Natural Ingredients Home Made Preserves
Finally I hear you all cry, finally the world famous Natural Ingredients Home Preserves range will be available on their web site.
I know many of you regulars who have been shopping with us at the Cumbrian Farmers markets for the last three years have been begging us to put your favourite Jams Chutneys, Marmalades and other extra special preserves on our web site.
Until now the cost of shipping has made it impossible to justify. But since the firm MyHermes are now able to offer the kinds of shipping rates on small but heavy packages that never used to be available, we are now able to list some of our range on the web site.
So, to the products, what’s all the fuss about I hear you uninitiated cry? It’s just another home made jam, just like any you find in any Farmers Market or even in the local butchers window, right. Well yes and no!
You see, for those of you that don't know, jam making is really quite simple in practice, the skill is consistency in both texture and taste. This comes from a consistent approach to preparation, ingredients, methodology and recipe. Just because the quantities you use to make a small batch of 6 jars is increased 10 fold, mixed in a much larger pot using commercial grade equipment, does not mean you will get the same consistency, taste, look and set across the resulting 60 jars.
And this is why Natural Ingredients Preserves are so popular amongst people who really do know their preserves, the Cumbrian Farmers Market shoppers.
Over the 3 years we have been selling at the Farmers Markets we have generated a following of over 180 regulars a week and sold over 13,000 jars. All made in batches of 6 to 10 jars at a time. Yes it’s hard work making such small batches, but as my granny used to say, if its worth doing, its worth doing well. After all, its her recipes we are honouring. Handed down over a century ago and proving very popular today.
Well, for those of you who have not yet been fortunate enough to try our preserves, what do we do and what does our range consist of?
First it is important to mention a few things about what goes in them and why there are so many that are not yet going to be available online.
With the exception of Kiwi Fruit, Pineapple, Seville Oranges and the Sultanas, Raisins & Currants we use in the chutneys, all our fruit comes from the UK. Purchased form local growers and the local fruit wholesalers. The Kiwi Fruit and Pineapple are purchased from the local fruit wholesalers but they are imported, usually from St Vincent, Hawaii and New Zealand. All purchased fresh on the day we are making the preserve in question.
This means that, because we insist on following grannies recipe to the letter, there are absolutely no artificial pectin’s, gelatines or preservatives and absolutely no animal gelatine is ever used, so vegans and vegetarians can shop in peace.
Although many of the fruits we now use to make jams were not around when granny was into preserving the local produce, the 
process is exactly the same. Follow the recipe, small batches gets consistent results. The basic formula is X + Y = Z where X is the fruit lbs and Y is the sugar lbs, depending on the setting point of any given fruit based on the amount of pectin it contains. Some fruits contain little or no pectin and thus will never set. To these we add 100% natural apple pectin that we make ourselves from the apples we use in our chutneys. The pectin is mostly in the skin and so, as we peel them by hand, we are able to make our own pectin from the skins.
Because we make jam the way it used to be made, after all, it was initially a way of preserving the summer harvest through the winter months, we are only able to preserve what is in season if we are to stick with our British Only Fruit policy. Some things do go out of stock until British fruit comes back into season and we are once again able to buy from our Great British growers.
To The Range
Chutneys:
Anyone who knows their chutney knows that a decent chutney has to be laid down to mature for at least 3 months to allow the flavours to develop. This is why we often have no stock at the very time you would expect us to have an abundance, in the autumn. That is typically when we lay it down and it is usually available to sell in the lead up to Christmas. Sounds like a marketing ploy I know, but its true. All the very best tasting chutneys are laid down for at least 3 months. And no matter how many sales we lose out on, that’s how it will always be with Natural Ingredients.
Hot ‘N’ Fruity Chutney. Hot by name and hot by nature, made with Scotch Bonnet pepper in each 16oz jar. These register at over 300,000 units on the Scoville Scale. Jalapeno Peppers by comparison are a weak ass 5,000 units. Use in small amounts so it lasts longer it’s a great addition to pep up any meal.
