Karen Freeman
Food Columnist
TARBORO —
I have discovered since moving to the country that I love to make jams and jellies. In fact, I hope to turn it into a business one day when I can slow down a little! Once you get in the habit of making them, you will find that it’s not that difficult and is well worth the effort. When you give someone a gift that you made with you own hands, it adds a layer of value that you can’t buy anywhere.
Here are some very easy recipes and some that require a little more effort. None of them are hard or complicated. Some just take more time than others. Please at least give a couple of them a try! If you absolutely don’t want to do that, shoot me a line and I’ll ship some to you and then you’ll know the difference!
The first one is very easy. You don’t “process” it. But, you do cook it a little. This is a grape freezer jam. So you store it in the freezer until you need it.
The second is one of my best. It’s orange marmalade and everyone loves it when I make. It’s great on pork and chicken as well as biscuits, toast and scones.
The third recipe is apple butter. I make this after I’ve made apple jelly. That way I use all of the apple.
The fourth recipe is tomato preserves. This is intended to be a savory preserve. It goes well on pork, chicken or beef.
The fifth is hot pepper jelly. The hotter the pepper, the better with this one. The cooking process takes a lot of the heat out of the pepper. You can make this with bell pepper if you just want a good, but not hot, pepper jelly. Use colored peppers as much as you can, it makes a prettier jelly.
Then we have pineapple and orange marmalade. I love pineapple anything! This is also a great ice cream topping.
The seventh recipe is the way you use up some of the zucchini that you have coming out of your ears! This is one of the variations that I use for zucchini jelly and it’s very popular.
The eight is carrot cake jam. It tastes just like it sounds! You will love this one. It smells good when it cooking and it tastes like fresh carrot cake.
The last is apple marmalade. Summer isn’t summer unless you make something with apples.
Freezer Grape Jelly
7 cups grapes
7 cups sugar
Cook together on low heat until sugar dissolves. Cook on medium heat 30 minutes (hard boil). Run through colander.
Pour in jars. Put lids on and freeze.
Orange Marmalade
4 large seedless oranges
2 lemons
8 cups sugar
Cut the oranges and lemons in half crosswise, then into very thin half-moon slices. (If you have a mandolin, this will be quite fast.) Discard any seeds. Place the sliced fruit and their juices into a stainless-steel pot. Add 8 cups water and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring often. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar until it dissolves. Cover and allow to stand overnight at room temperature.
The next day, bring the mixture back to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered for about 2 hours. Turn the heat up to medium and boil gently, stirring often, for another 30 minutes. Skim off any foam that forms on the top. Cook the marmalade until it reaches 220 degrees F on a candy thermometer. If you want to be doubly sure it's ready, place a small amount on a plate and refrigerate it until it's cool but not cold. If it's firm -- neither runny nor too hard -- it's done. It will be a golden orange color. (If the marmalade is runny, continue cooking it and if it's too hard, add more water.)
Pour the marmalade into clean, hot Mason jars; wipe the rims thoroughly with a clean damp paper towel, and seal with the lids.
Store in the pantry for up to a year.
Apple Butter
15 or so medium-sized tart apples (4-5 lbs)
4 cups apple juice or cider
2 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground cloves
2 cups sugar
Wash, core and quarter apples. It’s not necessary to peel the apples. Put apples into a large kettle or Dutch oven along with the juice or cider. Bring to a boil and then cover and simmer for about 30 minutes; making sure to stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Then press the mixture through a sieve or a food mill. Return 10 cups back to the large kettle. Stir in remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat het again. Leave uncovered and over very low heat.
Cook for 1-1/2 hours until the mixture is very thick. Stir periodically and frequently to prevent burning on the bottom. Spoon apple butter into hot, sterilized canning jars. Leave 1/4 inch head-space. Wipe rims and adjust lids. Place in a boiling water canner for 5-10 minutes. Process 5 minutes for ? pints water canner for 5-10 minutes.
