Apricot Pineapple Preserves

Among the jams sampled from this spring, the strawberry port wine jam is a definite keeper. Slightly boozy and very strawberry flavored, it's a fine complement to unsweetened herbal teas and crackers. The strawberry basil jam tasted just like strawberry jam. The green flecks of basil in the jam doesn't do anything for the jam other than change the visual aesthetics. And, the apricot rosemary preserves came out a little runny after processing in a hot water bath and it is because of that I added a tablespoon of low-sugar pectin to this batch of apricot preserves.

The Foodening Blog - Apricot Pineapple Preserves

Cost-wise, it's slightly more expensive to preserve apricots than other fruits; even though I got these fresh at $0.99/lb. The fruits were much smaller than what you'd typically find at a southern California farmers market. Though, it is possibly this was an early harvest due to our wacky spring weather where we hit a high of 99 F in April in the Pacific Northwest). I plan to use the apricot preserves as an added condiment to other desserts. I love apricot tarts and pastries.

This batch came out tasting as expected, a little sweet and a little tart with mixed apricot and pineapple flavors. Visually, it looks unremarkable like it is just another jar of apricot jam.

Ingredients

1 lb 12 oz fresh apricots, pitts removed and halved
1.25 c organic granulated sugar
One 20 oz can diced pineapple (or 1 1/2 c fresh diced pineapple, if available)
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1-2 tbsp low-sugar pectin (powdered)
zest of 1 lemon

Directions

In a large 4-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan, add apricots, pineapple, sugar, and lemon zest. Mash together and let sit covered for up to 24 hours in the refrigerator.

Prepare lids and jar bands by immersing in a bowl of hot boiled water. In an oven, preheat oven to lowest temperature setting (my oven goes to 170 F), place washed jars onto a baking tray and bake for 20 minutes. Leave jars in oven until ready to fill.

Over low-medium heat, bring mixture to a boil. When the sugar has dissolved and the mixture has risen to 200-220 F, add the pectin and stir until combined.

(optional) Taste. If at this point the jam needs sugar, add more and stir the mixture over low-medium heat until the sugar dissolves.

When the preserves look reasonably thickened (use the spoon or chilled plate test), remove from heat, stir in lemon juice and then fill jars.

Process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.

Strawberry Port Wine Jam

This was the first jam of the year. I'm still learning the differences between jams, preserves, and compotes. I prepped the entire half-flat of strawberries from the farmers market and decided to make two different strawberry jams since this recipe only called for 2.5 cups of prepped strawberries.

I should also note that I tried to be extra clever and put a teaspoon of fresh strawberries into the hot jam, hoping for some texture; but alas, nature has thwarted my efforts. The jar with fresh strawberries added did not set properly and looks a tad runny when I tilt the jar. All other jars have set firmly, well, as firm as pectin-laced jam can get. And, because I only prepped six half-pint jars, the seventh cup is in the fridge.

The recipe ratio is from Southern Living magazine, June 2003 issue; but my inspiration for making this came from the A Flock in the City blog. I chopped the entire batch of strawberries in a food processor. Maybe this is why the strawberries disintegrated into liquid when I cooked them.

Strawberry Port Wine Jam made with Fonseca Port

Makes 7 half-pint jars

Optional equipment: candy thermometer, food processor

Ingredients

2.5 c fresh strawberries, de-stemmed and chopped
1 1/2 c port wine
zest of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 package powdered pectin (1.75 oz)
4 c organic granulated sugar

Directions

In a large saucepan, stir together strawberries, port, lemon zest, nutmeg, and pectin.

Bring mixture to a boil and cook for 1 minute. Gradually add in sugar and stir constantly until the sugar dissolves. Bring this back up to a rolling boil (bubbles don't go away when stirred) and boil for an additional minute.

(optional) I used a candy thermometer and brought the mixture up to 220 F. This is just shy of the temperature needed to make candied syrup threads.

Remove from heat and skim off the foam.

Fill jam into hot, sterilized jars. Wipe the rim with a paper towel moistened with hot water. Place lids and secure the bands.

