Rowanberries / mountain ash berries (Sorbus americana) are one of the more difficult fruits to work with I know of. At first I really, really wanted to find ways to use the fruits that made use of the entire fruit, and, yeah, it's difficult.
But, traditional rowan jelly is supposedly a good condiment for game, so I've been meaning to work out a version. I didn't have high expectations, but the jelly ended up being one of the most interesting I've had. The flavor is excellent, and the bitterness is there, but tempered by the perfume of apples and the sugar.
Pick your berries after multiple hard frosts
The berries are horrifically bitter, and they stay bitter if they haven't seen multiple hard frosts, which makes things doubly difficult since there's a number of the trees in areas I forage around the Twin Cities, but, every year, the cedar wax wings stripped the trees bare before I can get to them.
To beat the birds, I would pick the berries early, and try to work with them, but the results were always very bitter. It wasn't until I started finding the trees on the North Shore, north of Duluth where they grow in mass quantity, that I really got berries palatable enough to cook with.
The rowanberries on the North Shore were much better since they were exposed to multiple hard frosts, and for whatever reason, the birds don't seem to pay them as much attention as they do the berries a few hours south. So, if you're in the area and wondering, the key is to go get them in say, mid-October if you want to make something you can eat.
Back to the jelly itself, one of the reasons I was excited to make this was that it would be my first foray into a no-pectin added jelly. I usually add pectin just for the sake of covering my bases, but, as traditional rowan jelly includes apples that are strained out specifically for the purpose of pectin (and flavor and color) I saw no reason to add commercial pectin.
The result was is one of the best sets I've had in a jelly, and if you've ever wondered if making pectin-less jelly by adding apples is possible, trust me, it is, and it's great.
The flavor is a sort of crescendo, a pleasant bitterness and deeply rowan flavor underscored with sweetness. It's addicting, and the gentle set from the natural pectin seems to be a bit more forgiving than commercial pectin, the set on it is just perfect, barely holding together, quivering and jiggly. It's wonderful.
I haven't tried it with game yet, but rest assured, that's in the works.
The flavor is an acquired taste, but the sugar tames it enough so that even people unfamiliar with the berries will probably reach for seconds. Here's some of my favorite things I've eaten with it so far.
Use Ideas
- With strong flavored cheeses, especially goat, sheep and blue cheese like gorgonzola
- It likes cured meats, and salty sausages.
- The bitterness and sweetness is a good foil for liver, just add a splash of wine to the pan some liver was cooked in, add a good glob of jelly, a knob of butter, a dash of lemon juice, whisk and reduce until thickened, and voila, pan sauce.
- Mostly I've just been eating it for breakfast, and it's delicious on a buttered, toasted english muffin to show off the deep orange color.
- The bitterness reminds me a bit of bitter orange, so the next thing I'll be making is the same jelly here, but with orange peel cut into fine julienne.
Classic Rowanberry Jelly
Ingredients
- 2 lbs green apples, such as granny smith See note
- 1 lb rowanberries
- 2 lbs (4 cups water)
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 oz chopped fresh ginger optional
- 3.5 cups Sugar or as needed (use 1 cup per cup of strained juice)
Instructions
- Cut the apples into pieces including the skins and seeds.
- Gently mash the rowanberries with a potato masher or something similar.
- in a wide pot of 3-4 quart size, combine the apples, ginger, berries and water and bring to a simmer, stir, then turn the heat to low and cook, uncovered covered for twenty minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Carefully strain the liquid into a strainer lined with a double thickness of cheesecloth or a jelly bag and allow to drain for a few hours. Don't squeeze the liquid from the cheesecloth unless you're ok with cloudy jelly.
- Discard the spent apple-berry mix.
- Combine the reserved liquid (you should have 3-4 cups. along with ¾ cup sugar for each cup of reserved, strained liquid).
Doing set tests
- Chill a small metal bowl or similar in the freezer for doing set tests. I use small metal as it freezes the fastest.
- Mix the liquid and sugar, then bring to a boil, turn the heat to medium, and cook until the temperature starts to hover around 220F. Begin doing set tests a little after the mixture hits 220F. 223-5F is usually perfect for me, but let the set test be your guide.
- For the set tests, pour a teaspoon of jelly into the frozen bowl. Once you can see a gentle wrinkle on the top of the of the test surface when it cools you’re good, beat in the lemon juice, and pour the jelly into sterilized jars. Screw on lids and rings, and allow to cool. The jars will naturally seal themselves.
- Cooking and reducing the jelly will take about 25-30 minutes. I start to test the set around the 20 minute mark.
- Depending on the pan I’m using and how high the sides are, I may move it halfway off the burner to allow me to still use high heat without the pan overflowing. Cleaning up jelly overflows is, sticky and not fun.
Notes
Apples
You want apples that have a good amount of natural pectin here, so use green ones like granny smith, or slightly unripe apples, like crab apples.
Jacques-Alexandre ARMEDE
i've been thinking that a liquor would make good work of those berries.
I love your blog, a true goldmine
Cal
I've tried this in the past but ended up with something that was unpleasantly bitter and puckery. Frost being the answer and birds being the problem, do you think that picking the berries early and freezing and thawing them for a coupe of cycles would reduce the bitterness in the same way?
Alan Bergo
This jelly is delicious, but collections can vary a bit in taste. That being said, since the whole berries aren't being used, it's quite milder than most who've tasted fresh rowanberries would expect. Picking and freezing the berries hasn't done anything for me. I would give this jelly another shot, it's one of my favorites.
Andrea
I am so happy to have found your information about Rowan berries, as I have a Rowan tree in my yard! I’m curious about this recipe. There doesn’t seem to be any sugar listed in the ingredients, but the instructions say to add a cup per cup of liquid. So do we add around four cups of sugar? Thank you!
Alan Bergo
Andrea, thanks, I could see how that could be confusing, I adjusted it, and, yes, it is a classic jelly, with equal parts sugar and strained liquid. No pectin is needed. Let me know how it turns out for you-and do try to get them after a frost if at all available.
Susan Fraser
I have a mountain ash in my yard and never realized the berries could be used until someone from England was excited to see it. His partner uses the berries for medicinal recipes. So I set upon doing some research and found your blog. Thank you for the recipes which I will give a try in several months after a frost. I live in the north end of the Okanagan Valley in BC so it won't be for a while.. we just had a week on close to 40 degrees Celcius.
FYI I have made no pectin Quince Jelly for the last 5 years. But my access to the Quince tree has gone as my friend sold her home with her orchard this year. So I have been on the lookout for replacement jellies
Alan Bergo
Thanks Susan, glad you found it helpful. The rowan jelly is one of the best I've had.
Bob
Lemon Juice listed as an ingredient, but where is it used
Alan Bergo
Check at the end of the recipe. It helps with pectin.