The week of the nectarines

One of the best things about shopping at the farmers' market is the availability of seasonal fruit in bulk. Last Saturday whole boxes of slightly imperfect nectarines were selling for $10. Our box had about 8.5kg of fruit.

What to do with 8.5kg of nectarines? 

First project: jam

 

Tyson based the jam roughly on this recipe. About 2.5kg of nectarine flesh (after stones were removed - no need to peel) produced the quantity of jam shown above.

So many people have reacted with surprise when I mentioned making nectarine jam that it has caused me to think about how strongly our perception of what is or is not 'legitimate' food is shaped by what is available in supermarkets. There is no Cottees or IXL nectarine jam and therefore it doesn't register on the radar when a big box of nectarines is available. Unlike strawberry jam, which a box of ripe strawberries fairly cried out to me in large letters, despite the fact that I don't buy strawberry jam as it is not my favourite.

Nectarine jam is so, so good. WAY better than strawberry jam, and easier to make, as the pectin content is higher in nectarines than strawberries (the thing that helps it set - I didn't know that six months ago either).

If not jam, then smoothies: 

Two peeled nectarines, hearty dollop of vanilla yoghurt, about a cup of milk. Blend.

Or baked nectarines:

 

 

 

 

Tyson did one tray simply adding cinnamon or vanilla sugar to each half fruit and baking uncovered for around 20 minutes (pictured). He did a second tray as follows: 

Line well-greased baking tray with baking paper. Halve the nectarines, drizzle a little brandy on each half, then sprinkle sugar on each. Put a small lump of butter on each. Pour about 100ml water into the bottom of the pan. Cover with alfoil or a baking tray and bake for 20min in a 200°C oven. Take the cover off and sprinkle a little more sugar on each, then back into the oven for 10min to finish.

The brandied ones came out softer than the cinnamon ones - more of a stewed than baked finish.

Or just eat them. Many of the 'slightly damaged' nectarines in our box were much more delicious than the 'perfect' ones usually available.

 

They ran out by Thursday, so I can assure you we had no trouble putting away the whole box.

Market day today: Nectarines $5 a tray. Our tray weighed in at just short of 7kg. So the week of the nectarines is extending into a fortnight... at least...

Initial Time: Clare: five minutes to make a smoothie. Tyson: three hours for jam; about 20 minutes for baked nectarines. I love being married to a man who likes to cook...

Initial Cost: $10 (and now another $5 for week two)

Ongoing time or cost commitment: zero - in fact, a cost saving as we won't be buying jam any time soon. Or possibly ever again, if we keep up the bulk fruit jamming a couple of times a year.

Impact: As when I wrote about using bulk strawberries (jam and pulp) and freezing plums, this is more about shifting my thinking than having a large impact as a single action. Still, we have managed again to use local fruit in season and make a small reduction in the food miles and packaging required to source our food.

Pelmets and Pantry doors

I'm writing about passive cooling again. Its still summer here and so we continue working on ways to keep the house cool without using electricity. The latest commitments: a make-shift pelmet, and a commitment to close the doors of built-in cupboards.

Pelmets are those ugly wooden box-covers that go around the top of a curtained window, gathering dust and trinkets. I always considered them a bit of interior decorating vanity, but thanks to Tyson's training in home sustainability I was made aware of their insulating value. Pelmets prevent convection currents pouring hot air into the room. The air in the gap between curtains and glass heats up and rises. If there is a gap at the top of the curtains, this hot air escapes into the room even though the curtains are shut.

Real pelmets are not a feasible addition for renters, but a rolled up blanket works nearly as well. I was inspired by my Mum, who has bath towels along the top of her curtains, and she in turn was inspired by her sister, who uses pool noodles.

And the cupboard doors... two wardrobes have back walls that are external, baked with morning sun. Closing the doors helps keep that heat in the cupboard and out of the bedrooms. The other built-in cupboards heat up less dramatically, but they don't need to be cooled (or heated, in winter) so keeping doors closed reduces the quantity of air we are trying to temperature-manage. The pantry is directly opposite the airconditioner. When we do run the aircon, it is a complete waste of energy to leave the pantry door open and cool all our tins and packets!

Apparently some homes do not have roof insulation above their built in cupboards. If you have insulating bats it might be worth checking your roof space. We have blow-in insulation and that is less discriminate about what it covers.

Initial Time: Blanket pelment: about three minutes. Cupboard doors: a few seconds each morning as part of the roughly five-minute circle round the house to close up for a hot day.

Initial Cost: Zero.

Ongoing time or cost commitment: Zero cost. The blanket doesn't need to be removed to open or close curtains but it does start to sag and needs a minute or two every few days to pull it back up into position.

Impact: The one room that has curtains (everywhere else has blinds) is keeping cooler - and darker! - since we installed the blanket 'pelmet'. Its the master bedroom, and I have had cool afternoon sleeps in there recently on some very hot days.

I don't have a way to measure the impact of closing cupboard doors, but I know at the end of a heat wave, I leave the cupboards open through the night to cool down. Otherwise when I next open them a wave of hot air comes out, saved carefully behind the closed doors, which suggests closing the doors does have some impact on overall air temperature.