The Preserver's Year

janeym8

ok folks here goes
first year at doing some serious collecting and making stuff with my "finds" but
im finding most of the jam/jellies i have made (red plum,yellow plum,bramble,bramble and apple,crab apple,strawberry) are all tending to be a bit on the runny side no matter how long i boil them for-the strawberry one i boiled fpor 2 hours and it was still runny
in the various batches i have made ive added lemon/apples/nothing extra to set it better but to no avail
now being a scot i wouldnt splash out on the old jam sugar only used regular granulated to save some pennies
most of the recipes i have used ive added little or no water so it cant be that

any suggestions or do i bite the bullet next year and buy jam sugar???

even though they are runny they all taste good and are still being eaten

janey xxx

kinkyjinks

janeym8 wrote: »

ok folks here goes
first year at doing some serious collecting and making stuff with my "finds" but
im finding most of the jam/jellies i have made (red plum,yellow plum,bramble,bramble and apple,crab apple,strawberry) are all tending to be a bit on the runny side no matter how long i boil them for-the strawberry one i boiled fpor 2 hours and it was still runny
in the various batches i have made ive added lemon/apples/nothing extra to set it better but to no avail
now being a scot i wouldnt splash out on the old jam sugar only used regular granulated to save some pennies
most of the recipes i have used ive added little or no water so it cant be that

any suggestions or do i bite the bullet next year and buy jam sugar???

even though they are runny they all taste good and are still being eaten

janey xxx

I'm a Scot on the wrong side of the border so know what you mean about the special jam sugar. I made some damson jelly which was pretty runny earlier this year. I gave up trying to reduce it so decided to pass it off as fruity ice cream syrup. I've left the jars in the cupboard and they seem to have thickened up quite a bit.

Instead of jam sugar, I'm going to look for some pectin next year. Do they taste sweet enough because after all the messing around I did with my damson jelly I decided that the only solution apart from pectin was to add more sugar. By the time I'd decided that though I was thoroughly sick of tasting the blooming stuff and felt like I was having a sugar OD. I suspect by that point, even salt would have tasted sweet to me :rotfl:

lel3636

Hi everyone, only just found this wonderful thread. I will be reading from now on. I've only got to catch up on about 52 pages!!!

Anyhow, a book I have that is great for making really nice preserves at any time of the year is "One Pot of Luxury Preserve from the Microwave" Its by Sonia Allison, ISBN 0-572-02515-7.

It has lovely recipes that make 2-3 jars at a time. One I made was Physalis Jam, it was gorgeous and reminded me of golden syrup
There are savoury recipes in there too.



My courgette plants have been outperforming themselves this year and one minute I have a nice courgette growing and the next I have HUGE courgettes! Still tender though so not at the Marrow stage.

I needed to make something with them so used this Marrow Chutney recipe out of another book I have and it is promising to be really good (from the tasting I had from a small amount that wouldn't fit in a jar). The recipe says it's a bit like Mango Chutney and I think they're right from my tasting

4lb marrows or courgettes
1 1/2lb onions
2lb demerara sugar
2 lemons, grated rind and juice
2 tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp cayenne pepper (or chilli powder as I had no cayenne!)
2 tsp salt
1 3/4 pints white wine vinegar

Peel marrows or courgettes. Now the recipe says to remove the pips and pith but as I was using nice courgettes I didn't bother. Dice flesh into small pieces, mine were quite small, say 1cm cubes. Thinly slice the onions.

Put all ingredients into a preserving pan and bring gently to the boil. Lower heat and simmer until reduced and thickened. It will thicken as it cools.

Spoon into sterilised jars whilst still hot and seal.

This did take a long time to thicken so may use a little less vinegar next time.

ampersand

Pectin problems -

If I'm in doubt, I use easily made pectin stock. There are plenty of odds'n'sods of roadside/rough woods apple trees around the place and people round here leave windfalls outside their gates, sometimes with a note for a charity collection, if you want to donate in some way.

The proportions are:

1 pint/600ml water to each 1kg[2.2lb]fruit.

No need to peel and core the apples[cookers or eaters, gooseberries, redcurrants - any mix is fine, too] - just chop them up, pop them into a good pan and bring slowly to the boil. Simmer for an hour or so until the fruit is very soft.
TEST FOR PECTIN: put 1 tsp of juice into a small glass. Let it cool[just a few minutes]and add 3 tsps methylated spirits. Shake gently and leave for 1 minute - you'll see a jellyish lump indicating plenty of pectin. If not, continue simmering.

