Rosemary Rogers’ shares her lockdown larder goals

Another lockdown – another period of extraordinarily little if any catering.  Fearful of filling the freezer with potentially useful creations as it may well be more than three months before the potential becomes a possibility and even less likely a reality.  Not someone to be thwarted by such thoughts and recalling the enjoyment of making marmalade and chutney for Christmas when my husband commented that the house smelt like a real farmhouse, I am going to use this opportunity to experiment with different fruits, vegetables, sugars, and vinegars to create delicious smells in the kitchen and flavours in a jar.

My first project is to be grapefruit marmalade, the original recipe was given to me by a friend.  Who together with her mother has been making it for years.  I’m going to replace the granulated sugar with demerara as I like the deeper colour that the amber grain gives and the caramel flavour that the molasses (which is naturally found in demerara) adds to marmalade.

Another project that I promised myself during the spring lockdown was to clear out all my kitchen cupboards and discard any utensils that have not been used for two years or more.  This is now complete.  I unearthed a cake tin that had been given to me when I left the NHS to set-up The Pantry.  Feeling very guilty that I have never used it the reason being it’s very large, 30cms x 30cms and has dividers making it possible to make four 15cms x 15cms cakes all at once or indeed two large loaves or any other size or shape that can be created within a 30cm square using two dividers.  One of my favourite recipes is Mary Berry’s cherry and pineapple loaf.  I have happily made two at a time using traditional 2lb loaf tins for years.  Now it’s an opportunity to experiment by using my present to make four square loaves.  I’ll let you know what happens!

To discuss your catering needs with Rosemary, please visit: facebook.com/RosemaryRogersCatering