What jams and preserves are you making this fall?

[mollyomormon]

I'd love to have some ideas and recipes. Recipes or ideas for pickling fall vegetables would be welcome too. Thanks!!

[geminigirl]

I read a tip somewhere on CH about doing apple butter in the oven. I did a test batch last night as I had some extra apple sauce, but not enough to can. I cooked it down in the oven about 325 / 350 and it was fabulous! so easy, no mess, and I could go about my evening doing other things...I may have to do a larger batch to can if I can fit it in beofre the apples run out and the holiday rush! anywy, thanks to whoever put that suggestion out there!

[momskitchen]

I've done it in a crock pot, too, with the lid askew....that worked well, too.

[al b. darned]

I have wild grapes growing along my property line and got a ton of (small) grapes, so I will be trying grape jelly.

[bushwickgirl]

Those wild grapes make very tasty jelly or jam.

[morwen]

If you make jelly and have a dehydrator don't through the pulp out! Mill or sieve it to get rid of the seeds and skins, spice and sugar it to taste and spread the pulp out 1/4" thick on sheets to dry into fruit leather. You can do it in your oven on it's lowest setting as well. I do this with most all my left over fruit pulps. Makes a great snack and if you have kids around they'll think you're a genius! And you'll feel real thrifty for having very little waste.

[momskitchen]

I am going to try carmel apple jam in Linda Ziedrich's Joy of Jams, Jellies and other Sweet Preserves for this month's Tigress Can Jam challenge. And I have already made an apple pickle called spiced apple rings (reminiscent of those bright red apple rings without the red food dye) and also a pumpkin pickle that is out of this world!

[mollyomormon]

Oh, that sounds delicious and I have that cookbook as well. Can you post how you made the pumpkin pickle, please??

[momskitchen]

Sure...I wrote it up on my blog for a canning class I taught earlier this fall ....http://motherskitchen.blogspot.com/20... and I have included it below as well:

Sweet Pumpkin Pickles
Makes about 6 pints

Brine:
2 cinnamon sticks, halved
12 whole allspice
10 whole cloves
1 lemon
6 c. granulated sugar
4 c. white vinegar

Pumpkin
6 lbs pie pumpkins (depends on size) to make 24 cups peeled seeded pie pumpkin cut into 3/4 inch cubes

Tie spices in a square of cheesecloth; set aside. Zest lemon, remove pith and separate sections from the membrane and coarsely chop. Squeeze any juice from the membrane into a stainless steel pot, and add zest and sections. Add spice bag, sugar and vinegar and boil for 10 minutes. Add pumpkin and heat through, about 3 minutes.

Pack pumpkin into hot pint jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Ladle hot syrup into jars leaving 1/2 inch space. Process for 20 minutes in a boiling water bath.

[mollyomormon]

This sounds fantastic! Thanks! Btw, I love your blog.

[morwen]

Hey MomK! I wasn't too impressed with the brandied apple rings I made following the BBB recipe. It said to slice the apples 1/4" thick and at the point where it said to put them all in the syrup to cook for approx 15 minutes or until tender, it became quickly apparent that A) there wasn't enough syrup to apples to do that, and B) the rings on the bottom were beyond tender and into mush by the time I got all the rings into the pot and coated with syrup, even with gently turning them all. Brandied applesauce is good but NOT what I was after! I did use hard cooking apples. Did you have any similar problems with the spiced apple rings? Next time I'm going to cut the apples much thicker and cook a few at a time until they're all done. Of course the rings that got canned will have to age some before we know how they taste. I just felt the recipe itself was off in the above respects.

[momskitchen]

Here's how I did it...I did add some Ball Pickle Crisp to the jar to give it a try.
http://www.amazon.com/Ball-Pickle-Crisp-5-5-oz/dp/B003IOEWL8

The apples aren't mushy...so maybe the Pickle Crisp helped.

more details on my blog here:
http://motherskitchen.blogspot.com/20...

This recipe only calls for cooking for 5 minutes and half inch slices. I think I used Cortlands for this recipe - can't remember. I was doing a demo at the farmer's market and asked the farmer for his best firm cooking apple and I think it was Cortland. The recipe came out fairly clove-y...I like it but if you aren't a fan of cloves, you might want to scale the cloves back a little. No reason why you couldn't add some brandy!

Spiced Apple Rings

12 lbs firm tart apples (maximum diameter 2-1/2 inches
)12 cups sugar
6 cups water
1-1/4 cups white vinegar (5%)
3 tbsp whole cloves
8 cinnamon sticks

Yield: About 8 to 9 pints

Wash apples. To prevent discoloration, peel and slice one apple at a time. Immediately cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices, remove core area with a melon baller and immerse in ascorbic acid solution. To make flavored syrup, combine sugar water, vinegar, cloves, cinnamon sticks and in a 6-qt saucepan. Stir, heat to boil, and simmer 3 minutes. Drain apples, add to hot syrup, and cook 5 minutes. Fill jars (preferably wide-mouth) with apple rings and hot flavored syrup, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Adjust lids and process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath.

[morwen]

Thanks! I do like cloves. And my suspicion that 1/4" rings are just too narrow and 15 minutes too long is confirmed by your 1/2" rings and 5 minutes. I'll try it again using your recipe since I still have nearly a third bushel of apples left.

[LNG212]

I did a quince jam which came out really good. It's actually rather delicate. And a lovely pink color too. I wasn't sure whether to get fully ripe or under-ripe quinces (since the books say that under ripe fruit has more pectin) and ended up with a few of each from the greenmarket. The under-ripe ones are really hard to peel and cut (little did I know!). But it all worked out well and now I know for the future. And quince comes out after the frost, so it should be here for a little while.

I always make apple pies and apple sauce but I've never canned anything apple. Maybe I'll give that a try too since we have so many lovely varieties of apples available locally.

[morwen]

Home canned apple pie filling is the bomb! So is most any other fruit pie filling. Almost instant pies, cobblers, turnovers, and crisps. A trick a friend does since she has lots of freezer space is to make her pie filling , line pie pans with plastic, fill the pans with the appropriate amount of filling, cover and freeze it. Once frozen she removes the filling from the pie pans, wraps it extra tight and puts it back in the freezer. No cooking it, no canning it. When she wants to make a pie she pulls one out, plops it into the prepared crust, puts on the pastry top and into the oven. No need to thaw!

[LNG212]

Now that's a hilarious trick. So clever.

[Caitlin McGrath]

My mother used to do that (freezing the apple pie filling) when I was a kid. She and her best friend have been making annual treks to Sonoma County to buy Gravensteins for oh, probably 35 years. She cans applesauce and apple butter, and used to make and freeze apple pie fillings and apple cakes way back when the kids were still at home and she baked more. Gravensteins have an early, brief season (August, essentially), so we weren't quite in apple pie season when they happened.

[bushwickgirl]

I made a roasted pear chutney last weekend and didn't can it, it's for Thanksgiving and is mellowing in the frig. As soon as I see cranberries, I'll make a nice spicy cranberry-date chutney with ginger and mustard seed, also for the holiday, and new for me this year.

I was hoping to do something with apples but it looks lke just pies.

This weekend I'm making mincemeat (no meat, just suet) for Christmas, also not canned. That's it, no more pantry space.

[LNG212]

bushwickgirl, could you post your recipe for the roasted pear chutney? That sounds good.

[bushwickgirl]

Sure. This was adapted by me from a book I used to have, I don't even remember the title, it was written by a professional chef. It's a riff on a basic mango chutney, but roasting the pears adds a nice dimension of flavor:

4 ripe Bosc pears, peeled and cut in half
4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, or half lemon/half orange
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tsp teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoons neutral flavored vegetable oil
1/2 cup pure maple syrup, honey or other mild sweetener, if you don't want the maple flavor
1 medium red onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
3 oz currants
3 oz golden raisins
I red bell pepper, diced into small pieces
3/4 cup white wine or champagne vinegar
1/2 chipotle en adobo, or to taste, minced, optional
2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
2 cups diced mango, I used dried as it's easier to handle, but fresh is fine
If you use dried, rehydrate for an hour or so first, until soft

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Toss the pears with the lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of the sugar, the cinnamon, and cloves. Coat a sheet pan with half the oil. Set the pears cut side down on the pan. Brush the pears with the remaining oil. Roast until caramelized and tender, 40 to 50 minutes, depending on the degree of ripeness. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. I turn them half way through roasting.

