Mes Confitures Green Unripe Apple Jelly for Pectin

14 years ago

Ciao all-

I got this book because I was excited about the author's unique combinations of ingredients and her use of ingredients I'd never seen in any preserving book.

That being said, her "technique", even for an experienced North American preserver, leaves a lot of important things out. She doesn't mention yield at all or the size of her jars. She says nothing of processing time, but instead advocates inverting jars which will weaken the seals, at least the 2-piece Ball/Bernardin closures we use.

This is what I did: I juiced 10 lbs of unripe Spy apples to make 3 batches of pectin. I let the juice sit overnight and decanted what I needed for each recipe. I let the jelly come to 221F on a candy thermometer which took considerably longer than her '5-10 minutes'. Once the jelly was at this temperature, the set took yet longer to achieve and was a weak set, not the firm set I'm used to, even with unripe apples containing a lot of pectin. Three batches of pectin were made on the same morning. The third batch foamed the least. I did not stir the juice that I measured out for each batch so the last batch contained the most solids. I processed the jelly for 10 minutes in a water bath because I was not convinced not processing would be appropriate or safe. The jelly had a tendency to clump before all jars were filled.

For those of you with lots of experience using this book and this method, what did I do wrong and what did I do right? I want to get the kinks out before I attempt to use this green apple pectin in one of her recipes with pears.

Thanks!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (3)

readinglady
14 years ago
First I want to say for a more "conventional" book with preserves in a similar vein, I'd recommend Gourmet Preserves Chez Madelaine.

I'm assuming when you juiced the apples, you cooked them as per Ferber's instructions.

Based on what you're saying I don't think you did anything wrong. The fact that the jelly was clumping as you poured it indicates it was setting even before it went into the jar. But to be fully set a jelly, even an apple jelly, can take as long as six weeks on the shelf.

I think traditional preserving requires a certain tolerance for insecurity and unpredictability. The ripeness of the fruit, the character of the fruit, will affect the final result, regardless of the preserver's skill or the caliber of the book.

You can "strengthen" the apple jelly by boiling peels, cores and seeds in a bag with the juice or by double-cooking the pulp to extract every bit of natural pectin.

A 6-7 pound batch of fruit and sugar will yield generally 5-7 8-oz. (250mL) jars. Ferber's recipes are small-batch and all the ones I've tried fall within that range. Working with natural pectin, it's not recommended to go beyond a batch of that size, though sometimes you can stretch it. However, you risk overcooking.

Ferber follows European practice for preservation, which means no heat processing. It's not "unsafe" per se, but it does tend to reduce the shelf life and increase the risk of mold. So yes, 5 minutes with sterilized jars or 10 minutes BWB with hot clean ones is a good idea.

Carol
sorellina
Original Author
14 years ago
Ciao Carol-

Oh thank you so much for your quick response! Yes, I prepared the juice per Ferber's instructions. It's good to know that the strength of the set can increase. I also didn't know about putting extra peels and cores into a cheesecloth bag to increase the amount of pectin, but that totally makes sense. I wasn't sure if Spy apples were a good variety to use, but it's what the orchard had at the time and I didn't want to wait past September as I would probably have a real hard time finding unripe apples. Our orchards only start selling apples in September. It would be ideal to have your own tree for this. I did know not to scale the batch sizes so I made 3 separate batches to get the number of jars I wanted. Thank you also for the yield information.

