Putting Food By - Janet Greene [137]
Apple (or Quince) Jelly with No Added Pectin
Four ½-pint jars
3 pounds tart red apples (or quinces)
3 cups water
3 cups sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice (optional)
Four cups of prepared juice are needed.
To prepare juice, use ¼ underripe and ¾ fully ripe apples. Wash; remove blemishes, stems, and blossom ends; do not peel or core. Cut apples in small pieces, add water; cover and bring to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, or until apples are soft. Put apples through a moistened jelly bag. Measure 4 cups of juice into an enameled or stainless steel kettle. Add sugar; strain lemon juice, and add, stirring well. Bring to boiling over high heat to 8 F/4.4 C above the boiling point of water, or until two drops of jelly merge and tear from a spoon. Remove the kettle from heat, skim the jelly quickly, and immediately pour it into hot ½-pint jars, leaving ¼ inch headroom. Cap with two-piece screwband lids. Process in a B–W Bath for 5 minutes. Remove jars; cool upright and naturally.
Crabapple Jelly with No Added Pectin
Five ½-pint jars
3¼ pounds sound fruit, ¼ (13 oz.) underripe and ¾ (39 oz.) just ripe
3 cups water
4 cups sugar
Four cups of prepared juice are needed.
Sort; wash; remove blemishes and stem and blossom ends—don’t pare, because you want the pectin lying near the skin. Do not core (pulp will be strained). Cut apples small, add water, cover the kettle, and bring to boiling on high heat, reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes until fruit is soft. Put pulp through a moistened jelly bag. Measure juice into a large enameled or stainless steel kettle, add sugar, stirring to dissolve. Boil over high heat to 8 F/4.4 C above boiling point of water, or until two drops of jelly merge and tear off the edge of a spoon. Remove from heat, skim, and pour into sterilized ½-pint jars; leave ¼ inch headroom, cap with two-piece screwband lids. Finish with a 5-minute B–W Bath. Cool upright and naturally.
Concord (or Wild) Grape Jelly with No Added Pectin
About five ½-pint jars
For best results use Eastern Concord or wild grapes (the latter have a flavor especially good with meats and game), and they should be slightly underripe for a natural pectin content higher than in fully ripe fruit. Holding the juice overnight in a cool place, and then straining again, will remove the crunchy little slivers of tartrate crystals that form in grape juice.
4 cups grape juice (3½ to 4 pounds of grapes)
1 firm apple
3 cups sugar
Wash and stem the grapes, put them in a large kettle and crush. Wash the apple and cut it in eighths without peeling or coring, and add it with ½ cup of water (to prevent sticking). Bring all quickly to a boil, stirring, then reduce the heat and let the fruit cook gently until it is soft—about 10 minutes. Turn the pulp and juice into a damp jelly bag and drain well without squeezing.
Measure 4 cups of juice into a large kettle, stir in the sugar, and boil quickly to the jelly stage; pour immediately into hot ½-pint jars, leaving ¼ inch of headroom. Cap with two-piece screwband lids; process for 5 minutes in a B–W Bath. Cool upright and naturally.
The following three jams are from an old Louisiana State University CES booklet Jellies, Jams and Preserves (No. 1568). After fruit and sugar are combined