North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Douglas Woodard <dwoodard@becon.org>]

In the past I have been very pleased with frozen fruit sauces made from 
peaches and plums. In "Commercial Fruit and Vegetable Products" by W. V. 
Cruess (McGraw-Hill, 1924, 1938, 1948, 1958) I found a recipe using 5% 
lemon juice (I used the bottled product) plus 1/8 cup sugar per cup of 
fruit and I liked the result. It goes well with yogurt or porridge. You 
can spread it on thick, fairly dense bread or toast.

A small amount of added sugar and acid intensifies the flavour of fruit.

I expect that this recipe would can satisfactorily.

I found the Cruess book very useful. I see that it has been reprinted by 
Agrobios of Jodhpur, India (2000, 2004); also that Applewood Press has 
this year published a book titled "Home and Farm Food Preservation" by 
William Cruess which I suspect is basically an extract and reprint.

There are other thickening agents besides pectin although they do not 
produce as attractive a product.

Around 1980 I read up on botulism and pH. It seemed that there was a 
little uncertainty about pH levels between 4.0 and 4.4, especially with 
high-protein materials like meat and beans. pH levels not over 4.0 
seemed to be regarded as safe. If you are canning anything but fruit 
puree or small chunks I would recommend that you read up on the latest 
scientific opinion, and think about pressure canning. I wouldn't take 
chances with botulism.

Doug Woodard
St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada