Salal berries

Lemon crusted berry loaf cake (gluten-free; dairy-free; vegan)

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Gluten-free_dairy-free_vegan_lemon_crusted_Salal_berry_loaf_cake
Very lemony berry cake. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

It’s that wonderful time of the year when the garden begins to yield produce thick and fast. My latest pickings are from the many Salal (Gaultheria shallon) bushes around the garden which have provided a very abundant crop of berries this year. Too many for me to deal with, so I’m happy to say that the birds are enjoying a feast as well.

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This year’s Salal berry harvest. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

The berries are quite challenging to pick individually as they often go to mush in your fingers when they are very ripe. Last year I found a better way of dealing with the problem. Harvest them on their stalks – they grow in clusters so it is easy to snip off the stems with the berries attached.

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Preparing berries for the freezer. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

Wash and dry the berries well, then lay on trays and place in the freezer until you are ready to deal with them. Once frozen solid, they pull away easily from the stems and the berries can then be packed and returned to the freezer for future use.

If you want to use them fresh though, you’ll have to persevere and pull them gently from the stems after washing and drying them.

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Zesty, fruity loaf cake. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

My recipe this week uses the berries fresh, but you don’t need that many for the mixture. I did try it with frozen and it worked fine, but the texture was a little wet for my taste. Blueberries would make a good substitute if you prefer. This is one of those cakes that gets better the longer you leave it. The flavours become more fruity and the texture is denser and richer. Store in an airtight container for up to a week if you can leave it alone. The initial crunchiness of the lemon sugar top will disappear on storing, but it is replaced by a sticky lemony crust instead. It freezes fine as well 🙂

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A berry nice slice. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Serves: 8

Ingredients

  • 1tbsp ground linseed
  • Juice and rind 1 unwaxed lemon
  • 185ml plant milk (I use a barista-style oat milk)
  • 115g plant butter, softened
  • 150g caster sugar
  • 175g gluten-free plain flour blend
  • 50g ground almonds
  • ¼tsp xanthan gum (optional, but the cake is very crumbly without it)
  • ¾tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
  • 80g fresh Salal berries, washed
  • 75g granulated sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C, 160°C fan oven, Gas Mark 4. Line a 1kg loaf tin. Mix the linseed with 3tbsp cold water and put to one side to thicken. Mix 2½tsp lemon juice into the milk and leave for a few minutes at room temperature to thicken.

2. Whisk the butter and caster sugar together until creamy and well blended then gently whisk in the linseed and milk mixtures – don’t panic, the batter will look very lumpy!

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Making the loaf cake batter. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

3. Add the lemon zest, flour, almonds, xanthan gum and baking soda, and mix well until the batter is smooth and creamy. Gently stir in the berries.

4. Transfer the mixture to the loaf tin, smooth the top and bake for about 1hr 15 minutes until risen and firm to the touch.

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Adding the berries. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

5. While the cake is in the oven, prepare the lemon topping by simply mixing 2tbsp lemon juice with the granulated sugar.

6. When the cake is cooked, place the tin on a wire rack and skewer the cake in a few places. Spoon over the lemon sugar evenly to form a crust and leave the cake to cool in the tin.

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Making the lemon sugar crust. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

As the cake cools, the sugar sets in a crusty layer on top whilst the juices soak into the cake. Delish. I served my cake decorated with a few (washed) Salal leaves for a splash of colour – just for show, these are not edible.

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Freshly sliced loaf cake. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Thanks for stopping by. I hope to see you again soon. Best wishes and happy baking 🙂

Apple and salal berry jelly preserve (naturally gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan)

~ My virtually free-from kitchen ~ 3 Comments
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Homemade apple and salal berry jelly. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Hello there. I hope you are keeping well. It’s that time of year when I get the jam pan out and start making preserves and chutneys for the months ahead.

Back in August I harvested a lot of salal berries from the garden. I did compote a few but the rest went in the freezer for making preserves. There are still a few on the bushes now but I am leaving those for the garden birds to enjoy.

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August 2022 harvest of Salal berries. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

I haven’t picked all the apples yet, but I have been taking one or two as and when I need them for cooking. The old tree in the garden is looking heavy with fruit this year, so I think I will be gathering in the apples very soon.

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October 2022, cooking apples ready for picking. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

My recipe is a very simple jelly preserve. If you don’t have salal berries, blueberries or blackberries will work just as well. Salal berries can be quite challenging to pick as they are quite squishy when ripe so I usually pick short branches and then remove the berries when I get back into the kitchen. Have a look at this post from last year for an easy preparation technique Salal berries – jam and muffins (gluten-free; dairy-free; vegan)

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Single jar. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

The recipe below makes a small quantity of preserve and as such can be easily doubled or trebled should you have more berries and apples. Making a smaller amount means that you can strain the fruit through a sieve rather than in a jelly bag; it is quicker to strain, and it also cooks down in less time.

Makes: approx. 650g

Ingredients

  • 200g prepared salal berries, washed
  • 400g cooking apples, washed and chopped, but left unpeeled or cored
  • approx. 450g granulated or preserving sugar

1. Put the fruit in a large saucepan with 350ml water. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes until soft and pulpy. Mash the fruit occasionally to help break it down.

2. Place a large sieve over a jug or bowl and line with clean muslin. Carefully ladle in the pulp and leave to strain for 3-4 hours.

3. Put the pulp back in a saucepan and the harvested juice in the fridge. Re-cook the pulp, this time with 200ml water, for about 5 minutes, and then strain again as above.

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Preparing and cooking the fruit for jelly making. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

4. Measure the juice and pour into a large clean saucepan. Add sugar to the ratio of 450g per 600ml juice – I had 575ml juice and added 430g sugar.

5. Heat, stirring, until the sugar is dissolved, then raise the heat and bring to the boil. Cook rapidly until the temperature reaches between 104°C and 105°C – this will probably take around 10 minutes.

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Making the jelly. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

6. Pour into small, clean, sterilised jars and seal immediately. When cold, label and store for 6-12 months, although the jelly is ready to eat immediately. Serve with cold cuts, cheeses or as a sweet spread on toast or crackers.

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Apple and salal berry jelly on oatcakes. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Well that’s the end of my post for this week. I will be back in the kitchen again next time. Until then, I hope you have a good few days ahead 🙂

Freezer berry jam (naturally gluten-free; dairy-free; vegan)

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7_jars_homemade_berry_jam_made_from_frozen_fruit
Freezer berry jam. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Hello again. It’s the time of year for me when I try and use up as much from the freezer as I can, both for reasons of economy and also to make sure there is room for any new season produce that comes along. In the past few days, the freezer fruit drawer has attracted my attention; the jam pan came out of the cupboard and another cooking session began.

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Frozen Summer berries from 2021. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

I wasn’t that sure how the jam would taste if I put all the berries I had in one pot. I always have lots of raspberries from the garden but last year also produced some great hedgerow blackberries as well as homegrown salal berries and a few strawberries I decided to freeze down. I settled on 2 combinations: raspberry, strawberry and blackberry, and raspberry with salal berries. I made 2 separate batches of the recipe below.

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The vital ingredient. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

When raspberries are fresh they have a lot of the setting agent pectin present, and any jam made with the fresh berries sets very quickly. However, freezing fruit destroys some of the pectin, so it is important to add freshly squeezed, pectin-rich lemon juice to any frozen fruit mix to compensate for the loss – redcurrant juice will also work. Otherwise, jam-making with frozen fruit is exactly the same as with fresh.

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Jars ready for jam. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Make sure your jars and lids are sound – no signs of corrosion on the lids if you are recycling – and thoroughly clean them in hot soapy water. This should mean that your jams, jellies and other preserves will store in perfect condition for many months ahead.

I have reduced the sugar content slightly in the recipe. Usually berry-based jam recipes suggest equal sugar to fruit, but I have found you can reduce the quantity slightly and still maintain a good set and a lengthy period of storage time.

Makes: approx. 1.2-1.4kg

Ingredients

  • 900g frozen berries – I used 300g each frozen raspberries, blackberries and strawberries, and then for the second batch, 450g each of raspberries and salal berries
  • 750g granulated white sugar
  • 2tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
  1. Put the berries in a large saucepan or preserving pan and allow them to semi-defrost so that the juices begin to run. When slushy, heat the fruit gently until steaming, cover with a lid and simmer for about 10 minutes or until very soft and pulpy.

2. Add the sugar and lemon juice, and stir over a low heat until the sugar dissolves.

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Cooking the fruit. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

3. Raise the heat, bring to the boil and cook the fruit uncovered until the temperature reaches 104 – 105°C on a sugar thermometer. If you don’t have a thermometer, check the jam after about 5 minutes of rapid boiling by spooning a small amount on to a cold plate. If you can push the jam with your finger and see wrinkles on the surface, the jam has reached setting point.

4. Turn off the heat and let the jam settle for 5 minutes. Stir and skim away any scum from the surface of the jam. Spoon into clean jars and seal with the lids while the jam is still very hot.

