Marisa McClellan's Blog, page 34

Roasted Seedless Grape Jam

Our intrepid contributor Alex Jones is back with a recipe for roasted grape jam. Just reading this post makes my mouth water!I can’t even imagine how good her kitchen must have smelled during the roasting process! -Marisa

I didn’t taste a Concord grape until I was in my late 20s and buying them from local Pennsylvania farmers to share with members of the Greensgrow CSA. And once I had — while I finally understood what “grape” flavor is meant to emulate — I just couldn’t get down with the seeds. They were too much work to snack on compared to the fat, juicy table grapes I’d grown up with as a kid in California.

So imagine my delight when I found out that when Lem Christophel, a Mennonite who runs Eden Garden Farm in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, brings grapes to my local farmers’ market, they are completely seed-free.

I love them for snacking (these days, I try to leave the California produce as a special treat to help me get through the depths of winter), and last year, I made possibly the most delicious raisins I’ve ever had by steming a few bunches and throwing them in the dehydrator. But I’d never canned them before.

Last Saturday, I got my chance: a big rainstorm had passed over Lem’s part of the state, and some of his juicy red and purple grapes had split right before harvest. Lem knows I’m a preserver, so he tempted me with a great deal  — five pounds for $10 — and, of course, I caved.

After thoroughly stemming, picking, and washing my stash, I had three pounds of good fruit to work with. But I wanted to do something a little different than the jelly or smooth-milled jam that comes from seeded grapes. I settled on roasting the grapes — a mix of standard-sized dark purple specimens and small, spherical reds — in the oven with a little honey to intensify their flavor.

They roasted at 425oF for a little under half an hour — my oven runs cool, so I recommend checking at 15 and 20 minutes so you don’t end up with a burnt mess. I pulled the pan out when the grapes started to give up their juice and the skins began to wrinkle.

Post-roast, I had eight cups of juicy cooked grapes, which, once buzzed up in my Dutch oven with the stick blender, gave me around four cups of slightly chunky pulp. Using the ratio from Marisa’s Concord grape jam as a guide, I added roughly half that volume of sugar (two cups) and squeezed in half a lemon.

I cooked down the mixture until it looked nice and dark and thick and the apartment was infused with a juicy grape aroma. Then the mixture went into jars and then the water bath canner for 10 minutes.

(One important note: Although I was checking temperature with my instant-read thermometer and using the plate test, I got a little set shy and pulled the jam off the heat when the wrinkles in the jam on the plate had just started to show up and the thermometer still read just 219oF, so it’s a little saucier than I prefer. Go for the full 220oF and you should get a mixture that doesn’t require a spoon to serve.)

The next morning, I took the jam for a test drive over a few slices of coconut-acorn sourdough bread from my Fikira Bakery bread CSA that I toasted and smeared with a few spoonfuls of Valley Milkhouse’s creamy, tangy Clover, a fromage blanc-style fresh cheese.

The preserve is delicious — a little chunky from leaving some of the skins whole, bright and bold and a perfect distillation of seedless grape flavor. I can imagine spooning this over French vanilla ice cream or serving it with a punchy blue cheese and toasted walnuts.

I look forward to popping open one of the five half-pint jars I canned this winter and brightening up my morning. Maybe I won’t need those California grapes after all.

PrintRoasted Seedless Grape Jam

Yield: 3 pints

Ingredients

3 pounds seedless red or purple grapes (after picking through)
1/4 cup honey
2 cups sugar
1/2 lemon, juiced

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Prepare a water bath canner, five half pint jars, lids, and rings.
Wash, pick over, and stem grapes. (You should have approximately three pounds after stemming.) Toss the grapes with the honey and spread them in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Roast for 25-30 minutes, until the grapes begin to give up their juice and the skins wrinkle.
Once cool enough to handle, put the grapes into a large measuring cup and blend with a stick blender to your desired consistency (I made mine relatively smooth with some big chunks still in there). You should have around 4 cups of grape puree.
Place the puree, sugar, and lemon juice in a heavy-bottomed pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then cook, stirring frequently, until the jam passes the plate test or shows 220 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer.
Remove the jam from the heat and funnel into prepared jars. Wipe rims, apply lids and bands, and process in the water bath canner for 10 minutes. After canning, allow the jars to sit for 24 hours. Check seals, remove bands, label, and store.
3.1http://foodinjars.com/2017/09/roasted-seedless-grape-jam/
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Washington State Cherries, Peaches, Nectarines, and Plums

Every summer for the last eight years, I’ve teamed up with the folks at the Washington State Fruit Commission. As one of their Canbassadors, they send me boxes of fruit. I take those cherries, peaches, nectarines, and plums into my kitchen and then share how I transform them into various batches of jams, pickles, butters, compotes, and conserves.

