The Perils of Preserving

Well! Autumn well and truly upon us, again! I swear it comes around quicker every year. Mixed results from the allotment. The tomatoes were a total wash-out. Not one, single fruit. So much for the bloody polytunnel! I had so many plans for the 20 or so kg I was sure I'd have to play with! Passatta,  ketchup, you name it. Zip, zilch, diddly-bloody-squat is what I actuall got. However the butternut squashes, Cinderella pumpkins and cardoons have faired much better, and I had so many Autumn raspberries that jam, vinegar and vodka have been made.
A sloe-gathering expedition (for gin, of course!) brought to my attention the huge number of rosehips around this year, and I decided to try my hand at rosehip wine. Unmitigated disaster! Those buggers contain so much pectin I ended up with a bucket of half set, slightly alcoholic jelly! I didn't know the pectic enzyme has to go in well before the yeast as alcohol stops it working. I know now! Quick rethink and the remaining hips became rosehip syrup and rosehip vodka.
After an incredibly hot and dry Summer the local apple and quince trees are literally groaning under the weight of fruit. Not having been able to get my mits on any quince for several years, I had the feelers out early this year ( and seriously considered a night time raid on my neighbour's tree!). This may prove to be my undoing! Already had about 5kg from a colleague, and he promises there are more to come, and as I write the hubster is collecting God knows how many from a fellow fireman, who's snowed under with them, one tree (of several) having given around 200kg! So, what to do with them all? Obviously some sort of booze, that goes without saying. Having a bash at quince wine. Will let you know results of that at a later date. Suffice to say I will not be making the same mistake as I did with the rosehips. Grating 20 large, brick-hard quinces concentrates the mind, and "pectic enzyme 24 hours before the yeast" became something of a mantra.
Oh Christ! He's only gone and brought about 15kg of the buggers back! Fortunately I have a few different jelly recipes, and one for a spicy pumpkin and quince chutney that I can't wait to try, but I am going to need about a hundredweight of sugar....and a lot more jars!