Reclaim old ways

What an abundant land we live in. After six months in the Middle East, Nancy and I were thrilled upon our return last year to see fruit trees everywhere.

That was before we took up residence in our home, just outside Governors Bay. As we were moving in, we noticed the old orchard behind the house and saw the birds flocking to eat.

A large wood pigeon, drunk on fermented plums, had flown straight through the lounge window last year, the landlord told us.

After staining the new carpet with its own version of plum sauce, the bird smashed through what remained of the window and flew off into the sunset.

"Consider yourselves warned," he said.

December, January and even February were spent frantically picking the several varieties of plums.

As we soon learned, you can't leave a basketful of ripe plums sitting in the kitchen until you have the time or motivation to process them. Nor can you just throw them in the freezer as they are. They must be boiled down within a day or two and the stones removed to do anything with them.

We had not long finished with the plums when the apples and pears arrived, followed soon after by the grapes and walnuts.

By day, we picked and by night I trawled through fruit-preserving recipes on the internet.

Some of them worked out well, but we lost a lot of fruit because of our ignorance. I could have paid off my student loan selling plum sauce and pear chutney if I had learnt preserving skills from my parents or grandparents. All I have is the all-knowing internet. It knows everything, but it gives you 1000 different answers to your question, when all you want is one. It certainly can't taste my plum sauce and tell me what it's lacking. Nana could have.

In the absence of Nana, I've had to teach myself, and I've learnt that many of the foods we eat can be made quite simply at home without industrial machines or food scientists.

Take cheese, with its basic ingredients of milk, yoghurt, rennet and salt.

Finding a shop that stocks rennet is the hardest part. After that, it's just an hour's work and a couple of weeks waiting, and you've got your own homemade cheese.

I've noticed there are a number of people trying to reclaim the old ways, planting fruit trees and developing vegetable gardens. Perhaps it's the economic recession. Possibly it's the increasing dissatisfaction we feel as we become more disconnected from our food sources. The origin and conditions under which our food is produced is becoming an issue for us. People are trying to take back some control over the food they eat by producing it themselves.

We're very fortunate in New Zealand, because most of us still have at least a small patch of land that we can grow something on.

This is the path we should be trekking.

PLUM JELLY

Plums are low-pectin fruit, so I used Chelsea Jam Sugar, and to guarantee a set, added lemon juice. I made the jelly in four-cup lots, in a jam-pan (plenty of space, unlike normal saucepans, which boil over - whoosh - in seconds).

To get plum juice, fill a big pot two-thirds full of plums, barely cover with water, and boil hard until the plums are cooked. Tip into a sieve poised over large jug, push to squeeze out the juice and leave to drain. If you don't collect four cups of juice, repeat as necessary. Freeze or refrigerate the juice until required. Discard stones and pulp.

Plum jelly

4 cups of plum juice

3 1/2 cups of jam sugar

Juice of 1 lemon

Put plum juice and sugar in pan over gentle heat and stir to dissolve. Add lemon juice. Gradually increase heat to a brisk simmer, and after 15-20 minutes, start to check for a set. Drop a teaspoonful on a plate, draw the spoon through it and if it stays apart, it is jelling. Have ready about six sterilised jam jars and lids. Use a jug to transfer the jelly from pan to jars.

Leave to cool, then seal. Can be used immediately. Keeps well in a cool, dark cupboard. Very good on buttery croissants or scones, or swirled through creamy desserts. Good, too, for glazing roast pork.

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