Food Instructable! (mine...)

Terry wrote on Tue, 14 Aug 2007 09:20:37 -0500:

T>
http://www.instructables.com/tag/type:instructable/?sort=RECENT

T> About halfway down the page you'll see an Instructable for
T> making freezer jam. Yeah, I know, you all already know how
T> to do this... But in the instructable you get to see the
T> tile backsplash in our kitchen which we did entirely
T> ourselves (and will never try such a project again!!).

T> I've made a lot of strawberry freezer jam; this was my first
T> attempt at peach. My sister made some peach last year that
T> was WONDERFUL! Mine was so-so. But I'll get better at it.
T> Maybe a little later in the season when the peaches are
T> better.

My mother used to make jam without adding pectin. The secret was
simply to use sufficient, ripe fruit and I remember her
complaining about how long she had to cook blackberry jelly when
the fruit had been gathered just after a rainfall. For a while
you could buy jams without pectin, the Hero company of
Switzerland was one and the highish price was worth it.
Unfortunately, they seem to have succumbed to the lure of
profits and I have only come across jam without pectin once
recently in Whole Foods and it was shockingly expensive, like
$7.50 for a pound. Even the overpriced British makes like
Hartley's use pectin.

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

Terry said:

Hello all,

http://www.instructables.com/tag/type:instructable/?sort=RECENT

About halfway down the page you'll see an Instructable for making
freezer jam. Yeah, I know, you all already know how to do this... But
in the instructable you get to see the tile backsplash in our kitchen
which we did entirely ourselves (and will never try such a project
again!!).

I've made a lot of strawberry freezer jam; this was my first attempt
at peach. My sister made some peach last year that was WONDERFUL!
Mine was so-so. But I'll get better at it. Maybe a little later in
the season when the peaches are better.

By better, do you mean riper? Riper peaches might have a better flavor
but they have less naturally occurring pectin.

Don't just use lemon to make the pectin gel. Use lemon to brighten the
flavor of the fruit. And it's perfectly all right to use spices and
seasonings in preserves, so go ahead and add a touch of ginger to those
peaches.

<for my blueberry preserves, I put in a pinch of cardamom>

"James Silverton" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:jdjwi.6967$%t4.5620@trnddc03...

Quoted message said:

Terry wrote on Tue, 14 Aug 2007 09:20:37 -0500:

T> http://www.instructables.com/tag/type:instructable/?sort=RECENT

T> About halfway down the page you'll see an Instructable for
T> making freezer jam. Yeah, I know, you all already know how
T> to do this... But in the instructable you get to see the
T> tile backsplash in our kitchen which we did entirely
T> ourselves (and will never try such a project again!!).

T> I've made a lot of strawberry freezer jam; this was my first
T> attempt at peach. My sister made some peach last year that
T> was WONDERFUL! Mine was so-so. But I'll get better at it.
T> Maybe a little later in the season when the peaches are
T> better.

My mother used to make jam without adding pectin. The secret was simply to
use sufficient, ripe fruit and I remember her complaining about how long
she had to cook blackberry jelly when the fruit had been gathered just
after a rainfall. For a while you could buy jams without pectin, the Hero
company of Switzerland was one and the highish price was worth it.
Unfortunately, they seem to have succumbed to the lure of profits and I
have only come across jam without pectin once recently in Whole Foods and
it was shockingly expensive, like $7.50 for a pound. Even the overpriced
British makes like Hartley's use pectin.

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

Here in the UK Hartleys is the cheap and nasty make. There are many types of
'natural' and organic but Hartleys its the bog standard cheepy version that
kids love (seed free/goodness free) and not a top notch brand.
I guess it's kind of like the grape jelly that is served at Dennys (Thats my
only true life experience of US ( my only reference to US jam)
Please don't assume Brits eat jam like this all the time!

Sarah

Sarah wrote on Tue, 14 Aug 2007 15:52:50 GMT:

S> Here in the UK Hartleys is the cheap and nasty make. There
S> are many types of 'natural' and organic but Hartleys its the
S> bog standard cheepy version that kids love (seed
S> free/goodness free) and not a top notch brand. I

What *is* a decent British make in your opinion? By the way, I
hate grape jelly too, in fact anything made from Concord grapes
:-)

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

Pennyaline said:

By better, do you mean riper? Riper peaches might have a better flavor
but they have less naturally occurring pectin.

Hi Penny,
Yes, I mean 'riper'. The strong fresh-peach flavor of my sister's
preserves are what I wanted to duplicate. I didn't quite succeed,
though the rest of the family seems to like the product.

