Category Archives: Jams and Pickles

Strawberry and Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam

Jams and Pickles

Ingredients for 4  Bonne Maman jars of jam

  • 2 lb or 900g Strawberry
  • 600g sugar
  • 1 lemon

This recipe uses no pectin but lemon as a thickener. If you like to make Strawberry-Rhubarb jam just use half strawberries, half rhubarb and add a lemon zest from an additional lemon as rhubarb doesn’t have a lot of pectin. Also, don’t make batches larger then this one as it alters the cooking time and is harder to get it thickened perfectly. Make two or three separate batches if you want to make more jam.

Wash and hull the strawberries and cut them into equal pieces. If you use rhubarb, peel them and cut lengthwise as well as horizontally into equal, 3/4 inch sized pieces.

Put the fruit into a non-reactive blow or a large enameled dutch oven you’ll cook the jam in, cover with sugar, squeeze the lemon and add the lemon halves without the seeds (and additional zest for strawberry-rhubarb jam) to the berries. Stir well and let macerate for 2 – 4 hours.

While the berries are marinating, put a small plate in the freezer to later check if the jam for thickness and sterilize your jars.

There are several ways to sterilize your jars for canning. You can run them through a short cycle on your dishwasher. You can place them in a large pot (12 quart) of water on top of a steaming rack (so they don’t touch the bottom of the pan), and bring the water to a boil for 10 minutes. Or you can rinse out the jars, dry them, and place them, without lids, in a 200°F oven for 10 minutes. Sterilize the lids by letting them sit in just boiled hot water for a few minutes.

Once all sugar dissolved and the fruit released some of it’s juices, transfer it all to a large enameled dutch oven and cook on medium-high heat. Stir occasionally as the strawberries reduce and the juices thicken. About 5 minutes in, remove the lemon halves and use a stick blender to puree the jam as much as you like. This seems to reduce cooking time and therefore makes for a fresher tasting jam.  If a lot of foam rises to the surface, skim it away. It’s done when the syrup is the consistency of warm maple syrup – about 10 minutes or so, depending on the pot and berries.

Turn off the heat and put a spoonful of the jam on the frozen plate and return the plate to the freezer. If it wrinkles when you nudge it, it’s done. If not, return the plate to the freezer and cook the jam a little more, testing it again. It may take a few times before you get it to the right consistency.

Use a large ladle to pour the jelly into the sterilized jars to 5/8 inch from the top rim of the jar. If you have one, use a jam filter to pour the jelly into the jar. Quickly close the lid, hold closed jar upside and sit down to let cool. You will hear a popping noise as a vacuum seal is created as the jars of jelly cool. The most rewarding sound after all that work!

 

Quick Pickled Fennel with Orange

Jams and Pickles

Ingredients for 1 quart

  • 3 small fennel bulbs
  • 2 tablespoons kosher salt
  • 1 small orange, sliced
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 cup apple cider vinegar

Wash fennel bulbs and remove stems. Slice in half and cut out the hard core.Slice paper-thin on a mandoline. Sprinkle kosher salt over shaved fennel and toss to combine. Let fennel sit for at least an hour.

When time is up, pour fennel into a colander and squeeze to remove the liquid that was produced while it sat with the salt.  Return fennel to the bowl and toss with orange slices and black pepper.

Pack fennel and orange into a quart jar and top with the apple cider vinegar.  Use a chopstick or the end of a wooden spoon to work the vinegar down into the fennel.

Stash jar in the fridge and let sit for at least 24 hours before eating. This quick pickle will keep at least 2-3 weeks in the refrigerator.

 

Orange Marmalade

Jams and Pickles

orange-marmalade

Ingredients

  • 4 lb Seville oranges, scrubbed
  • 4 lemons. scrubbed
  • 5 cups sugar

Fill a large pot with water and add the oranges and lemons. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer over moderate heat for 1 hour, turning the fruit a few times. Set a colander over a bowl and gently drain the fruit.

When the fruit is cool enough to handle, halve the oranges and lemons and scrape the insides onto a large piece of dampened cheesecloth. Tie the cloth into a bundle. Cut the peels into very thin strips.

In a wide, heavy pot, combine the citrus peels with the sugar and 7 cups of water and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the cheesecloth bundle and boil over moderately high heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Using tongs or a slotted spoon, transfer the cheesecloth bundle to a bowl; when cool enough to handle, squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Add the liquid to the pot and discard the bundle. Continue cooking the marmalade until the syrup is very thick and glossy and the temperature registers 220° on a candy thermometer, about 20 minutes longer. Pour the marmalade into sterile jars, let cool and refrigerate.

 

Quince Jelly

Jams and Pickles

quince

Ingredients for 4 – 5 jars of jelly

  • 3 1/2 lbs of quince, washed, stems removed, cored, quartered (leave skin on)
  • 7 cups water
  • Enough sugar to add almost a cup of sugar (about 7/8 cup) for every cup of juice (about 4 cups)

Put quince pieces in a large stockpot with a thick bottom and add water (if you are eyeballing it, put in enough water to cover the pieces of quince by about an inch.). Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for 45 minutes to an hour, until the quince pieces are soft. Mashing the pulp. With a potato masher, mash the quince to the consistency of slightly runny applesauce. Add more water if necessary. If the mash is too thick, you won’t get enough juice out of it.

To strain the juice from the pulp, place a metal strainer over a pot. Drape 2 layers of cheesecloth over the strainer. Ladle the pulp into the cheesecloth. Let the pulp strain for 3 to 4 hours. If you aren’t getting enough juice out of the pulp, you may need to mix more water into the mash. Do not squeeze the cheese cloth or the jelly will be cloudy.

Measure the amount of juice you have. Should be about 4 to 5 cups. Pour into a thick-bottomed pot on the stove and bring to a boil. Measure out the sugar – a little less than a cup for every cup of juice. Add sugar to the juice.

Bring to a boil, initially stirring constantly, until the sugar is dissolved, so that the sugar does not stick to the bottom of the pan and burn. As the jelly cooks, skim off the foam that comes to the surface with a spoon. IInsert a candy thermometer to monitor the jelly temperature. As the temperature rises above the boiling point of water (212°F), you will notice the consistency of the jelly/juice begins to change. When the temperature is approximately 8 degrees higher than boiling point at your altitude (anywhere from 220°F to 222°F at sea level) the jelly is ready to pour into jars.

As the jelly is boiling, sterilize the jars. There are several ways to sterilize your jars for canning. You can run them through a short cycle on your dishwasher. You can place them in a large pot (12 quart) of water on top of a steaming rack (so they don’t touch the bottom of the pan), and bring the water to a boil for 10 minutes. Or you can rinse out the jars, dry them, and place them, without lids, in a 200°F oven for 10 minutes. Sterilize the lids by letting them sit in just boiled hot water for a few minutes.

Use a large ladle to pour the jelly into the sterilized jars to 5/8 inch from the top rim of the jar. If you have one, use a jam filter to pour the jelly into the jar wiout missing the opening. Quickly close the lid, hold closed jar upside and sit down to let cool. You will hear a popping noise as a vacuum seal is created as the jars of jelly cool. The most rewarding sound after all that work!