This year, they sent me three separate shipments of fruit. In late June, it was 18 pounds of sweet, juicy cherries. At the beginning of August, two flats of fragrant peaches and nectarines. And right around Labor Day, a box of sturdy Italian plums (they are a perennial favorite in my kitchen).

I made a bunch of really great stuff with all this fruit, but as the intensity of the summer ratcheted up, I’ve not done as good a job as getting those recipes from my kitchen scratch pad to this site. So here’s what I’ve done. I’ve created individual posts for each of the unshared recipes (to make them more easily searchable) and then I’ve rounded them all up here. Much of these out of season for this year, but perhaps you’ll remember one or two for next year.

Cherries

Sweet Cherry Meyer Lemon Marmalade
Sweet Cherry Ketchup
Spiced Cherry Preserves

Peaches and Nectarines

Indiana Peach Chutney
Small Batch Nectarine Lime Jam
Peach Jam with Brown Sugar and Bourbon
Honey Sweetened Mixed Fruit Compote

Italian Plums

Plum Conserve with Golden Raisins and Toasted Walnuts
Spiced Plum Jam

And for anyone who’s keeping track, here’s what I’ve made in past years with my Canbassador fruit.

Nectarine Conserve with Lemon, Raisins, and Walnuts (2016)
Peach Habanero Hot Sauce (2016)
Gingery Peach Butter (2016)
Sweet Cherry Barbecue Sauce (2016)
Honey Sweetened Roasted Nectarine Compote (2015)
Spiced Nectarine Jam (2015)
Sweet Cherry Rhubarb Jam (2015)
Cherry Kompot (2015)
Sweet Cherry Chutney (2015)
Slow Cooker Peach Vanilla Butter (2014)
Low Sugar Spiced Peach Jam (2014)
Lazy Peach Preserves (2013)
Honey-Sweetened Peach Chutney (2013)
Oven-Roasted Nectarine Butter (2012)
Luisa Weiss’s Spiced Plum Butter (2012)
Italian Plum Jam with Star Anise (2011)
Honey-Sweetened Apricot Lavender Butter (2011)
Apricot-Blackberry Jam (2010)
Pickled Sweet Cherries (2010)

If you want to see what some of the other Canbassadors have done this year, make sure to follow the Washington State Fruit and Northwest Cherries folks on social media, as they’ve been sharing all the posts. Here’s where you can find them.

Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest

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Spiced Plum Jam
Plum Conserve with Golden Raisins and Toasted Walnuts
Peach Jam with Brown Sugar and Bourbon

Spiced Plum Jam

When I was very young, my family lived in an old house in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Eagle Rock. We had a trio of plum trees that produced great heaps of fruit every other year. My parents would fill paper grocery bags with plums and pass them out to friends and neighbors. Even after those bags were distributed, there were always more plums.

My mom would always make two or three batches of delicious, runny plum jam, spiked with cinnamon and bright with lemon zest that we’d eat on oatmeal, pancakes, and yogurt. Because of those preserves, the flavor of plum jam satisfies my deepest taste memories in a way that other jams can’t touch.

This recipe is my attempt to recreate that childhood jam. The only difference is that I use a bit of pectin to ensure that mine has a firmer set than the batches my mom used to make.

