We Be Jammin'... Grapefruit Honey Jam

Grapefruit Honey Jam

Found on hitchhikingtoheaven

Makes about 3 pints 

3 pounds organic pink or red grapefruit 

3-1/2 cups wildflower honey 

juice of one lemon 

Wash the grapefruits, slice them in half, and place them in a large stock pot. Add enough water to cover the fruit by a couple of inches and then simmer, uncovered, until the grapefruit halves are very soft. This usually takes about an hour and a half. (I test them with a wooden skewer. They’re done when it’s easy to pierce them all the way through.) Add more hot water if needed during the simmering process. Drain the grapefruit halves and set them aside until you can handle them without burning your hands. Then place a cutting board (will keep you from making a huge mess) inside a roasting pan. Cut the grapefruit into chunks, removing the big seeds as you work. Don’t worry about any tiny seeds. Put the grapefruit chunks into a food processor and process until finely chopped. For this recipe, chop them quite fine not turn them into mush. Transfer the chopped grapefruit to your jam pot and add the honey and lemon juice. (Don’t scrimp on the quality of your honey. You will taste it, so it needs to be great.) I found it helpful to warm the honey first. Slowly bring the mixture to a gentle boil, then simmer and stir frequently until the jam thickens about 20 to 25 mins. Ladle or pour the jam into clean, hot jars, leaving 1/4″ headspace. Bubble your jars with a wooden chopstick or other tool of choice. Wipe rims, apply lids, and process 15 minutes in a hot-water bath, adjusting time for your altitude if necessary.

We Be Jammin'... Grapefruit Cranberry Marmalade

Grapefruit Cranberry Marmalade 

Found on Pinterest

4 large grapefruit (about 4 pounds) 

1.5 cups water 

2.5 cups cranberries 

3 cups sugar 

Make abt 5 - 1/2 pints 

Carefully remove the rind of each grapefruit with a vegetable peeler or pairing knife, being careful to avoid the white pith. Slice the rind into thin strips. Place in a large saucepan. 

Peel and section the grapefruit: Slice off a piece of both the top and bottom of each grapefruit until the fruit is visible. Place on a cutting board. Starting at the top and following the curve of the fruit, cut away the remaining pith until only the flesh and membrane are left. Holding the fruit on it’s side, slide a pairing knife between one section of fruit and the membrane that is holding it there, loosening it’s hold. Cut alongside the opposite side of the fruit to loosen it from the membrane on the opposite side. Continue all the way along the grapefruit. Place the grapefruit sections into the saucepan and discard the empty membrane. 

Add 1.5 cups water to the saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium. Lower the heat and simmer for 15 min, stirring occasionally. Stir in cranberries and simmer for another 10 min. Add sugar and simmer for 30 min until slightly thickened. Continuing to stir occasionally.

Remove from heat and fill jars to 1/4 inch headspace. Process in a water bath canner for 10 mins

We Be Jammin'... Salted Cranberry Grapefruit Jam

Salted Cranberry Grapefruit Jam 

Found on thehomesteadsurvival

INGREDIENTS 

1 lb cranberries

1 lb red grapefruit 

1 cup water 

1 cup dry white wine

2 heaping tsp coarse French grey sea salt (You can use canning salt) 

about 1 and 1/3 lbs (scant 3 cups) raw sugar (organic turbinado) 

METHODS 

Day 1. Scrub grapefruit rind and dry. Cut grapefruit into quarters, then cut each quarter in half lengthwise. Remove seeds and center pith, then slice each section thinly, crosswise, into little triangles. Combine grapefruit, cranberries, water, wine & salt in a large, wide Dutch oven or preserving pot. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Cover and refrigerate overnight. 

Day 2. Prepare canner, jars and lids. Add sugar to cranberry mixture and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Taste and adjust salt or sugar as needed. Raise heat to high and boil, stirring only as necessary to prevent sticking, until jam reaches the set point (about 10 minutes in my widest Le Creuset). Use the freezer test here, as my jam reached the set point at 216 degrees F. Remove from heat, taste one last time for adjustments, then fill hot jars to 1/4-inch headspace. Wipe rims, affix lids and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. 

Yields approximately 6 and 1/2 cups.

Canning Oranges... and other Citrus

The Christmas season, to me, always includes oranges... the bright, citrus aroma is just one of the smells that says Christmas to me...

