Family tradition spreads

Selling home-style jam to supermarkets across the South Island is proving a fruitful business for a Tapawera family. Naomi Mitchell spoke to a couple whose love of berries has been in the family for generations.

Berries are in Wilson and Kylie Mathewson's blood.

Wilson's father and grandfather grew berries in the Nelson region. Kylie's family were also berry growers.

So it is no surprise that they are carrying on the berry tradition.

The couple grow 3ha of boysenberries and 18ha of raspberries at Tapawera.

Initially they just sold the berries, but at the request of locals they ventured into making jam and selling it in small pottles at the roadside.

The couple said they had no idea their jam would prove so popular.

About a year ago they approached supermarkets and now their Berry Cart jam is stocked throughout the South Island.

The name was inspired by the raspberry cart they used to sell the berries from. It had been in the family for generations.

Wilson said the cart, which could be more than 100 years old, was originally used to transport empty milk bottles to the gate for the milkman to pick up.

Wilson found it, restored it and got a new red cover for the cart and still uses it to sell berries at the roadside during the berry season.

The Mathewsons use about 15 percent of the berries harvested from the property to make the jam. They get apricots for jam from Central Otago and blackcurrants come from a local supplier.

They can produce a batch or 60 large or 120 small pottles of jam in an hour.

They have converted a shed behind their house into a kitchen and use large saucepans on gas burners to boil the ingredients.

Chest freezers are full of frozen berries so they can make jam year-round.

The supermarket jam is made from the same preservative and additive-free recipe they used for the pottles they sold from the raspberry cart.

Not surprisingly the couple's sons Ethan, 4, and Jacob, 3, are jam lovers, and only too happy to eat it on pikelets, scones or bread.

The Mathewsons were happy to share some of their favourite recipes that they whip up to accompany or to use their jam.

The jam and fruit roll recipe was passed down from Wilson's mother.

Jam Delights
INGREDIENTS
50g butter
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
¼ cup flour
¼ cup custard powder
½ tsp baking powder
Jam (raspberry is particularly nice)

METHOD
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating will after each addition.

Sift flour, custard powder and baking powder together. Mix into the creamed mixture.

Bake at 180dec C for 10 minutes.

Place a teaspoonfull of jam in the centre of each cake. Bake for a further three minutes.

Pikelets
INGREDIENTS
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 egg
¼ cup sugar
¾ cup milk (approx)

METHOD
Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl.

In another bowl beat the egg and sugar until thick. Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and then gradually add the milk while beating with electric beater on slow speed. Continue mixing until smooth.

Cook tablespoonsful on a hot greased griddle, cast iron or non-stick frypan.

Turn pikelets over when bubbles on the top surface burst.

Cook until golden then serve with jam and cream.

Baked Jam and Fruit Roll
INGREDIENTS
2 cups flour
2 Tbsp butter
2 tsps baking powder
½ cup milk (approximately)
Jam
1 apple, grated
100 g mixed fruit
½ tsp cinnamon

Syrup:
1 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1 cup boiling water

METHOD
Rub butter into flour, add baking powder and milk then mix to a firm dough. Roll out dough, spread with jam.

Sprinkle apple, fruit and cinnamon on top of the jam.

Roll up and close the ends.

Place in a deep pie dish.

Combine all the syrup ingredients and pour over the roll.

Bake at 150 deg C for about 45 mins.

Good Scones
INGREDIENTS

2 cups self raising flour
1 cup milk
¼ tsp salt
1 egg
2 tsp sugar

METHOD
Mix egg and sugar in milk. Add the flour and salt. Turn onto a floured tray and shape into a rough square. Using a floured knife, cut into nine even scones.

Bake on an oven tray at 190 deg C for 10 to 15 minutes.

- © Fairfax NZ News