PrintSpiced Plum Jam

Yield: makes 7 to 8 half pints

Ingredients

4 pounds plums, pitted and diced
4 cups sugar
3 tablespoons powdered fruit pectin (not the low sugar variety)
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 lemon, juiced and zested

Instructions

Prepare a boiling water bath canner and 7-8 half pint jars.
Heap the prepared plums in a large, non-reactive pan.
Whisk together the sugar, pectin, cinnamon, and nutmeg together and add it to the plums. Stir to combine.
When the plums are quite juicy and most of the sugar has dissolved, add the lemon juice and zest, and place the pan on the stove over high heat.
Bring the fruit to a full boil and then reduce the heat to medium high.
Cook the fruit at a low boil, stirring regularly, for 25 to 30 minutes, until the plums soften and the syrup thickens. You’ll know when the jam is done because it will become more resistant to stirring, and when you pull the spoon out of the pan, the droplets will be thick and slow moving.
When the jam is done, remove the pan from the heat. Funnel it into the prepared jars.
Wipe the rims, apply the lids and rings, and process the jars in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes (do not start your timer until the pot returns to a full, rolling boil).
Once the time is up, remove the jars from the canner and set them on a folded kitchen towel to cool. The lids should seal promptly and will often make a pinging or popping sound as the vacuum forms. When the jars are sealed, the center of the lids will be concave and when pressed, the lid will not move or wiggle.3.1http://foodinjars.com/2017/09/spiced-plum-jam/
Related Posts:

Washington State Cherries, Peaches, Nectarines, and Plums
Plum Conserve with Golden Raisins and Toasted Walnuts
Peach Jam with Brown Sugar and Bourbon

Plum Conserve with Golden Raisins and Toasted Walnuts

This plum conserve is a condiment that veers a bit of the more commonly tread canning ground. However, once you try it, I’m certain it will become one of your regular pantry players.

Italian plums are one of my favorite things to come out of late summer. Sturdy, sweet, and with a flavor that improves upon cooking, they are a fabulous primary ingredient for all manner of jams, spreads, and compotes.

This particular conserve (it’s the addition of dried fruits and nuts that turn a basic preserve into a conserve) is a good gift giving, serving at holiday gatherings, and eating with a spoon when you’re craving something sweet.

I canned my batch in a collection of mismatched pint jars (we’re getting to the end of the canning season and I’m starting to run short on smaller jars), but because a little goes a long way, you’d be better off opting for half pints.

PrintPlum Conserve with Golden Raisins and Toasted Walnuts

Yield: 8 half pints

Ingredients

4 pounds plums, quartered and pitted
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups golden raisins
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise pieces
1 cup lightly toasted walnuts

Instructions

Prepare a boiling water bath canner and 8 half pint jars.
In a large, non-reactive pan, combine the prepared plums, sugar, raisins, cinnamon stick, and star anise. Stir to combine and let the fruit sit until the sugar begins to dissolve and you develop a bit of syrup in the bottom of the pan. This will take at least 15 minutes, but you can also let the fruit macerate overnight, if that works better for your schedule.
When you're ready to cook, set the pan on the stove over high heat. Bring the plums to a boil and reduce the heat to medium high.
Cook the fruit at a low boil, stirring regularly, until the liquid has thickened, the raisins have plumped up, and the total volume in the pan has reduced by at least a quarter. Conserves don't need to be as thick as jams, so don't fret too much over the finished texture. Just take it to a place that pleases you.
When you've determined that the cooking time is up, remove the pan from the heat and remove the cinnamon stick and star anise pieces. Once they're out, stir in the toasted nuts.
Funnel the finished conserve into the prepared jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
Wipe the rims, apply the lids and rings, and process in a boiling water bath canner for 15 minutes.
When the time is up, remove the jars and set them on a folded kitchen towel to cool. When the jars have cooled enough that you can comfortably handle them, check the seals. Sealed jars can be stored at room temperature for up to a year. Any unsealed jars should be refrigerated and used promptly.
3.1http://foodinjars.com/2017/09/plum-conserve-golden-raisins-toasted-walnuts/
Related Posts:

Washington State Cherries, Peaches, Nectarines, and Plums
Spiced Plum Jam
Peach Jam with Brown Sugar and Bourbon

Cookbooks: Modern Cider

We’re nearing the end of September, but it’s still blazingly hot and swampy here in Philadelphia. One way that I’m coping with the unseasonable weather is by pretending that it’s more like autumn outside than it actually is. To that end, I’ve been making pots of soup (though I’m choosing ones that can be eaten at room temperature for the sake of our sanity), knitting hats and hand warmers (while the air conditioning chugs), and diving into books that put me in the proper state of mind no matter how it actually feels outside.