I think it's just a matter of nerves since this technique is so foreign from anything I've used for making preserves up til now. I guess I just need to take the plunge and chalk my results up to trial and error. I'll post back here when I decide on which pear recipe to try.
Related Discussions
Mes Confitures -- will it change my life.
Q
Comments (28)
Regarding the Ferber conserve with pears and walnuts - she specifies fresh walnuts, which are almost impossible to find unless you have a tree. Those are somewhat easier to peel, but regardless, peeling walnuts is just a royal pain. The skin on walnuts has the tannin and unless neutralized by roasting or by skinning, it would make a preserve bitter. To peel walnuts you first blanch. To blanch you can place walnuts in a bowl and cover with boiling water or drop into a pot of boiling water for two minutes. Shock in cold water or just lay out on toweling. Then pull off peel. For bits in the crevices I keep a needle-nosed tweezers specifically for kitchen use. If you don't get every bit, that's OK. The peeled walnuts then need to dry (or be dried in the oven on low temp). Another option would be to toast the walnuts then rub in a tea towel until the majority of peel separates. Pick out the nuts, place in a fine mesh sieve and sift out remaining bits of peel. Some bits of peel will remain but will do no harm. Although Ferber specifies fresh walnuts, for long-term storage of BWB preserves toasted nuts perform better. You don't have as many issues with softening or rancidity and you have a lovely contrast of texture and flavor in your conserve. Carol
...See More
Apple Mint Jelly Didn't Set... Why?
Q
Comments (10)
" I’ve waited over a month for it to set" Not saying this is always true but many jelly recipes specify 6 weeks as normal required setting time. So waiting a month isn't necessarily out of line. But as floral said, it all depends on the recipe and methods used. When it comes to using commercial 'extracts' (and their additives not found in home made extracts) my wife tells me it all depends on when it is added and the mix temp at the time of adding it. Dave
...See More
Directions in Mes Confitures?
Q
Comments (15)
Some time ago I started a thread about Cane Sugar v. Beet Sugar, and wondered if that was the reason Americans use pectin in their jams. The discussion yielded no definitive answers, but it leaves me wondering if perhaps cane sugar (which is what all sugar is in Australia) may have better preservative properties than beet sugar. All I know is that nobody I've ever known has water-bathed jams etc, and I've never heard of jams going mouldy. I may have something to do with the fact that when we fill the jars, we fill right to the brim, leaving no headspace whatsoever. As the jam cools down, the lid is pulled down as the vacuum forms, so there isn't any air left in which bacteria or mould can form. Or something. As for pectin, it's the 'setting agent'. I have never found it necessary, because the sugar forms a syrup as it cooks, and that sets the fruit very well. Or so I've found. A little lemon juice (which contains pectin) is all that's needed for a stubborn jam. It doesn't alter the flavour of the other fruit. I should add that bottled fruit and veg in syrup or water that haven't been cooked to boiling point should be water-bathed. We in Australia call this 'bottling' or 'preserving', and it's a lot different from jam-making or pickle-making because the contents aren't cooked. The water-bathing seals the bottles by creating a vacuum inside which without heat wouldn't form.
...See More
Joy of Jams Green Pepper Lime Jelly
Q
Comments (14)
I *still* don't get how I made the pectin *3 times*, 3.5C of water and 2 limes to a pan (did the first 2 pans simultaneously, thinking I was going to do 2 separate batches), and each time I got roughly 1.5C instead of 2C (before putting through jelly bag!) that the recipe says it should make? As Carol said there are all sorts of possible reasons. Too much heat (simmering is the very lowest possible amount of heat), or limes that were too small or too dry or insufficiently squeezed, not enough simmering time or more likely way too much simmering time, not near enough time draining in the jelly bag, etc. etc. That, not nearly enough time in the jelly bag, is the most likely cause IMO. 12-24 hours or even longer is common and even squeezing out the jelly bag is needed. Yours couldn't have drained very long at all if made in one day. Recipes aren't perfect. There is no way they can anticipate all the variables that the cook throws into the mix that will affect them. And it is all those human variables that is yet another reason for making 1 batch at a time and taking plenty of time to do it. And as a general guideline, it also works best when it is the recipe that controls the project. Rather than a food that "needs to be used", food that is less than desirable in quality (like scorched limes), or a cook in a hurry. Having all the best quality ingredients needed BEFORE starting the recipe and having the time to make it is necessary for best results. Otherwise, a poor end product is often the result. We learn best from our mistakes - especially if we keep good notes. ;) Dave
...See More
readinglady
14 years ago
I'm glad to help. Pears are low-acid and low-pectin, so you'll be working with one of the more challenging fruits. (What old-timers called "unreliable setters.) Pear preserves can be luscious but often the set is looser (i.e. "drippy), which is fine with me since flavor is the prime consideration.

Carol

Mes Confitures Green Unripe Apple Jelly for Pectin

Comments (3)

readinglady

sorellina
Original Author

Related Discussions

readinglady

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Mes Confitures Green Unripe Apple Jelly for Pectin

Comments (3)

readinglady

sorellinaOriginal Author

Related Discussions

readinglady

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

sorellina
Original Author