There's just the two of us in this household now, but I can't help myself, I MUST have oranges in the house around Christmas... when the kids were home I didn't have one bit of trouble going through a bag of oranges, tangerines, or clementines... but now with just Mr. Granny and myself, it takes a little longer... but I still buy them...

And there they sat, in that fruit bowl, starting to dry out a little around the edges... something had to be done... can't waste all that citrusy goodness... so I decided to can them...

Here's what I did...

First, I peeled them, and segmented them (I had a couple lemons in that bowl too, so I added them to the mix)

The most labor intensive part of citrus is removing all the pithy white part... it's tasteless, tough, and unnecessary... so I carefully removed as much of the white part as I possibly could. And it's pretty important to remove any seeds unless you don't mind coming across a seed or two when you're eating them later.

For oranges, which are quite sweet on their own, a syrup is not entirely necessary, but I did have those few lemons, so I chose to mix up an ultra light syrup (1/2 cup sugar to 5 cups water)... orange juice could be used for the liquid, or just plain old water.

I brought the sugar/water mixture to a boil, ensuring all the sugar was dissolved.

After boiling my jars to sterilize them, I put my orange segments into the jars, fairly loosely packed and leaving a good half inch headspace.

I ladled the hot syrup into the jars.

Then ran a butter knife between the inside of the jar and the fruit to remove any air bubbles... then added more syrup to the jar if necessary.

I wiped the rims of the jars with a damp cloth...

And, using my handy dandy magnetic wand, removed the lids from the simmering water I had placed them in earlier...

...and tightened them onto the pint canning jars to a fingertip tightness.

I processed the jars of oranges in a boiling water bath (place the jars in a canner or large pot, ensuring they are completely covered with water, then bring to a boil and start timing) for ten minutes.

After processing, I removed the hot jars using my jar lifter and set them on a folded dish towel on the counter to cool, and to listen for the PING of each successfully sealed jar. (LOVE that sound!)

I enjoyed canning the few oranges I had left over from Christmas so much, the next day I made a trip to the grocery store and bought another big bag of oranges, a bag of clementines, and a huge bag of grapefruit to put up some more!

While I was preparing the grapefruit for canning, I decided to use the peel for a couple things... like dehydrating some for using later in recipes... once these are dry, I'll give them a whirl in the blender and store them in a jar for use in cakes, cookies, and even some pork or chicken dishes.

I put some of the grapefruit peels into a pint jar and filled it up with vodka to make grapefruit extract... I've done lemon, orange, peppermint, and vanilla extract before... why not grapefruit!?

Side story... I am a good Baptist girl from the South... we don't drink! And we sure don't speak to each other in the liquor store (LOL!)... Mr. Granny, however, is a good Episcopalian (aka "Whiskypalian)... and he has no problem with speaking to folks in the liquor store (it's a running joke between the two of us, just a bit of fun, folks, don't get your panties in a wad!)...

One day a few months ago we were on the side of town where we seldom go, at Northern Tools picking up some things... there's a discount beverage store on that side of town... as we left Northern Tools, I asked Mr. Granny, "Do you mind if we stop at the liquor store while we're over here?" I thought the man was gonna fall out of the car he was so surprised! "Well, SURE!" says he. I laughed till tears ran down my face at his reaction... I needed vodka for making extract... really I did... really...

Aren't these jars of canned grapefruit so pretty? When I canned them, I used a light syrup instead of ultra light... 2-1/4 cups sugar to 5-1/4 cups water... same process otherwise as the oranges.

We Be Jammin'... Marmalade de Pamplemousse Rouge

Marmalade de Pamplemousse Rouge

Found on put-a-lid-on-it.blogspot.com

6 Florida Ruby Red grapefruit 

1/2 cup honey 

1/2 tsp vanilla extract 

4 cups sugar 

1-1/2 boxes fruit pectin

Pour boiling water over grapefruit and scrub with a vegetable brush to remove any remaining wax. Slice fruit in half and juice into bowl. Pour juice through a strainer into a medium cooking pot and press juices from pulp into pot. This should yield roughly six cups of juice. 

Begin heating juice on medium low. While juice is heating, cut peels in half and remove all traces of membrane with the back of a spoon. Cut in half lengthwise and again width wise, and julienne finely until you have about two cups. Add peels to juice and bring to boil on medium high, skimming acidic foam periodically with a ladle. 

Cook until peels are translucent and tender, about 30 minutes. 

Add honey, vanilla and sugar and return to boil. 

