To Catch A Pig

Finally after almost three weeks on the run, I have managed to recapture one of our AWOL pigs, Wrinkles is in the pig pen...

Since the pigs ran off I have spent a lot of time considering pigs, here are some of my thoughts;

• you can lead a pig to a pen, but you can't make them go in
• pigs don't look very aerodynamic but they move very fast when they want to
• don't underestimate the power, strength, intelligence and sheer bloody mindedness of pigs!  
• it is almost impossible to get a pig to go somewhere it doesn't want to go, our pigs weight about 70- 80 kilos each, and that is muscle, don't expect to throw a rope around them and drag them, you don't stand a chance
• pigs have no neck and nothing much to get hold of to grab them, they are also likely to get aggressive if you try
• wear leather gloves, if they panic they may bite and they have very sharp little teeth

I have also spent a lot of time trying to figure out a way to catch them, so here are my tips on pig catching;

• you will need lots of patience and time
• make sure you have lots of food (no surprise there) cake* works best, preferably chocolate cake. In fact, home made cake would probably do the job quicker, but I spent so much time chasing/bribing/chatting to the pig that I didn't have time to make cakes.
• Pig nuts are also good but it takes ages to lead a pig that is trying to find every last pig nut you have thrown for them
• you have to build up trust, it will be very slow
• don't make sudden movements
• start by feeding them were they prefer to be, then over days start to move a little further away until they start to follow you. You will find they will go a little further each time and there will be places they don't like (usually because they smell something unfamiliar). Once you know where these places are the next time you get to that place distract them by throwing extra food
• have the pen/place you want to get them to ready and put some food, water, bedding in it before you get the pig into it
• make sure the pen you are trying to get them into is pig proof, solid wood fence posts, pig netting (don't use sheep or chicken netting, it isn't strong enough)
• Put large heavy tree branches or rocks/bricks around the bottom of the fencing on the pig side to discourage them from trying to dig their way out
• don't use electric fencing on its own unless the pigs are very use to it. I read that you can keep a pig fenced with one or two strands of electric fencing, that is what we had, they went through that and straight through the goats pen which has four strands of electric fencing, they didn't even feel it

Well I would like to say that is the last you will hear from my on the subject of pigs for a while, but I still have another pig to catch and her four piglets, any advice I missed out any pig experts out there?

*I was concerned about feeding Wrinkles sweet unhealthy food, particularly when she needs her vitamins and is definitely fat enough (but that could be something to do with the piglets she is carrying), however when I tried tomatoes and other vegetables she turned her nose up at them.  so my advice is stick to cake.

In A Jam!

Last year Steve and I spent hours one Sunday picking blackberries,  then I discovered I didn't have enough sugar to make jam so I left them until the next day when the shops were open, by Monday they were all moldy.  I learnt from that mistake, this year I bought loads of sugar in advance.

Yesterday I spent about an hour-and-a-half picking blackberries, it amounted to 400 grms, not a lot for over an hours picking. Nonetheless I set too making blackberry jam today, actually it is really a jelly as I sieve all the bits out of the liquid puree, I hate getting gritty bits in my teeth.

My 400 grms of blackberries made only two jars of jelly, but I will be out again in a few days collecting more. Blackberry jelly is my favourite conserve.

This recipe is delicious, and I have included a number of tips, including some to help you reach that all elusive setting point!

JAM MAKING TIPS

• Use methylated spirits to determine whether fruit has a high or a low pectin content - put 3 teaspoons of methylated spirits in a glass container, after cooking the fruit add a teaspoon of the fruit syrup to the spirits, if there is a nice thick blob of jelly the fruit has lots of pectin, if there are a few blobs then the pectin content is medium, if there are lots of separate pieces than there is very little pectin
• Vary the amount of sugar you use per litre of syrup depending on the pectin content, use less sugar if there is not a lot of pectin, use these figures as a guideline;

                      High pectin content - 675 grms sugar for every 600 mls of syrup

                      Medium pectin content - 450 grms sugar for every 600 mls of syrup

                      Low pectin content - 350 grms sugar for every 600 mls of syrup

• In France you can buy special sugar for jam making that includes pectin, if not you can buy pectin from the pharmacy
• If you can get a sugar thermometer it takes the guess work out of working out when the elusive setting point has been reached, setting point is general reached at 105C or 220F
• If you haven't got a sugar thermometer use the good old fashioned cold plate method - stick a couple of side plates in the freezer when you start cooking, after the syrup has boiled with the sugar in it for 5-8 minutes pull if off the boil, take a teaspoon of the syrup out and drop it onto the cold plate. If the setting point has been reached you will be able to run a spoon through the blob and it will be quite jelly like, not runny. If it is still runny, put the pan of syrup back on and try for another 5-8 minutes with the gas/electric up as high as it will go, then do the plate test again

Sugar thermometer

• Be careful of spitting syrup, it hurts like hell
• Never do what I did a few years ago, the telephone rang, I went off to answer it and came back to a cauldron of bubbling over jam, I must have scrapped at least two jars worth off the top of the hob, and it stayed sticky for evermore, no matter what I used to clean it!
• The easiest way to sterilise jam jars is to stick them in a very hot oven whilst you are making the jam, pop the lids into a pan of boiling water
• The easiest way to fill jam jars with hot jam is to ladle it into a measuring jug and pour it into the jars. Ensure the ladle and jug have been sterilised with boiling hot water

BLACKBERRY JELLY RECIPE

Ingredients;  Blackberries, sugar

Method; 

1. Tip the blackberries into a colander and pick out any non-fruit bits, rinse quickly so you don't loose too much of that lovely juice
2. Tip the blackberries into a large saucepan, cover and bring to the boil slowly.  Once boiling  reduce heat to low for 15 minutes
3. Tip the berries into a sieve over a bowl or another large saucepan and press with the back of a wooden spoon. I find that if you leave them then come back every five minutes and press through again you get more juice and it gets thicker, I usually do this for 30 minutes to an hour.
4. Measure the syrup so you can estimate how much sugar you need to add (see tips above for the amount of sugar to add depending on the pectin content test), if you didn't do the pectin content test you should work on medium pectin content.  So for medium pectin content you need to add 450 grms of sugar per 600 mls of syrup.
5. Put the sugar in a very low temperature oven whilst you prepare the syrup, I also pop my jam jars in now and turn the temperature up to high once I remove the sugar from the oven
6. Heat the syrup to boiling point, remove from the heat and add the sugar, put back on a low heat, stirring all the time until all the sugar is melted. Remember to turn up the temperature on your oven to high to sterilise the jam jars
7. Bring the jam to the boil and boil rapidly until setting point is reached (see Tips above)
8. Once setting point has been reached pour the jam straight into the hot jars and put the lid on finger tight, do not tighten it completely for about 5 minutes, otherwise the pressure from the jam might brake the jam jar
9. When you have all the jars filled, go back and tighten the lids, then add your personalised label.