My morning jelly
Only in New York City is it easier to make your own apple juice/concentrate (for added pectin) than to schlep through groceries and health food stores trying to find commercial pectin in the barren season. NYC’dwellers aren’t notorious for being canners and preservers (though the tide is shifting!) so the spotty availability of pectin is not surprising in the least.
Yesterday, finding no Pomona’s on my co-op shelf, I resolved to get crafty (another non-surprise.) I bought five small-ish Empire apples (from upstate, Hempstead Farm) and made juice this morning to add to my two Tigress Can Jam March recipes. The verdict is still out on whether or not these two jellies will set—the red onion one looks promising!—but it was exhilarating to take authority for the first time in a recipe and know that my jelly aspirations were not doomed from the outset.
Apple Juice Recipe (how I did it)
Quarter 5 small apples with blossom and stem ends removed (not cored). Put apple pieces in a saucepan with enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently and then reduce heat, simmering at a low boil for about 30 min. Mash apples as you periodically stir the boiling mix. When apples are soft, remove pot from heat and strain the pulp over a cheesecloth lined strainer.
Marching forward with Alliums
Ahem, I’ll start by saying: this ingredient family stumped me. I flipped through the three canning books I own, indexing alliums of all sorts. The only thing that seemed appealing (and useful in our home) was jelly.
I went ahead and picked two as a means of getting mileage out of the full canner pot. These recipes are modified from the originals listed in this book. (I gotta say, I’m not so crazy about this book, though there are a ton of recipes, the tone feels geared toward 1950’s housewife-convenience efforts. All this ‘quick’ and ‘easy’ shit. I didn’t sign up for canning with hopes of it ever being quick and easy. I want a comprehensive book o’ recipes that shows the long (and short, if there is one) ways to do things. Any suggestions?)
after I could see through the tears…Red Onion Apple Jelly
makes almost 3-8’oz jars
1 c red onion finely chopped
2 tsp julienned lemon zest
3/4 c apple cider vinegar
1 c unsweetened apple juice
2 c granulated sugar
Method: Prepare your jars.
Combine all ingredients in your heaviest-bottom pot. Bring to a boil and stir constantly to keep sugar from burning. My industrial-strength spatula is my new fave jelly/jam/sweet spread tool (thanks mama!) It’ll take about 15-20 minutes for this mixture to reach the 220 degree F gelling point.
When the mix reaches 220 degrees, ladle hot jelly into hot jars.
[Brazenly Unseasonal] Red Pepper Garlic Jelly
makes almost 3-8’oz jars
1 c red pepper finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic slivered (and chopped, for the slivers that ended up too thick)
3/4 c cider vinegar
1 c unsweetened apple juice
2 c granulated sugar
Method: same as above
the sun is finally out!Recommendations for anyone who might attempt these recipes: I’d probably go ahead and include the third (recommended) cup of granulated sugar to both recipes. I dropped it to see what might happen (which may be a syrup-y marinade instead of a dual-purpose jelly/marinade.) Although, check back with me in a few days; the set might be just peachy after all.
OR I’d experiment with making more of a true concentrate by doubling the apples and keeping water levels the same, a super-pectin cocktail! Kaela from the Local Kitchen just sent me a link to her pectin stock recipe! Score!! I am so doing this in the fall!
Another question for the experienced jelly-makers out there: I had a frozen apple juice concentrate in the freezer, but shied away from adding it to the mix because of malic and ascorbic acid additives. Was this unnecessary?
Red Pepper Garlic
This just in! Andrea, a fellow CanJammer, just responded to a question I’d asked about locust bean gum and agar-agar in her blog. She’s in Germany where it’s hard to find certain canning items (like American commercial pectin, I’m assuming); here’s her response to getting jams to set without pectin:
“They have powdered locust bean gum at our grocery store (Germany). I’ve used agar agar a lot with jams, but the problem is that it doesn’t seem to work with waterbath canning. Usually, I don’t waterbath can my jams – just for this challenge. So without the waterbath, agar-agar works quite fine. You have to mix it with a little water to dissolve it and when the jam is cooking you just add it to the jam. Then you boil it for a couple minutes and pour it into your jars. When the temperature decreases, the jam will set. I tried waterbath canning it, but it wouldn’t set anymore after the waterbath and was all runny… That’s why I was looking for something else and stumbled upon locust bean gum. This I just add to the boiling mixture, boil it for about 4 minutes, pour it into the jars and process them.”
These alternatives are helpful for times when you can’t find pectin at the store, or if you just feel like venturing beyond the boundaries of modern convenience. To be clear, I don’t have issues with commercial pectin. Though it’s made by big machines in a factory, it’s fruit derived and seems harmless enough.
Aaaand, the set: One of my books said jelly could take up to two weeks to set, but impatient as I am to assess success/failure, I’m ready to judge now, 2 days out. It looks like my red onion apple jelly has formed a loose set, and the red pepper garlic is definitely a syrup marinade! The two half jars of each variety that didn’t get waterbath canned both set the most firmly, but maybe that also has something to do with being in the fridge. On both jelly accounts I deem success. I can’t say I’d venture to drop my garlic mixture atop cheese and crackers anyway (it’s so intense!) Plus, a syrup makes marinading much easier, right?!
