Putting Food By - Janet Greene [143]
Ladle preserves into hot sterilized canning jars, leaving ¼ inch of headroom ; wipe the mouths of the containers carefully with a clean cloth wrung out in boiling water; adjust lids, and process in a Boiling–Water or simmering Bath for the time specified by the recipes; complete seals if using boiled jars. Cool, clean the jars, label, and store.
Cantaloupe Preserves
About 1½ pints
1 pound cantaloupe flesh
¾ pound sugar
1 lemon
Cut cantaloupe into sections. Remove seeds. Cut more tender portion of pulp for use fresh. Remove rind. Cut firm portion of uniform pieces. Add sugar to melon in alternate layers of melon and sugar. Let stand 24 hours. Add the juice of one lemon. Bring to a boil and boil quickly until the fruit is clear and tender. Place fruit in shallow trays. If syrup is too thin continue cooking until the desired consistency is reached, but do not heat past 225 F/ 107 C at sea level or the flavor and color will be impaired. Pour hot syrup over fruit and allow to stand overnight so fruit will plump. Pack cold in sterilized ½-pint jars; leaving ¼ inch of headroom; adjust lids and process in a simmering Hot–Water Bath at 180 F/82 C for 30 minutes. Remove and complete seals if using bailed jars.
Seven-Minute Strawberry Preserves
About 1½ pints
A classic from Louisiana State University Extension
4 cups perfect strawberries
3 cups sugar
Boiling water
Wash and hull perfect berries; place in a colander. In a large flat-bottomed pan (so the water will fall out in a sheet, not in a harsh stream as from a teakettle) bring 3 quarts of water to boiling, pour water over berries in the colander. Put heated berries promptly into a stainless steel or enameled stewpot, fold into the hot berries 1½ cups sugar, slowly bring to a boil, and boil gently 4 minutes. Off heat, add remaining 1½ cups sugar shake the pan to distribute and dissolve the sugar. Bring to a gentle boil, and boil 3 minutes. Skim off any foam, lift berries out and into a large roasting pan, pour syrup over them to cover, and let berries rest, covered, for 24 hours to become plump. Next day, pack berries and syrup cold in hot jars, leaving ¼ inch of headroom. Remove any air bubbles from contents, wipe sealing rim and adjust lids. Process in a Hot-Water Bath, simmering at 180 F/82 C for 20 minutes for ½-pints. Remove jars; and complete seals if using bailed jars.
Sweet Cherry (or Other) Preserves
2 pints
4 cups pitted sweet cherries, tightly packed
3 cups sugar
In a 4-quart saucepan place the cherries over very low heat and stir to start the juice flow. Raise the heat slightly and simmer cherries and their juice about 10 minutes—or until fruit is tender. Add sugar to the cherries, stir well, and simmer for 5 minutes more. Remove from heat, cover the kettle, and let the cherries stand for 2 minutes while they absorb more of the sugar. Stir the hot preserves to prevent floating fruit, then pour into hot sterilized ½-pint jars, leaving ¼ inch of headroom; adjust lids and process for 5 minutes in a B–W Bath (212 F/100 C). Remove and complete seals if using bailed jars.
Blueberry Conserve
Six ½ pint jars
1 orange
1 lemon
3 cups water
5 cups sugar
½ cup dark raisins
6 cups blueberries, stemmed and washed
With vegetable peeler, remove the zest (colored part of the rind) of the orange and the lemon—cutting so thinly that none of the white underlayer comes with it; chop fine. Remove and discard white layer; chop the pulp, discarding any seeds. Bring the water and sugar to a boil in large stainless steel kettle, and add orange and lemon zest and pulp and raisins; simmer for 5 minutes. Add the blueberries, and cook over moderate heat until the mixture thickens—about 30