Read The Amish Canning Cookbook Online
Authors: Georgia Varozza
The Amish Canning Cookbook (8 page)
¼ cup lemon juice
1 package powdered pectin
5 cups sugar
Follow the “Step-by-Step Directions for Making Jam With Added Pectin” for processing. Makes about 3 pints.
4 cups peeled, cored, and finely chopped pears
¼ cup lemon juice
7 cups sugar
2 pouches liquid pectin
Follow the “Step-by-Step Directions for Making Jam With Added Pectin” for processing; remember not to add the liquid pectin until
after
the cooking is complete. Makes about 4 pints.
4 cups peeled, cored, and finely chopped pears
¼ cup lemon juice
1 package powdered pectin
8½ cups sugar
Follow the “Step-by-Step Directions for Making Jam With Added Pectin” for processing. Makes about 3½ pints.
Pineapple Jam with Liquid Pectin
1 20-ounce can crushed pineapple
3 T. lemon juice
3¼ cups sugar
1 pouch liquid pectin
Follow the “Step-by-Step Directions for Making Jam With Added Pectin” for processing; remember not to add the liquid pectin until
after
the cooking is complete. Makes about 2 pints.
4½ cups pitted and crushed or finely chopped plums
¼ cup lemon juice
7½ cups sugar
1 pouch liquid pectin
Follow the “Step-by-Step Directions for Making Jam With Added Pectin” for processing; remember not to add the liquid pectin until
after
the cooking is complete. Makes about 4 pints.
6 cups pitted and crushed or finely chopped plums
¼ cup lemon juice
1 package powdered pectin
8 cups sugar
Follow the “Step-by-Step Directions for Making Jam With Added Pectin” for processing. Makes about 4½ pints.
Rhubarb Jam with Powdered Pectin
6 cups prepared rhubarb (see directions below)
1 package powdered pectin
8½ cups sugar
To prepare rhubarb: Cut about 4 pounds of red-stalk rhubarb into half-inch pieces. Add 2¼ cups water and ¼ cup lemon juice and bring to a boil. Simmer gently, covered, until very soft, stirring occasionally. Measure out 6 cups and proceed with recipe.
Follow the “Step-by-Step Directions for Making Jam With Added Pectin” for processing. Makes about 5 pints.
Rhubarb/Strawberry Jam with Liquid Pectin
1 cup prepared rhubarb (see directions below)
2½ cups crushed strawberries
6½ cups sugar
1 pouch liquid pectin
To prepare rhubarb: Cut about 1 pound of red-stalk rhubarb into half-inch pieces. Add ¼ cup water and 3 tablespoons lemon juice and bring to a boil. Simmer gently, covered, until very soft, stirring occasionally. Measure out 1 cup and proceed with recipe.
Follow the “Step-by-Step Directions for Making Jam With Added Pectin” for processing; remember not to add the liquid pectin until
after
the cooking is complete. Makes about 3½ pints.
Strawberry Jam with Liquid Pectin
4 cups crushed strawberries
¼ cup lemon juice
7 cups sugar
1 pouch liquid pectin
Follow the “Step-by-Step Directions for Making Jam With Added Pectin” for processing; remember not to add the liquid pectin until
after
the cooking is complete. Makes about 4 pints.
Strawberry Jam with Powdered Pectin
5½ cups crushed strawberries
¼ cup lemon juice
1 package powdered pectin
8 cups sugar
Follow the “Step-by-Step Directions for Making Jam With Added Pectin” for processing. Makes about 5 pints.
Many folks make a batch or two of jelly every year, even if they never can anything else. Jelly is a great introduction to the canning process and doesn’t require a lot of time if you buy your juice instead of extracting it from the fruit itself. Just make sure that if you purchase juice to turn into jelly it’s 100 percent juice with nothing added, such as sugar or corn syrup. I almost always buy grape juice for jelly-making, and more recently I’ve turned purchased bottles of pomegranate, black cherry, and raspberry juice into jelly as well. There are also some mixed juices available these days that would be interesting to turn into jelly. Why not try something like blueberry/raspberry or cranberry/apple? Really, the flavor variations you can dream up are almost limitless. And another plus for using purchased juice is that you are free to whip up a batch of jelly any time of the year—no need to wait until the fruit is ripe in summer.
Preparing the Fruit and Extracting the Juice
Prepare the fruit
. Wash the fruit by running cold water over it or else by filling a sink or large container several times with cold water and immersing and then lifting the fruit out each time. You don’t want to allow the fruit to sit in the water for very long.