Cook until sugar is fully dissolved. 

Add 1 box of pectin slowly while boiling. 

Check for set and slowly add additional pectin as needed and until marmalade is set. 

Let rest for a few minutes, then ladle into hot jars and process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath.

We Be Jammin'... Cranberry Jams Galore!

Cranberry Jam

Found on pinterest

Makes 2 half pints
1¼ pounds (5 cups) frozen or fresh Cranberries 

1 cup sugar finely grated zest and juice of 

1 lemon 

1 small apple, peeled and cored

Rinse the berries, if necessary, then drain well and put them in a nonreactive bowl with the sugar and lemon juice. Leave overnight, turning once or twice.

Coarsely grate the apple and add with the lemon zest to a pot. Strain in all the juice from the berries and add 2 heaping spoonfuls of berries (about 1/4 to 1/2 cup), leaving the rest of the berries in the bowl. Add 1/2 cup of water and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the apple is very soft and the entire mixture has thickened. Add the rest of the berries and heat through for 5 to 8 minutes. Pour into jars to 1/4 inch headspae, wipe rims, and assemble lids.

Process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes.

Cranberry Pear Jam – Traditional Recipe

Adapted from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving

Make 6-7 half pints 

Ingredients 

3 cups pears – cored, finely chopped and crushed (I kept the peels on – your choice) 

2/3 cup dried cranberries, coarsely chopped 

1/4 cup pomegranate juice or unsweetened apple juice or cider 

1/4 cup bottled lemon juice 

1 teaspoon cinnamon, organic preferred 

2 tablespoons powdered pectin 

1/2 teaspoon butter, to reduce foaming 

5 cups granulated sugar 

Directions In a large, non-reactive pot (I use a heavy bottom stainless steel pot), combine pears, dried cranberries, pomegranate or apple juice, lemon juice, cinnamon, butter and powdered pectin. Bring mixture to full rolling boil on high heat, stirring constantly. Quickly stir in all sugar. Return to full rolling roil and boil exactly one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and skim off foam, if desired.

Ladle into prepared jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with two piece lids. Screw bands until snug. Process for 10 minutes in a water bath canner. Turn off heat, remove canner lid, let sit five minutes. Remove from canner and place on kitchen towel on counter top. After jars are cool, check seals. Refrigerate any jars that did not seal and use them first.

Cranberry Pear Lemon Jam

Submitted by Dawn R Crone-Rasmussen

Makes 8 - 4 oz jars.

4 large Bartlett Pears, peeled cored and diced (4 cups) 

3 cups coarsely chopped fresh or frozen cranberries 

½ cup water 

2 t. grated lemon rind 

2 T. bottled lemon juice 

1 ¼ cups sugar 

Combine pears, cranberries, water, and lemon rind in a large stainless steel pot. Bring to a boil over high heat, cover, reduce heat and cook for 5 minutes stirring frequently. Gradually add lemon juice and sugar, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Boil rapidly, uncovered, until mixture will form a gel, about 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Ladle into hot jars, leaving ¼ headspace and process for 10 minutes at a full boil.

Cranberry Persimmon Jam

Adapted from recipe found on myvegetariankitchen

1 grapefruit, juice squeezed 

1/4 cup water 

1/2 cup sugar 

18 oz fresh cranberries 

6 ripe persimmons, peeled and cut into chunks 

Squeeze the juice from the grapefruit into a medium sized pan. Add the water and sugar to the pan, and set it to simmer until the sugar is dissolved – this is an important step to ensure the pectin in the cranberries is activated to create the jam. Add the cranberries and persimmons to the mix – simmer until the cranberries have popped open and the persimmons have cooked up well. Run mix through a food mill to strain. Add mixture into the jars to 1/4 inch headspace, wipe rims, and assemble lids.

Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Cranberry Potpourri Jam

Found on Pinterest

Makes 6 half pints 

2 cups frozen or fresh cranberries 

1 pound of sugar, divided 

1/4 cup orange zest, from 4 to 6 large oranges 

3 tablespoons lemon juice from about 2 lemons 

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice 

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 

1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper 

1/4 teaspoon table salt (or 1/2 teaspoon kosher alt) 

1/4 cup brown sugar 

1/2 teaspoon butter 

Defrost the cranberries, if using frozen. Wash and dry the cranberries, then place them in a bowl. Mash them slightly with a potato masher, then sprinkle them with 1/4 cup of sugar. Cover and let sit for 30 minutes. While the cranberries are sitting, place a small plate in the freezer so you can test the jam for proper thickness later.

