A question of preserves? And recipes please.

[Sandy]

G'day all.

In all my *cough* 40 *cough* years I have never made any jams, chutney or pickles etc. but have always wanted to. I get a bit confused with talk of water baths, canning, pouring wax in to seal etc. Lots of recipes I've found don't say how long things'll keep.

Does anyone have tried and true recipes for any of the above?

Can I use recycled jars and lids? Read somewhere about inverting jars, does this suction the lid back down?

Can I just use an ordinary saucepan or does it have to be heavy based and wide?

Sorry for all the questions

Cheers,
Sandy.

[Hepsibah]

I make jams and chutneys all the time but I've never bottled anything because you need special equipment for it (that's where the water baths come into play).
My first preserving pan was an old pressure cooking pan with a missing lid and I've never bought a jar in my life. You can use waxed discs to seal jars if you like (you can get them from say, the co-op for £1 a packet) but if you keep the lid with the jam jars then you don't need to seal them with waxed discs as well.
If you start with a fairly good pan (so the sugar and fruit doesn't burn on the bottom of it as it boils), a simple first recipe (like plum), you pop your jars in a low oven ten minutes before the jam is ready to pot and put the lids on right after you fill them up you'll do fine. Homemade jam is wonderful.
Chutney is even easier. Chuck the ingredients into the pan and simmer til the liquid is gone and it's thick. It takes hours to cook down but once the preparation is done you don't need to stand over it constantly, just be around to stir it occasionally. Jars in the oven same as for jam, put the lids on as soon as the jars are filled. The only problem with chutney is having to wait a month for the stuff to 'mellow'. If you eat it right away, it can be extremely vinegary.

[Hepsibah]

Oh and I don't invert the jars. I just leave them on the worktop and as they cool I can hear the safety button popping all by itself.

[Millymollymandy]

Hi Sandy

I made quite a lot of chutney, jam, pickles and jelly last year. It was all very good practice and whilst only one thing was a complete, throw-it-in-the-bin disaster (that was the first thing I tried), there were plenty which were either too sloppy, too thick, or too rubbery (the bramble jelly).

However, all were perfectly edible and it has given me the experience to know (hopefully!) what I'm doing now.

I did find that a lot of the chutney recipes I was following needed a lot more cooking time than stated on the recipes. But I kind of know what consistency to aim for now.

So give it a go - it's really worth while and satisfying!

[Chickenlady]

Yes, I agree about the chutney recipes and always cook them longer MMM.

I make masses of jams, but I do use a proper preserving pan and always use wax discs to seal, even if I do use the lids.

I have quite a few tried and tested recipes - if you tell me the fruit you grow or can get hold of I will post some (or you can find loads on the net). I always use extra pectin with fruit like strawberries or raspberries, as they seem to need it, but red and blackcurrants make lovely jam and jelly and contain lots of natural pectin, so they set beautifully.

I very rarely buy jam now, and if I do it has to be the expensive stuff as I have developed refined tastes!

[alcina]

Inspired by some of the earlier threads I've just bought a breadmaker! Apparently it makes jam too! My only attempt in life to make a preserve so far was a total disaster: I was about 12 and tried to make some marmalade...I think I left it boiling too long and it just never set! My father manfully scoffed the single jar (I think it was supposed to make about 6 jars!) on his morning toast, but no-one else would touch it.

I'm hoping the new breadmaker will answer all my jam making prayers

Alcina

[shiney]

I have a breadmaker and use it everyday for making the family loaf, but I am still to venture into jam making.

Has anyone used one for doing this?

I reckon Alcina and I would like to know if it's a successful way of making some.

Or are we going to be the first?!!

[alcina]

The basic instruction according to my Breadmaker book seems to be 8oz fruit, 8oz Sugar, Pectin and (usually) 1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice. Shove 'em all in the pan (presumably chopping the fruit fairly small first), set the Bread Maker to the Jam cycle and wait for the beep! Most seem to say that the jam will keep for 4-6 weeks in the fridge - presumable its preservative powers depend on how much sugar goes in? Certainly old jam pots can be used it appears (though a local cook shop is selling off some small kilner jars cheaply...hmmm). Here are some recipes I gleaned this morning...um..at work....I shall be trying something jam wise hopefully this weekend!

Can any of the regular jam makers tell me if I need extra pectin if I use the "proper" jam making sugar, which I think already contains pectin, or only if I use ordinary sugar?

-------------
Strawberry Jam

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 tbs. powdered low-sugar fruit pectin
1-1/2 cups fresh strawberries, washed, hulled and sliced
2 tsp. lemon juice

* Insert bread pan into bread machine as directed for your Sunbeam breadmaker. Attach kneading blade. Add ingredients to the bread pan in order listed.

