To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: [NAFEX] Fruit preserves
Date: Mon, 01 Sep 2008 19:20:11 -0400
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.