Preserves, jams and fruit butters

Lucretia B

Making jams is one of the most creative and fun activities (at least, as far as cooking is concerned). In my long experience of making jams to use up excess fruits from the backyard, I have noticed a huge discrepancy between the idea of how to make preserves, as found in traditional cookbooks, and the results of my personal experiments. There are no strict rules for making jams, fruit syrups and, to some extent, jellies; rather, you can customize your own recipes, mix different fruits, change proportions, and you can still be assured of successful results.
The only really important point to keep in mind is that the amount of sugar and the method you choose for canning jams determine how long your product will last. In practice, if your jam turns out to be popular, it will be long gone before its use by day!
Besides some of my favourite recipes, I'd like to share with you my experience with jams & fruit preserves in general. This is my personal method, which I have developed putting together different ideas. I call it

MJL - Magic Jam Language

• When I started making jams, I found that most of the recipes from my nice (but not always true'n'tried) cookbooks called for perfectly ripe, perfectly sound fruits. In practice, this is a waste of resources! Jams (like jellies, marmalades and other cooked fruit products) are the best way of using up fruits that are too ripe or have imperfections (like soft spots or rotten portions). And if you have to buy fruit for your jams, choosing from the cheap, not-so-good-looking fruit helps a lot in keeping the total cost down.
• No matter how good- or bad-looking your fruits are, always wash and clean them carefully, removing all the rotten portions with a sharp knife. After washing, and before cutting it into pieces, place the fruit in a colander, to drain away excess water. Wiping the fruit with a soft kitchen cloth is good practice, but not strictly required.
• It's best to remove the pits from peaches, apricots, prunes and plums before cooking. It's also good practice to pit cherries before cooking, because it helps discover and get rid of their tiny inhabitants (this might be the reason why I never make cherry jam).
• Peel should never be removed, except in some particular cases, i.e.:
  • fruit with very hard skins like pumpkin and melon;
  • with oranges and lemons, the peel is usually removed and prepared separately;
  • peel should always be removed from peaches and nectarines, because their peel tends to get mouldy and cause your jam to go off very quickly.
• To cook your jams, choose a large, heavy-bottomed pot (a round pan, rather deep than broad) with fitting lid. If you're concerned with fruit/sugar proportions, weigh the empty pot and write down its weight.
• Place the prepared (washed, cleaned, and maybe cut) fruit or berries in the pot. Never fill the pot more than 3/4 full, because many types of fruit tend to bubble, foam or splash during the cooking process. If you're concerned with fruit/sugar proportions, weigh the pot after you've placed your fruit in it and subtract the weight of the empty pot from the total weight.
• Add the sugar evenly covering the fruit, and cover with a fitting lid. Do not mix, and let fruit and sugar stand in a cool place for a couple of hours (jams) or overnight (fruit syrups, jellies). Sugar "extracts" the juice from the fruit, thus making it easier to cook the fruit without burning.
• Unless you are making fruit syrups, the amount of sugar (or honey - please see note) to add depends basically on your taste. With smaller amounts of sugar, your jams will be more sour and runny, and probably more valuable from a nutritional point of view. On the other hand, very little sugar will cause the jam to go off very quickly. Unless otherwise directed, these are the standard proportions for long lasting home-canned jams:
  • 4 parts of sugar / 6 parts of fruit for jams
  • 6 parts of sugar / 4 parts of fruit for fruit syrups
• When the fruit is ready, remove the lid, place the pot over medium heat and bring to a full boil (a full boil is reached when bubbles form over the entire surface of the mixture). Reduce the heat and simmer for half an hour or more, according to the type of fruit and preserve. Stir occasionally, and make sure the jam does not stick to the bottom of the pot. I am working on a reference table for different types of fruit and preserves, which I hope will be finished by April; in a way, though, it's totally irrelevant if you have decided you can make your own preserves anyway :-). Here are some practical general rules:
  • If you add commercial pectin, or special sugars, you can drastically reduce cooking times and your jams will look more commercial - i.e., thick, well set and with a strong fresh fruit flavour. In this case, though, you need to use a higher proportion of perfectly ripe fruits; you also have to follow the instructions given with the pectin, both for fruit/sugar proportions and for cooking times.
  • Jellies always require pectin, or fruits having a particularly high pectin rate. I have no personal suggestions for making jellies with commercial pectin, as I've always had to stick to the pectin's rules (and often turned out with fruit syrups instead of jellies, but that's the way strict rules work!).
  • For fruit syrups and jams with a homemade look (i.e., whenever you are using up imperfect fruits), I recommend longer cooking times - say, 2 hours approx.
  • An alternative method for storing fruit preserves is freezing. In this case, cooking times and sugar or pectin rate are totally irrelevant. Yet, I noticed that frozen fruit preserves tend to lose their flavour rather quickly.
• I always store my jams, syrups and other preserves in re-used glass canning jars with fitting metal lid (such as the ones used for mayonnaise, pickles and commercial jams and marmalades), but you can buy new canning jars if you like. Get jars ready before you start: make sure all jars and closures are perfect, discard cracked or chipped jars, and wash the containers in warm, soapy water. Rinse with hot water, drain and keep the jars hot by placing them in a slow oven.
• While the jam, or other preparation, is cooking, prepare the "sleeping box" (I know it sounds funny, but this is the best sterilizing & vacuum sealing method I know!). You need a thick cardboard box, an old blanket and some rags (preferably woolen). Arrange the blanket in the box, so that it covers all sides, and keep the other rags (ideally, one for each jar) at hand.
• When your jam is ready, start filling up your jars, leaving about a 1/4" to 1/2" gap at the top of the jar. Don't turn the heat off under the pot: you can wear thick gloves to avoid burns, but don't forget you need to work quickly. Fill up one jar at a time, cover it with its lid, wrap it up in a rag and place it (top up) in the "sleeping box". Store the jars close together, cover the last layer with the blanket (or other rags), close the box and let it stand for 24 hours at least. Don't be surprised if you find that the jars, when you open the box after 24 hours, are still hot!
• For best quality, do not keep jams for more than six to nine months. If properly cooked and sterilized, they don't go off this soon, but they certainly lose flavour with time.
• Finally, I would suggest that you make small batches of jam (up to 2 kg of fruit - or up to 1 kg of fruit if you are working with jellies) until you have found the methods and recipes that work best for you. Feel free to experiment different combinations of fresh fruit, fresh and dried fruit, or fruit and spices, especially if you have only one fruit tree and you don't want to end up "hating" it. As an alternative, you can swap your jams and preserves with friends or neighbours who have different fruit trees.
   