Canning, Fruit, Preserved Foods: Sweet, Recipes
Reader Comments (20)
yay for you for making your own pectin!!
i say go for linda ziedrich's jam book. it has a lot of great advice and she is more of a pilgrim - like us! :)
Wow, you made your own pectin. That sounds great. How are you going to use up your jellies? On toast in the morning? I made a red onion marmalade, tried it on toast - and found it kind of weird. I'll try it with more savoury dishes now...
Thank you tigress, dear, for the book rec! I can't wait to check it out.
Andrea, I tried the red onion one last night on toast with a blue cheese spread and it was totally delicious. We'll probably end up using the red pepper garlic one as a marinade. I had pork in mind when making it!
It IS surprisingly hard to find canning ingredients. I have no trouble with the jars (hardware store) but the various types of pectins, etc. Though you can always find the pomona stuff, I don't know how to swap that out with regular "high sugar" pectin. And as for canning/pickling salt, that's impossible. And to me, even weirder not to be able to find--I guess I just imagine there'd be more picklers than canners out there, but who knows.
Amen, sister! on the swap confusion between high sugar pectin and Pomona's. I've used only Pomona's thus far (in my sweet spread making) and I usually just end up following the recipe included in Pomona's box and feeling baffled by the acts of comparison and algebra involved in doing so!! Thankfully they've worked out every time. As for the pickling supply frustration, huh, I'd have guessed as you did. I just hate the thought of having to order canning/preserving stuff from the internet.
Ok, I can't say that I'm a canning virtuoso myself, but making your own pectin? That is super impressive, and would never have occurred to me. Good to know for possible future canning endeavors!
Hi, I just answered your locust bean gum and agar-agar question on my red onion marmalade post.
Thanks Eileen! It obviously changes flavors a bit, but I didn't mind some apple in my red onion jelly. I'm going to experiment more with this in the future.
Oh, boy, Andrea! Your response on your blog is so exciting to me. Do you mind if I re-post your answer here in this blog post? Renegade pectin-less solutions!
No problem. I don't mind you re-posting it at all... ;o)
You are right. Here it's hard to find pectin (though not impossible) because usually everybody's making jam with gelling sugar. That's a sugar where the pectin is already added. But these sugar always call for a certain ratio of sugar and fruit (3:1 meaning 3 parts fruit + 1 part sugar, 2:1 and 1:1). But except for the 1:1 gelling sugar, they always have preservatives added. And the ratio of 1:1 is WAY too sweet for me - that's why I was looking for alternatives. And with agar-agar or locust bean gum I can control the sugar amount and don't have to boil the jam to death.
Andrea, you're opening up my world of possibilities! Wow, a gelling sugar, huh. I don't care for a super sweet jam either. Hooray for experiments!
Pectin can be hard to find, but a little easier up here in the boonies of Westchester. However, I don't use much commercial pectin in my jams; I tend to like a looser set and I generally just cook 'em way, way down. I do, however, have a recipe on my site for homemade Apple Pectin that you can make from peels & cores and stuff (the leavings from an apple pie, say); a great use of all the trimmings from my Fall apple baking projects. I haven't used any yet in my jam-making but I expect it'll come in quite handy this summer.
Pickling salt, OTOH?? IMPOSSIBLE. I finally broke down and paid the damn shipping costs through Amazon and got some. Since the sell it in like 5 lb bags, it'll last me a while, but I was tired of cloudy pickle brine.
Oh, and BTW: ascorbic acid is Vitamin C. Manufactured, likely, but nothing bad for you. Malic acid is naturally present in apples (and gives you the tart/sour taste). Both area likely added as preservatives, but both are naturally occuring. They are likely present in small amounts (like the citric acid in canned tomatoes) and will not harm your jellies.
Kaela, I'll check out that recipe of yours for homemade Apple Pectin! Thanks much for the info on the manufactured acids and their relative innocuousness in the process. I'll not be afraid to drop a storebought one in the mix in a pinch.
Loving the pectin comments, Kate! Good on you for meeting the challenge head-on! I just did a garlic jelly with apples, too, and my post is pectin-heavy. I love using apples for pectin! Generally I get stellar results. This instance my jelly didn't jell, so I went the route of Pomona, which I had actually never used before.
So, the big question: did your gorgeous, delectable jellies set?
Very interesting. It makes me feel lucky to be here in Toronto where we not only have all sorts of jamming supplies all over town, but a huge abundance of Pakistani, Vietnamese, Chinese and other grocers where we can source things like rosewater and fresh mangos.
You know, I bet you will find more uses for the red pepper-garlic syrup (than for jelly). I made a savory rhubarb-rosemary jelly last Spring (made with gelatin, it must be stored in the fridge) and so far I'm always breaking down the jelly and adding juice, vinegar, etc., to make a marinade. Much easier to just pour it out of the jar!
Right Kaela! I have an idea for a savory muffin/scone using the syrup; we'll see if I get around to doing it. Fun new experiments to be had!
Wow! That is so pretty! I love the color and it looks yummy. I can only imagine ...... how tasty it must be!
Thanks Catalina! We're hoping to marinade some pork with the red pepper garlic syrup this week. The red pepper jelly is zesty and a tad cider vinegary, which I happen to love.