Grape Jam

These grapes were a gift from one of the girls that attended one of my canning classes. She grows grapes and they are delicious based on the jam that I made. It turned out great. I decided to make this jam with the whole grape. I did not use a food strainer with this jam like I had with grape jelly we made last year.





I do have to say that using the whole grape makes a big difference and we all love texture in our jam.

I started by rinsing the grapes and stemming them. I did not peel them I wanted the tart of the peels and they are very fine peels thus so many cooked down. Simmering the grapes in a large pot. I mushed a lot of them but made sure some were left whole for the jam.





Here are your Ingredients

5 cups of fresh grapes
1 lemon squeezed in the  mixture
1 tablespoon of lemon zest (you can use less I like a little tart to mine)
5 cups of sugar
1 box of pectin




Once the grapes were to the consistency I wanted I added the lemon juice and zest (mine was frozen that is why it looks like more in the picture) Then I brought the jam up to a boil that could not be stirred down.

Next you add your pectin mixture. * Put the pectin and the same amount sugar into a measuring cup and mix it up it makes it easier to add and dissipate into the mixture when added.
Bring it back up to a boil and add your sugar. Return the mixture to a rapid boil and stir until it reaches a boiling point of 221 or it has reach the set point. Use the spoon test to make sure.








Spoon test. Purrrfect

 Turn the heat off and let your jam sit for 5 minutes while you get your warm jars ready. Ladle the jam into the jars leaving 1/2 inch of head room. Wipe the rim clean and cap. Water bath for 25 minutes.







Disclaimer: This is not an all inclusive recipe for making jam. You should have a basic knowledge and understanding of the canning process before proceeding. Please consult your local Center for Home Preservation for additional information and available classes.

Homemade pectin or not

So making your own pectin this is something I learned how to do when I went to a class about Marmalade at June Taylor in Oakland.

It was a great class because she focuses on strictly citrus. Of all kinds.








I really enjoyed the class. The one thing I did not like was no Pictures. No shit good! But that did not deter me from trying this new lesson at home. Always have cheese cloth on hand as jam maker. It will come in handy with so many of your recipes. 





So to start you take the pith , guts and seeds and all things you do not want in your jam. Put this into the cheese cloth. I double up the cheese cloth and tie it with some cooking twine.
Do not use the yellow part of the peel this is good for other uses. Like candied Peels.



How much you use is a good question June used 500 pounds in her 30 quart pot's. LOL large batch. I thought I made large batches but this is large. Just use all the pith stuff you have from the recipe you are making it is all relative. For my Orange Marmalade I got about 4 cups of pith and seed.

 

So you drop you bag of pith and seeds into your pot of boiling jam. Let the pouch simmer with your jam. Marmalade is a boiling point jam which is another subject.

The real fun is waiting for the bag to cool so you can squeeze it. I have gotten myself a pair of heavy duty rubber gloves so as to not have to wait as long anymore.But just put the bag in the freezer for 5 minutes it cools right off.






Squeeze the dickens out of it.










 These last few pictures are for you to see what you get for your time. I will usually squeeze the pectin right into the pot of cooking jam. So moving on I need to say this is something that some will love to do and others will just pick up a box of pectin. I go either way.




Remember that doing things from "Scratch" is always time consuming and needs to be time tested to get the job done the way you like it. DIY can always be improved on and comments are always a great way to learn. I have had people comment and correct me plenty of times Thank Gosh they do!


This is the squeezed to death bag of stuff

And here is the cup of natural pectin I got out of it. I usually like I said squeeze right into the jam and bring it back up to the gel point. If at first you do not succeed try try again.
I do all the time. Oh yes you can. Here is a good site on how to do this process with apples. Here is a site that makes large batch citrus pectin and last but not least here is an old school 1930's article turned modern for you information from Florida.

Lemon Marmalade

     
I love Marmalade well let's get honest I love love love Lemons. Any way I can incorporate them into a preserve and get that tart taste well.... Yes!

I tried something new I put a couple of vanilla pods into the brew while cooking down the marmalade. It turned out scrumptious.