Tomato Preserves
5 Cups Tomatoes, peeled & quartered
5 Cups Sugar
1 Orange, peeled, sliced thinly & seeded
1 Dash Cinnamon
2 Tbsp Butter
Put tomatoes, sugar, sliced orange and cinnamon in large, heavy pot and bring to slow boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. When foam rises to surface, add heat, stirring occasionally. When foam rises to surface, add butter and continue stirring and simmering until preserves thicken, about 45 minutes.
(To test, stick a fork into preserves. When preserves cling to (To test, stick a fork into preserves. When preserves cling to tines of fork, it should be thick enough to can.) Pour preserves into sterilized jars, seal and process in hot water bath for 15 minutes.
Hot Pepper Jelly
2 medium red peppers, seeded, finely chopped (about 1-1/2 cups)
2 medium green peppers, seeded, finely chopped (about 1-1/2 cups)
10 large jalapeño peppers, seeded, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
1 cup cider vinegar
1 box Fruit Pectin
1/2 tsp. butter or margarine (optional)
5 cups sugar, measured into separate bowl (See tip below.)
Bring boiling-water canner, half-full with water, to simmer. Wash jars and screw bands in hot soapy water; rinse with warm water. Pour boiling water over flat lids in saucepan off the heat. Let stand in hot water until ready to use. Drain well before filling.
Place peppers in 6- or 8-qt. saucepot. Add vinegar. Stir in pectin. Add butter to reduce foaming, if desired. Bring mixture to full rolling boil (a boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 min., stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with metal spoon.
Ladle immediately into prepared jars, filling to within 1/8 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with 2-piece lids. Screw bands tightly. Place jars on elevated rack in canner. Lower rack into canner. (Water must cover jars by 1 to 2 inches. Add boiling water, if necessary.) Cover; bring water to gentle boil. Process 10 min. Remove jars and place upright on towel to cool completely. After jars cool, check seals by pressing middle of lid with finger. (If lid springs back, lid is not sealed and refrigeration is necessary.)
Tips: Handling Jalapeno Peppers: For hotter taste, leave in some of the jalapeno seeds. Protect hands with rubber gloves while preparing jalapeno peppers.
Pineapple and Orange Marmalade
1 orange, thinly sliced crosswise, seeded
about 1/3 lemon, thinly sliced crosswise, seeded
1 (6 oz.) can crushed pineapple in syrup
2 2/3 cups sugar
Quarter each citrus fruit slice. In large saucepan, just cover citrus fruit with water. Simmer 45 minutes or until peel is soft. Add pineapple and syrup. Simmer 15 minutes. Add sugar. Stir until sugar dissolves. Increase heat; boil rapidly 20-25 minutes or until marmalade reaches 221degrees degrees.
Remove from heat. Cool.
Mock Zucchini Marmalade
6 cups peeled, seeded, chopped zucchini
6 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
6 oz. package Jello (I used banana-strawberry)
Combine zucchini, sugar and lemon juice in large pan. Bring to boil and let boil for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. After 15 minutes of boiling time, add the drained pineapple, bring to a boil and boil for 6 more minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in Jello. Place in sterilized half-pint jars, cap and process in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes. Let cool on a rack before storing.
Makes eight half-pint jars.
Carrot Cake Jam
1 1/2 cups finely grated carrots
1 1/2 cups peeled, chopped pears
1 can (14 oz) crushed pineapple, undrained
3 tablespoons bottled lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon EACH of ground nutmeg and ground cloves
1 package Bernardin original fruit pectin
6 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cups chopped toasted pecans (optional)
Combine carrots, pears, pineapple (including the juice), lemon juice and spices in a large, deep stainless steel saucepan. Stirring frequently, bring mixture to a boil; cover and reduce heat. Boil gently 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Measure sugar; set aside.
Whisk pectin into carrot mixture until dissolved. Stirring frequently, bring to a boil over high heat. Add sugar. Stirring constantly, return mixture to a full rolling boil; boil hard 1 minute. Stir in pecans. Remove from heat; skim foam. Ladle into hot jar to within 1/4 inch of top rim. Remove air bubbles, wipe rim. Hot water bath for 10 minutes.
