HEDGEROW BERRY, BAY AND BLACK PEPPER JELLY

If you've been out collecting an assortment of hedgerow berries and aren't sure what to do with them, this recipe is perfect. Hedgerow berries can be very bitter, contain pips and be mildly toxic if eaten raw but a jelly is a great way to extract flavour without any of the faff.

Hedgerow berries (think rosehips, hawthorn, blackberries etc.)

Equal amounts of either crab apples or cooking apples (you need these for their pectin)

Sugar (amount depends on how much juice you extract)

1 bay leaf

10 black peppercorns

Muslin cloth or tea towel

Clean jars

Pick over and clean all the berries and cut up the apples into chunks (don't worry about peeling or coring them).

Put them into a saucepan with the bay leaf, peppercorns and enough water to just cover them and simmer until everything is pulpy and mostly juice.

Place a teatowel or muslin cloth over a bowl and pour the juice and fruit into the cloth, letting the juice land in the bowl beneath. Wrap up the fruit in the cloth and squeeze to get as much juice out as possible. Hang above the bowl overnight to extract all the juice.

The next day, measure out your juice and put in a saucepan with 500g sugar per 600mls of juice. Heat and dissolve the sugar. Once dissolved, bring to the boil and boil for 10-15 mins until setting point is reached. To test this, put a small plate in the freezer and once cold, put a small dollop of the jelly on it and give it a minute to set. Draw your finger through it and it should wrinkle and feel quite set. If not, continue to boil until you get to that point.

Once ready, pour into sterilsed jars (you can sterilise them by washing thoroughly and then putting them in a 100 degree oven for 10-15 mins) and leave to set.

Serve on buttered toast, alongside roast game or on a cheese platter.