One such book that I’ve been glancing at when the mercury soars is Emma Christensen’s new one, called Modern Cider. Emma is the queen of small batch home brewing and is also the author of True Brews and Brew Better Beer. You may know her work from her years as recipe editor at The Kitchn or her current gig as managing editor of Simply Recipes.

Emma is incredibly good at taking an intimidating concept or technique and making it feel approachable and appealing. I was still a novice home brewer (though my brews are still mostly confined to regular batches of kombucha), when I took a couple of the recipes from True Brews out for a test drive for Table Matters back in 2013. and she made it seem entirely doable.

If True Brews was Emma’s survey course, and Brew Better Beer was designed for the beer lover, Modern Cider is the book for anyone who has been intrigued by boozy fermentation but doesn’t consider themselves a big beer drinker. It’s for someone who wants a home brewing starting place that speaks to a wide range of experience levels. And it’s for anyone who wants to learn the science behind home brewing from a friendly, knowledgeable voice.

The first 60+ pages of the book feature cider lessons. In this initial section, you’ll learn about variations in ciders, choosing apples, crushing and sourcing (she gives you permission to use bottled juice from the store if that’s all you can manage), acidity, and the gear you’ll need to get started.

From there, the chapters are as follows: Beginner Ciders, The Cider Family, Modern Ciders, Ciders for Beer Lovers, Soft Ciders (some entirely free of alcohol!), Apple Wines, and Traditional Ciders. There’s also troubleshooting and resources sections, in case you need more guidance.

While it’s probably too early to start thinking about the holidays, if you have someone on your gift list who loves cider and has expressed interest in learning how to make it at home, this is the perfect book for them!

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Submit your Fruit Butters for the September #fijchallenge

Happy end of September, canners! Yet another month that has gone flying by with record-breaking speed! I hope everyone is enjoying the transition from summer to fall (though here in the Philadelphia region, it feels like it’s going to be summer forever).

With the end of the month comes times to wrap up another skill in our year-long Mastery Challenge. We focused on fruit butters this time around. If you haven’t yet made a batch, there’s still time. Consult the intro post for inspiration and get to simmering!

If you want to be counted in the September tally and included in the round-up, please use this form to submit your project by Saturday, September 30 . The form is below! If you can’t see it, you can also reach the form right here.

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Giveaway: Rachael Ray Lazy Spoon and Ladle

No matter how many spatulas and spoons I have, I can almost always make space for one more in my utensil jug. I swear, it’s not because I’m a hoarder (I get rid of my fair share as well). It’s because I’m forever on the lookout for excellent new tools. This explains why, when I spotted the new Lazy Spoon and Ladle set from Rachael Ray, I had to get them. Because what if that ladle was the perfect thing for scooping jam into jars? This inquiring mind had to know!

If you feel like you’ve seen these spoons before, you are correct. The lazy spoon concept is one that was originally marketed successfully by Jonathan’s Spoons. Rachael Ray liked the concept so much that she licensed the form factor and started producing plastic and silicone spoons in the image of those original wooden spoons.

At this point the question is, how do I like these spoons now that I’ve had them in my kitchen a couple months? I like them very much. They do not line up perfectly with my ideal spoon and ladle, but they’re darned handy when you’re dealing with sticky stuff that you don’t want to drip all over your stove or countertop. I wish that they were a little lighter and a little more supple (despite the silicone coating, they don’t have much give), but all in all, they’ve earned their spots in the utensil jug.

Now, for the giveaway. I have one set of these handy tools to give away to a lucky Food in Jars reader. Here’s how to enter.

Leave a comment on this post and tell me about your favorite kitchen tool.
Comments will close at 11:59 pm eastern time on Sunday, October 1, 2017. Winners will be chosen at random and this post will be updated with the winner.
Giveaway open to United States residents only.
One comment per person, please. Entries must be left via the comment form on the blog at the bottom of this post.

Disclosure: Both the set pictured here and the giveaway set were provided at no cost to me by the PR team that handles the Rachael Ray line. No additional compensation was provided. 

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Upcoming Events: Haddonfield! Greensgrow! Morris Arboretum! And More!

