Christmas Hampers
I hope everyone had a great Christmas and is doing well in 2010!
I'm going to tell you what I made for the Christmas Hampers this year. I make them for Grandparents and other people who are hard to buy for. They make great gifts because they're unique, full of thought and are consumable, you won't be filling someone's house with potentially unwanted ornaments and trinkets. Now is a good time to think about Hampers because you will need to start collecting nice jars, bottles and containers for next year.
The first Hamper item was the sloe gin. After spending two months occasionally shaking the bottles I decanted the gin into new bottles, ready to be labelled. The gin went down very well with good feedback all round.
Secondly there was Hedgerow jam (see link below for recipe). I ended up doing this wild fruit jam at 3.30am! Amazingly, it came out well, mostly due to the use of a jam thermometer. I found using the thermometer was invaluable. Had I not used it, my jam would not have set as it didn't for the sloe jelly. When cooking, the mixture takes only 5mins to get up to 100 C, to get to 104 C it takes 10 mins on maximum heat. My large pan - with all the jam - on a high enough heat would have boiled over and the lower heat wasn't increasing the temperature. Instead, I took a risk and siphoned off half the mixture into another pan to keep hot. Meanwhile, the large pan reached optimum temperature and I could bottle up the first batch. I repeated this with the second batch. When they had cooled both batches were well set. I would say though, not to make jam quite so late! I went straight to bed so I couldn't stir the jam after 30-60mins. My jam ended up with a layer of the fruit and nut on top and see-through jam in the bottom. Still it's all about the taste!
Hedgerow Jam Recipe
I also made an attempt at Crystallized Ginger. I say attempt because my ginger doesn't look like the stuff in the picture (like the stuff you buy). However, it does taste as good - if not better - than the bought ginger. Beware though, it packs a powerful punch of fiery gingerness! I made this using a recipe from 'Grow your own Drugs' (see recipe below).
Crystallized Ginger Recipe
Finally, I made numerous batches of Chocolate Cointreau Truffles. This recipe couldn't be easier and is well worth doing because the truffles taste heavenly. This involved mixing melted dark chocolate (225g), double cream (150ml) and Cointreau (4 tbsp). This mixture lumps up and you have to work it until it is mixed through. After cooling, then chilling for an hour the mixture is spooned into rough balls and rolled between two cocoa dusted hands. Ideally, you could get someone to help you, however, in my case this ended up with a truffle being magnificently palm splattered, so I'll let you decide if you need help!
I know this is a lot of effort but when you've assembled your hampers and can stand back to admire your handiwork, you'll be proud with yourself and eager to see what people make of your unique gifts.
My final word on Christmas hampers is don't think you need to spend loads on packaging! I use jars and bottles collected throughout the year, make small boxes from sheets of card and use florists wrap, available from any florist for approximately a pound a metre. I also don't put my hampers in large rustic baskets, I use normal gift bags because they look good, can be reused and are easily available.
I'm going to tell you what I made for the Christmas Hampers this year. I make them for Grandparents and other people who are hard to buy for. They make great gifts because they're unique, full of thought and are consumable, you won't be filling someone's house with potentially unwanted ornaments and trinkets. Now is a good time to think about Hampers because you will need to start collecting nice jars, bottles and containers for next year.
The first Hamper item was the sloe gin. After spending two months occasionally shaking the bottles I decanted the gin into new bottles, ready to be labelled. The gin went down very well with good feedback all round.
Secondly there was Hedgerow jam (see link below for recipe). I ended up doing this wild fruit jam at 3.30am! Amazingly, it came out well, mostly due to the use of a jam thermometer. I found using the thermometer was invaluable. Had I not used it, my jam would not have set as it didn't for the sloe jelly. When cooking, the mixture takes only 5mins to get up to 100 C, to get to 104 C it takes 10 mins on maximum heat. My large pan - with all the jam - on a high enough heat would have boiled over and the lower heat wasn't increasing the temperature. Instead, I took a risk and siphoned off half the mixture into another pan to keep hot. Meanwhile, the large pan reached optimum temperature and I could bottle up the first batch. I repeated this with the second batch. When they had cooled both batches were well set. I would say though, not to make jam quite so late! I went straight to bed so I couldn't stir the jam after 30-60mins. My jam ended up with a layer of the fruit and nut on top and see-through jam in the bottom. Still it's all about the taste!
Hedgerow Jam Recipe
I also made an attempt at Crystallized Ginger. I say attempt because my ginger doesn't look like the stuff in the picture (like the stuff you buy). However, it does taste as good - if not better - than the bought ginger. Beware though, it packs a powerful punch of fiery gingerness! I made this using a recipe from 'Grow your own Drugs' (see recipe below).
Crystallized Ginger Recipe
Finally, I made numerous batches of Chocolate Cointreau Truffles. This recipe couldn't be easier and is well worth doing because the truffles taste heavenly. This involved mixing melted dark chocolate (225g), double cream (150ml) and Cointreau (4 tbsp). This mixture lumps up and you have to work it until it is mixed through. After cooling, then chilling for an hour the mixture is spooned into rough balls and rolled between two cocoa dusted hands. Ideally, you could get someone to help you, however, in my case this ended up with a truffle being magnificently palm splattered, so I'll let you decide if you need help!
I know this is a lot of effort but when you've assembled your hampers and can stand back to admire your handiwork, you'll be proud with yourself and eager to see what people make of your unique gifts.
My final word on Christmas hampers is don't think you need to spend loads on packaging! I use jars and bottles collected throughout the year, make small boxes from sheets of card and use florists wrap, available from any florist for approximately a pound a metre. I also don't put my hampers in large rustic baskets, I use normal gift bags because they look good, can be reused and are easily available.
posted by Jenna at
11:31
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