Process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes. (Meaning, after you put the jars in the water needs to come up to a full boil again and then start the 10-minute timer).

Strawberry Basil Preserves

I picked up a basil plant from Trader Joe's about a week ago and its tall stems were flopping over. Originally, I wanted to use the fresh basil to make margherita pizza (basil, tomato, mozzarella); but our weather has turned back to the Pacific Northwest norm of below 60 degrees F and not enough sun (not good for making pizza dough). Basil seems to go well with red fruits and this is to see if basil goes well with strawberries.

The basil might overpower the strawberry flavor in this batch, as I used more than 1/4 c of basil leaves. I added a few more whole strawberries to the remainder of the prepped half-flat to bring the total fresh weight to 2 lbs.

One jar didn't seal properly so it is in the fridge. Now I have two cups of jam to eat. Do you know what that means? More exercise.

Strawberry Basil Jam, ready for its hot water bath

Makes: 5 half-pints

Ingredients

2 lbs fresh strawberries, de-stemmed and chopped
1/2 c filtered water
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
1 c organic granulated sugar
1/4 c roughly chopped fresh basil leaves

Directions

In a large saucepan, add strawberries and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce to medium heat and continue to boil for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In a food processor, combine sugar and fresh basil leaves. Whirl together until no large bits of basil remain and the sugar turns to a pale green color. Set aside.

Remove lid from the saucepan and stir in lemon juice. Add sugar gradually, stirring to incorporate. Boil for 5 more minutes. Skim off any foam that rises. 

The jam is ready for jars when the volume of liquid has reduced and the jam has thickened.

Pour jam into hot, sterilized jars with a 1/4" headspace. Wipe the rims, lid and tighten bands on jars before processing in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.

Pomelo Marmalade

Wikipedia tells us that "marmalade is a fruit preserve made from the juice and peel of citrus fruits, boiled with sugar and water." The very statement suggests, no wait.. encourages, that any citrus fruit could be used as the added peel to a jam recipe. Say for example, a pomelo.

Why a pomelo? The fruit is very common to Chinese food festivals such as New Year's Day, the real one (Jan 23, 2012). I saw a pomelo recently and thought about what else one could do with a pomelo besides eating it like a grapefruit. I read a few grapefruit recipes and have cobbled this particular one together.

Here's how it would go down...

1 large pomelo

2 Meyer lemons

2 oranges (1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice)

2 c. water

4 c. granulated sugar

a pinch of Mexican saffron, optional (for color)

Some citrus peels have a high pectin content. This is what makes marmalade gel without added pectin.

1. Fill canner (or a very large pot) with water and bring it to a boil. Wash jars and lids. Put jars on a cookie sheet in the oven at 150 degrees until ready to use them. Put the lids in a bowl and cover with boiling water.

2. Wash fruits thoroughly.

3. Peel pomelo, lemons, and oranges with a sharp knife or vegetable peeler. Be sure to just remove the skin of the fruit, not the white pith. Julienne the pomelo, lemon, and orange rind into strips. 

4. Separate the fruit from the membrane and discard the membrane and seeds. Chop the fruit wedges into small pieces and put them into a heavy bottomed pot.

5. Simmer rind, chopped fruit, saffron, fruit juices and water over high heat for 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Cover pot and let it cool overnight.

6. Next day, add sugar to pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir occassionally until the candy thermometer reads 215-220 degrees F. At 215 degrees F, the sugar syrup may be pulled into brittle threads between the fingers. I'm not sure why you'd want to test it this way since the sugar is very hot. At 220 degrees F, when a cool metal spoon is dipped into the syrup then raised, the syrup runs off in drops which merge to form a sheet. (Read more about the various boiling stages of sugar syrup).

7. Remove from heat. Skim foam off and ladle into sterilized half-pint canning jars, leaving 1/4" inch head space. Wipe rims, seal jars, and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

8. Remove jars from water bath. Let cool for 12 hours. Label and store in a cool, dark place.

Makes 4 half-pint jars.