Yield about 6 250 ml (half pint) jars
Apple Marmalade
6 cups of peeled cored and sliced apples
4 cups of white sugar
1 thinly sliced lemon
1 tsp. of ground cinnamon
1 tbsp. of fresh lemon juice
1 package of fruit pectin
1 cup of water
Take a large pot and combine the apples, water and lemon juice.
Then put a lid on the pot boil gently for approx. 15 minutes, stirring 3 or 4 times to prevent sticking.
Then stir in the fruit pectin. Next bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Now add in the sugar, lemon slices and cinnamon. Let this return to a boil and boil hard for approx. 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Then you can remove from flame and ladle into clean hot jars, leaving 1/4 in. head space. Let this process in a boiling water bath for approx. 5 minutes.
Karen’s Kitchen is a weekly column by Karen Freeman of Tarboro. Contact Karen at:
kvfreeman@triad.rr.com to exchange ideas, ask questions, submit recipes, tips or suggestions.
Check out her Web site: http://www.geocities.com/kvfreeman27886/
many older recipes (ones that you don't add powdered or liquid commercial pectin) call for ripe fruit and under ripe fruit.
Other fruits, like strawberries, cherries and blueberries, contain little natural pectin. They must be mixed with other fruits high in pectin or with commercial pectin products for a gel to form.
Newer recipes that call for added commercial pectin will have very specific directions. These directions are for the purpose of setting up the pectin and must be followed to the letter. In most recipes powdered pectin is added to preserves and jams, and liquid pectin is used in jellies.
For the pectin to set you need both acid and sugar. This is why you can NOT deviate from the recipe in jam making. Old fashioned recipes will ask you to cook the mixture to the "jam stage" which is when you spoon some mixture and let it slide off the spoon. If it is not done it will just run off, if it is cooked correctly it will slide off, but leave a "sheet" attached to the spoon.
The right amount of acid is critical to gel formation. With too little acid, the gel will never set. Too much acid will cause the gel to lose liquid (weep). If fruits are low in acid, add lemon juice or other acid ingredients as directed. Commercial pectin products contain enough acid to ensure gelling.
Sugar helps preserve sweet spreads, contributes flavor and aids in gelling. Granulated white sugar is most often used to make jelly or jam. You can replace part of the sugar with corn syrup or honey, but too much masks the fruit flavor and changes the gel structure. Use tested recipes for replacing sugar with honey and corn syrup. Don't reduce the amount of sugar in traditional recipes, because a gel won't form, and yeasts and molds may grow in the sweet spreads.
MAKING JAMS & JELLIES: If you plan on making jams and jellies, or doing any canning at home you will need a good guide to help you along the way. I have used many recipes found on the recipe guide in the liquid pectin container with great success
The following recipes are usually available with packaged pectins: Jellies — Apple, crabapple, blackberry, boysenberry, dewberry, currant, elderberry, grape, mint, peach, plum, black or red raspberry, loganberry, rhubarb and strawberry.
Jams — Apricot, blackberry, boysenberry, dewberry, loganberry, red raspberry, youngberry, blueberry, cherry, currant, fig, gooseberry, grape, orange marmalade, peach, pear, plum, rhubarb, strawberry and spiced tomato.
Use the right lids and procedures to prevent spoilage: Even though sugar helps preserve sweet spreads, molds can still grow on the surface of these products unless they are heat-processed. It is not a safe practice to scrape the mold off the surface of sweet spreads and use what's left in the jar. Poisons called mycotoxins — known to cause cancer in animals — have been found in some jars of jelly with surface mold growth. The effects of mycotoxins on humans are still being researched, so you should discard any sweet spread containing mold without tasting or sniffing it.
Paraffin or wax seals don't prevent mold growth and are no longer recommended for sealing any sweet spread, including jelly.
To prevent mold growth and to keep good flavor and color, pour hot sweet spreads into sterilized jars; leave 1/4-inch headspace. Seal with two-piece lids, and process as directed. Be sure to use the processing time recommended for your altitude.
