Apricot Juice and Spiced Apricot Jam

Well the apricots are ready.  We have two apricot trees that are quite different.   I was told that the apricot trees here in Lillooet all got their start from apricot pits brought over by the Chinese labourers that worked on the railroad years ago.  Apricot trees start very easily. 

Our tree in the back has very juicy fruit - so juicy that as the fruit ripens they they start to hang like little sacks of juice.  You don't want to brush against those when you are picking apricots or you'll be covered in sticky juice.  These apricots are great to eat right off the tree or to make into juice.  The fruit on the tree in the front never get that soft.  They are not as sweet to eat right from the tree but they freeze well and are good in desserts and jam.

This year, many of the apricots from the back tree had splits in the skin so were not usable as the ants were drawn to the sweetness.  We think it may have been the weather with the rainy cool spring and then very hot temperatures.  We think the skins might have toughened up and then split as the fruit got larger - but this is just speculation on our parts.

This is how I make juice and jam.  I picked two large buckets of fruit.  I wash, sorted and pitted the apricots.

I then ran the apricots through my juicer.  I have a Breville Juice Fountain Elite.  The juice goes into the jug on the right side and the pulp is collected in the container on the left.

I then bring the juice to a boil.  Skim off any foam so the juice is clearer.

Pour the juice into sterilized jars and process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.  I got 4 quarts of apricot nectar.  I don't strain out the pulp so the juice is very thick and oh so tasty.

Then I used the leftover pulp for Spiced Apricot Jam.  You could use regular apricots for the jam but would just have to cook it longer.

Ingredients
8 c apricot pulp
4 c sugar
1/3 c lemon juice
1 qt homemade pectin
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp cloves

Pour the pulp and the rest of the ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil, stirring frequently so the jam won't burn.  The smell of apricots and spices is wonderful as the jam cooks.

I bought a candy thermometer this year and am using it instead of the cold saucer to test the jam.  You are to cook the jam until it reaches 220°F or 100°C.  Since the pulp was so thick it had a tendency to spatter and spit so I had to put it into a taller pot. 

When it reaches the jam stage, pour into sterilized jars and process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.  I got 6 pints of jam. 

Pear Juice and Pear Butter

We had a huge crop of pears this year so I decided to try some Pear Butter.  When you make fruit butter you need to cook the fruit for a long time to reduce the juice so the fruit is thick and spreadable.  I decided to make juice first and then use the pulp for the butter. 

I started with a couple of recipes and made my own.  Here are a couple of the links that started me off:  http://bad-girls-kitchen.blogspot.com/2008/09/pear-butter.html   http://frugalliving.about.com/od/recipes/r/Pear_Butter.htm   http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/pear-butter/detail.aspx

Ingredients
2 ½ quarts pear pulp (from juicer – cored not peeled)

½ c orange juice

2 c sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp cloves

Pick pears that are mostly ripe.  I had two sinkfuls of pears to use.

Wash and core.  Remove blemishes or bad spots there is but no need to peel. 

I do not need to core the pears to juice them but since I was going to use the pulp I did core them.  Juice the pears and pour into a large pot.  Heat to boiling point then simmer 5 to 10 minutes. 

Fill sterilized jars and process for 10 minutes in hot water bath. 

I ended up with 7 quarts of juice.  It is quite thick - more like a nectar instead of juice but it is quite tasty. 

Now onto the butter.  I placed the pear pulp into the crock pot along with 2 cups of left over pear juice.  I decided to add the juice because the pulp was fairly dry.   

 I cooked the pears on low for about five hours with the lid on, stirring occasionally.  Some fruit butter recipes have you keep the lid ajar so moisture escapes but it wasn't needed in my case.

I then ran the pears through my sieve to remove the peels.  In one of the links, they used an immersion blender to blend the pulp and peels.  I do not have one so did it my way.  I also found the peels were still tough - if you don't juice the pears first you need to cook much longer to reduce the liquid so the peels will have more time to soften. 

Since I did it this way, I probably did not have to core the pears first.  Oh well, one step less for next time.  There was not much waste left for the compost pile. 

I then measured the pulp so I would know how much sugar, etc. to add.  I had around 10 cups of pulp. 

The pulp was returned to the crock pot and orange juice was added. 

Sugar and spices were also added.  I used cinnamon and cloves because my mom used to can pears with cloves when I was young and I liked the taste.  You can use ginger or nutmeg instead if you prefer. 

Stir together and cook on low for 3 to 4 hours for the flavours to blend. 

Stir occasionally until smooth and heated through. 

Fill sterilized jars and process for 10 minutes in a hot water bath. 

I got 6 1/2 pints of pear butter. 

Prune Plums

We have had an over-abundance of prune plums this year. 

I dehydrated many into prunes.

Others I made into juice using my handy-dandy Breville Juicer.

Plum juice is often very sweet so we usually mix it with apple juice.

The leftover pulp from most fruit can be made into jam, or sauce or desserts.  The pulp from apples is usually full of seeds and core bits so I use it for compost or to feed the chickens.

The pulp can also be frozen in small containers to use at a later date.

Here is the start of a Plum Crisp using the plum pulp. I greased a 9x9 pan and filled the pan half full of pulp mixed with about 1/2 cup sugar (depends how ripe your plums are) and a dash of cinnamon.

For the topping - mix 1/2 cup butter with 1/2 cup sugar or brown sugar, add 3/4 cup each of flour and rolled oats and mix until crumbly.  Sprinkle on top of the plums and bake for an hour at 350 or until bubbly around the edges.

Enjoy warm with ice cream.

Grape Juice

I have been canning grape juice this week and will show you a few tips to make the job easier.

After picking the ripe grapes - wash them, remove the stems and sort out the unripe or shrivelled grapes.

Most recipes suggest you use a potato masher to release the juice.  Your food processor is much easier.  It allows you to process larger quantities at once.

The processor chops up the skins and pulp but leaves the seeds intact.

Now pour the juice into a large stockpot.  Heat the grapes to boiling and simmer on medium heat for 10 minutes.

Pour cooked grapes into a juice bag.  I made mine from unbleached cotton - I found cheesecloth too thin.  I use a colander over a large pail to catch the juice. 

I cover it and leave it settle overnight in a cool place such as the fridge or a cool porch or coldroom.  The next day pour the juice slowly into a stockpot.  Discard any sediment at the bottom of the pail.  At this point, you can use some of the juice to make grape jelly.

Heat the juice to boiling point and pour into sterilized sealers.  Process in hot water bath for 10 minutes.

From 2 containers of grapes, I got 10 quarts of grape juice to enjoy all winter.

You can either compost the remains in the juice bag or feed them to your chickens.  :)