cook: plums you found out how may Fowlers Vacola jars of blood plums ended up in my pantry this preserving season.
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It is time to tell you what happens with all those bottled plums.
Each month, we make plum hot sauce, a vegetarian version of Worcestershire sauce.
When I say we, I mean I point while everyone in my preserving class makes a batch from scratch.
Traditional Worcestershire sauce is a fish-based fermented sauce made from anchovies and unsuitable for anyone cutting animals from their diet.
The term Worcestershire can be used, as it could never be copyrighted, but I’m sticking with calling it plum hot sauce because we don't live in Worcester.
This recipe was initially given to me by the grandmother of a child in a kids' cooking class, to whom an old friend from the Western District had given it to her.
It has been handed around, changed and updated like many great recipes.
I’ve updated it from imperial to metric, and a few more whole but crushed spices have been added.
Plum hot sauce can be used on anything you would usually pour Worcestershire over including steak, pork, eggs, and in a stir-fry.
It enhances braising slow-cooked ribs; just place the ribs of your choice in a slow cooker, pour over the sauce and slow cook until the meat falls from the bone.
Only yesterday, it was used instead of ‘dead horse’ on homemade sausage rolls for lunch.
Transform preserved plums into a vegetarian Worcestershire sauce with this recipe for plum hot sauce. Perfect for steak, ribs, or even sausage rolls.
Photo by
Jaci Hicken
Plum hot sauce
Ingredients
1.8kg of plums
1.2kg of treacle
28g of pepper, ground - you can use whole and crushed
14g of ginger, ground
30g of salt
900g of brown sugar
3.3kg of vinegar
28g of allspice - you can use whole and crush
7g of cayenne pepper
110g of garlic, crushed
Method
Wash the plums. Cut them in half and remove the stones. Place the plums in a large preserving pan.
Here we open three No. 31 Fowlers vacola jars of preserved blood plums, which have already been washed, cut in half and had the stones removed.
But you will need to strain the water from the bottling off.
Sometimes, a few plums are left over in the jar after reaching 1.8 kg, you can add them in. This recipe is forgiving if you add a little more fruit.
2. Put the remaining ingredients in the pan with the plums. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to prevent sticking.
3. Boil for about three hours or until the sauce thickens to the consistency you like.
4. Turn off the heat and blend with a stick blender to remove any lumps that have not broken down.
Here's a tip: If you don’t blend out all the lumps, pouring the mixture into a funnel and then into bottles will be difficult.
The lumps get stuck and hot, hot plum sauce stuck in a funnel is no fun and a little dangerous.
5. Bottle and seal.
This recipe makes about 12 bottles, each 250ml.
Plum Hot sauce teaches every person who cooks it that cooking and preserving takes time.
This recipe takes time as each month, it is the first preserve on the stove and the last to be bottled.
Enjoy! See you all in the kitchen sometime.
Do you have a favourite recipe or preserve for Jaci to cook? Share your culinary inspirations at jaci.hicken@mmg.com.au
