Jam Making brings Questions
CA Kate z9
5 years ago
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plllog
5 years agoannie1992
5 years agoRelated Discussions
general jam making questions..somewhat rambling..:)
Comments (21)The latest info on the calcium, when mixed with water is that if it darkens or turns an off color, toss it. Why would you want to mix the WHOLE PACKET of calcium powder with water in the first place?? They give you EXTRA calcium in that packet anyway. If you are only using PART of a package of the Pomona pectin, like 1/4 or 1/2 or 3/4, measure out the whole packet of calcium powder too, which is a tiny amount, and then measure only the 1/4 or 1/2 or 3/4 amount of it. PUT THE UNUSED PORTION OF THE REST OF the CALCIUM POWDER BACK INTO THAT SMALL PACKET, fold it over and tape it shut! Then mix that measured amount you juts got, with some water (any amount of water up to 1/4 cup!). I think your 'over analyzing' showing way too much concern about a 'small additive' that is used to trigger the setting up of the Pomona pectin (citrus based). I have not tried it yet, but I bet if you mixed a little BAKING SODA or CALCIUM CHLORIDE (Pickle Crisp) into water, it would ALSO make the Pomona pectin set up just exactly the same!! Because you seem to indicate that your making small batches of jellies, you may want stick with the low/no sugar pectins from SureJel or Ball, etc., ss they only make about 5 cups at a time. If you find the Pomona too difficult or confusing to deal with. These other pectins do not need calcium, BUT must be exact when measuring the total liquid for the batch. NO THERMOMETER NEEDED FOR ANY OF THESE!! Here is a example of a (no recipe!!) the I used to make my apricot preserves. I simply cut up and removed the stones of about 35 apricots, added a little mango nectar juice, and a small package of cut up dried California apricots and acup of water. Used a WHOLE BOX of Pomona, but mixed it with some water and the rest of the mango juice in a blender until it was dissolved. Added plenty of asorbic acid, and Splenda to the now boiling apricots, as well as my favorite 'acid blend' to boost the 'character' and flavor of the 'cots. TASTED until I felt it was sweet enough with the SPLENDA. Then, while boiling, I poured in the dissolved Pomona. Stir well while bringing back to a boil again. Then, I added the WHOLE packet of calcium that was now mixed with a little water (still a 1/4 cup). Stirring while adding it. The spoon now showed a coating and soft globs forming when I lifted it out. Got my jars ready and filled 13 pints. Then BWB processed. End result, perfection!! NO recipe, no worrying, no failure, no probelms, and no setting up failures!! simple... Pomona is good stuff!! It is virtually foolproof!! Best of luck!...See MoreQuestion on Hot N Sweet jam
Comments (4)So, I made the above jelly with the following changes to the recipe: Used 1 1/2 cup dried chopped apricots, 1 1/2 cup dried chopped peaches, 1 1/2 cup dried chopped cherries. I also doubled the vinegar and added a little more sugar (mainly cause the fatalli pepper, even though I deseeded half of them, were SOOOOOOO hot). I kept the onion, bell pepper, and hot pepper the same as the original. I also ended up NOT adding pectin since I was going for a glaze consistency, I found the sugar alone was fine. Now, this mix tasted excellent and we used it on chicken thighs as a glaze. It was sweet and fruity and hot all at the same time and the chicken looked beautiful with the chunks of dried fruits and the shiny sugar glaze. However, it was very very chunky since I added all that extra dried fruit. My question this time is can I use commercial fruit juice preps that are not 100% fruit to increase the fruity flavor but not add more chunks of dried fruit to the mix? I think I want to back down the amount of dried fruit (I want more glaze than fruit) but I want to maintain the very fruity flavor I got from the extra fruit. I have black cherry extract (100% cherry) and then I have apricot and peach nectar that are only 45% fruit and have some water and sugar added. I want to mix these, possibly cook down to eliminate volume, add some dried fruit for looks (but not near as much as before), then make the rest of the recipe as written originally? Any problems here? Any suggestions?? thanks Kendra...See Morejam making question
Comments (8)I also rotate the jars if it appears the fruit is going to float. I've occasionally run it all through the food processor but I like the chunks of fruit in it, so don't usually use that method. I also find that some fruits seem to have more of a tendency to float than others, notably strawberries and peaches for some reason. I often make jams from those fruits and leave them sit in the pan for 5 or 10 minutes, then ladle them into the jars, add the lids and water bath for 10 minutes, it seems to help keep the fruit more evenly distributed if I'm not paying enough attention to agitate the jars. gpc, when you rotate the jars, just be sure not to shake them enough to disturb the seal, I've dropped a hot jar and popped the seal. So don't give them a good hard shake, just rotate the jar around when it starts to cool a bit and your jam starts to thicken, and then it will help to keep the fruit suspended in the syrup. Good luck, and happy canning. Annie Annie...See MoreMaking Chia Seed Strawberry Jam Less Seedy
Comments (7)Chia has different applications whether it's wet, dry or milled into flour. It's a little like (emphasis on little) the difference between vanilla pudding and tapioca pudding when you leave chia seeds whole. Soaked chia seeds makes for easier digestion; and once soaked are more than 90% moisture and soak up seven times their weight in moisture. I use a 1:9 ratio (or 1/4 c. chia seeds to 2-1/2 c. water), or any thickness you like, and store in the refrigerator and add it to baked goods, kefir/yogurt, as an extender in peanut butter or mayonnaise, add to pudding and cooked cereal, even added to butter where it will reduce the calories by 45% per total volume. Chia gel is a very good egg substitute -- for one whole egg use 2 T. of chia gel. Once chia seeds are added to a liquid you will see the viscous fibers on the outside (looks like a layer of gelatin around the seed). Always add the dry seeds to water, not pour water on the seeds (or they will clump together), and mix quickly with a small whisk. Let stand 5-minutes and whisk again. This is also called "prepared chia gel". It's best to let it sit for 15-minutes before using the gel to allow the seeds to fully hydrate. Another benefit of soaked chia seeds, they have a very high ORAC score. ORAC stands for oxygen radical absorbency capacity, or the antioxidant value of a food. The higher this score, the more free radical fighting power the food involved posses. They are higher on the ORAC score chart than unsweetened cocoa powder and Acai berry. Chia seeds can also be sprouted and grown as micro greens. Added to beverages to aid in staying hydrated longer. Sources for this information: "The Magic of Chia" by James F. Scheer "Chia Seed Remedies" by MySeeds Chia Test Kitchen -Grainlady...See Morebragu_DSM 5
5 years agoritaweeda
5 years agoannie1992
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5 years agoCA Kate z9
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5 years agoannie1992
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5 years agoCA Kate z9
5 years agoannie1992
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5 years agoCA Kate z9
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5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoCA Kate z9
5 years agoannie1992
5 years agoCA Kate z9
5 years agoannie1992
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agol pinkmountain
5 years agoCA Kate z9
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5 years agoannie1992
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