While the pears are roasting, bring the remaining ingredients to a boil in a nonreactive saucepan. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Using a melon baller, scoop out the cores of the cooked pears, after they cool. I do this step before roasting; it was easier to handle the pears at that point. Cut the pears into 1/2-inch chunks.

Combine the pears with the rest of the mix. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 days before serving. I add a little salt to this, just a pinch.

Enjoy!

[LNG212]

Thanks - that sounds absolutely fabulous.

Two questions -- 1) my usual substitution for raisins since I don't like them is dried cranberries. Do you think that would work here? and 2) do you think I could then process this (water bath) in jars for longer-keeping? Probably 10-15 minutes?

Thanks again for sharing.

[bushwickgirl]

Yes to both, or even dried tart cherries as a sub. Maybe use a little firmer Bosc pear for the batch you're going to process, but since I haven't ever canned the chutney, can't say for sure if that's necessary though; I think it would probably be fine either way for hot pack. If it's too juicy for you, and it has been for me some years, I ladle out some of the liquid, rather than reduce the chutney and lose the texture.

Great with all kinds of dishes, cheese, pork, poultry, sandwiches, as an add-in for sauces or just nice on good bread.

I put a little bourbon in one year on a whim, and it was quite good. You wouldn't think bourbon + chutney ever, but it mellowed nicely. However, not necessary.

Let me know how it turns out for you.

[mollyomormon]

This sounds incredible and I think I will try making as well.

[LNG212]

Thanks again for the answers, bushwickgirl. Oh bourbon sounds awesome. I added bourbon to some spiced peaches (morwen's recipe) that I made last year and they were just lovely. We like bourbon here. :)

I'll post back how it comes out and also how the canning part works out for me.

[bushwickgirl]

"We like bourbon here. :)"

Here too!

[coll]

I made quince/apple/pear chutney, although I don't know if there is any quince still around? I waited all summer to get me some. It was supposed to be authentic mostardo but it came out sort of chunky so I just added a little curry flavor and tamarind to it. A recipe in development.

[AGM_Cape_Cod]

I made apple sauce, in prior years I have made apple apple cider marmalade which is very good. I also made cranberry chili chutney and cranberry raspberry preserves. I have still to make whole berry cranberry sauce and chocolate raspberry jam.

[mollyomormon]

Do you have the recipe for the apple cider marmalade? And the chocolate raspberry jam??

[AGM_Cape_Cod]

The chocolate raspberry is from Christine Ferber's book. I will find both but unfortunately I am away from home until Monday so will not be able to get the recipes for you until then.

[mollyomormon]

No problem, I have the Christine Ferber book. Thank you!

[geminigirl]

this book is on my christmas gift wish list!

[Harters]

I was given a few kilos of apples last month. They're now turned into two sorts of chutney - should be ready to eat in January. And a few small portions of apple sauce. And I made some classic pickled onions.

[morwen]

Apples! Apples, apples, apples! So far, apple sauce, apple pie filling, brandied apples, baked apples (new this year, husband loves baked apples and wanted sealed pints for his lunch box. He calls it apple crack), apple butter, variously spiced apple leathers, and gallons of dried apples. Oh, and apple cider.

Also, Autumn Olives as jam and fruit leather. Have 12 cups currently in the fridge waiting to be jellied.

Didn't do any end of garden pickles this year, because they all got put up as dried or frozen. But there's tons of recipes out there, just search end of garden pickles.

In another month the citrus will be coming in and that's when my winter canning season starts again. But for the apples and the autumn olives (which are best picked after a frost) most of my canning chores are done. Although I'm still waiting on Seckel pears.

[geminigirl]

you are an inspiration:)

this fall, I slowed down, ate a lot of apples, but only put up some applesauce and tried putting up sliced quinces, they do look very pretty! My wish list has a dehydrator on it, I just need to do a little research to figure out what I need...

oh, yeah, I did try an apple, cinamon, vanillla preserve from Christine Ferber, i haven't tasted it yet, but it looks pretty. It used Ida Reds which I wasn't familiar with before this.

[morwen]

Got turned on to an 85 yr old orchard that's been abandoned for the last dozen years or so. The guy that bought the property wants to eventually reclaim it but knows little to nothing about orcharding except eating the apples. There's approx 100 trees and I was able to identify several varieties but there's several more that are unknown to me. They all seem to be heritage varieties. The trees were loaded with fruit and both the trees and the fruit were in surprisingly good shape for being ignored for a decade or so! So for the next several years I and a select group of friends will have tons of free apples to process in exchange for finished apple products and some limited maintenance work on the trees.

[geminigirl]

wow, what a gold mine, nice to know that the apples are going to good use!

[LNG212]

morwen, would you mind sharing the "apple crack" recipe? DH too likes baked apples. Thanks.

[morwen]

I really sort of winged it. But I did discover it's best to use firm apples that will hold together in the process.

I peeled, cored and thickly sliced a large roasting pan full of apples (my giant turkey roaster). While I was doing that I tossed the apples in a big bowl of water with about a half cup of bottled lemon juice to prevent browning.
Drained the apples and distributed them in the roaster. Sprinkled them with about a cup of white sugar, 1/4 cup bottled lemon juice, 3-4 tablespoons of Vietnamese cinnamon, a half teaspoon of nutmeg, a pinch of kosher salt, a generous pinch of cayenne pepper, a teaspoon of home made vanilla extract, a teaspoon of maple extract, and then drizzled maple syrup all over them generously. Then I tossed them well to mix it all up. Into the oven at 275F. I didn't time them, I went on texture. When the apples were very tender and becoming translucent I pulled them out and packed them into pint jars leaving about 3/4" head space and then ladled the syrup in the roaster over them leaving a final 1/2" head space. Released bubbles, checked head space level again, then capped and water bathed the pints for 20 minutes. I got 10 pints and a little leftover out of the roasterful.

I also had about a cup of syrup left over and today I used that to flavor a batch of granola with dried apples, goji berries, and walnuts. Turned out great!

[LNG212]

Wow that does sound delicious. I love the addition of the cayenne. Does your husband just eat it out of the jar like dessert? Thanks for sharing!

[morwen]

Yep, straight out of the jar. It would be all gone now if he wasn't under strict prohibition to not open the jars until the apples we have in storage are gone!

When I make apple pie I add about a cup or so of cheddar cheese and a generous pinch of cayenne to the flour before I mix up the crust instead of adding the pepper to the apples and melting cheese on top of a pie slice. The fat in the cheese helps contribute to a flakier crust and doesn't weird out people who haven't experienced the great combination of cheddar and apple pie. I think the cayenne accents the cinnamon.

[LNG212]

Okay, now I see why it's called Apple Crack!! I made this tonight and the whole apt. smelled so delicious. I made the mistake of making this during the afternoon (before dinner!) and it made me so hungry.

I tasted the apples too and you are right about that bit of cayenne. What a nice flavor. I was initially afraid it would be overwhelmingly maple-y; but it's really not - it's just right. So I put it up in jars and I have a bit leftover that I will gobble up as soon as I've had an actual dinner.

Thanks again. :)

[LNG212]

morwen - just wanted to report back that I had a little of the apple mixture leftover and I also had some puff pastry leftover from another use. Put the two together and voila! The best homemade apple turnovers EVER!! Thank you again. DH swore he'd only eat half of one after dinner but he scarfed the whole thing and took another to work today. :)

[morwen]

heh! I've heard that "I'm only gonna eat half" thing before.