Kristen's Recipes

4 C. peeled, chopped, and/or mashed peaches
1/4 C. lemon juice
1/2 C. honey
1 T. lemon thyme leaves, minced
4 1/2 T. pectin powder plus 3 T. calcium water (from a Pomona low-sugar pectin box)

To easily peel peaches: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Slice an “X” just through the skin on the bottom of each peach. Using a slotted spoon, lower the peaches into the water. Boil for 1-2 minutes, remove with the slotted spoon, and immediately plunge into a bowl of ice water. The peels should slip off easily. Add the calcium water to a medium saucepan. Pour honey into a separate bowl. Mix the pectin powder into the honey. Add the peaches, lemon juice, and thyme to the calcium water. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Add pectin-honey mixture and stir vigorously for 1-2 minutes. Return to a boil and remove from heat. Fill jars or containers to 1/4 inch from top. Allow to cool to room temperature. Place jars in freezer without lids and freeze overnight or until firm. Place lids on jars. To use, thaw jam in refrigerator overnight. Should be used within 2 weeks once opened.

12 peaches, peeled and pitted (8 C. macerated)
12 apples, peeled and cored (8 C. macerated)
12 pears, peeled and cored (8 C. macerated)
24 C. sugar (1 C. sugar for each C. fruit)
Fresh ginger- a knob the size of your thumb, grated
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First, you will want to clean out your mason jars. There are several methods for doing this (I have added some helpful links above) but I like to take a short cut and run them through the dishwasher on the ultra-hot ‘sanitation’ setting, which also heat dries the jars. Do ensure your jars are dry before canning with them. To peel the peaches, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Slice a small ‘X’ into the skin on the bottom of each peach. Place the scored peaches into boiling water for 30-40 seconds then shock them in a bath of very cold or ice water. The skins should peel off quickly and easily. Quarter the fruits, remove the pits and whiz them through the food processor. You should have roughly 8 C. macerated fruit. Pour chopped peaches into your large jam pot. Peel apples and pears with a vegetable peeler. Quarter and core fruits and blitz through a food processor in batches, similar to how you cut the peaches- small chunks are okay but try and get any larger pieces broken up. You should have roughly 8 C. chopped pear and 8 C. chopped apple. Add both to the jam pot. Add 24 C. sugar (1 C. for each C. fruit) and grated ginger and stir well. On the stovetop, turn the heat on the jam pot up to high, stirring frequently to ensure the bottom doesn’t burn. Once the fruit has come to a boil, turn the heat down to med-low and simmer for 40 minutes or so. Using a spoon and a little bowl, skim the ‘foam’ that forms on the top of the jam as it is simmering. This ‘jam waste’ is cloudy but still delicious and is a great way to test for flavor and adjust the ginger to your palette! When the jam is ready, the color will have darkened slightly to a beautiful gold and the bubbles coming to the surface with ‘burp’ slowly, indicating a good thickness. Fill a small saucepan with water and bring the water to a boil. Place the center lids of your mason jars (with the rubber seal) in the boiling water to sanitize them. Using a ladle and a wide funnel, pour your jam into one of the sanitized mason jars. Using a moist cloth, wipe down the edge of the jar to ensure a tight seal. Using tongs, lift one of the mason jar lids out of the boiling water and place on top of the filled jar. Screw on the outer lid tightly and set aside. Repeat with the rest of the jars until all the jam has been canned. As you go through this process you will begin to hear a satisfying ‘popping’ noise as the hot jars seal themselves- that’s a good thing! A ‘pop’ means the jar is well sealed and the jam will keep well in a cool dark place for up to a year or two!

1 pound Granny Smith apples (about 3 small apples)
3 pounds blackberries (about 8 C.), rinsed
2 C. granulated sugar
3 T. strained fresh lemon juice
Grated zest of 2 small lemons

Sterilize jars and lids. Put a plate in the freezer. Quarter and core the apples, reserving the cores and seeds. Tie apple trimmings in cheesecloth. Put blackberries and sugar in a wide, 6- to 8-quart preserving pan or other wide, shallow pan. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, and cook until the juices just cover the blackberries, about 5 minutes. Pour into a colander set over a large bowl. Stir berries gently to drain off juice. Return juice to pan, along with the apples and the trimmings. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the thickened mixture measures 220 degrees on a candy thermometer, 15 to 20 minutes. Return berries and any juice to pan. Add lemon juice and zest, and bring to simmer. Cook, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes, until a small dab of jam spooned onto the chilled plate and returned to the freezer for a minute wrinkles when you nudge it. Off the heat, discard apples and trimmings. Ladle hot jam into jars, leaving 1/4-inch space at the top. Wipe rims, cover with lids and rings, and tighten until snug. Return jars to canning pot, making sure water covers jars by at least 1 inch. Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from pot and let jars sit untouched for 12 hours. (After 1 hour, check to see if jars have sealed. Store any unsealed jars in the refrigerator.) Label and store in a cool, dark place.

1 C. orange juice
3 C. fresh cranberries
1 orange, seeded and finely chopped
1 tart apple, cored and minced
12 dried apricots, chopped
1 1/4 C. honey
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom

Combine the orange juice, cranberries and chopped orange in a large, non-reactive pot. Bring to a simmer and let cook until the cranberries begin to burst. Add the apple, apricots, honey and cardamom and cook for approximately 20 minutes, until the orange rinds are tender and it has thickened (watch it carefully, honey scorches easily. I speak from experience here). Once it has reached a consistency you like, remove it from the heat. Should you want to can it, pour chutney into prepared jars. Remove air bubbles, wipe the rims and apply lids/bands. Process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes (don’t start your timer until the water has returned to a boil). For an even more shelf stable product, replace 3/4 of a C. the honey with one cup unprocessed cane sugar (honey is sweeter than sugar, so you need a bit more to make up the difference).