The method differs for extracting the juice depending on the kinds of fruit you are processing. Juicy berries can be crushed and the juice extracted without heating, but firm fruit needs to be heated in order to soften it and start the flow of juice, and usually some water is added when the fruit is heated.
Extract the juice
. Once the fruit has been prepared, it’s time to extract the juice from the pulp. Put the prepared fruit in a fruit press or strainer, jelly bag (dampen the bag before adding the fruit pulp), or a double thickness of dampened cheesecloth. Allow the fruit to drip, collecting the juice as it does so.
If you let the fruit drip without pressing it or twisting the bag, you will end up with very clear juice, which makes the prettiest jelly. However, it also yields the least amount of juice, so you may want to twist the bag of fruit tightly or squeeze and press the bag in order to render out the most juice that you can. If you decide to use a fruit press or strainer you will probably want to strain the juice one more time—this time using a double thickness of dampened cheesecloth and allowing the juice to run through the material without squeezing or twisting. This will clear the juice perfectly.
Making Jelly with Added Pectin
As we learned in the previous section on making jam, pectin comes in two forms: powdered and liquid. Powdered pectin is mixed with the unheated fruit juice while liquid pectin is added to the boiling juice and sugar mixture. The boiling time is the same using either type of pectin—2 minutes at a full rolling boil (a boil that can’t be stirred down).
Because jelly must be firm enough to hold its shape when cut, pectin is of great value in ensuring a good set. It is possible to make jelly without added pectin just like pioneer women did, but since we are fortunate to have readily available packaged pectin, it seems a shame to not take advantage of it. So in the recipes that follow you will have a choice between powdered or liquid pectin in each.
Step-by-Step Directions for Making Jelly
• Fill your water-bath canner halfway with water and set the heat on low to bring the water to a simmer.
• Wash and sterilize your jars and keep them hot until you need them, either in your heated dishwasher or by standing them up in your clean sink or a large pot and pouring boiling water over them to cover. When ready to use, make sure you drain the jars well before filling them with the jelly.
• Put the screw bands and lids in a pot and cover with water. Bring water to a simmer—don’t boil!—and leave them there until ready to use.
• Prepare the fruit and extract the juice.
• Using a liquid measuring container, measure out the exact amount of prepared fruit juice and put it in a very large pot (at least 6 to 8 quarts). Stir in lemon juice or water if the recipe calls for it.
• If you are using powdered pectin, stir it into the juice now. If using liquid pectin, you will add it after the cooking is complete.
• In a separate bowl, measure out the sugar you will be using and set it aside for now.
• Using high heat, bring mixture to a full rolling boil while stirring constantly.
• Quickly stir in the sugar and return to a full rolling boil. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
• Remove from heat. If using liquid pectin, stir it in now.
• Quickly skim off foam and then ladle the jelly into your clean, hot jars, filling to within ⅛ inch of the top.
• Wipe the jar rims and threads using a wet paper towel or cloth and cover with the two-piece lids, screwing the bands on tight.
• Place the jars in the canner, making sure there is a rack on the bottom of the canner to lift the jars off the floor of the pot. Water must cover the tops of the jars by 1 to 2 inches; add very hot water if needed to adequately cover the jar tops.
• Cover canner and bring the water to a boil.
• Process jelly as follows:
• When the processing time is complete, remove the jars from the canner and set on a folded towel or a board to cool completely. After the jars are completely cooled, check to make sure a seal was formed: the center of the lid should be down, and when you press the lid with your finger, there should be no movement in the lid and it should not spring back up when pressed. If a jar didn’t seal properly, it will need to be refrigerated and used within about 3 weeks.
• Let the jars of jelly stand at room temperature for 24 hours and then remove the screw bands, check again that a proper seal was made, and wipe down the lids and jars before storing.
Remember! You can always purchase the juice for the following recipes. Just skip the instructions for extracting the juice from the fruit and go immediately to the jelly-making. It’s so easy!
Blackberry Jelly with Liquid Pectin
4 cups blackberry juice (from about 3 quarts berries, stems and caps removed)
7½ cups sugar
2 T. lemon juice
2 pouches liquid pectin
Crush berries and extract juice, following the instructions in “Preparing Fruit and Extracting the Juice.” You can also heat the berries first, if desired.
Follow the “Step-by-Step Directions for Making Jelly” for processing; remember not to add the liquid pectin until
after
the cooking is complete. Makes about 4 pints.
Blackberry Jelly with Powdered Pectin
3½ cups blackberry juice (from about 2 to 2½ quarts berries, stems and caps removed)