Now strain the pulp through muslin, old net curtain - whatever you have have to hand. I leave mine overnight hooked over bath.

This is your pectin stock, freezable, ready to use as part of the liquid measure for any set preserves. Replacing a quarter to a half of the water is a basic guide.

Good luck.

janeym8

ampersand ive just been chucking apples into my jam/jelly but that didnt help
last night found packets of pectin in asda so bought one to try
kinkyjinks yes all that ive made is sweet enough and have thought about fruit syrups for ice creams but ive made so much it would last me for goodness knows how many years to use it this way

will try again tomorrow night with both the pkt pectin and pectin stock fingers crossed for me

lel3636 i had that book out from library recently and some good recipes.if im honest when i got it i didnt realise it was for the microwave and ive never got on with actually making anything in it so i didnt actually make anything although i copied a couple of recipes to try on ordinary cooker

janey xxx

ampersand

janeym8 - re: ive just been chucking apples into my jam/jelly but that didnt help, I really think you need to use pectin liquid as a replacement for your water if you're having trouble still.

I now see that's a few days ago - how did it go?
You know jams thicken up as they cool, don't you?
A basic fault is to overboil them, giving a glutinous or heavy consistency, meaning it doesn't spread from knife or spoon, but just moves on your toast as a glob.
It's surprising to see you've had the problem even with crab-apple.

Do you want to post the recipe and your general method here so we can have a look?

Hopefully you've resolved it now.

jellycattwo

Have spent all my cleaning time over the last couple of days reading through this thead with real interest. But now have a dirty house and a need to make the real ale chutney mentioned lots of times. Would one of you be so kind as to post the recipe for me please.

Happy stewing, chopping and stirring everyone!

janeym8

ampersand used 2 packets of pectin and added some more apples as well and has now all set really well
when i went to use the crabapple jelly yesterday it had actually set well also dont know why i thought it hadnt oh and it was lovely

janey xxx

Gigervamp

Juby wrote: »

I'm really excited - I just made my first ever batch of jam :j

Made with blackberries we picked ourselves and I think it's worked ok - did the test on a cold saucer and it seemed right and tasted yummy! Just a bit scared that it'll be OK in the jars and not go mouldy. I did sterilise them in hot water and then the oven but think it's first time nerves....

How long do you leave it before you open the jar? Are they better after a certain amount of time?

Jam can be eaten straight away, chutneys need time to mature.

If you sterilised the jars then the jam should keep well for at least a year. I'm just getting to the last few jars that I made last year and they're absolutely fine.

ChocClare

canspendnomore wrote: »

Wow, I finally got to the end of this brilliant thread.

It's left me with some questions though.

I bought the Dummies book of canning and preserving which appears (I now realise) to be American in ethos if not in production and as a result have have frightened the life out of me about canning.


It states categorically that a pressure cooker should not be used for canning, but I see that many of you are doing this successfully. Is that any sort of pressure cooker and what sort of foods does it allow you to can? I've got an American Canning Bath as I thought it was essential to can anything so I should be okay for stuff that needs water bathing, but I'm confused as to what that would be.




I've been looking round near where I live and I think I've found elderberries, rowans, rosehips and crab apples. Some are in the local park and others on the road side. How can I be sure it's okay to pick them, I don't want to be done for stealing!!!

You need a pressure canner ONLY for things which do not naturally contain much acid - which is basically all vegetables and anything which contains meat.

Fruit has enough acid not to need the extra temperatures. Tomatoes are a grey area - worth adding a spoonful of lemon juice to up the acidity, just to be on the safe side. If you look at eg passata in one of those tetrapak thingies, it often says it contains citric acid - you'd just be doing the same.

If you want to bottle (English word for can) vegetables, then you will need acid, usually in the form of vinegar (pickled beetroot/beans/onions etc) or salt (things preserved in brine). You can then "can" those with a hot water bath or in the oven.

In re your foraging question, just go for it - I pick things in parks all the time. As long as you don't take the whole lot, there is not a problem. Leave some for the birds by all means, or for other foragers, but don't let it all end up going to waste (though of course it doesn't if it falls on the ground and rots down - ah, the circle of life!)...:rotfl:I wouldn't pick something that was hanging over from someone's garden but public places are just that, surely?