Cherry Limeade Jam

2 pounds (about 6 cups) pitted sweet cherries

1 ½ cups sugar

¼ cup fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons freshly grated lime zest

Put the cherries, sugar, and lime juice in your preserving pot; stir together. Allow the mixture to sit at room temperature until about ¼ inch of juice forms on the bottom of the pot. Once there’s a good layer of juice in the bottom of the pot, return to high heat and bring the mixture to a boil that cannot be stirred down. As soon as the mixture comes to a full rolling boil, remove from heat and carefully use an immersion blender to blend the mixture until very smooth. Return the mixture to a boil over high heat, cook for 3 minutes, then add the lime zest. Continue cooking the jam on high heat, stirring frequently until the mixture no longer weeps when a dollop is placed on a plate. This will happen quite quickly, likely in about 7 minutes. Ladle into prepared half-pint jars, leaving ¼ -inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and wipe rims. Place the lids on the jars and clip on the clips. Process in a water-bath canner for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude as needed. After 24 hours, check the seals. Label, date, and store out of direct sunlight without the bands for up to a year.

2 cups watermelon juice (from about 1 small or 1/2 large watermelon)
3 tablespoons fresh or bottle lemon juice
3 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 pouch Certo liquid pectin

To make watermelon juice, roughly chop watermelon. You’ll need about 6 cups of chopped melon to produce about two cups of juice. Run melon through a food mill (if you have one), or crush and then strain through a fine mesh sieve to remove any seeds or pulp. Prepare canner and wash/sterilize 8 4-ounce canning jars. Keep jars in hot (not boiling) water until ready to use. Combine watermelon juice, lemon juice, and sugar in a 6 to 8-quart nonreactive saucepan. Bring to a full roiling boil (a boil that doesn’t stop bubbling when stirred) over high heat, stirring constantly. Quickly stir in pectin. Return to a full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with a metal spoon. Ladle hot jam into jars, leaving 1/4-inch of headspace. Wipe the rims clean and top with lid; screw on ring until finger tight. Process in a boiling water bath for 7 minutes. Remove from water and let cool completely, 12 to 24 hours. Check seals. Any unsealed jars should be refrigerated and used within 1 month. 6-7 4oz. Jars

Cape Gooseberry-Rose Preserves

1 ¼ lb. Cape Gooseberries, husks and stems removed

1 ½ C. sugar

3 T. bottled Lemon Juice (fresh squeezed is not safe to use)

2 tsp. Rose Water

Place 2 small plates in freezer to chill. In large saucepan, bring gooseberries, sugar, and lemon juice to boil, stirring often, over medium-high heat. Once sugar has completely dissolved, remove pot from heat and crush fruit coarse with potato masher, leaving some berries intact. Return mixture to boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring and adjusting heat as needed, until mixture registers 217 to 220 degrees, 12 to 15 minutes. (Temperature will be lower at higher elevations; click here for more information.) Remove pot from heat. To test consistency, place 1 tsp. preserves on chilled plate and freeze for 2 minutes. Drag your finger through preserves on plate; preserves have correct consistency when your finger leaves distinct trail. If runny, return pot to heat and simmer for 1 to 3 minutes longer before retesting. Skim any foam from surface of preserves using spoon and stir in rose water. Meanwhile, place two 1-C. jars in bowl and place under hot running water until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes; shake dry. 5. Using funnel and ladle, portion hot preserves into hot jars. Let cool to room temperature, cover, and refrigerate until preserves are set, 12 to 24 hours. (Preserves can be refrigerated for up to 2 months.) You may can for long term storage as well.

Easy Cape Gooseberries Preserves

4 C. cape gooseberries, husked

1 lemon, juice and zest

1 1/2 C. sugar

Instructions

Combine the cape gooseberries, juice and zest of one lemon, and sugar in a heavy-bottomed sauce pan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, and reduce heat to maintain a simmer for 30 to 40 minutes. You can mash the gooseberries toward the end if you want a smoother jam, but I love the textural quality of leaving some of the fruit whole. Pour the preserves into sterilized canning jars. Seal the jars, then submerge them in a pot of water and boil for 5 minutes. Carefully remove the jars and let cool. Check the lids to make sure they’ve fully sealed; refrigerate any jars with imperfect seals. The jam will keep in the fridge for several months, so you can skip the canning process and simply refrigerate your final product after it’s cooled to room temperature.

Melon Jam with Lime and Vanilla

For 3 jars

2 large Melon

1 lime

1 Vanilla pod

750 g Sugar in pieces

Cut the melons in half. Remove the glitches. Take the flesh. Weigh it: you have to get 1 kg. Bring 15 cl of water with the sugar to a boil in a jam bowl (or in a casserole). Add melon, grated zest and lime juice and split vanilla bean. Cook for about 50 minutes over low heat, turning often. Check the cooking: a few drops poured on a cold plate flow slowly (this jam is always a little liquid). Skim and put in jars. Close and turn the jars over on their lids until cooled.