Putting Food By - Janet Greene [43]
The rules of thumb are: for Thin Syrup use 4 cups of water or other liquid and 2 cups of sugar to make 5 cups.
For Medium, use 4 cups of water or other liquid and 3 cups of sugar to make 5½ cups.
For Heavy, use 4 cups of water or other liquid and 4¾ cups of sugar to get 6½ cups.
To make any of these, mix the sugar with the water/liquid in the proportions given and heat them together until the sugar is dissolved.
Using Juice for Canning Liquid
The best source for estimating the yield of juice from fruit is in Chapter 18, “Jellies, Jams, and Other Sweet Things”; or the leaflet that comes with any commercial pectin to be used for making jelly and jam at home. These juices that are the base for jellies may overpower fruit if they are used full strength as canning liquid; therefore, if you make up a batch of clear, strained juice as if it were for jelly, you may want to dilute it with an equal amount of water, or to suit the family’s taste. Try mixing maverick juices for unusual and delicious flavors. Compatible with all fruits are apple (not cider), white grape, and pineapple juices; all can be bought in large containers, to be diluted, etc. Ground spices usually change flavor too much or cloud the liquid.
Either buy extra fruit from which you’ll make the juice, or set aside a portion of a large amount, like a bushel, that you already have. Pick over the fruit carefully (reserving the perfect examples for canning and using the homelier ones for making juice). Wash these and cut away all blemishes, bruises, gouges; certainly any areas where spoilage has started must be cut out drastically. It is not necessary to peel the fruit to be used in the canning liquid, but just make sure that your fruit is impeccably clean, and has been cut into small pieces after all blemishes have been removed. Put the prepared fruit in an enameled or stainless steel kettle with an equal amount of water. Bring to simmering and, when the fruit is softened, crush it with a potato masher or pastry blender or some such thing. Then bring it to a boil and boil it for a couple of minutes. The fruit pulp need not be put through a real jelly bag (again, see Chapter 18) if you are in a hurry. Still, it is nice to have a reasonably clear liquid surrounding your nice canned fruit, so flop your pulp around in a sieve to get all the juice you can and then—because the juice is much less concentrated than it would be for making jelly—pour it through a standard coffee filter into a series of clean, hot, quart jars. Cap with the sterile lid and store in the refrigerator, not longer than 3 or 4 days.
The Sweeteners to Use
Chapter 5, “Common Ingredients and How to Use Them,” offers details of the relative sweetening powers of natural ingredients—light corn syrup, mild-flavored honey, maple syrup, brown sugar, and molasses and sorghum—and also comments on the virtues of non-nutritive sweeteners in special diets. Meanwhile, fructose, which is fruit sugar, can be substituted for standard sucrose (table sugar)—if you can afford to do so. Commercial canners use the “HFS” (high fructose syrup) that is not always handy for the general public. If you are drawn to fructose, it would be better economy to add it when the fruit is served.
Steps in Canning All Fruits
After making your syrup, collect your utensils and containers. It’s vital to have scrupulously clean utensils, cloths, and work surfaces, including cutting-boards and counters, and a good supply of fresh water of drinking quality.
Jars/cans and their sealers must be perfect and perfectly clean. They need not be sterilized, since the adequate Boiling-Water Bath will sterilize the inside of containers during processing. They must, however,