Martha & Mary Cook Book Club - June 2010 Meeting

LBC's Cook Book Club met on Tuesday June 15, 2010 to make jelly. Our facilitator, Chris Yates, demonstrated several techniques for jelly making, a simple syrup and discussed the differences between jellies, jams and preserves.

Simple Syrup Recipe:

1 part water, 1 part sugar, pureed fruit juice of choice.

Raspberry Simple Syrup:

1 cup water, 1 cup sugar and the fruit juice of 1/2 pint of pureed, double strained raspberries.
Bring sugar and water mixture to a boil until dissolved (at least one minute). Stir constantly and do not let sugar burn. Remove from burner and add fruit juice.

Peach Melba Summer Cooler:

2 ltr Ginger Ale chilled
1 can peach nectar (Kern's was the brand we used) chilled
2 tbsp Raspberry simple syrup (you may add more to your taste preference)

Makes a perfect summer drink for you and your guests!

Jelly recipes prepared were:

Pineapple Pepper Jelly Recipe

2 Hungarian chilies
1 jalapeno
1 medium red pepper
1/2 pineapple - pureed juice
3/4 cup white vinegar
3/4 cup apple cider
5 cups sugar

Follow the liquid Certo recipe to cook this jelly.

BlackRazz Jelly Recipe

3 cups raspberry/blackberry juice (pureed and double strained)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
5 cups sugar

Follow liquid Certo recipe to cook this jelly.

Blackberry Jelly Recipe

Follow ingredients/cooking directions on Certo package.

Jelly Tips:

Always use a deepest pot available, allowing sufficient room for ingredients to boil.

Prep your pot by rubbing 1 tbsp of butter half-way up the sides of the pan. This will prevent the mixture from foaming.

Integrate ingredients before putting on burner. Butter pan, put juice in, and load sugar in last. Stir constantly until the ingredients come to a full rolling boil, then add your liquid Certo (prep the container ahead of time). Boil for one full minute - stirring constantly.

Make sure your jars/lids are sterilized and ready for ingredients prior to cooking your jelly. Ensure rim of jar has no liquid or ingredients on it - otherwise your jar will not properly seal.

Once jars are filled and lid is clean - place lid on top. Use hot pad to hold jars as jelly will be very hot. Close jar and turn over. Place back in hot water bath with 2" coverage and boil for 5 minutes. Put pan on top of jars to ensure they remain immersed in hot water bath.

Once jars have cooled - you can determine if the jar properly sealed by the lack of bubble in the center of the lid. If the jar didn't seal, there will be a bubble in the lid. If the jar is vacuum tight - the lid will be perfectly smooth. If you don't get a good seal, you will need to refrigerate and eat the jelly right away.

There were 7 members in attendance. Chris used the Pineapple Pepper jelly with the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, and bacon appetizer recipe. LBC Cook Book Members each took home one jar of jelly.

Yum!