  
• Note: Even though substituting honey for sugar can be a healthy choice, making jams with honey is more difficult. Since honey cannot be cooked for long, you will have to use pectin and follow the instructions in the package - which usually are given for sugar. Apparently, the only way to tell how much honey is needed is to experiment: make small batches using honey instead of sugar, starting with the 1:1 proportion, and see what happens! Also, remember that darker honeys have stronger flavours; for jams and jellies, it's better to use clover, alfalfa or other very light & mild honeys.

Thanks: Antonio Bonati [ cec.b --at-- libero.it ], Italy

Ingredients

3 kg tomatoes (see text)

3 small apples (see text)

juice of 3 lemons

grated rind from 1 lemon (only the yellow zest)

1.7 to 2 kg sugar (depending on your tastes)

50 mls brandy, or rum, or grappa

Method

Our recipe starts... from the seed, in that we have used our own tomatoes, which we have grown in an area with nice clean air and using no chemical additives, no pesticides, no fertilizers. All we did was using our good, rich soil, with good drainage and regular watering (3 times a night, using an automatic pump).
We have used Roma (plump shaped) and red cherry tomatos, picked when fully ripe but nice and plump (this is very important), and completely red.
Rinse the tomatoes under cool running water; chop in half and squeeze, discarding seeds and excess juice.
In a large pot, place tomatoes, lemon juice and rind. Start cooking on low heat, stirring and skimming often, and gradually increasing the heat. Simmer for five minutes. Remove from heat and press through a hair sieve to extract the pulp. Place the pulp back into the pot, add sugar and simmer until the jam has reached the desired consistency, making sure to stir and skim regularly.
Add the brandy (or rum or grappa), give a quick stir and remove from heat. Fill up the jars, leaving a 1/2 inch gap at the top, and seal with lid.
Our jam also includes 3 small apples, which should be peeled and cored before addition because pectin, which might thicken this jam too much, is mainly contained in apple peels and seeds.

Thanks: Giulia Settimo [ giulia.settimo --at-- iol.it ], Italy

Ingredients

ripe peaches

600 g sugar for each kg of peaches

2 heaped tbs plain cocoa powder for each kg of peaches

Method

Prepare peaches as described above (MJL), reserving 1 cup of sugar. Simmer for half an hour, then add the cocoa powder, thoroughly mixed with the reserved sugar. Cook for another 60 to 90 minutes, stirring frequently.

