Cake and Commerce

November Pear Preserving Challenge: The recap

While most people in the Northeast have put away their boiling water canners, a few indefatigable preserving mavens burned the late October oil to participate in this month's preserving challenge: Pears.

Here's a roundup of the participants this month:

From Annabelle of Calamity Shazaam in the Kitchen:

  

Pear Confit made with Cava

And Hungry Bruno submitted this lovely and inspired pear, port and thyme conserve:

  

Pat from the aptly named Kitchen Jam made a wonderful Pear and Honey Preserve

Tania from the Musing Bouche answered the call with her delicious Pear Butter. I can almost smell the aroma of sweet pears:

 

Because our numbers have dropped so dramatically from last challenge to this one, we'll suspend our Can-o-rama challenges until strawberries come back into season in the spring. I know that's a long way away, but trust me...once we get going again, we will have weekly challenges and fruit comes in and goes out of season.

In the meantime, enjoy your marmalades, your chutneys and all your tropical fruit preserves!

See you in the spring!

xoxo linsey

Can-o-rama the Next! RSVP to join our preserves exchange and demo November 15th

And now...announcing...our next celebration of the art of preserving!

We have the place. We have the time. Now we need YOU!

What: Can-o-rama Preserves Exchange and Holiday Recipe Demo
Who: You, canner, preserver, enthusiast
When: Sunday, November 15th
Time: 1-5 pm
Location: A beautiful apartment overlooking Chinatown, on Hudson St - address will be confirmed once you confirm! 5 minute walk from South Station, 5 minute walk from Chinatown Orange Line. Free parking on street and nearby lots (expensive and crowded on Sundays!)
What you bring: 6 jars of something* you preserved yourself for exchange, preferably 6 of the same thing. And an extra to sample.

*This may include liqueur, lactofermented foods, fruit leather, fruit jelly candies, jams, jelly, sauces,  marmalades, confits, mustard, pickles etc - the limit is your creativity. And, of course, tastiness is a factor!

Demos: Yvette The Queen of the Pantry will show us how to make some delicious holiday condiments (yay). Is there something you'd like to share? If so, email me and I'll add you to the list. I'm going to demo mustard. Anything goes as long as it is 1. in season and 2. festive!
Cost: $5 -suggested donation -  to defray cost of event (refreshments plus demo supplies). If you come on your own (and not in the company of  a preserver) and do not bring preserves, the suggested donation is $15 (and, sniff, you don't get to bring home any preserves). If you are bringing preserves and a non-preserving friend/spouse/partner etc, you both pay $5 each. So bring some preserves to exchange.

To RSVP: Send an email to cakeandcommerce AT gmail  with your name, your guest(s) if any, and what you would like to demo (if you so desire). Also - if you don't plan to be part of the exchange, let me know that too.

I'll collect your suggested donation at the door on November 15th.

Please feel free to forward this to anyone you think would like to attend.

Can't wait to see what you've been up to!

Also - if you would like to participate in this month's canning challenge, the recipe and instructions are here: http://www.cakeandcommerce.com/cake_and_commerce/2009/10/canoorama-challenge-2.html

Can-o-rama Challenge the First: All the amazing summer jam and liqueur!

Wow. I'm blown away.

We started this challenge as a way to give folks external motivation for taking advantage of local foods and putting it by. I didn't expect many participants - Cake and Commerce doesn't have a HUGE audience (many of you discover this blog by happenstance or Google search) - so it was great to see that a good handful of you, all with much better things to do than blog about a jam and liqueur challenge - decided to participate in September's Can-o-rama challenge (you can read about it here).

The challenge in September was to capture summer in a bottle - in both jam and liqueur. Here are the AMAZING projects you submitted:

Jen from Braise, Boil, Bake: Peach, Ginger and Vanilla Bean Jam (recipe on her blog)

 

Adrienne from Hungry Bruno submitted this luscious Cherry Liqueur - she was planning ahead!

 

Pat from Kitchen Jam made this outstanding Italian Plum Jam:

Dina and Thinkpol from Sticks, Spoons, Spokes document their adventures making peach jam and cucumber liqueur and basil liqueur here.

Pam from Cave Cibum made this summery Raspberry Peach Jam, which she used to fill cookies:

Yvette from Queen of the Pantry submitted this recipe, which is one of many amazing recipes she has up her sleeve.

Amaretto Peach Pecan Preserves
2 pounds fresh peaches, peeled
1 cup golden raisins
3/4 cup water (more if needed)
1 1/2 tablespoons finely grated orange zest
2 tablespoons strained fresh lemon juice
3 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup pecan halves or pecan pieces
3 tablespoons amaretto liqueur
tsp Allspice, Five Spice, or Cinnamon

In a heavy, non-reactive saucepan combine raisins and water and let raisins soak until they plump.