Hamburger Relish. Hamburger Relish is made with 100% British ingredients and is a full flavour relish. It is ideal for the BBQ or cold meats and especially cheese where it brings out the real depth of a good cheddar. Always made to the same recipe so you always know what your getting.
Green Tomato Chutney. As the name suggests the classic chutney made to the same recipe as granny used to preserve the un-ripened tomato’s still on the vine in September and October.
Red Tomato Chutney. Rich and full of flavour, made with the fully vine ripened tomatoes that give a warm summer taste to any meal, even on a cold winters afternoon. Great for pepping up a bland meal or my personal favourite, a dollop on the side of a fresh baked potato. Mmmm
Beetroot Chutney. This is one of the classics and the one that started it all off. Home grown beetroots preserved the same way my granny used to. Using the same kind of malt vinegar and brown sugars that were around back then, remember when we used to buy produce from the commonwealth? we do.
Sweetcorn Relish. Very popular in the summer as a BBQ relish, along with the Hamburger Relish. For a while now its been difficult to get corn on the cob from UK farmers at a good price, but the market is returning and hopefully next summer we will have this wonderful side dish relish back on the shelves again.
Rhubarb Chutney. Remember the wet summer a few years ago, caused havoc up here. The rhubarb however loved it and we could not make enough Rhubarb and Ginger Jam to keep the rhubarb patch under control. Enter Rhubarb Chutney laid it down for the usual 3 months and you guessed it, it flew off the shelves, so much so it is likely to make a comeback this year, as long as we can keep our stocks of rhubarb high enough.
Apple Chutney. Another classic, but this time not one of my grannies recipes, this one came from a family friend with more apples on her trees than she knew what to do with. Its one of the oldest preserving fruits around and was very popular in the south west where apple orchards used to go on for miles and miles. This chutney is generally available when we have used the apple skins to make our own pectin and we are finished laying down our other chutneys. A simple but sweet and tangy chutney for those who like a more forthright and simple taste on their plate.
Bramble Jelly. The classic taste of wild brambles preserved for the winter months to bring a taste of summer to any dish. Ever popular with cold and hot meats and compliments some of our Christmas Platter preserves such as Harvey’s Cranberries and Captain Bligh’s Tipsy Apricots. A wonderfully fruity jelly that many of our regulars use as a breakfast jam. Probably why we cant keep it on the shelves very long.
The Exotic Chutneys.
Mango Chutney. Another product we introduced to satisfy the demands of our regulars at the Farmers Markets and one we find difficult to keep on the shelves. We use only Alphonso Mangos obviously not grown in the UK, but from one of the few sustainable growers in Mumbai India. When they arrive with us, they have only been off the tree for 48 hours. This is the perfect chutney for hot curries and ploughman's lunches, lovely, chunky and sweet.
Nice ‘N’ Spicy Chutney. Made to the same recipe as the Hot ‘N’ Fruity but without the Scotch Bonnet pepper and with a few extra spices to pack in the flavour. Another one we simply can’t make enough of, so my advice is put yourself on the “email me when in stock” list so you can get it when its back in stock.
Condiment Jellies.
Blackcurrant and Mint Jelly. Proved so popular we started doing it as a 16oz jar at certain times of the year. Especially when the spring lambs are about (Sorry Vegetarians and Vegans). This jelly is made with our own apple pectin, blackcurrants and mint and compliments the sometimes delicate flavours of lamb and pork.
Hot Chilli Jelly. And when we say hot, we mean hot, hot, hot. For the best results use only a little of this Hot Chilli Jelly as we use 2 Scotch Bonnet Peppers and a Red Savina Habanero in each 12oz jar. Caution is recommended as whilst the after taste of this family recipe chilli jellysweet and fruity, the Habanero Peppers register at over 500,000 units on the Scoville Scale and by any measure, they are HOT HOT HOT. But so tasty.