Today’s the day! Happy Museum Shop Sunday! You may have seen our previous news and social media posts about today, and it’s time for the final instalment in our Spotlight series – where we celebrate our local makers and produce, and their amazing contribution to sustaining museums in our shop.
Today’s highlight is our jams and chutneys, all handmade by the fabulous Judy – who knew Mrs Smith!
These may very well be the last jars… so come and grab some whilst you can. We have delicious apple & blackberry jam, plum & orange jam for those with a sweet tooth, and of course, apple chutney. The apple chutney is made using Mrs Smith’s own recipe, which is a rather special nod to our history at the Cottage. Judy even made us a batch with apples from Mrs Smith’s tree earlier this year! The chutney is a firm volunteer favourite, and goes wonderfully as a snack or in cooking.
All dates on the jars are production dates, which encourages us to waste less and live more like Mrs Smith.
Judy is also a whizz at knitting – creating wonderful pumpkins, Christmas puddings and mince pies for us, which you can also purchase in our shop.
We wanted to end with a huge thank you to everybody who has read or interacted with our Museum Shop Sunday posts. It is greatly appreciated, and we hope they have been an interesting read. On a final note – we could encourage everybody to pop into their local museum, gallery or heritage space and have a browse! See you next year.
N.B.: Apple Chutney recipe
Ingredients:
1kg apples, chopped and peeled
500g onions, finely chopped
500g sultanas
400g dates, chopped
500g soft brown or demerera sugar
500ml white wine vinegar or spiced vinegar
2tsp mustard
1tsp mixed spice
1tsp powdered cloves
1tsp salt
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Method:
- Place all ingredients in a large, heavy bottomed pan and cook gently until sugar has dissolved
- Bring to the boil and then simmer until fruit has softened
- Stir occasionally and continue to simmer until the mixture is the consistency of jam
- When ready, pour mixture into warm, sterilised jars and seal