fruit ferments

[OceanMomma]

I have been making jam recently for the kids school fair. Jam making is seen as a traditional preserving activity but it is so full of sugar I never usually make any. Seasonal foodwise here we are at a bit of a hump as the winter fruit has almost run out & the summer fruit isn't here yet. I've been making the kids rice pudding with honey for breakfast but I was thinking it would be awesome to give them some kind of preserved fruit to go with it. I have looked in Wild fermentation & the closest he has is fruit kimchi which has chillies & garlic in. I've even googled but can't find anything. Does such a thing as lacto fermented fruit jams exist? Anyone have any recipes?

[cristeen]

I can't address the ferment question, but I can address the jam-full-of-sugar problem.

When making your own jam, rather than buying conventional pectin, buy Pomona's Universal Pectin, which does not require the presence of sugar to gel. Then you have the option of sweetening to taste with your favorite source of sweet... I've done honey, agave, rapadura, no sugar and apple juice sweetened. Sweeten according to your taste buds, and not according to some recipe. Because fruit varies wildly depending on type, breed and how ripe it is, tasting it is necessary to determine whether it needs sweetening and how much is enough (some fruits need virtually no sweetening for me, like peaches, but some like raspberries can be a bit more tart).

[OceanMomma]

I don't know if we can get that type of pectin here. I will look next time I go shopping. I have made marmalade with rapadura before. Doesn't lemon juice work like pectin?

[deditus]

I made the apricot butter from, Nourishing Traditions and it was very good. It uses dried apricots and honey. Do you have the book?

[Masel]

Sugar is part of the preserving process. Microbs can't live in something too sugary just as they can't live in something too salty. Both suck the moisture right out of the little buggers. I think that is why so many recipes have so much sugar in them.

The ferments is what caught my eye in New Posts. I was thinking homebrewing since that is what my DH does. What I know about a fermentation process that the yeast or in this case the lacto bacillus is eating the sugar. I'd think that you'd end up needing to backsweeten your fruit the way my DH has to backsweeten a cider that has gone too dry.

Okay, maybe I'm mixing apples and oranges, or cider and Kimshi.

This article talks about chutneys and pickled plums but from the description they would be really tart.

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by OceanMomma

I don't know if we can get that type of pectin here. I will look next time I go shopping. I have made marmalade with rapadura before. Doesn't lemon juice work like pectin?

No, it doesn't.

I'm not sure where you are... if you're outside the US, you may have to look into more natural ways of gelling. Inside the US and Canada, most health food stores carry Pomona's.

Originally Posted by Masel

Sugar is part of the preserving process. Microbs can't live in something too sugary just as they can't live in something too salty. Both suck the moisture right out of the little buggers. I think that is why so many recipes have so much sugar in them.

Sugar is a preservative, but the reason there is so much of it in conventional recipes is because conventional pectins require a precise balance of sugar and acid (lemon juice) in order to gel. If your jam is out of balance, it will not gel. That's why playing with conventional recipes is not recommended and often doesn't work.

Pomona's does not rely on the balance of acid and sugar in order to gel. It gels based on the balance of calcium in the jam. Since you add the calcium (it's in the box), you can skip the sugar completely and still get a satisfactory jam.

[OceanMomma]

I've got NT but I can't find it for the life of me. I've never really used any of the recipes out of it after a few disasters :

The jams I have been making have had relative degrees of gel. I don't use pectin but have always used lemon or lime or grapefruit juice. The one that set like jelly was the kiwifruit & horopito jam & I used something like 2 apples in there along with the lemon juice. I am sure I read somewhere apples have pectin in too.

[deditus]

I'm nakking right now, but I'll see if I can find it for you. It needs to be refridgerated and you don't have to worry about it gelling since it is a butter. The apricots are simmered in water to rehydrate and then pureed.

Originally Posted by OceanMomma

I've got NT but I can't find it for the life of me. I've never really used any of the recipes out of it after a few disasters :

The jams I have been making have had relative degrees of gel. I don't use pectin but have always used lemon or lime or grapefruit juice. The one that set like jelly was the kiwifruit & horopito jam & I used something like 2 apples in there along with the lemon juice. I am sure I read somewhere apples have pectin in too.

[jamie79]

I, too love the Apricot Butter recipe in NT. 1 of the few that worked out really well. I am out of town, so I don't have access to the book. Let me see if I can find the recipe online...

Here is a link:

http://peacefulacres.wordpress.com/2...pricot-butter/

HTH,
Jamie

[OceanMomma]

: yumm!!! That looks so tasty. Thankyou

[caedmyn]

I've made fermented apple butter, and that was pretty good. It seems like there was a recipe in NT for it, or maybe I just adapted some other recipe. Sorry, it's been almost two years since I made it so I don't remember the details, but it worked fine and I didn't use whey as a starter, either.

