Mr

by Dirk Versfeld
(Bo-Kouga, Langkloof)

I have been growing kei apples for years. A couple of plants came from Montagu Nursery, and then we propagated most from seed collected from big trees in a park in the Bo Kaap. Seedlings easy to make. Not all plants bear and fruiting is also seasonally very variable. I have planted about 50 trees in a long fence-line (in the Bo-Kouga - Langkloof).

I have just made a lot of the most delicious jelly:
Ripe fruit
Just cover with water and stew down slowly to a complete pulp (a couple of hours - the fruit boils over and/or burns on easily and a slow process saves a lot of mess)
Drain fruit a muslin bag for as long as 24 hours
I mix the juice with ⅔ sugar by volume and add quite a lot of lemon juice.
Boil the "sauce" slowly for a LONG time (2-3 hours) to reduce this and get a really good set. The resultant jelly will be a deep maroony colour. The longer it is cooked down the deeper the colour and the better the set.
This makes quite the most delicious jelly in the world.

Dirk Versfeld - dirki@iafrica.com