Ingredients

4 cups lemon pulp (Meyer is best)
2 lemons sliced thin about a cup
1 cup thinly sliced lemon peel (rinds)(just peel)
¼ tsp baking soda
2 cup of lemon juice (fresh squeezed its best but bottled will do)
2 cups of water 

2 vanilla pods sliced down the middle
3 to 4 cups of sugar again to taste I like 3 but I like tart
*******gel point of 223 degreez

So thinly slice your 2 lemons skin,rinds and all. It comes to about a cup or so give or take. Now take the slices and cut them into quarters. Put the slices in 1 cup of the water and 1 cup of the lemon juice add the baking soda and put it in the pot bring it to a boil . Now turn  it down and let it simmer on low for oh 20 minutes this tenderizes the lemon. Do not worry the baking soda does no affect the taste of the end product.

In the meantime cube up your lemons and this is without the peel cut enough to have 4 cups. Also cut your cup of lemon peels. Use the peels from the citrus you are sectioning right now. This is time consuming but you need the variety of pulp, peels and sections to make a truly good marmalade. 

Here is a link on how to separate the citrus for easy cutting.  but like all my tips you make it the consistency you like after all its your jam. 


Add the cooked peel from earlier (add the whole pot liquid included), 1 cup of water, 1 cup of lemon juice, the peels from the cubed citrus and the 4 cups of fruit  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat and boil gently for about a half hour stirring occasionally. 

In the same pot, continue with  fruit mixture at the medium-high heat. Add in the vanilla bean and 4 cups of sugar (one at a time mixing it in completely) gradually, maintaining the boil. A boil you can not stir down. Stirring constantly, until the mixture reaches the gel stage. This is a temperature of 223 degrees. 

Let the marmalade cool for a few minutes. It should get a top like when coco cools and it gets that thin cover. This is another way you can see it has a set.

Then, skim off the foam if any and ladle the hot marmalade into the warm jars, leaving 1/4" headspace. Process 10 minutes and then remove the canner lid. Wait 5 minutes longer before removing the jars. Let the marmalade cool for at least 8 hours then remove the twist portion of the lid and wash your jars. Store your jars without the twist in a cool dry cupboard. Makes four 8-ounce jars.

Disclaimer: This is not an all inclusive recipe for making jam. You should have a basic knowledge and understanding of the canning process before proceeding. Please consult your local Center for Home Preservation for additional information and available classes.

Blueberry Marmalade

It all in who you know....

 Blueberry Marmalade who does not love a good 
tart marmalade? I have found that with most of my jams I am mixing in other ingredients and they are turning out so delicious. 

 

Ingredients 

4 Clementine’s a = a 2 heaping cup's pulp
1 Meyer Lemon & 1 Clementine thinly sliced
¾ cup of water and 3/4 cup lemon juice
1/8 tsp baking soda
3 cups of blueberries
1 packet of pectin
5 cups of sugar

Will yield app. 8 to 10 - 8 oz jelly jars

Having all your ingredients ready to add makes the jam process so much more delightful

Preparation

Wash your fruit then peel and cut the clementine & lemon.  I like to keep it a bit chunky, but you can cut your pulp to your own taste. Save one clementine and the lemon for peel's

Cut one of the Clementine’s not peeled into thin slices (to be put with the lemon slices)
Cut your lemon into thin slices. Chop the lemon and Clementine’s slices into quarters. Theses are the rinds you can leave the pulp on it all goes to the same place. This is what gives your marmalade the tangy taste.



Take the sliced lemon and clementine and add the water, lemon juice and baking soda bring to a boil then simmer for 20 minutes or so stirring it while it is a brewing.

  Add clementine pulp, blueberries to the simmering pot. Bring the mix to a rapid boil one that can not be stirred down. Now add your pectin stirring until it comes back to a rapid boil. 

Now add you 5 cups of sugar and bring it back to a rolling boil, you will get a small amount of foam on the top not to worry this will be skimmed off prior to putting it in the jars.







