If At First You Don't Succeed.....

Feedback on crabapple jelly and pineapple jam: crabapples and crabapple juice might have a lot of pectin but it still takes a heck of a long time to cook to gelling point and I will *not* be doing a pineapple jam recipe without added pectin again (it was the one in the Ball Blue Book). I am re-affirming very loudly that I am not a fan of no pectin added jams and jellies. With a 4-year-old and a 6-year-old, they take too darn long to cook and require too much attention. On a brighter note, the crabapple jelly is a stunning red color, beautifully clear, and bursting with a warm, spicy flavor. The pineapple jam is a jar of captured sunshine, warm and bright in flavor and hue. I'll just be looking for variations on the recipe that keep the flavor and color but speed up the process!

While checking out crabapple recipes after we had done the jelly, I did find a recipe for crabapple butter that used the pulp from having made the juice (to make the juice: cover the tiny little crabapple with water and simmer for 20-25 minutes, then drain through cheesecloth). Being the type of person who doesn't like to compost anything before I must, I leaped at the chance to use the pulp before putting it on the compost pile. I milled the big bowl of pulp I had set aside and came up with 12 cups of crabapple sauce. I did have to add a few cups of water to it as I was milling, as it was fairly dry. I stirred together in my 6 qt crockpot the crabapple sauce, 4 cups white sugar, 2 T orange juice concentrate, 2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp ground cloves, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, and 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg. It's cooking on low from mid-afternoon until bed time tonight, and I'll stir it a few times. At bed time, I'll turn it to warm if it's simmering and let it do it's thing until morning. When I get up tomorrow, it will be ready to can, and I think I'll get 14 jelly jars (14 cups) of crabapple butter. Judging by the smell, it should be a warm, spicy, sweet-tart spread that can't help but make one think of fall. And now the pulp that is left can finally go to the compost pile.

Saving Some Summer

I love preserving food. I mean, really, who doesn't? I take all of my extras and stash them for later. What's not to like?! The beauty of canning for me is that I get to save some of my summer and fall bounty to eat in the depths of winter when all the world outside my windows is cold and white. Jams and jellies that glow in their jars like rare jewels and glisten on foods, beckoning the gourmand to taste, to savor as the flavors slide across the tongue, some comforting and some dancing, all making your senses dance and hum in excitement. Syrups sliding from jars and across breakfasts, ice creams, desserts, adding their rich flavors. Pickles and relishes sitting bright and refreshing in their jars, waiting to zing the palate and add zip to a meal. Stewed tomatoes as rich and fragrant as when they were freshly picked from the garden. Fruit sauces just waiting to grace the table with their gentle sweetness. The list keeps going, and all of it is right there in my pantry!

Today's canning is a combination of summer bounty and hey-it's-on-sale. First, I'm going to do pineapple jam. Being in the Upper Midwest, pineapples are definitely not part of my summer bounty, but they are on sale for $2.99 each, so I picked up a few and am making pineapple jam, a favorite of C's and something I love to put on ice cream. The summer bounty part comes into play with the second canning item: crabapples. A friend has a crabapple tree that is ready to pick, so I'll be picking crabapples and then experimenting. I've never done anything with crabapples, so it will all be new. My plans: crabapple pie (will freeze some if the trial pie turns out nicely) and crabapple jelly, and possibly crabapple juice to use later in other recipes, crabapple cordial, and crabapple butter. We'll see what we get!

Since nothing I'm doing today is a recipe I've done before, I'm going to wait until tomorrow to post recipes and the verdict on each one. Meanwhile, I have a day in the kitchen ahead of me!