Homemade gifts bring extra joys to both the giver and the receiver – all the more so when the pressie is edible, writes Marie-Claire Digby
One of the most thoughtful dinner party gifts I have ever received was a wicker basket containing a couple of loaves of homemade bread, still warm from the oven, plus an assortment of jams and marmalade, coffee beans and speciality tea, all beautifully presented as a “morning after” treat.
When it comes to food, there’s no doubt that a home-crafted gift makes a more lasting impression than a shop-bought one. But it’s worth bearing in mind the importance of presentation. Invest in some pretty tins, boxes, jars and ribbons if you want your efforts in the kitchen to create a wow factor. You could also make the container part of the gift, by offering a luscious chocolate cake on a fancy cake stand, or homemade pate in a nice pottery bowl.
Homemade mustard would be a much- appreciated gift, and the recipe here comes from publisher and editor Sally McKenna of Estragon Press, on whose blog, lifeskills.ie, you can also find instructions for making your own sea salt (she credits Kieran Murphy of Murphy’s Ice Cream with the inspiration).
For making butter at home, all you need is cream, salt, and a mixer – and you'll find instructions online, or in Darina Allen's Forgotten Skills of Cooking. A hamper of homemade salt, butter and mustard, with a few still warm loaves of bread, would be a super sort of gift to give, or to receive.
McKenna buys the mustard seeds and powder from wholefood shops, and she has an important tip – that you don’t taste the mustard until the day after you make it. “The temperature is important, and it really does taste bitter when you first make it and the chemicals are released. I threw the first batch away without realising.
“You could add a tablespoon of honey, Guinness or other stout, grated horseradish, or any of your favourite dried herbs would all be good,” McKenna says. Her labels were designed by her daughter Connie, another way to make this a family effort.
Sally McKennas Chunky Tarragon Mustard
(Makes about 250mls)
4g black mustard seeds
20g mustard powder
80ml white wine
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon dried tarragon
1 heaped teaspoon sea salt
CRUSH the black mustard seeds, using a coffee grinder, processor, blender or (the best, I think) pestle and mortar. Just crush enough to break the seeds; dont grind them to a powder. If you’re using a pestle and mortar, crush them a tablespoon at a time, otherwise they’ll shoot out everywhere.
Place the crushed black seeds and mustard powder in a bowl. Add the white wine, and stir. This will start the chemicals working. Add the vinegar, which sets the reaction and keeps your mustard fresh and sharp, and finally stir in the tarragon and sea salt to flavour. The mustard needs to settle for 24 hours, by which time it will be mellow, but piquant.
Butter Fudge
225g butter
900g granulated sugar
1 tin condensed milk
full-fat milk (the fill of the empty condensed milk tin)
half tsp vanilla extract
Butter a Swiss roll tin or 22cmx30cm baking tray. Put all the ingredients into a large saucepan over a moderate heat. Stir until the butter has melted and the sugar is completely dissolved. Then allow the fudge to boil gently; be aware that it will rise up the sides of the saucepan. Stir it all the time, and when it becomes fudge-coloured, from its original very light colour, drip a tiny amount into a bowl of cold water. If it forms a soft ball, it is ready. Take the pan off the heat and stir it vigorously for about seven minutes, until the fudge thickens and cools. Pour into the baking tray and spread it out. Leave it to cool, then cut it into squares. Store in an airtight tin.
RING THE CHANGES Add some chopped walnuts to the mixture before you take it off the heat. Or, instead of vanilla extract, use rum extract and add some raisins.
Fruit and Nut Clusters
1 large bar white chocolate
Dried cranberries and blueberries
Mixed (unsalted) nuts, chopped
Melt the chocolate in a bowl over hot water. Stir the dried fruit into one half of the chocolate and the nuts into the other half. Drop teaspoonfuls of the chocolate and fruit/nut mixture onto a greased baking sheet and chill in the fridge until set, then transfer them to individual petits fours cases.
Ring the Changes
Make a mixture of white, milk and dark chocolate clusters, with fruit in the white, nuts in the milk, and chopped preserved ginger or candied orange peel in the dark chocolate.