Cut peaches into halves or quarters and combine them with the plumped raisins and water. Add zest and heat mixture to simmering until very tender, about 15 minutes.

Stir in orange and lemon juices and return to a boil. Add sugar and spices and cook over medium heat, stirring very frequently with a flat bottom wooden spoon, until thick, about 30 minutes.

Test Mixture: Put a spoonful on a chilled saucer and let it cool; when saucer is held on edge, the surface of the jam should wrinkle.

OR

Test temperature with candy thermometer – should be 220°F

Add the pecans and cook, stirring, about 5 minutes longer. Remove from heat and stir in the Amaretto. Ladle into hot, clean canning jars, leaving 1/4-inch head space. Seal with new two-piece lids according to manufacturer's directions and process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath. Cool, label, and store.

This is best if allowed to mellow in the jars for two weeks before serving.

Thank you so much to everyone for participating. I hope you'll consider cooking up your own version of the October Pear Challenge. You can find complete information here.

Summer-in-a-bottle - Can-o-rama Challenge 1: Peach Jam!

Somewhere near Northampton, Massachusetts....

From tree...

To Wade's hand...

To home.

I weigh the peaches before I peel them and core them.

After the peaches have been pitted and skinned, I weigh them again and  half as much sugar is added. The ratio is 1 part sugar to 2 parts fruit.

The sugar and peach mixture is brought to a boil. A half teaspoon of citric acid - it helps prevent oxidation and adds acidity - is added.

The mixture is brought to a boil. Two apple peels are added for pectin. The scum - though pretty and tasty - is skimmed off.

The mixture is boiled. And boiled.

I check for sheeting. When it sheets - or 'flakes' - I know it is close to done. I like a slightly softer, less-set jam. I usually take it off the heat after the temperature reaches 218, not 220 (which is the set point for jam).

And then I add fresh verbena. I let it macerate for a few minutes, then I carefully squeeze the verbena leaves dry to extract as much flavor as I can from the leaves without getting leaves - which are tough - into the jam. At this point I also remove the apple peels.

 

While the jam is still piping hot - just below 220 degrees F, I ladle it into hot, sterile jars.

And then plunge the jars into boiling water for a 10 minute processing time.

The processing time begins when the water comes to a boil, not when the jar is placed in the water:

After 10 minutes, the jars are removed and placed on a tea towel to cool.

It is a chunky, sweet, not all-too-thick jam. I like jam that spreads easily. The added pectin from the peels don't create the 'hard' mouthfeel and texture created by boxed and bottled pectins.

The bright peach color is such a treat - a reminder of summer during the cold months.

(as an aside...here's a visual of the difference between using citric acid and not using citric acid).

Can-o-rama Challenge #2: It's all about the pears

pear confit...one of this month's challenges

It is October and the pears are out across much of the US. Bosch pears. Lady pears. Seckel pears. Anjou pears. Bartlett pears. Mmmmm, Bartletts....

So what are we going to do with all these pears? Glad you asked.

This month is our Can-o-rama Pearluxe!

As before you have options. You can make jam AND/OR liqueur. It is your choice.

Our Jam recipe this month? A delicate "Poire William" and white wine confit

And for liqueur we have the infused version of the distilled classic Poire William: Bartlett Pear Liqueur

Again, we recommend you pick these up from a local farm or at the farmers market. If you can't find Bartlett pears, feel free to use another variety. We've chosen Bartletts because they're big, juicy and flavorful - something we need in infusions AND in jams. The key isn't texture but flavor. If you do choose another variety, taste it first and make sure it bursts with pear-y goodness. If it passes your taste test, feel free to use it.

POST DATE ON YOUR BLOG: SUNDAY NOVEMBER 1st

make sure you add the link from your Pear Post to the below comments section on Sunday!

For rules and other information, see this post.

Bartlett Pear Liqueur aka Very Poor William

Time: Approximately 3 months

Yield: 1 Quart Pear Liqueur

• 1.5 lbs Bartlett Pears, peeled, sliced and tossed in 1T lemon juice to prevent browning
• .5 lbs sugar
• pinch of salt
• 3.5 C Vodka or Grain Neutral Spirits or Eau de Vie
• Peel of one organic orange or lemon, pith removed
• Optional: 1 inch ginger, fresh, peeled and sliced into disks
• Approximately  up to 1 T your choice of spices:
• • cinnamon stick
  • cardamom pod
  • clove
  • anise seed
  • nutmeg - in large pieces
  • allspice
  • coriander
  • black peppercorn
  • chili pepper
  • etc

Procedure:

In a sterile quart-sized mason jar or other large, non-reactive glass jar, place the sugar, pear pieces, peel and spices. Cover completely with alcohol. Seal with lid and leave on sunny windowsill for 1 month. 

