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["Judson L. Frisk" <JLFRISK@iowatelecom.net>]

I am diabetic and have always made apricot and gooseberry jam in the past.
Any splenda recipes out there for making jam?   Judson L. Frisk

-----Original Message-----
From: nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Stephen Sadler
Sent: Friday, July 02, 2010 4:26 PM
To: 'North American Fruit Explorers'
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] currant preserves and plant productivity.

Read ahead and saw that you don't add pectin.

I don't think adding water is a problem - it's when you add it.  You
wouldn't add it to dilute - as you said, it boils off - but you would add it
to extract.  Add about ¾ cup of water per quart of currants when you cook
them, then let that mass strain, without pressing, through your cheesecloth.
A jelly strainer comes in handy here.  I've stopped making jellies - I don't
like leaving the fiber behind, and I have a Vitamix and Blendtec blender I
can use to make an ultrasmooth jam if I want.  I say this to disclose I've
not dome much jellymaking for a while, but still:
Once you extract the juice try 3½ cups sugar per quart of juice, then cook
to the jelly stage.  Overcooking can either reduce the gelling power of the
pectin in the fruit, or cause it to set up too hard; I don't think you can
manipulate timing much to change your result.

As far as chemistry - you need sugar to jel natural pection, but once you
exceed what you need, you're just diluting and sweetening.

~ Stephen

-----Original Message-----
From: nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Ginda Fisher
Sent: Friday, July 02, 2010 4:15 AM
To: North American Fruit Explorers
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] currant preserves and plant productivity.


On Jul 2, 2010, at 6:01 AM, Alan Haigh wrote:

> First I want to say how I make preserves with black currants. . . 
> I just take the berries that I froze back when it was too hot and hectic
to stand over a stove and throw them in a pot and let them thaw.  Then I
stir while bringing them up to a boil while adding sugar to taste (lots of
sugar!).  Once they get to boiling I take them off the stove, mash them, let
the mash cool and they're done.  The jam (not preserved) will last in the
fridge for at least 2 months, bigger batches require freezing some of it.

I just made red currant jelly.  I follow the recipe in an old "Joy of
Cooking".  In the past I've had trouble with the texture, I think because
there's too much pectin.  This year I tried adding some water and more sugar
(I used 1 part sugar to 1 part juice, plus some added water.)

Oh - I start by making juice, because I like a clear jelly instead of
seedily preserves.   To do that, I put all the fruit in a pot, crush it so
that the bottom of the pot is wet, and cook slowly until all the skins turn
translucent (instead of transparent) and I have a wet mass.  Then I pass it
through a fine sieve, sometimes using cheese cloth.  (the cheese cloth,
which must be pre-wetted, gives a clearer jelly, but I generally don't
bother.)  I am always disappointed at how much less juice there is than
there was fruit, but 4 cups of juice makes a lot of jelly.

So this year I had 4 cups of juice, I added a cup of water and 4 cups of
sugar.  I cooked it until it reached the "jelly" stage and bottled it,
giving me 4 bottles of jelly.

First, adding the water was a waste of time and energy - I just boiled it
off again.  (So I guess it wasn't all that much too much pectin.)  Second,
adding more sugar did cure my "too chewy" issue, but it resulted in jelly
which is too sweet for my tastes.  So I'm thinking of either aiming for
too-soft jelly next year, or adding some other fruit juice.

My jelly, made more-or-less like this, has always stored fine for a year or
more in the fridge.  At least, it doesn't mold, and no one has dropped dead.

Ginda
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