AwesomeBites

Tag: jam

  • Kiwi Mandarin Jam

    Kiwi Mandarin Jam

    Daughter Denny Lauren and I made several jams for James and Christine’s wedding reception for gifts. Kiwi Mandarin is definitely good and it looks so pretty also. I love the seeds swimming in the jam. But, some people I know, buy jams and shop at Raven’s Original , which is also exceptionally good.

    2 cups kiwi fruit peeled and chopped
    2 cups mandarin orange peeled and chopped
    1 tsp of salt
    2 cups mandarin orange juice
    1 box of pectin
    4 cups of sugar

    Bring to a simmer and allow the fruit to cook and thicken about 20 minutes.
    Pour the hot liquid through a food strainer. Use the largest if you want to keep the seeds. Put back onto the stove and bring back to simmer boil that you can not stir down. Add your pectin and stir. Bring back to roaring boil for 1 minute. Once the jam is back to a roaring boil, add 4 cups of sugar and let boil for 1 more minute. Working quickly, process into your jars. It should look pretty!
    Process your jam in a water bath.

    Label and they should be lookin’ pretty! Awesome Bites!

    Here is the lucky couple, James & Christine! The flowers were done by my friend Abby and me and a few of the bridesmaids. Great fun to create pretty things.

    Bride and Groom
  • Vanilla Fig Preserves

    Vanilla Fig Preserves

    Vanilla Fig 2011 Ventura County Fair Honorable Mention
    Sliced Figs

    24 figs sliced into 6-8 segments
    2 Cups White Wine or Water
    Juice from one orange and 1 lemon
    2 vanilla beans, sliced to release the beans
    1 tsp salt
    1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
    3 Cups Brown Sugar
    1 Cup of Splenda
    1 pkg of low sugar pectin (the only stuff I use)
    Boil sliced figs in white wine with vanilla beans until the fruit is fork tender.

    While you can puree the mixture in a blender, I love the chunks of fruit in the jam. If you do not, please by all
    means puree! Just remember to remove the vanilla beans before you puree.

    Once the figs are fork tender, add pectin and bring to rolling boil for 1 minute.
    Add brown sugar and splenda, bring back to rolling boil for 1 full minute. Pretty isn’t it! The brown sugar makes the preserves look great!

    Ladle into sterilized jars and process for 5 minutes in water bath.

    This was one of my son’s favorites, “This is like pie filling! MmmGood!”

    Very Cherry, Vanilla Fig and Cinnamon Plum
  • Apricot Pineapple Walnut Conserve

    Apricot Pineapple Walnut Conserve


    Not too long ago, I put out the word that I wanted the recipes or the favorite foods that everyone remembered growing up. My husband’s brother Jon asked if I had the recipe for his mom’s Apricot
    jam and he remembered it having pineapple and walnuts in it.
    I didn’t have the original recipe, but this one I am making to give to him to see how close it is to his memory. I remember Jacque did like her jam with a few nuts, a conserve.

    Ingredients
    ——————————————————————————–
    3 cups apricots ; pitted and chopped
    20 ounces crushed pineapple in juice
    1/2 cup lemon juice
    1 package pectin
    1/2 teaspoon butter
    8 cups sugar
    1 cup finely chopped walnuts

    Method:
    ——————————————————————————–
    Measure apricots into 6-8 qt. saucepot.
    Add pineapple and lemon juice.
    Stir pectin into fruit mixture.
    Bring mixture to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly.
    Add butter.
    Stir in sugar quickly.
    Bring back to a rolling boil and boil exactly 4 minutes, stirring constantly.
    Remove from heat.
    Add 1/8 cup walnuts to each jar.
    Ladle hot jam mixture into prepared jars, filling to within 1/8 inch of tops.
    Wipe jar rims and threads.
    Cover with two piece lids. Screw bands tightly.
    Invert onto a clean towel.
    After 5 minutes, turn upright, check for seals.
    Makes about 9 cups of jam.

  • Mango Plum Jam

    Mango Plum Jam

    So, I come home and who is using all my canning equipment?  Yep, my daughter has decided to do a little throwdown. 
    Mango Plum Jam – Perfect Tartness

    She has altered my famous Cinnamon Plum Jam, and the results were spectacular.  Actually, this combination reminded me of Quince Jam my Mom used to make.

    2 Mangos diceds (no skin please)

    2  Cups of  Plums – pitted, sliced with skins
    2 Cups Water
    Juice from1 lemon
    1 tsp salt
    1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
    3 Cups Brown Sugar
    1 Cup of Splenda
    1 pkg of low sugar pectin (the only stuff I use)

    Boil plums and mangos in white wine with 4 of the cinnamon sticks until the fruit is fork tender.
    Puree in a blender, remove the cinnamon sticks if you can before.
    Strain the mixture thru a small wire sieve. The color should be a beautiful amber. If you don’t get these results, might I suggest an upgrade in blending technology, read a review of best juicing blenders off of google and do your self a favor. Over processing is the main cause of poor quality results here, be wise and get something decent.

    Pour blended fruit back into heavy pot, add pectin and bring to rolling boil for 1 minute.
    Add brown sugar, bring back to rolling boil for 1 full minute. Pretty isn’t it!

    Pour the jar and pour in the jelly to ½ inch from the top. Process in a water bath for 5 minutes.
    Makes 3 pint jars, or 6 cups of jelly.

    The competition around here is getting tough, I better step it up a notch.