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Testing for setting point and spooning into jars. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

Homemade jam sealed properly and stored in a cool, dry cupboard should keep for many months. If you have insufficient jam to fill a jar completely, let the jam cool before putting the lid on and then keep in the fridge for up to 6 weeks. I had some jam leftover from both batches which meant I could taste the fruits of my jam-making labours instantly 🙂

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Ready to enjoy, three berry jam. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
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Homemade raspberry and salal berry jam. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

Great set, lovely rich colours, and above all else, delicious homegrown berry flavours in the depth of winter.

It looks like a wintry week ahead for this part of Scotland so I may just have to tuck into another jar to remind me of the summer just gone. All the best for now. Until next time, take care.

Salal berries – jam and muffins (gluten-free; dairy-free; vegan)

~ My virtually free-from kitchen ~ 1 Comment
Large_flat_basket_of_freshly_picked_Scottish_Salal_berries
Freshly picked Scottish Salal berries. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Hello again. I hope you are keeping well and enjoying the summer. I have made an interesting discovery since my last post. The berries I thought I had growing in my garden (and have been cooking for a few years each Summer) are not Aronia berries after all, they are in fact Salal or Shallon berries. Fortunately for me, they are edible – thank goodness! The shrub, like the blueberry, is part of the heather (Ericaceae) family and is called Gaultheria; it hails from north-west America, and seems very much at home here in central Scotland.

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Gaultheria Shallon. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
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Starry Salal berries. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Gaultheria Shallon is evergreen and likes acidic soil. It is pretty invasive and has a tendency to spread all over the place. It throws up suckers which can be quite challenging to restrain. This August the shrubs in my garden have produced a bumper crop of berries which I (and the blackbirds) have been able to enjoy safe in the knowledge that I actually know what I’m cooking this year (!). The berries are deep purple and fleshy when ripe and have a soft bristly skin. They are quite difficult to pick individually so I pick small bundles and then strip the berries off the stalks later on.

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Stripping the berries from the stalks. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

When ripe, Salal berries are very soft and squishy. They are attached to the main stalk by tiny woody ends. I have found that using scissors to pull the berries from the stalks is quite successful. If you don’t mind blue-stained fingers, then you can also gently pinch them off. To eat, the skin is very tender and the centre of the berry is very pulpy and full of tiny seeds. The flavour is much like a watery blueberry but without the slight acidity/tannins in the skin. Salal berries have a high Vitamin C content and the leaves have anti-inflammatory properties, although I have yet to try this out.

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Washing Salal berries. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

After stripping the berries from the stalks, I put them in a large colander (strainer) and dunk them a few times in a large bowl of cold water. This gets rid of dust and the little bits of leaf and stem which get through your fingers. To cook with them, I treat them as I would blueberries but they do benefit from adding a little acidity such as lemon juice, which gives them a little extra tanginess.

If you are able to find some Salal berries or if you have them growing in your garden and didn’t realise what they were, I have a couple of basic recipes to share with you. The first is a very basic jam recipe (naturally gluten-free and vegan), and the second a gluten-free and vegan sweet muffin recipe; both recipes have been adapted from blueberry versions.

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Homemade Salal berry jam. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Makes about 650g jam

Ingredients

  • 500g washed and prepared ripe Salal berries
  • 450g granulated sugar
  • Juice of 1 lemon

1. Put the berries in a large saucepan, heat gently until steam rises then cover with a lid and cook for about 10-15 minutes to soften.

2. Add the sugar and lemon juice, and cook gently, stirring, until the sugar dissolves, then raise the heat and boil rapidly for 8-10 minutes until setting point is reached – between 104°C and 105°C.

3. Ladle into clean, hot jam jars and seal well. Cool and label.

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Making Salal berry jam. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
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Fresh out of the pot, Salal berry jam. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
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Salal berry muffins. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Makes: 12

Ingredients

  • 175g gluten-free plain flour blend
  • 12g gluten-free baking powder
  • 100g ground almonds
  • 100g soft light brown sugar
  • 60g plain plant-based yogurt
  • 115g dairy-free margarine, melted
  • 150ml plant-based milk
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 165g washed and prepared Salal berries

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C, 180°C fan oven, gas 6. Line 12 muffin tins with paper cases.

2. Put all the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well, pressing out any lumps in the flour and sugar. Make a well in the centre.

3. Add the yogurt, melted margarine, milk and vanilla and mix into the dry ingredients to make a thick smooth batter. Gently fold in the berries.

4. Divide between the muffin cases and bake for about 25 minutes until risen and lightly golden. Cool on a wire rack and store in an airtight container. They should keep for 3-4 days, and will freeze well.

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Making Salal berry muffins. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
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Muffins cooling. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
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Light, crumbly and very fruity. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

I hope you have a good few days ahead. I look forward to posting again soon. Until then, take care and stay well.