Nothing is ever simple. In particular, making that
pomegranate jelly I talked about in my last post. You might remember (if you
don’t, reread Part I) that I was planning to make jelly with my MFP friend the
following week. In preparation, I decided to experiment with the pom juice I
bought from Strutz Ranch and froze. I found a recipe for Pomegranate-Cranberry
Marmalade. Right up my alley because I spent all of October preparing for a
public class on marmalades. Not only did this recipe put my pom to good use,
but it promised to be the perfect holiday gift with its beautiful color and
seasonal fruits. However, the recipe called for one ingredient that was missing
from my well-stocked jam tote – apple pectin.
This deserves its own paragraph (page). I know what my ‘fam’
is thinking…don’t get her started on the subject of pectin. You see, since
beginning my involvement with the Master Food Preserver program in early 2014,
I’ve been on a mission to make artisan jams and jellies and have discovered
that the key to understanding the magic of jams and jellies is pectin (and the sugar and acid that
activate it). I have read and researched; purchased and used over a dozen
different kinds/brands of pectin from high to low sugar pectin (or, if I’m
going to get technical here, from high methoxyl to low methoxyl to amidated
pectins); and, made my own pectin from crab apples. Still having questions on
the subject, I’ve read articles written by food scientists who get into the nitty-gritty
of the pectin molecule chain and how it changes when ingredients and conditions
are right. Here I go again…I can sense your eyes glazing over. I’ll get to the
point.
In the United States, commercial pectin available to the
home canner is made from citrus, not apples. However, apple pectin is available
throughout Europe. I shared this information during a continuing education
lecture I gave the Sacramento MFPs a few weeks ago. One of the members raised
her hand and told me that she buys apple pectin from the Sacramento Natural
Food Co-op. I excitedly told Verne after the meeting and we drove directly to
the Co-op and bought several ounces (it was sold bulk) of their Apple Fiber
Pectin. I have to say, the fact the pectin was sold in bulk as well as the word
‘fiber’ caused me some concern. I should have listened to my gut! Several hours
of work, $18 of pomegranate juice and the apple pectin, which I’ve read should
yield a gel more delicate than citrus pectin, and the texture of our jam was
anything but ‘delicate’. It had the texture of fine-grit sandpaper or, in this
case, the apple fiber pectin we’d
purchased, which apparently is intended to be used as a dietary (fiber) supplement,
not a thickening agent for jam. Big Mistake! If I have learned one thing in
life (and jamming), it is that you learn much more from mistakes than
successes. For now I’m going to stick to the familiar citrus pectin readily
available at any well-stocked grocery or hardware store, but I am determined to
find a source for apple pectin and begin experimenting with it.
Back to making the Pom-Cranberry Marmalade…I decided to cut
the recipe in half (I wasn’t about to waste another 1-1/2 quarts of pomegranate
juice) and use a classic citrus pectin. This turned out to be a very
challenging recipe as it mostly relied on the natural pectin in the cranberries
and pomegranate juice for gelling, and not the small amount
of added commercial pectin. The jam was prepared using the traditional long
boil method, which requires testing the gel using one of three methods. I’m
challenged here….how much to say before you are bored to tears? Maybe I’ve
already crossed that line? I think I’ll stop here and sum it up: the jam has a
wonderful taste and color, but is still not perfect. It’s a little “sticky”,
which was caused by cooking it to a temperature beyond the gel point and closer
to the candy stage. OOPS! I still have more juice in the freezer and will just
have to try again.
Besides having fun with pomegranates, I’ve been
experimenting with a few other exotic or rare fruits, including quince (a green
fruit that looks like a cross between a pear and an apple) that I’ve used to
make quince paste, which is served with cheese as an appetizer; Buddha’s Hand
(a yellow fruit that looks like nothing I’ve ever seen before, but smells and
tastes like lemon and is part of the same family), that to date I’ve only used
to zest and add to marmalades, but have bigger plans for it in the future; and,
kumquats (a popular Asian citrus fruit that may be added to marmalades, made as
a jelly, or cooked in a sweet syrup and candied). I’ll save the results of my
experiments for a later post…Other Rare Fruits – Part III.
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