Wednesday, September 27 (Haddonfield, NJ)

I’ll be at the Haddonfield Public Library, making a small batch of low sugar plum jam. I’ll have copies of my books for sale and will happily answer all your burning canning question. 7-8:30 pm. The event is free, but they do ask that you register, so they have an idea of numbers.

Saturday, September 30 (Philadelphia, PA)

I’m returning to Greensgrow (Philly’s oldest urban farm) for a class on canning without added sugar. I’ll show you how to make both applesauce and pear butter that are delicious and totally safe for canning without a grain of additional sweetener. 12-2 pm. $40. Register here.

Tuesday, October 10 (Strafford, PA)

I’ll be at the Tredyffrin Public Library from 7-8 pm, demonstrating how to safely make and can a batch of low sugar Pear Vanilla Jam. This preserve is a terrific one for autumn, because it transforms often humdrum pears into a fragrant and appealing spread. It’s a particular favorite for holiday giving. The event is free, but they are asking for pre-registration, so that they set up the right number of chairs.

Thursday, October 12 (Pennington, NJ)

I’ll be at the Pennington Public Library from 7-8:30 pm, demonstrating how to make honey-sweetened Pear Vanilla Jam (a slight variation on the recipe from earlier in the week). This event is free.

Thursday, October 19 (Mullica Hill, NJ)

My last library demo of the year is at the Mullica Hill Branch of the Gloucester County Library System. This time, you’ll find me demonstrating my trick for making satisfying and tasty jams using frozen fruit. This is a huge boon if you didn’t make all your holiday gifts during the summer growing season. I will also have books on hand for sale and signature. 7-8 pm. Free (but they ask that you sign up here).

Sunday, October 22 (Chestnut Hill, PA)

I’m returning to the Morris Arboretum for another class that is perfect for canners of all skill levels. In this hands on session, I’ll teach you how to use a basic ratio to build a batch of jam, the things to keep in mind when choosing additional flavor elements, and how to process it in a water bath canner for shelf stability. Everyone will go home with a jar of jam made in class. 1-3 pm. $40/45. Register here.

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Honey Sweetened Mixed Fruit Compote

For the last several weeks, I’ve been fully immersed in the end-of-season canning frenzy. This time of year, there’s not a lot of nuance in my preservation activities. I’m simply doing my best to get the food into the jars in the simplest way possible before the produce spoils.

One technique I use a lot this time of year is this one for mixed fruit compote. It’s the thing I call on when there are lots of odds and ends that need to be used up. As long as the fruits you use are all high in acid, you can mix and match as you see fit (this means, skip the white peaches and nectarines, figs, asian pears, mangos).

I use a variety of sweeteners in these compotes, but in this particular variation, opted for honey (mostly because there was a half empty jug on the counter that I wanted to use up). Because this preserve is sloshy by design, I use a fairly low amount of whatever sweetener I’m calling on. Typically, it ends up being a ratio of four parts fruit to one part sweetener.

These are the preserves I call on to sweeten plain yogurt, to wake up hot cereals, and to serve as a fruity layer in baked oatmeal. Gather up the dregs of the stone fruit (this batch included some of my Canbassador nectarines), throw in a few diced pears, use some berries from the freezer, and get to boiling.

Print

Ingredients

3.1http://foodinjars.com/2017/09/honey-sweetened-mixed-fruit-compote/
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Peach Jam with Brown Sugar and Bourbon

This peach jam is sweetened with brown sugar and is spiked with a few tablespoons of bourbon, for a sweet, boozy spread.

Back in August, the Washington State Fruit Commission sent me a big box of peaches and nectarines. I made a juicy nectarine tart, a batch of mixed fruit compote, and a batch of this smooth peach jam with brown sugar and bourbon.

I chose to use brown sugar as the sweetener, because it has a rich, molasses-y flavor that plays nicely with both peaches and bourbon. And while I could have left the jam chunky, I like to have some jams in my pantry that can double was drizzle for desserts and ice cream. This one fits that bill nicely.

When it comes to adding booze to jams and preserves, I typically pour them in during the last few minutes of cooking. My goal is to evaporate the alcohol, but retain the flavor. However, you could certainly add the bourbon a little later if you wanted the finished jam to be a little more spirited.

Print

Ingredients

3.1http://foodinjars.com/2017/09/peach-jam-brown-sugar-bourbon/
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