----------
Cherry Bounce Jam

1 1/2 lbs pitted dark sweet cherries
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cherry brandy (Kirschwasser)
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 (1 3/4 ounce) package dry pectin
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1. Place all ingredients in a medium bowl and stir to combine. Transfer to bread pan fitted with the kneading paddle. Place the bread pan in the machine, select the Jam cycle, and start.
2. Scrape down the sides of the pan 5 and 10 minutes into the cycle.
3. Transfer jam into clean jars. Let cool, then cover and refrigerate. Keeps regrigerated 4 to 6 weeks.

------------
Cranberry Sauce

3 cups cranberries, rinsed (fresh or frozen)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup cranberry juice
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated orange zest

Instructions as per Cherry Bounce

--------------

[Hepsibah]

I only ever use ordinary sugar for jam making. If it needs extra pectin I make my own. To make pectin, stew some apples then strain off the juice. Add the juice to the recipe in place of commercial pectin. If you have any left, it can be frozen for up to a year.

[Chickenlady]

although as it's your first attempt, buy some pectin and keep it simple!

I have never used my breadmaker for this and will be interested to hear how it goes. The only downside I can think of is that you won't get that much in the average breadmaker. I usually make about 10 jars at a time.

Jam keeps for ages out of the fridge as long as it is sealed - way longer than 4 weeks anyway.

[Kfish]

Recycled jars are ok as long as they're not chipped around the lip of the jars (would ruin seal). Glass jars with metal lids are essential to avoid melting plastic with hot sugar. The lids with those pop-up circles in the middle are fantastic - you can hear them popping as the jam sets and the vacuum forms!

I use an ordinary saucepan for jams and pour into jars when hot. As long as you fill all the way up to the top - almost to overflowing - and make sure the lid is on properly, you'll get a decent vacuum.

I also preserve tomatoes and apples in jars in sugar (apples) or brine (tomatoes). The fruit is peeled, chopped and packed into the jars, then covered with boiling water (with salt or sugar) right to the top and the lid screwed on.

The jars are then placed in a 'kettle' or really deep pot with water - the water needs to be over the lids of the jars. Some recipes recommend cold, but I boil the water in the kettle first (the pot takes several kettlesful) to speed things up. Place the pot on the stovetop until the water is simmering, then leave for 1/2 hour.

So far, the fruit prepared this way has lasted 3 months in a dark pantry.

[Sandy]

Thanks for the great replies everyone :)

You've all made me feel much more confident now, and will have a go at some jam this week. Rosella is first on the list I think.

Jam in a breadmaker? That sounds interesting, although am pretty sure mine doesn't have a jam setting

[alcina]

Well....I've just finished my breakfast of Breadmaker toast and Breadmaker jam and I have to say....it was ok! Not a brilliant success first time, but very tasty But I think I know where I went wrong and I've lots of ideas for the next batch!

I used 8oz of strawberrys (from Spain..very ungreen but I wanted to experiment *now*!) and 8oz of ordinary sugar. I couldn't find any pectin in the supermarket (probably the wrong season) so I tried Hepsibah's suggestion and stewed an apple and got a couple of tablespoons of liquid from that. I totally forgot the lemon juice! I cored the apples before stewing them and I've since discovered (why do you always read these things *afterwards*?) that pips, seeds, core and peel contain the highest levels of pectin so you should keep those in, and that the lemon juice is there to bring out the pectin in the seeds etc. All of this probably explains why my jam is rather sloppy an resembles red honey with strawberry chunks! More pectin needed! But that's all that was wrong with it. Apart from its consistency it's very tasty. I think, however, that this batch will work fantastically well in the homemade youghurt I'm intending to try to make today. Sloppy is probably better in this case!

For info, the above filled one half litre kilner jar. The level of the jam in the breadmaker pan only reached the top of the stirrer, so I think you could probably increase the quantity a bit (possibly double) without risking overspill inside the breadmaker if you wanted to make a little more in one go. Great for the odd pound of fruit someone gives you during a glut!

Alcina

[ina]

I couldn't find any pectin in the supermarket (probably the wrong season)

It's really difficult to get pectin at any time of the year... Most shops only do the liquid stuff, and that contains sulphur, which I don't want in my jam. The only place in Aberdeen where I can get powdered pectin without the sulphur seems to be Asda, and as I have even more of an issue with them than with T***o's, I don't want to buy it there, either... I brought a large packet with me from Germany last year.

You could, however, get jam sugar (sugar with pectin already mixed in). That doesn't allow you do use less sugar, though, which I like to do. (I also like to use raw sugar for some types of jam.)

I absolutely love that French jam that's made with grape juice concentrate instead of sugar. However, it seems to be impossible to buy that anywhere. If anybody sees it around (or concentrated orange or grapefruit juice), please let me know!

[Sandy]

I did it! Not overly pleased with the result though. Used about 3/4 kilo rosellas and it filled 2 one cup jars. The recipe I had didn't say how much fruit to use, but did say to use the juice of 2 lemons, so I did and the result is sourish, but verrrrry well set.

Do you think in future if I used same quantity of fruit, but less lemon juice it would still set ok?