Lucretia B

Ingredients

ripe apricots (halved)

500 g sugar for each kg of apricots

1/2 tb fresh grated ginger for each kg of apricots

Method

Prepare apricots as described above (MJL). Bring fruit and sugar to a full boil, then add grated ginger. Simmer for 60 to 90 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Lucretia B

Ingredients

ripe pears (green pears are the best)

500 to 600 g of sugar for each kg of pears

1 lemon for each kg of pears

1 ts ground cinnamon for each kg of pears

Method

Prepare pears as described above (MJL). Peel and cut into tiny strips, or grate the lemon rind; squeeze the juice and add juice and rind to the mixture of fruit and sugar. Bring the prepared mixture to a full boil, then add cinnamon. Simmer for 60 to 90 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Lucretia B

Ingredients

cooking apples, unpeeled but cored

500 g sugar for each kg of apples

1 large lemon for each kg of apples

1/2 cup white wine for each kg of apples

cardamom or nutmeg

Method

Prepare apples as described above (MJL). Peel and cut into tiny strips, or grate the lemon rind; squeeze the juice and add juice, rind and wine to the mixture of fruit and sugar. Bring the prepared mixture to a full boil, then add cardamom or grated nutmeg to taste. Simmer for 60 to 90 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and put everything through a press, discarding the peels. Put the remaining mixture back in the pot and simmer until the apple butter is a thick, dark brown mass.

Les recettes de Germaine

Ingredients

apples and other ripe mixed fruits

400 to 500 g sugar for each kg of fruit

raisins or currants (optional)

1 ts cinnamon or mixed spices for each kg of fruit

Method

This is a nice recipe for using up all types of fruit, but at least 2 apples for each kg of fruit are required. Raisins or currants, washed under cold running water, are a nice plus; if you are using raisins, the amount of sugar can be reduced. Prepare the fruit as described above (MJL), chopping up apples and other big fruits. Mix spices and sugar before soaking the fruit. Cook until apples are tender. Fruit compote should be frozen, rather than canned. Serve it with custard or cream for a nice, quick dessert, or add it to yogurt and cereals for breakfast.

Lucretia B

Ingredients

ripe juicy fruit

1 to 1 1/2 kg sugar for each kg of fruit

Method

In my experience, the best fruit for syrups are berries, plums (the round, soft, juicy type) and grapes. Wash and drain the fruit; pit the plums if you can; pick the grapes off the stem. If you're using berries or plums, cover them evenly with sugar and let them stand overnight (16 to 24 hours). Grapes should rather be cooked straight away and, if particularly sweet, require less sugar.
Bring the mixture of fruit and sugar to a full boil over low heat and simmer for at least half an hour, stirring frequently and mashing the fruit with a wooden spoon. Cooking times depend on the fruit and on the stove: you need to cook the fruit long enough to reduce it to a very liquid puree. At this point, remove from heat and drain through a medium meshed sieve, pressing down the pulp and trying to squeeze out as much juice as you can.
Return the juice to the stove and bring to a full boil again. You can pour the juice into glass jars or bottles at this point, or cook it longer. In this case, you'll get a thicker syrup, but you will probably lose more of the fruit's virtues.

Lucretia B

Ingredients

Fresh ripe tomatoes (Roma are the best)

Table or Kosher salt

Fresh basil leaves, washed and patted dry in a clean kitchen cloth (optional)

Method

Cut tomatoes in half, sprinkle with salt and place the tomatoes face down in a colander for half an hour or more.
Gently squeeze out of the tomatoes as many seeds as you can, and then place the tomatoes in a large kettle. Cover and simmer gently for a few minutes (5 to 10). DON'T STIR! Drain away the yellow "juice", because it is very sour and it could deteriorate your sauce. Using a food mill (or a Squeezo, or one of the special accessories some food processors come with), separate the pulp from the skin.
Place the pulp back in the pan and bring to a boil. Following the directions given above, pour the sauce into previously prepared glass jars. As an optional extra, before filling the jar with sauce you can add a few leaves of basil in each jar.
Cover each jar with its lid as soon as it's full. Place jars in the "sleeping box", storing them close together.
This is the way we make tomato sauce for winter storage. It keeps for at least one year. You can use this basic sauce as a base for any kind of spaghetti sauce. As it has a very natural tomato flavour, it's also perfect for stews, soups, pizza, and all sorts of other tomato based preparations.