Check flavor. Strain and filter mixture and return to mason jar. Add more pear, lemon juice, or sugar to balance flavor. The strained pears can be used in your favorite pear recipe now. Just store in the refrigerator.

Continue to steep on window sill for another 3 weeks. 

Repeat flavor test,  straining and filtering.

Pour into bottles. Store in a cool dark place for 30 more days. Will be ready in one month.

Use in cocktails or drink as a digestif.

White Wine and Bartlett Pear Confit (it's really jam, but 'confit' sounds so good)

Yield: approximately 6 cups

Because this recipe has no added pectin, it will take a considerable amount of cooking time to set. Feel free to add pectin if you want to shorten the cooking time and keep the color lighter or use less sugar. Follow manufacturer's instructions for pectin.

• 6 lbs (NET) Bartlett Pears, peeled, cored, and chopped finely then tossed with lemon juice 
• juice of 1 lemon, or 2T lemon juice
• 2.5 lb sugar
• 2-1/2 C white wine, un-oaked, or Champagne or sparkling white wine
• Pinch of Salt
• 2 apples, peeled and cut into small pieces. Reserve peel for pectin boost.
• OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS
• • 1/4 t citric acid, optional
  • and any or all of the following, for a 'spiced' jam
  • stick cinnamon
  • star anise
  • 1" fresh ginger
  • 2 T chopped candied ginger

Combine sugar, salt, optional spices and wine in large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add in pear pieces, apple pieces, and apple peels. Bring to a simmer or gentle boil and cook for approximately 1.5 hours or until volume is reduced by half and the fruit is translucent and jam flakes or sheets off a spoon, reaches 218 degrees, or almost passes the wrinkle test. Remember to remove spices and peel. For a firmer jam, bring temperature to 220 degrees before canning. The color will be a deep caramel if you do not use pectin. Boiling water process for 15 minutes.

Note: When I made this, I separated out some of the liquid and cooked it down rapidly in a separate sauce pan. This sped up cooking time by a few minutes.

For a lighter colored and less sweet jam, use pectin, reduce sugar, and follow manufacturer's directions.

Announcing the First Can-o-rama Challenge: Summer in a Bottle

Sometimes I slack. In the nearly two weeks since our Can-o-rama Cantacular, I've blog-slacked pretty hard. I've taken pictures, cooked like a banshee, thrown a dinner party or two but neglected to tell you about the first ever canning challenge, which is kind of a major oversight because the summer is rapidly declining and many of our preserving options are quickly fading into memory. And if we are going to make this a monthly thing, we need to get going now!

So before every single summer fruit is gone and we need to resort to pumpkin chutney (not this month...wait a few and it'll probably come up) here is the first ever challenge...and it is a wide open one:

Summer in a bottle (or a jar)

That's right. Summer in a bottle. For those of us who live in a four-radically-different-seasons climate, summer is a short lived phenomenon that brings, in rapid succession, a burst of color and fruit and (most years) warmth and, from time-to-time, stifling humidity. 

Some of you are lucky. You are heading into spring. And some of you live in places where it is warm year 'round. But here in Massachusetts the leaves are about to turn and summer fruits are about to give way to the apple, the storage apple, and then old storage apples until rhubarb and strawberry reappear next spring.

But before we let that happen, let's capture summer one last time. 

Your challenge, to be completed by POSTED ON YOUR BLOG on Saturday October 3nd - anytime, is to make one or both of the following:

Summer in a bottle jam

-or- (and?)

Summer in a bottle liqueur

What does summer in a bottle mean? It means something that captures the flavor and aroma of summer for storage until the colder months, when a quick visual, olfactory, and taste reminder of the past provides a quick burst of hopefulness.

There are a few guidelines for this jam/liqueur:

1. Use ANY fruit you like, as long as it is a summer fruit (no apples, pears, quinces, citrus etc)
2. Buy the fruit at a local farmers market, find it in an orchard, buy it at a farmstand, pick it in your yard.
3. The fruit must be from an area near your home, within 100 miles, preferably within 25 (bonus for anyplace even closer).
4. You may mix as many summer fruits as you like. Your jam/liqueur does NOT need to be a single fruit.
5. If you would like to add spices, herbs etc, make sure they are summer spices and herbs.
6. If you are making liqueur, you will not want to drink your results for a couple months. So it is important to get it going as quickly as possible. You'll still want to document your process and your reflections on flavor in your blog.
7. I have put together a quick reference page here - lots of books and links.

