Any ideas for homemade foody items for Christmas presents??

[blue411]

Ive been collecting glass jars all year with the hope of making some jam, chutneys etc... for my friends and family as a little personal touch ats Christmas time, has anybody got any favourite recipes or can anyone point me in the direction of any web sites that could assist me with this.
Thanks guys in advance

[sewer rat]

I make preserves to sell along with my veg at the Farmers Markets etc that I attend and at the moment I am churning out apple and herb jellies - apple & mint, apple & sage, apple & rosemary, apple & chilli. I also make apple curd ( got loads of apples this year)
I am also making sweet chutney, spicy chutney and piccallili and putting down pickled shallots, pickled onions, pickled beetroot and pickled red cabbage.
I did also have rowan jelly and bramble jelly but they have all been sold

[wellie]

blue411,
that's a lovely idea, and if you click onto The Grapevine's 'Season To Taste' section, you'll find a lot of lovely recipes for your Christmas Presents.
Have a lovely time!
X

[Nicos]

I saw some lovely packets of chocolates in Waitrose for Xmas gifts ( not jams I know..) Bit bigger than 50p piece with nuts and dried fruit sprinkled onto each chocolate- presented in a clear cellophane packet with a ribbon ( I think)
White, milk and plain.
Thought of copying the idea.Bet they would look nice in a jam jar- esp for someone who would use the jar again for jam making!!


Rat....any chance of those apple jelly recipes??? - I've got 2 boxes of those lovely Hex jars I sent for and boxes of stored apples!!

[Flummery]

I do jams, jellies (with or without herbs) pickles and chilli jam - recipe in Sarah Raven's book. They are always well received I have a few family members who religiously wash out and return their jars with hopeful looks!

If you are into home baking, particularly for people living alone or in a small household, a small Christmas Cake or Pudding is welcome. Because they keep so well, they don't have to be eaten up there and then, and home-made is so much nicer than shop.

Choc truffles and posh boxes of home-made biscuits also go down well.

Enjoy yourself!

PS you can still pot up bulbs for people, or split house plants or particularly choice perennials if you have gardening friends who would appreciate them. I once gave pots of lilies. Nothing to see till later in the year but they were a lovely surprise when they came up.

[Birdie Wife]

What about preserved lemons, dried chillies, things like that? I'm having a bit of a pash on Spansih cookery atm... also there's homemade fudge, chocolate covered fruits, rum truffles...

[BrideXIII]

chocolate covered peppermint creams..........my kids love making them, sooo easy...I love eating them

[blue411]

Loads of great ideas thanks guys, i'll start searching the internet tonight for recipes!

[Hilary B]

I love the 'fudgy' types of sweets (includes coconut ice); easy to make too.
If you are short of jars, apple 'cheese' can be made thick enough to set in a dish, turn out, and wrap in greaseproof paper or clingfilm.
Start like apple jelly, but when you strain it, rub most of the fruit pulp through as well as the juice, and only add 12oz sugar per pint of pulp. Boil until when you scrape the spoon slowly across the pan, it leaves a 'furrow' that is very slow to refill. (if the mixture is shallow, the base of the pan should remain visible for several seconds)

[Gwen11ian]

Pasta sauce is always a great success in my family (especially for those hard-to-buy-for bachelors!).

[blue411]

Love the idea about fudgy type sweets but would they last until christmas in my house hmmm..................No way!!!

[Seahorse]

Things like flavoured vodkas and gins are easy and tasty. Some can be done very quickly too. If you put a couple of really 'hot' chillis in some vodka, they'll flavour it literally overnight.

[sewer rat]

And tomorow night I am going to make a large batch of tablet - the idea being to sell it at the Market on Saturday, but I have a funny feeling most of it will end up being responsible for my next dental appointment !!

[Two_Sheds]

Whatever you make, remember that presentation is all important.
A really nice, well-made label will make your product look special, hygienic (!) and hopefully expensive/exclusive, whereas if it's in a tatty old jar with a label written in biro, your gift will probably be relegated to the back of the cupboard. Or the bin. I speak from experience x

[vicky]

Homemade jars of mincemeat - they keep for around 6 months

Most of my family are getting homemade foodies pressies this year so thanks for asking this question, I've got lots more ideas now!