more canning recipes to try
Peach & Cinnamon Preserve
Anna’s very own recipe. Made 2 x 250ml jars.
Ingredients:
5 medium firm peaches, peeled and chopped
2 cups sugar
¼ cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon freshly ground cinnamon
Water, if needed
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180’C. Place a small saucer in the freezer to cool.
2. Spread the sugar on a tray and heat it in hot oven, taking care not to burn it (approx 10 minutes).
3. In a saucepan, add the peaches, lemon juice, cinnamon and a little water if needed.
4. Bring saucepan ingredients to the boil, mashing the peaches a little with a fork
5. Remove the sugar from the oven and gently stir it into the mixture.
6. Bring to a boil again, then simmer until the jam is thick and translucent (approx. 30 min).
7. Check to see if jam is ready by dropping a small amount onto the chilled saucer and allowing to set for 30 seconds. Run your finger through the mixture. If it wrinkles rather than runs, it has reached its setting point.
8. Remove from the heat and pour into jars, tightly screw on lid and then turn jars upside down to create vacuum seals (takes 30 minutes).
Lemon, grapefruit and ginger marmalade
2 medium grapefruits, about 1 and 1/2 lbs
2 lemons, about 1/2 lb
2 cups water
4 cups granulated sugar
1 inch of ginger, crushed to release juices
Put a saucer in the freezer.
Cut the fruit into quarters and remove the skin. Now cut the skin into slivers – how thick or thin depending on how you like your marmalade.
Set the peel aside. Next, remove the flesh and pulp from each segment (roughly chop if necessary). Reserve the membranes and seeds and place into a muslin bag. I use surgical gauze.
In a large, non-reactive pot, combine the fruit, peel, ginger and the water. Submerge the muslin bag into the mixture, and simmer until the peel is tender. This should take between 25 – 30 minutes.
Now for the magic.
Remove the muslin bag from the pot and wring it to extract a milky substance. This is natural pectin so it’s important to get every last bit out of the bag – after squeezing, I pushed the pulp through a fine sieve.
Pectin is the miraculous substance that’s going to turn your water, sugar and fruit into glorious golden marmalade.
If you haven’t already sterilised your jam jars (just boil them and dry on a clean towel) now’s a good time to kill 10 minutes while your peel mixture cools a little.
Add in the pectin and sugar, and boil over high heat. Stir now and again, over the next 20 minutes. The idea is to get the temperature up to about 222 degrees. Your marmalade will still look soupy and not at all jam-like, but my alchemist-wannabe you must have faith. Test your marmalade on the frozen saucer. If it doesn’t set, boil it again for another 5-10 minutes and re-test. Even when the marmalade finally sets on the saucer, it may still look a little watery in the pot. Don’t worry, your marmalade will turn out just fine when it cools.
When your marmalade is ready, fill your jars, cover tightly and refrigerate when cool.
** Moroccan Preserved Lemons**
8-10 Meyer lemons*, scrubbed very clean
1/2 cup kosher or sea salt, more if needed
Extra fresh squeezed lemon juice, if needed
Sterilized quart canning jar (I used 4 smaller jars)
**cloves, coriander seeds, peppercorns, cinnamon stick, chili peppers or combination of one or the other.
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Place 2 Tbsp of salt in the bottom of a sterilized jar. In this case I used 4 sterilized jars. One by one, prepare the lemons in the following way. Cut off any protruding stems from the lemons, and cut 1/4 inch off the tip of each lemon. Cut the lemons as if you were going to cut them in half lengthwise, starting from the tip, but do not cut all the way. Keep the lemon attached at the base. Make another cut in a similar manner, so now the lemon is quartered, but again, attached at the base.
Pry the lemons open and generously sprinkle salt all over the insides and outsides of the lemons.
Pack the lemons in the jar, squishing them down so that juice is extracted and the lemon juice rises to the top of the jar. Add chili peppers, coriander seeds, bay leaves, peppercorns and cinnamon (or a combination of a few or only one). Fill up the jar with lemons. Press the lemons very firmly in the jar to get their juices flowing. Cover and let stand a few hours. Press down on the lemons once again to extract more juice. Make sure the top is covered with lemon juice. Add more fresh squeezed lemon juice if necessary. Top with a couple tablespoons of salt and more spices.
Seal the jar with sterilized lids and let sit at room temperature for a couple days. Turn the jar upside down occasionally. Put in refrigerator and let sit, again turning upside down occasionally, for at least 3 weeks to one month, until lemon rinds soften and are ready to use.
To use, remove a lemon from the jar and rinse thoroughly in water to remove salt. Discard seeds before using. Discard the pulp before using, if desired.
Store in refrigerator for up to 6 months.
Chili Sauce that looks complicated but worth it…
Best Apple Pie Jam
recipe courtesy Recipezaar
4 cups tart apples, chopped
1 1/2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ginger
4 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar, packed
1 (1 3/4 oz) box dry pectin
1 tsp. butter
Measure apples in a measuring cup, and then add in the same measuring cup water to fill up to the 4 cup line (with the apples in it). Put into a heavy saucepan. Add pectin, butter, spices and lemon juice. Bring to a boil.
Add sugars and bring back to a full rolling boil, and boil for 1 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and skim off any foam.
Ladle into hot sterilized jars, leaving 1/4″ headspace. Put on lids, and process in water bath 10 minutes.