Perfect preserves

1 servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
For perfect jams, jellies, and marmalades, these are the points to
Remember.....

Directions

Choose ripe fruit. Preserves will lack color and flavor if under ripe, and may ferment during storage if over ripe. Fresh fruit has more pectin and the older the fruit the less pectin is contained and the final product may not set properly. Simmer fruit slowly in covered pan to extract maximum pectin and soften fruit before adding sugar, particularly fruit with thick skins eg black curranst or peel in marmalade making. Once sugar is added, skins or peel with NOT soften. Stir until all sugar has dissolved to prevent preserves sticking to pan and burning. (rub pan with butter before use, to help prevent this and also to reduce scum) Dissolving sugar thoroughly, prevents preserves from crystallizing. Boil preserves rapidly in open pan after sugar has been dissolved so that the preserves set in the shortest time possible. This means the pan must be sufficiently large enough to allow preserve to boil quickly, without boiling over. Use a heavy enamel (not chipped) or stainless steel pan rather than aluminum, copper, or iron which may discolor the preserves and even prove dangerous. Test early for setting to prevent preserve being overboiled. Over cooking spoils the flavor, and can produce a stiff preserve or can sometimes destroy the setting quality of the fruit so that preserves become more liquid and will never set. Remove pan from heat while testing. Fill warm sterile jars to within ¼ inch of top, cover, seal and store in cool, dry place. THREE TESTS FOR SETTING Put a little preserve on a plate, allow to cool, then push the preserve with a finger - if it wrinkles, it is set. If using sugar thermometer, setting point for most preserves is 220F. Coat spoon, cool, and if set, preserve should hang in a firm flake. Origin: Marguerite Patten's Recipe Cards Shared by: Sharon Stevens.

Submitted By SHARON STEVENS On 05-06-95

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