The Beginner's Guide to Preserving Food at Home - Janet Chadwick [53]
Never double recipes for preserves — the product will not gel properly. It is important to follow the recipe carefully and precisely. If you are using a commercial pectin, then exact measuring and timing are critical; if you are making a preserve without added pectin, then using a thermometer to gauge when the product has reached the gel point is safest.
IF YOU ARE NEW TO MAKING PRESERVES, start by making jams with added pectin. They are easy and fairly fail-proof. Graduate to making jams and other preserves without added pectin.
If all you want is a satisfactory spread to go with peanut butter, there is no need to go beyond jams. I include jelly-making here because sometimes you just want to have jelly. But be forewarned — the process is more time-consuming. I recommend using commercial pectin when making jelly, as there are many pitfalls along the way without it.
Types of Preserves
BASICALLY, YOU CAN CHOOSE FROM SIX TYPES of jellied fruit products — all called preserves. Jellies are usually made by cooking clear fruit juice with sugar. They should hold their shape on a spoon but be soft enough to spread on toast. Jams are thick, sweet spreads made from cooked and crushed fruit and sugar. They are less firm than jelly. Preserves are made with small pieces of fruit suspended in a clear, slightly gelled syrup. Conserves are jams that are made from fruit combinations. Sometimes they contain raisins, nuts, or coconut. Marmalades are soft fruit jellies that contain small pieces of fruit or peel evenly suspended in a clear jelly. Butters are fruit pulp cooked down to a spreading consistency.
INGREDIENTS FOR MAKING PRESERVES
Fruit. Fruit is the basis of most preserves. It doesn’t have to be picture-perfect since it will be cut up, mashed, or made into juice. But the fruit should be of high quality and free from mold or any spoilage. You can make preserves from fresh, frozen, or canned fruit. If you are using frozen or canned fruit, be sure to take into account any sugar already added to the fruit. For the best results, it is safer to use unsweetened fruit.
Most fruits (with the notable exception of berries) can be held at room temperature for several days if you can’t preserve right away.
Pectin. Pectin is a substance that occurs naturally in fruit; it is what causes fruit juice to gel. Some fruits — most apples, grapes, blueberries, blackberries, cherries, cranberries, — have enough natural pectin to make high-quality preserves. Others require the addition of pectin to form a good gel. Commercial pectins are made from apples or citrus fruit and are available in both powdered and liquid forms. Be sure to follow the manufacturer’s directions or tested recipes when using commercial pectin. The powdered and liquid forms are not interchangeable.
It may seem more natural to avoid using these commercial pectins — to make jams and jellies the old-fashioned way by cooking down fruit and sugar until you have a thick preserve — but I recommend commercial pectins for busy people for several reasons. First, fully ripe fruit can be used with these products, so when you harvest or when you get around to making your preserves is less critical. Second, cooking time is considerably shorter. Third, no guesswork is involved in terms of when the product is done. And finally, the yield is greater — more jars for your effort. If you have found that commercial pectins make a preserve that is too sweet for your taste, try one of the reduced-sugar pectins on the market.
Sugar. Sugar is an important ingredient in preserves. It must be present in the right amount (along with some acid) to activate the pectin. It also acts as a preservative.