    About 35 calories per Tablespoon.
    If you replace one more cup of splenda for sugar, about 25 calories per Tablespoon

  • Ruby Red Grapefruit Pomegranate Marmalade – 1st Place Winner

    Ruby Red Grapefruit Pomegranate Marmalade – 1st Place Winner

    My Mom would be so proud.  Isn’t it incredible that we want our parents to be proud even after we are adults.

    Did someone say competition?

    I remember my Mom canning, the hot stove, the steam, the hot jars, her apron snugged at her waist. All moves were with purpose, she seldom wasted a step. I was excited to find out my grapefruit pomegranate marmalade won 1st Place at the 2010 Ventura County Fair. I wish I could tell my Mom! I assume she knows and is smiling from ear to ear.

    This marmalade has the tartness and sweetness from the ruby red grapefruit, and yet when you add the pomegranate, the color enhancement is magnificent. Pretty it is, isn’t it?

    1 Cup Grapefruit rinds (about three grapefruits)
    4 Cups Ruby Red Grapefruit juice
    1 Cup Pomegranate juice (POMs is good)
    1 package low sugar pectin – the pink box
    4 Cups sugar

    Boil Grapefruit rinds until tender in grapefruit juice about 20 minutes. Drain.
    Mix grapefruit and pomegranate juice. See that color! Wow factor. Add 1 cup of grapefruit rinds and bring to boil. Add low sugar pectin and bring to rolling boil. (One that cannot be stirred down). Stir constantly for 1 minute. Add sugar all at once and bring back to rolling boil.
    Keep at boil until this mixture gets to 222 degrees – Gel Set. Stir constantly. Watch this, it could boil over.

    Fill jars that have been washed and sterilized by heating in oven for 20 minutes. After filling, wipe top edge with vinegar to ensure sealing. Boil in water bath for 5 minutes.

    The Competition!

  • Sour Cherry Jam

    Sour Cherry Jam

    by Sandra Nickerson on Tuesday, April 6, 2010 at 8:41pm
    4 pounds of pitted and mashed sour cherries, which should yield about six cups of jammable fruit
    3 cups sugar
    1 package of low sugar pectin – the pink box.

    Put three pint jars or six half pints (or some combintion thereof) in your canning pot and bring to a boil.

    Combine fruit and sugar in a heavy, non-reactive pot. Bring to a boil and let bubble for a good twenty minutes, occasionally skimming the foam from the surface of the fruit as it develops. Add the pectin and boil for another five minutes. You want to cook it until it looks like boiling sugar – thick and viscous.

    Kill the heat, fill your jars, wipe rims, apply the lids and rings and process in the hot water bath for 10 minutes. Remove jars from water and let cool on the countertop. When the jars are cool (I typically wait until overnight), remove the rings and test the seal by picking the jar up by the lid. If it stays put, your jars are good to store indefinitely.

    I love the flavor of sour cherries, so I didn’t add a drop of extra flavor to this jam. However, you are welcome to spice things up with cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, vanilla or orange (or anything else).
    This recipe is from “Food in Jars”

    I am getting hungry.  This can be added to pork gravy for a perfect sauce for tenderloin or pork chops!

  • Blueberry Jam

    Blueberry Jam

    by Sandra Nickerson on Friday, April 2, 2010 at 8:14pm
    from Saving the Season

    BECKETT’S BLUEBERRIES

    2.5 lbs berries, about 8 cups

    1.5 lbs sugar, 3 heaping cups (I decided the straight 2:1 ratio suggested by the Blueberry Hill proprietor wasn’t enough to sweeten the berries to my taste)

    3″ cinnamon stick

    juice of 1/2 lemon

    1.5 tablespoon gin

    1 rinse and pick over berries to remove stems.

    2 put berries in a pot with a splash of water and heat gently until they start to sweat and soften. run the berries through a food mill, then return pulp to the pot and add sugar and cinnamon.

    3 bring to a boil and cook about 5 minutes until sufficiently thickened. stir in lemon juice and gin and return briefly to a boil. ladle into jars, seal and process in a boiling-water bath for 10 minutes.

    YIELD
    5 pounds berries yielded 4 pints
    4 x 8 oz
    8 x 4 oz

  • Blenheim Apricot Jam

    Blenheim Apricot Jam

    Apricot Jam on Toast
    Add blanched and peeled apricot kernels to each jar before sealing. How many? I’m not sure. I put up half-pint jars with 3, 4, 5 and 6 kernels per jar.

    Fruit-to-sugar ratio by volume 3:2

    Fruit-to-sugar ratio by weight 5:4

    4.5 lbs (2 kg) pitted and halved Blenheim apricots or 12 cups loosely packed 3.5 lbs (1.6 kg) granulated sugar or 8 cups 2 small lemons

    1 Place prepared fruit in a ceramic bowl, add lemon juice and sugar. Cover with wax paper and macerate for several hours in the refrigerator.

    2 Transfer mixture to a heavy enameled pot and slowly bring to a full boil.

    3 Lower heat to a controlled boil, skim and continue to cook, stirring occasionally until mixture begins to reduce and thicken, and the apricot halves begin to break down. Check for a jell set at 20 minutes—I went to about 22 minutes with this batch, which should give me a luscious consistency that will mound in a spoon but slowly drip through the tines of a fork.

    4 Once the jam is sufficiently reduced, ladle into jars and seal. I processed the jars in a hot-water bath for 10 minutes, as suggested by Ball.

    4.5 lbs apricots yielded a scant 6 pints of jam 1 x pint jar 5 x 8 oz jars 5 x 4 oz jars plus a few ounces set aside for breakfast.