Posting on October 3rd:

If you have a blog, you may post ANYTIME on October 3rd. Please send me a link to your blog and I will add it to the challenge page and post your link in the comments section of this post. Eventually I'll get a links thing up and running so it will be easier for everyone. Give me a little while to get that going. I'm slow with tech stuff.

If you DON'T have a blog, don't worry. Send me a writeup AND a photo of your experience, and I'll post it on Cake and Commerce on October 3rd.

When you write up your post, use pictures, words, video, mime, whatever. You must wait until October 3rd to post - and then, if you feel like it, publicize it to everyone. It will take us a while to really get the challenge going, but the more who know about it, the better.

If, as you work on the challenge, you have questions or comments about recipes, ingredients, or process, post here. Anyone may answer questions. If the challenge merits a community, we'll make that happen. For now, I think it can be contained.

Notes about this month's recipe: this month is wide open. We aren't being creative or wacky or particularly earth-shattering in our choice as we are just trying to capture summer before it eludes our grasp. That being said, feel free to improvise on this recipes as much as you like. Make it yours!

The Summer in a Bottle Recipes:

Summer in a Bottle Jam - yields approximately 8 half-pint jars

Read this great guide from UGA before embarking on jam making. Lots of great advice on jar sterlization etc.

Special equipment: hot water canner; 8 half-pint jars, lids, and bands; wooden spoon; wide-mouthed funnel; ladle; tea towel

• 4.5 lbs summer fruit of your choice - feel free to mix fruits (approximately 10 cups or so)
• 2.2 lbs sugar (5 cups or so)
  
• 1.5 t citric acid OR 1/4 C lemon juice (citric acid does help preserve color)
  
• pinch of salt
• optional: 1 C fresh herbs, added 1 minute before end of cooking. For coarse leaves, like lemon verbena, simply soak leaves in jam for 1 minute, remove and with a rubber spatula, push jam stuck to leaves onto board and then back in canner. For herbs like mint, oregano or basil, simply chop and add just before removing from heat. Savory herbs should be used more sparingly - no more than .5 cup.
• pectin option: instead of using commercial pectin, use peels from 2 organic apples, add halfway through cooking; remove before canning. Not a necessary step.
  

Combine ingredients in heavy-bottomed pot. Mash fruits up. Allow to sit for 30 minutes or so. Bring to a boil, stirring to prevent sticking. As it thickens, stir frequently to prevent sticking. In about 40 minutes, jam will have thickened up considerably. Check temperature on candy thermometer for set (jam sets at 220 degrees F). You can also try the flake test (when it falls off the spoon, does it sheet off or are there many drops?) or the plate test (place drop on cold plate. Allow to sit for a minute. Push with finger. If wrinkled, it is done, if not, keep stirring) to check for doneness.

If you like a softer jam (as I do) don't heat it to 220. 218 will provide a fine, soft set.

When set, pour into clean jars, leaving 1/4" head space. Clean lip of jar and seal with sterile lid.

Process in hot water canner for 10 minutes. For full instructions on canning and processing, read this.

Optional: to make seedless, skinless jam, run through a foley mill or fine-mesh strainer just before set point. Return to boil and continue to cook until set. Process as usual.

Summer in a bottle Liqueur

• 3 C Vodka (or Grain Neutral Spirits, if legal where you live)
• 1.5 C summer fruit (if using peaches, skin them, cut them and seed them - leave skins on nectarines)
• 1 C sugar
• pinch salt
• 1 organic lemon peel, no pith
• juice of 1/2 lemon
  
• optional flavor: 1/2 t vanilla extract or 1/2 bean
• optional herbs: 1/4 C verbena, mint, basil, nepitella, etc
• optional spice: fresh chili pepper...mmmm.

Mash fruits and sugar and salt together and place in jar. Pour vodka over fruit/sugar mash. Stir in salt. Add herbs and flavor if using. Cover jar with lid or plastic wrap. Leave in cool, dark place for at least 4 weeks. Strain and allow to sit for another 2 weeks. Dilute with up to 1/2 C water, or to taste.

Use as a cordial, a mixer, or drink as is.

For more liqueur ideas, check out these sites:

http://www.guntheranderson.com/liqueurs/flavors.htm

http://www.liqueurweb.com/fruitrecipes.htm

http://www.homedistiller.org/liqueurs2.htm

Looking forward to seeing your results!