Putting Food By - Janet Greene [139]
Six ½-pint jars
3 cups prepared juice (about 2 to 2½ quarts of fresh strawberries,
black-berries or red raspberries)
6 cups sugar
1 package regular powdered pectin (1¾ ounces)
¾ cup water
Crush the berries with a potato masher. Unless very ripe, strawberries may require gentle heating in a double boiler to release juice. Strain them through a damp jelly bag or four layers of damp cheesecloth; squeeze gently if necessary. Add the sugar to the measured 3 cups of juice; stir well and let stand for 10 minutes (a few sugar crystals may remain, but they will dissolve in the time it takes the jelly to set). In a small saucepan stir together the ¾ cup water and the pectin; bring the mixture to a boil and boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add it to the sweetened juice; continue stirring for 3 minutes. Then pour into sterilized jars that are freezable and have tight-fitting lids or two-piece screwband lids, leaving ½ inch of headroom; seal. Let stand at room temperature until set—up to 24 hours—then freeze.
“Best-Ever” (Frozen) Strawberry Jam
Five to six ½-pint jars
2 cups prepared fruit (about 1 quart ripe strawberries)
4 cups sugar
¾ cup water
1 package regular pectin (1¾ ounces)
Thoroughly crush, one layer at a time, about 1 quart of fully ripe strawberries. Measure 2 cups of crushed berries into a large bowl. Add the sugar to the fruit, mix well, and let stand for 10 minutes; a few sugar crystals may remain but they’ll dissolve as the jam sets. Mix water and pectin in a small saucepan, bring the mixture to a boil and boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir the pectin into the fruit; continue stirring for 3 minutes. Ladle quickly into sterilized freezable jars, leaving ½ inch of headroom. Seal immediately with sterilized tight-fitt lids. Let jars stand at room temperature until the jam is set—up to 24 hours—then freeze.
Tomato Jelly
Five ½-pint jars
1¾ cups home-canned tomato juice
½ cup strained fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce
4 cups sugar
1 three-ounce pouch liquid pectin
Combine all ingredients except pectin. Stir over high heat until mixture reaches a full, rolling boil. Stir in pectin and bring again to a full, rolling boil. Boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, skim, and pour into hot ½-pint jars, leaving ¼ inch of headroom. Cap with two-piece screwband lids. Process 5 minutes in a B–W Bath. Cool upright and naturally.
Pyracantha (Firethorn) Jelly
Five ½-pint jars
The red-orange pomes of this spiky hedge plant are a favorite for jelly-making in the American Southwest.
3 generous quarts Pyracantha berries
3 cups water
Juice of 1 grapefruit
Juice of 1 lemon
1 package regular powdered pectin (1¾ ounces)
4½ cups sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
Sort, pick over the berries, and put them in a large enameled or stainless steel kettle with the 3 cups of water. Boil for 20 minutes, add the citrus juices, bring briefly to boiling again, and pour all into a dampened jelly bag to strain slowly into a crockery bowl. The result should be 3½ cups of juice. In a bowl, combine the pectin and 1 cup of the juice, then pour the mixture into the preserving kettle with the remaining 2½ cups of juice. Bring to a hard boil, add the sugar and the salt, and bring to a full rolling boil; stir and boil 3 minutes. Remove from heat, skim quickly, and pour into hot ½-pint jars, leaving ¼ inch of head-room. Cap with two-piece screwband lids. Process 5 minutes in a B–W Bath. Cool upright and naturally.
III. Marmalades, Butters, and Preserves
Ginger Squash Marmalade
About 4 pint jars
This is a paraphrase of a very old Scottish recipe.
4 pounds prepared winter squash (or pumpkin)
4 pounds sugar
2 lemons, grated zest and juice
2 ounces crystallized ginger
½ teaspoon ground ginger
3 cups water
Peel the squash, scrape out the strings and seeds from the center; save the seeds. Slice and cut the peeled squash to make 4 pounds of ¼-inch cubes. Put the squash in a crockery bowl with the sugar, grated zest and