Perfect preserve competition

Have you been making your own jams and chutneys for years, and have a fantastic recipe that you want us to know about? Then why not enter our Perfect Preserve competition?     

All you need to do is send in your favourite preserve recipe and Pam Corbin, author of our Preserves Handbook, will pick her top 30 from the entries. If you are one of the successful entrants we will ask you to send in a sample jar of the recipe chosen. And as a special thank you for polishing up your jam pan we will send you a signed copy of Pam's new book.

Pam and her judging panel, including her co-host of our Preserved course, Liz Neville, will then do a grand tasting of the top 30 preserves, at our Store and Canteen in Axminster. Of that 30, they will select their favourite 3 who will win the top prize...

The unique and exciting chance to make their preserve in the River Cottage Kitchen under Pam's expert supervision. Following a well earnt lunch with Pam in the Canteen the three winning preserves will be launched as limited editions to be available to buy from our store that same afternoon

Example entry

Jon Haley's Chutney Jam

I don't know if this is the perfect preserve but it is perfectly simple! You end up with a beautiful chutney-like jam which is a great accompaniment to cold meats, cheese and pies.

Ingredients:

120ml olive oil
700g red onions, sliced thinly
170g caster sugar
150ml red wine vinegar
200ml port or red wine
1 salt and pepper to taste

Finely slice the onions and fry them off in the oil. Add the sugar, salt and pepper and boil for 30 minutes. Add the vinegar and red wine and boil for a further 30 to 40 minutes until you have a think jam-like mixture. Pour into in sterilised jars and seal.

A less sweet, more vintage taste can be achieved by using balsamic vinegar but you will lose some of the beautiful purple colouring. At Christmas time, add a few cloves and a small amount of cinnamon for an additional festive flavour.

Timeline of the Competition

• All recipes must be submitted by Friday 29th August to events@rivercottage.net or by post to the address below
• In our September (2nd) newsletter we will announce the 30 chosen recipes and contact the finalists directly
• The finalists must submit their homemade preserve by Friday 26th September
• The Grand Tasting will take place during the week of September 29th by Pam Corbin, Liz Neville and Tim Maddams, Head Chef at the River Cottage Canteen in Axminster
• The winners will then be contacted at the beginning of October and officially announced in our October (7th) newsletter. They will be invited to join Pam on their prize day to be confirmed as one day during the week of 13th October. 

  Perfect Preserve Competition

   River Cottage HQ

   Park Farm

   Musbury

   EX13 8TB     

  Terms & Conditions

• We will cover the costs of producing and selling the 3 winning jams in our stores. Any profit made will be donated to our current charity, Rural Revival
• We must ask you to submit your entries by the above timelines, and any entry received after the dates will unfortunately not be submitted in to the competition
• If asked to submit a sample of your preserve, it must be homemade, your own recipe, dated and all the ingredients listed
• River Cottage reserve the right to change dates for unforseeable reasons
• Travel, accomodation and alchohol is not included in the prize
• The judges decision is final
• The prize cannot be exchanged for an alternative prize or sold on