Take the pot off the heat skim the foam and fill you jars ¼ inch from the top. Wipe the rims of your jars clean. Do make sure you prep your lids.





 
Add cap on the lids and the bans and give them a well deserved bath for 15 minutes. Now when you take them out let them sit over night. Prior to storing the jars remove the twist part of the lid, make sure the jar's have sealed. Store in a cool and dry place you have made some delicious blueberry marmalade enjoy. Remove the bands when storing. Replace once you have opened the jar.




Here is a good site with all your questions regarding blueberries. Always be safe and follow the rules

Lemon Marmalade

Lemon Marmalade a less understood Jam as

we say. None the less a Marmalade that is so delicious that it puts most others to shame when cooked to perfection.

I was lucky to have taken a class up in Oaktown with a Marmalade Hero June Taylor at her shop The Still Room 


I have a friend who is from London and said that my marmalade is  as close to the taste of home as she has ever tasted in America. Lemon Marmalade can not be made willy nilly. It takes great lemon and time. I am blessed with a fabulous Meyer Lemon tree at home as well as at my Mama's and the one Mama has in the desert is supreme. Alright let get canning. 

Do not rush the process make sure you are in the mood. Enjoy the process. It is magic! This posts is full of tips and trick for perfect marmalade so please canner take note of all the recipe not just the ingredient's.

Lemon Marmalade (tart)

4 cups lemon pulp
2 lemons sliced thin 1 cup
1 cup thinly sliced lemon peel (not rinds)(just peel)
¼ tsp baking soda
2 cup of lemon juice
(fresh squeezed its best but bottled will do)
1 cup of water
5 cups of sugar again to taste I like 4 but I like tart

Gel to the gel point of 223 degreez for no pectin 



The first step to do is get the rind cut this is the only way to do marmalade if you do not it does not have that little bit of tangy that real marmalade peeps love!



Thinly slice 2 lemons. The rinds retain their pulp. It comes to about a cup or so give or take.





 
This step is important do not skip this step.

Now take the slices and cut them into quarters. Put the slices in 1 cup of the water and 1 cup of the lemon juice add the 1/8 tsp of baking soda and put it in a small pot bring it to a boil. Turn it down and let it simmer on low for 20 minutes this tenderizes the rind's.

Here is a link for sectioning your citrus. There is a trick and it makes this job much easier.I will section many a citrus to freeze for marmalade's and the like through out the year.

In the mean time cube up your lemons and this is without the peel cut enough to have 4 cups of lemon chunk's but like all my tips you make it the consistency you like after all its your jam.

Just do not change the measurements.





Once the slices have simmered add the rest of the liquid and the chunk's and the pectin




Bring this to a rapid boil it will begin to get a foam. 5 to 7 minutes stirring all the time this is when a friend or husband saying


“Oh my gosh that smells so good”








Next step is to add the sugar slowly (Have your sugar measured out and ready) and make sure that your sugar is dissolved completely. Stir it over a gentle heat do not raise the heat to a boil until you are sure the sugar is dissolved. 



Once it has returned to a rolling boil just to gel point that should be 223 on a thermometer. When it is at it's roiling boil disturb it as little as possible.

Do not let the bag fool you I am using the seeds and pith for natural pectin.





When you are checking to see if your marmalade is set turn the boil down you do not want to over cook it if you do you will have a dark, dry and rubbery marmalade.
 


Let your marmalade cool slightly this way when you jar it up it will make sure the peels and guts get distributed evenly through out your delicious marmalade. Ladle into jars leaving a 1/4" head space, wipe the rims, cap and water bath time.

Give them a bath 15 minutes is my standard time

This is a super one recipe.  You do not need to add boxed pectin, let me explain if you bring your marmalade up to a rolling boil with a candy thermometer to 223 you will get it to the right gel point but this takes practice.



Disclaimer: This is not an all inclusive recipe for making jam. You should have a basic knowledge and understanding of the canning process before proceeding. Please consult your local Center for Home Preservation for additional information and available classes.