Putting Food By - Janet Greene [52]
Apricot Purée (or Peach or Pear)
Use perfectly sound, ripe fruit. Wash, drain; peel, pit, and slice. In a large kettle crush a 1-inch layer of fruit to start the juice, then add the rest of the prepared fruit; if there seems not to be enough juice to keep the fruit from sticking or scorching, add no more than ¼ cup water for every firmly packed 1 cup of fruit. Simmer over medium heat, stirring as needed, until the fruit is soft—about 20 minutes. Push the cooked fruit through a sieve or food mill; or whirl briefly in a blender at a high setting, or in a processor, and strain. Measure, and add 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice for each 2 cups of pulp. Reheat to a 200 F/93 C simmer. Pack Hot.
HOT PACK ONLY, IN JARS ONLY
Pour hot purée into clean, scalded ½-pint jars, leaving ½ inch of headroom. Adjust lids. Process in a Boiling–Water Bath (212 F/100 C) for 15 minutes. Remove jars, complete seals if using bailed jars.
• Adjustment for my altitude_________________.
CANNING BERRIES
Don’t get so taken up with making jellies and jams in berry-time that you forget to can some too: they may be done for serving solo and in compotes and salads; or, with slightly different handling, for use in cobblers, pies, and puddings.
For purposes of general handling, berries—except for strawberries, which are a law unto themselves—are divided in two categories: soft (raspberries, blackberries, boysenberries, dewberries, loganberries, and youngberries), and firm (blueberries, cranberries, currants, elderberries, gooseberries, and huckleberries). The texture usually determines which pack to use; but some of the firm ones may be dealt with in more than one way, and such variations are described separately below for the specific berries.
It goes without saying that you’ll want to use only perfect berries that are ripe without being at all mushy. Pick them over carefully, wash them gently, and drain; stem or hull them as necessary. Work with only a couple of quarts at a time because all berries, particularly the soft ones, break down quickly by being handled.
General Procedure for Most Berries
All berries are acid, so a Boiling–Water Bath for the prescribed length of time is the best process for them.
Use Raw pack generally for soft berries, because they break down so much in precooking.
A Hot pack in general makes a better product of most firm berries.
Use jars or cans—R-enamel or white enamel cans for all red berries, but plain cans for gooseberries.
All may be canned either with sugar or without—but just a little sweetening helps hold the flavor even of berries you intend to doll up later for desserts. Thin and Medium Syrups are used more often than Heavy, with Medium usually considered as giving a better table-ready product than Thin.
Raw Pack (Soft Berries)
In jars. Fill clean, hot jars, shaking to settle the berries for a firm pack; leave ½ inch of headroom. Add boiling Thin or Medium Syrup, leaving ½ inch of headroom; adjust lids. Process in a Boiling–Water Bath (212 F/ 100 C)—pints for 15 minutes, quarts for 20 minutes. Remove jars; complete seals if using bailed jars.
• Adjustment for my altitude_________________.
In R-enamel or white enamel cans. Fill, shaking for a firm pack; leave only ¼ inch of headroom. Add boiling Thin or Medium Syrup to the top of the can. Exhaust to 190–200 F/88–93 C (approx. 4–5 minutes); seal. Process in a B–W Bath (212 F/100 C)—10 minutes for both No. 303 and No. 401 cans. Remove cans; cool quickly.
• Adjustment for my altitude_________________.
Standard Hot Pack (Most Firm Berries)
Measure berries into a kettle, and add ½ cup of sugar for each 1 quart of berries. On lowest burner, bring very slowly to a boil, shaking the pan to prevent berries from sticking (rather than stirring, which breaks them down). Remove from heat and let them stand, covered, for several hours. This plumps up the berries and keeps them from floating to the top of the container when they’re processed. For packing, reheat them slowly. As insurance, have some hot Thin or Medium Syrup on hand in case you run