I don't worry about the naturally-occurring pectin because AFAIK all
pectin is 'natural' in that it's isolated from fruit---especially
apples. One reason that you see old recipes for "apple-blackberry" or
"apple-blueberry" jams is because of the large amount of pectin in
apples.

Quoted message said:

Don't just use lemon to make the pectin gel. Use lemon to brighten the
flavor of the fruit. And it's perfectly all right to use spices and
seasonings in preserves, so go ahead and add a touch of ginger to those
peaches.

Very true; lemon has a dual purpose in jams and preserves. I like a
fairly firm jel because I usually spread the jam on hot toast. The
runny strawberry preserves I made earlier this year are great on
waffles but a mess on toast; drip, drip everywhere.

Hey, I need to make FRENCH toast and top with those preserves!

Quoted message said:

<for my blueberry preserves, I put in a pinch of cardamom>

I haven't tried blueberry yet. Due to the drought---it has not rained
more than a few minutes in the last six weeks---and a late freeze,
there were no decent blueberries to be picked at the pick-em-yourself
places.

Best -- Terry

Terry said:

Pennyaline said:

By better, do you mean riper? Riper peaches might have a better flavor
but they have less naturally occurring pectin.

Hi Penny,
Yes, I mean 'riper'. The strong fresh-peach flavor of my sister's
preserves are what I wanted to duplicate. I didn't quite succeed,
though the rest of the family seems to like the product.

I don't worry about the naturally-occurring pectin because AFAIK all
pectin is 'natural' in that it's isolated from fruit---especially
apples. One reason that you see old recipes for "apple-blackberry" or
"apple-blueberry" jams is because of the large amount of pectin in
apples.

I know all about the apple stuff. And I'm aware that pectin is a
natural, organic if you will, product endogenous (naturally occurring or
naturally produced within the organism itself) in fruit, but that does
not mean it naturally occurs in the same quantity is a particular fruit
at all times. What I meant was that riper fruit has less of its own
pectin in it than less ripe fruit does. Riper fruit or fruit with less
endogenous pectin may require the addition of more exogenous pectin
(which did not occur naturally in that particular fruit at that
particular time), and less ripe fruit may not need any if cooked down
sufficiently.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Don't just use lemon to make the pectin gel. Use lemon to brighten the
flavor of the fruit. And it's perfectly all right to use spices and
seasonings in preserves, so go ahead and add a touch of ginger to those
peaches.

Very true; lemon has a dual purpose in jams and preserves. I like a
fairly firm jel because I usually spread the jam on hot toast. The
runny strawberry preserves I made earlier this year are great on
waffles but a mess on toast; drip, drip everywhere.

Hey, I need to make FRENCH toast and top with those preserves!

I mentioned the diminished presence of endogenous pectin in riper fruit
because you said your peach jam was a bit runny. If you try the same
recipe again with riper peaches, the jam may be more runny.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

<for my blueberry preserves, I put in a pinch of cardamom>

I haven't tried blueberry yet. Due to the drought---it has not rained
more than a few minutes in the last six weeks---and a late freeze,
there were no decent blueberries to be picked at the pick-em-yourself
places.

Best -- Terry

I grow my own, no small trick in alkaline Utah. Large containers of easy
to custom soil were the solution to that problem. I have both high- and
lowbush berries in containers.

Pennyaline wrote on Tue, 14 Aug 2007 16:03:11 -0600:

P> Terry wrote:
??>>
??>> Very true; lemon has a dual purpose in jams and preserves.
??>> I like a fairly firm jel because I usually spread the jam
??>> on hot toast. The runny strawberry preserves I made
??>> earlier this year are great on waffles but a mess on
??>> toast; drip, drip everywhere.
??>>
??>> Hey, I need to make FRENCH toast and top with those
??>> preserves!

P> I mentioned the diminished presence of endogenous pectin in
P> riper fruit because you said your peach jam was a bit runny.
P> If you try the same recipe again with riper peaches, the jam
P> may be more runny.

??>> I haven't tried blueberry yet. Due to the drought---it
??>> has not rained more than a few minutes in the last six
??>> weeks---and a late freeze, there were no decent
??>> blueberries to be picked at the pick-em-yourself places.
??>>
??>> Best -- Terry

That doesn't get away from what I implied: using added pectin,
from apples perhaps, is cheating!

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

James Silverton said:

What *is* a decent British make in your opinion? By the way, I
hate grape jelly too, in fact anything made from Concord grapes
:-)

Also icewine?
--
Vilco
Think pink, drink rose'