Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Rosehips and Wild Apple / Hyben og vildæbler


Autumn has arrived in Denmark. Outside the remaining leaves on the trees are glowing red just before the next wind- and rain gusts sweep them away.The Queen Elizabeth and the Dale End roses are still dressed in their wrinkled balldresses along with the white Japanese Anemones. The Dahlias haven't yet given up either. Now that it's colder the dark red pompon balls have turned slightly more blue but I don't think that the last buds will unfold...So autumn has arrived quite late this year - much to my delight!

Efteråret er over os. Ude gløder de sidste blade på træerne, inden næste blæse- og regnvejr fælder dem, og Queen Elizabeth og Dale End roserne står stadigvæk med lidt forkrøllede balkjoler tillige med de hvide japanske anemoner. Og georginerne har åbenbart heller ikke tænkt sig at give op endnu. De mørkerøde ball pompons er blevet lidt mere blå i farven nu, hvor det er blevet koldere, og de sidste knopper når sikkert ikke at udfolde sig.. Efteråret har altså indfundet sig usædvanlig sent i år - og tak for det!

Now it's time for indoor things and these days I have Rosehips and apples on my mind. Specifically wild apples, since I'm knitting away at the famous Wild Apple jumper Svenska Bohus Stickning added to their line in the 1950's. It is exceptionally beautiful, but rather difficult to knit.






Men så er det tid for indendørssysler, og jeg har hyben og æbler på hjernen for tiden, vildæbler nærmere betegnet, idet jeg strikker på livet løs på den berømte Vildäpple jumper, som Svenska Bohus Stickning lancerede engang i halvtredserne. Den er ganske usædvanligt smuk, men temmelig vanskelig at strikke, så jeg tilbinger rigtig mange timer med de glødende vildæbler, som i øvrigt minder mig om de hyben, som rosa rugosa sætter, inden de takker af. Måske fordi jeg hver dag i temmelig lang tid har renset dem for deres genstridige kløpulver. Det er et overordentlig sent arbejde og noget værre snask at skrabe frøene ud af frugtkødet med en teske, med mindre man tager fryseren til hjælp. Efter at have befriet frugterne for haserne og halveret dem fryser jeg dem ned i mindre portioner for, når de er gennemfrosne, at tage dem ud igen, tø dem en smule op og banke dem mange gange hårdt mod køkkenbordet, så frøene løsner sig. Jeg gør det som sagt blot med et par håndfulde ad gangen og skyller dem allesammen til sidst under rindende vand samtidig med, at jeg "skummer" de sidste frø af.

As I'm spending a lot of time working with the glowing wild apples I am reminded of the fruit from Rosehip (rosa cania), which are growing along many coastal shores in Denmark. Lately I have been looking a lot at them also and cleaning away the stubborn itchy seeds inside. It is tedious work and a messy business scraping out the seeds with a teaspoon, unless you use the freezer as well.
After cutting the fruit in half and removing the hull, I bag the fruit in handful sized small bags and freeze them until they are frozen solid. Then I take them out again letting them thaw just a little, then bang them against the counter top to loosen the seeds inside. I work with just a few handfuls at a time, Then I scape the seeds out with a teaspoon and finally rinsing them in water to get rid of any stay seeds.




So what is all this work for? Grandma Osine's Rosehip Marmelade which for several generations has been a big hit in our family, served on toasted white bread accompanied with a nice cup of tea - I recommend Darjeeling Singbulli. The reciepe for the marmelade is here:


OSINE'S ROSEHIP MARMELADE
1 kg (2 1/4 lbs)of cleaned hips (about 1 1/2 kg (3 1/2 lbs) of the whole fruit)
2 3/4 dl (1 1/4 cup) water
1 3/4 dl ( 3/4 cup) apple vinegar
1/2 vanilla bean with a cut slit through the length of the bean
1/2 kg (18 oz) sugar
1 unsprayed lemon
preservative or a spoonful of alcohol, white rum is perfect

Use a steel pot and add the hips, cold water, vinegar and the vanilla bean. Bring it to a boil and cook under a lid at a low heat until the fruits are almost done (circa 15 min.)
Add the sugar and let the marmelade continue cooking at low heat without a lid while stirring often until the hips are soft and beginning to become mushy. Cut the lemon in slices, then into small pieces and stir into the marmelade. Remove the pot from the heat and add preservative according to directions or use a spoonful of alcohol. Remove the vanilla bean.
Pour the marmelade into clean scolded glasses (remember to put a silver spoon into the glass when you poor boiling water into it so it won't break). Place a piece of wax paper dipped in
liquid preservative ont op and close lid imediately (Or use a wax sealer).

Og hvad skal jeg så bruge resultatet til? Mormor Osines hybenmarmelade, som i flere generationer har været et stort hit i vor familie på ristet brød for eksempel som ledsager til en kop dampende varm te - selv sværger jeg til Darjeeling Singbulli. Opskriften kommer her:


OSINES HYBEN MARMELADE

1 kg rensede hyben (ca. 1 1/2 kg hele hyben)
2 3/4 dl vand
1 3/4 dl ganske almindelig lagereddike
1/2 stang vanille
1/2 kg sukker
1 usprøjtet citron
konserveringsmiddel eller alkohol, hvid rom er perfekt


Put de rensede hyben i en (stål)gryde med det kolde vand, eddiken og den flækkede vanillestang.. Bring det hele i kog og kog frugterne næsten møre u n d e r låg ved svag varme (ca. et kvarter).Tilsæt sukkeret og lad marmeladen koge videre u d e n låg under jævnlig omrøring og ved svag varme, til frugterne er helt møre og begynder at koge ud. Skær citronen i skiver og derefter i småstykker, som vendes i marmeladen. Tag gryden fra varmen og tilsæt konserveringsmiddel ifølge brugsanvisningen på emballagen, eller brug en teskefuld alkohol. (Hvid rom for eksempel er perfekt.) Fjern vanillestangen.
Hæld marmeladen på rengjorte og skoldede glas (husk at sætte en sølvske i glasset, når det kogende vand hældes i - for at det ikke skal splintre). Læg et stykke pergamentpapir vendt i konserveringsmiddel øverst i glasset og sæt straks låget på.
Bon appetit!


4 comments:

fluffbuff said...

Bohus knitting is indeed laborious, but Wild Apple is absolutely gorgeous and worth the effort. That kit has been on my wish list for a while.

Anonymous said...

Thank you, that was extremely valuable and interesting...I will be back again to read more on this topic.

Anonymous said...

Hi,

This is a inquiry for the webmaster/admin here at danishknitdesign.blogspot.com.

Can I use part of the information from this blog post right above if I give a link back to your website?

Thanks,
Thomas

DanishKnitDesign said...

Hi Thomas,
Yes you can, were you interested in the knitting or the marmelade? Thanks for linking back to us.
Charlotte