Oops

[flick]

11:00am - Flick puts marrons glacés in Aga, and sets alarm for three hours.

1:00pm - Flick realises that the alarm will go off while she's being de-haired, cancels it and SMSs Mike to say "please take them out in an hour or two".

7:00pm - Flick thinks "I wonder if Mike took the marrons glacés out of the Aga? I don't remember seeing them on the worktop while he was cooking. Must remember to check." And then forgets, on account of being in a field at the time.

9:30pm - Flick remembers thinking the above when last in the field. And continues to remember for long enough to get into the kitchen and take them out of the Aga.

I wonder what that's going to do to them...?

(They are rather experimental, and made from windfalls. We shall see!)

(The sugar has, finally, all dissolved in the sloe gin, though, which I take as a good sign! Anyone know if I still need to keep periodically shaking it now or not? Am contemplating taking some carrier bags out and gathering fruit for a second, post-frost batch, but all the ones I'd been vaguely considering for that are now looking a bit old and withered, due to late frost.)

(I paraphrase only slightly when I say that one of the Aga cook books describes the process thus: "Making marrons glacés without an Aga is a horribly long and tedious process. With an Aga, it only requires three or four hours of initial prep time and then popping them in the simmering oven for two or three hours each evening for a fortnight while preparing dinner! So simple!")

Comments

[frostfox.livejournal.com]

I don't bother with sugar in the blackberry gin. Or the blackberry whisky, or the damson vodka, or the blackberry vodka... the fruit sugars make them sweet enough.
I shake the bottles once a day for the first week then once a week until I strain and bottle them (about 2-3 months).
I freeze the fruit once it's strained out.

Don't know if that helps?

FF

[bohemiancoast.livejournal.com]

Marrons glacés are a famously immense faff, and the commercial methods involve making multiple sugar syrups at different sugar concentrations, and, yes, weeks of work. I always reckoned it would be possible to do something at home that would be a tenth of the price and perhaps only half as good.

[flickgc.livejournal.com]

I don't think I'd bother with sugar in blackberry gin, but have you ever eaten a sloe!?

What I've read says to strain it out in three months but that it's much better for drinking the next year, or several years later. We might crack open a bottle at NY, just to see....

[flickgc.livejournal.com]

Well, you're going to be the sample group....

[guybles.livejournal.com]

The first time I encountered an Aga, I consulted a nearby cookbook for some insight about just the hell I was supposed to do with this hot lump of metal.

The first page I opened to contained a recipe for jugged hare, with the comment that this was "the dish that the Aga was made for".

So, I entirely believe what you read in your Aga cookbook about marrons glacés. The writers of these things seem to live in some kind of parallel universe where nobody ever gets gout.

(in the end, I decided to believe them that half an hour in the roasting oven, followed by all day in the simmering oven, is the perfect way to prepare a bone-in pork belly - and, by golly, they were right (http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/guybles/919432/5230/5230_900.jpg))

[flickgc.livejournal.com]

Was it a recipe for jugged hare *including the blood*, or was it a wussy one with stock? Yes, quite.

And, apparently, "all country dwellers find that their freezer fills up with game". Am looking forward to that one, though I doubt it. Maybe if we could induce the hunt to cross our land....

It really does do some lovely roasted meat, though. You'd know that, if you'd been to visit us. Hmph.

Still not convinced by the scrambled eggs (ie, only thing I regularly cook), though: hot plate is too, cold plate is too, sigh. Toast fabulous, though. Thoroughly converted to Aga toast. Nom. And Mike's Aga-cooked sour-dough crumpets? Worth a trip on their own.

[guybles.livejournal.com]

I don't recall, but it was probably the wussy version - it looked like more of a lifestyle Aga cookbook, rather than a "first catch your hare" version.

Scrambled eggs is doable, but you need to embrace the French method: plenty of butter, plenty of time (and use Le Creuset). Once your butter has started to foam, crack your eggs straight into the pan, then remove from the heat and start whisking with a fork. Only put it back on for five-ten seconds when you need to bring the temperature back up.

I hear great things about Aga toast, but the one I dealt with didn't have the toast rack. Pretty slack, really.

Your subtle hints about visiting have been duly noted.

[frostfox.livejournal.com]

When they get to know you better, your neighbours will start popping round with the odd hare/rabbit/pheasant/stag, just trust me on this.

FF

[dorispossum.livejournal.com]

M has long desired aga (not a chance, would fill our entire kitchen), but I've always thought they're too faffy. But you've won me over now, 'cos marron glace are my most favouritist sweet thing EVER. I hope the experiment works. And I just went to check out the damson gin I set going in September, and yes, sugar all gone. :) Also unsure about shaking routine - I shake the jars a little bit when I remember (like now), but mostly they just sit there. But looking good and purple, and hopefully will be drinkable by Christmas. Good luck with the sloes (which I intend to try out next year).

[dorispossum.livejournal.com]

Now thinking I shouldn't have bothered putting sugar in the damson gin? I put in the one third part recommended in recipe, and now think it'll be too sweet: will find out in December!

How essential is sugar for the preserving process? Tried bottling our figs in brandy about 7 weeks ago, and that involved using both water (recipe said 50/50 with brandy, which sounded inadequately alcoholic - I adjusted to 25/75) and quite a lot of sugar. Given sweetness of figs, it did seem a bit much, but recipes all say they won't keep without the sugar. I've no idea if this is correct - ideally I'd like to just stuff them in pure brandy and leave it at that!

[frostfox.livejournal.com]

Sugar not necessary in damson gin (and I've made a lot of it over the years, when Mum's huge damson tree has a glut).
You also get a different flavour if you pit the damsons to unpitted damsons. More of an almond flavour in unpitted gin, obviously.

I prefer unflavoured gin for adding to fruit but that's hard to get hold of in the UK (Dutch Geneva is perfect if you can lay your hands on it) so I often use vodka, just because it's a cleaner flavour.

And, of course, you can use the cheapest spirit you can get, mine came from Aldi or Lidl this year, by the time they have had the fruit in them, they taste just divine.

FF

[dorispossum.livejournal.com]

Will definitely experiment with sugarless version. With luck my sweet damsons will be good for pies etc once extracted from gin. Interesting on the pitting v non-pitting point. I just gave the damsons a night in the freezer, then bashed them with a rolling pin. Next year will try out the vodka varieties. And like you, went for cheap spirit (ASDA own brand gin).

See you at Novacon?

[frostfox.livejournal.com]

Experimenting is the best fun!

No Novacon, I'm afraid, can't afford cons much these days, saving up for Worldcon.

FF

[flickgc.livejournal.com]

Agas do seem very faffy: Mike is forever putting bits of metal in and out of them. I can just about make toast and cook scrambled eggs in them, unless I have an Aga-specific recipe!

They make lovely bum warmers, though.