Firstly, I realise this blog has been completely neglected for several months. I have often thought of the posts I could be making, but the practicality of travelling and blogging just wasn’t there. But I am back now, and I have an exciting culinary adventure to share!
I’ve been going for walks every morning since I’ve been home. It’s a fantastic way to start the day, and having the opportunity to observe the changing seasons around you is quite amazing. I recently noticed a peculiar looking fruit tree growing on the verge not far from home. Perplexed, I googled, but of course trying to find the name of a plant by searching “rough skinned fruit” is rather like trying to find a needle in a haystack, except you don’t know what a needle looks like. So I called upon the help facebook, and of course, it provided. I was informed that this strange fruit was a Cornus kousa or Korean Dogwood, and that yes, it is edible.
And so, I dragged my mother along with me to glean the fruit from the tree, in clear view of all traffic heading to the nearby town to buy their fruit from the supermarket. There was surprisingly little fruit in the end, but back at home I set about making jam. I had read that others had attempted to make jams and jellies from dogwood with varying levels of success. I have to admit that this is perhaps not as tasty as a rich raspberry or plum jam, but as an experiment, I am rather pleased with the results.
The taste of the kousa is very subtle, and when jammed, was a tad astringent (probably because I was using some unripe fruit). I decided this wasn’t going to be the most delicious conserve, so added some extra ingredients to spice it up a bit. Note that you would have to adjust the quantities depending on how much fruit you have, keeping the fruit and sugar in a 1:1 ratio (unless you’d like it less sweet – that’s okay too!) This recipe made 2 and a half large jars. Probably just enough I think, given that I still can’t determine whether eating this fruit is good or bad for you :)
Chai kousa (dogwood) jam
950g kousa, quartered
950g white sugar
1 stick cinnamon
0.5 – 1cm fresh ginger, coarsely chopped
5 cloves
3 cardamon pods, bruised
Place fruit and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until all sugar is melted and fruit softens. Add spices and ginger and continue stirring until liquid begins to boil.
Turn heat down to low, and simmer. Mash fruit with a masher to extract more juice, and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally.
To test when the jam is ready, place a teaspoon of liquid on a cold plate. If it’s ready, it should be pretty viscous and not spread far on the plate.
Next, separate the liquid from the solids (seeds, spices, skin) by pouring through a strainer, or loosely woven muslin. I only had a tiny strainer, so did this in batches.
The remnants...
Reheat the liquid, and pour into sterilised jars.
harvest and yarn 
Your jam was acidic because they were not ripe. They should be bright red to burgundy in color. The inside is pumpkin colored and VERY soft. I would remove the skin, for it is bitter. Hope this helps the next time you make it!
I’ve been eating them out of hand – there is a special technique.
Put the pod against your teeth and suck while squeezing a little. Th yummy inside juice will burst into your mouth. Sometimes a pit will enter, too. Practice, practice.
Yesterday I put some in a steam juicer and made about a quart of juice. The taste is similar to grapefruit juice. Next time, I’ll smash them and get as much of the husk out as possible.