Add the cranberries, orange zest, lemon juice, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, cayenne, and salt to a food processor and pulse a few times until the cranberries are chunky but not completely liquefied. Pour the fruit into a large, deep, heavy-bottomed pot. Add brown sugar and butter, stirring well to combine. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the fruit begins to bubble and spit. Skim off any foam that forms. Cook for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently to keep the fruit from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Begin testing the jam for doneness. Spread 1/2 teaspoon of cooked fruit on the cold plate and place it back in the freezer. Wait 30 seconds, then run your finger through the fruit. It should be thick enough to maintain a path when you run your finger through it. If you’d like thicker jam, place the plate back in the freezer and cook the fruit for another 3 minutes and test again. Repeat until desired thickness is achieved, but be careful about cooking too long or you will alter the taste of your jam. Remove pot from heat and use a spoon to skim any foam from the surface of the fruit. Ladle jam into sterilized jars, leaving 1/2-inch of headroom, and process them in a hot water bath for 10 minutes. Unopened jars will keep at room temperature for up to 6 months. Opened jam should be refrigerated.

Cranberry Walnut Jam

Found on kraftrecipes

Makes 7 half pints

2-2/3 cups prepared fruit (1 bag (12 oz.) cranberries, about 3 cups) 

1-1/2 cups water 

2/3 cup chopped Walnuts 

6-1/2 cups sugar 

1/2 tsp. butter or margarine (optional) 

1 pouch CERTO Fruit Pectin

PLACE cranberries and water in large saucepan. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 10 minutes. Pour mixture into 6- or 8-quart saucepot. Stir in walnuts.

STIR sugar into prepared fruit in saucepot. Add butter to reduce foaming, if desired. Bring mixture to full rolling boil (a boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly.

STIR in pectin quickly. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with metal spoon.

LADLE quickly into prepared jars, filling to within 1/4 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and assemble lids.

Process 10 minutes in a boiling water bath canner.

We Be Jammin'... Cranberry Citrus Marmalade

Cranberry Citrus Marmalade

Found on Food

YIELDS 4 pints

INGREDIENTS 

* 1 grapefruit 

* 1 orange 

* 2 1⁄2 cups water 

* 3 cups fresh cranberries (or frozen)

* 1 3⁄4 ounces powdered fruit pectin 

* 6 1⁄2 cups sugar

DIRECTIONS

* Remove peel from grapefruit and orange. Scrape away white membrane from peel. Cut peel into thin strips.

* In large kettle, combine peel and water. Cover kettle and cook over low heat until peel is tender; about 20 minutes.

* Section fruit and chop. Add to kettle along with cranberries; simmer 10 minutes, stirring constantly.

* Stir in pectin. Bring to a boil; stir in sugar. Bring to full rolling boil and boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly.

* Remove from heat and skim foam. Let stand 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

* Ladle into hot sterilized pint jars. Seal with lids and rings and process in water bath 10 minutes. Remove from water and cool on wire rack. Lids should "ping" as they cool.

We Be Jammin'... Pom-Pom Jam

Pom-Pom Jam

Found on coconutandlime

Makes 7 - 1/2 pints 

Ingredients: 

7 cups supremed* pomelo segments (from about 4 pomelos) 

4-1/2 cups sugar 

1-1/2 cup pomegranate arils (from 1 pomegranate) 

1/2 box liquid pectin (3 oz., one of the little packets in the box) 

Directions:

Prep jars/lids for canning. Add the pomelo segments and zest into a large, heavy bottomed pan. Add the sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring carefully to avoid splashing, break up the segments, occasionally. Boil until it begins to reduce and thicken. Stir in the pectin and pomegranate. Continue cooking at a low (rolling) boil for 5-10 minutes or until it looks thick and jammy. Fill the jars leaving 1/4 inch headroom. Process in the hot water bath for 10 minutes.

*Supreming is a technique that removes the membrane from citrus fruit so it can be served in slices. To supreme an orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit, or other citrus fruit, begin by trimming off the very top and bottom of the fruit with a sharp knife. Next, set the fruit on end, and carefully cut the skin from its flesh, beginning at the top and following the curves down. Then, carefully cut out each section of the fruit by inserting the blade of the knife between the flesh and the membrane on both sides. The wedges should come out easily, leaving only the membrane intact.