[OceanMomma]

I was wondering about fermented apple or pear butter after looking at the apricot butter recipe.

While I was cruising the net, I found this.
http://www.cuisine.co.nz/index.cfm?pageID=55835&r=0
it's not fermented & has a little bit of sugar in but I am sure it could be adapted somehow. Even with cooking & a bit of honey instead of the sugar, it looks like it could be tasty. There is a non cooked fruit mincemeat on the same website too but it uses chocolate, brandy & a bit of sugar but says to leave to mature for at least a month.
http://www.cuisine.co.nz/index.cfm?p...02106C7EFABE6A

Does anyone know if alcohol to preserve things replaced any other earlier preserving process?

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by OceanMomma

The jams I have been making have had relative degrees of gel. I don't use pectin but have always used lemon or lime or grapefruit juice. The one that set like jelly was the kiwifruit & horopito jam & I used something like 2 apples in there along with the lemon juice. I am sure I read somewhere apples have pectin in too.

Yes, apples were the original source of pectin. That's what I meant by more natural sources... mixing apples into your jam will encourage gelling. I believe you have to leave the skin on to get the full effect though.

Originally Posted by OceanMomma

There is a non cooked fruit mincemeat on the same website too but it uses chocolate, brandy & a bit of sugar but says to leave to mature for at least a month.
http://www.cuisine.co.nz/index.cfm?p...02106C7EFABE6A

Does anyone know if alcohol to preserve things replaced any other earlier preserving process?

I don't believe so. Fermentation and alcohol are essentially the same thing when you come right down to it. I have a traditional mincemeat recipe around here somewhere that I've been meaning to try if you're interested. But it calls for actual meat.

[OceanMomma]

I'd love to see a traditional mincemeat recipe :

[velcromom]

My copy of Stocking Up has instructions for making apple jelly stock i.e. homemade pectin. You use small immature green apples, used to be sold as "apple thinnings".

Apple Jelly Stock
Wash, trim and cut the apples into thin slices, then put into a pot with one pint of water for each lb of apple. Boil 15 min.

Strain thru one layer of cheesecloth, don't squeeze. Put the pulp back in the pot, add the same amount of water again, and cook at a lower temp another 15 min.

Strain the second batch of juice thru one thickness of cheesecloth. Don't squeeze. Let it cool enough to handle, then squeeze out the rest of the juice and combine all the juice. There should be about 1 quart for every lb of apple used.

This stock can be used immediately or saved for future use by canning or freezing.

4 cups homemade pectin = 3oz commercial liquid pectin

[WildIris]

Here is a site that explains exactly how to make your own pectin, too: http://buildanark.net/food_recipes/pectin.html

[OceanMomma]

this is even better as I have something to do with all those wrinkly old organic apples

[cristeen]

Mincemeat
2-3 lbs of beef rump or bottom round
1 fresh beef tongue (about 3 lbs)
1 lb beef kidney suet
4 c seedless raisins
4 c golden raisins
2 c currants
1 c citron, diced
rind of two large oranges, diced
rind of one good-sized lemon, diced
1 c dried figs, chopped
3 c sugar
1 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp each: salt, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg
1 qt each: brandy, sherry

Simmer the beef and tongue in water to cover until tender (about 2 hours). Remove from heat and allow to cool. Remove any fat from the beef, skin and trim the tongue. Cut both into cubes and run them, along with the uncooked suet, through the coarse plate of a meat grinder. Add all the remaining ingredients except the alcohol and mix well. Then add enough brandy to make a "nice gooshy mixture". Cover and let stand for at least a month - two months is better - and it will keep almost forever. Refrigeration is not necessary, keep it in a cool place. Check it after about a week, if it has absorbed most of the brandy, add enough sherry to moisten it again. Lift the lid every week or two and add a little brandy and sherry alternately as needed to keep the mixture moist.

When you're ready for mincemeat pies:
Add one cup of chopped tart apples to each 1 1/4 c of drained mincemeat before using.

[OceanMomma]

I can get sheep kidney fat :LOL No shortage of sheep around here I will need to work on getting a beef tongue. I've never eaten tongue before. All this is not helped by dh thinking only "poor" people eat offal which leads to very unharmonious family meals if I try to serve any. If I can grind stuff up tho, he doesn't notice. Kinda like I used to with mushrooms in my vegan days

Citrons I am not sure I can get but the last recipe I read said to replace with candied orange, mango or papaya. I have oranges so I guess I should candy some ( however that is done ) while I am sourcing an organic beef tongue. Do you reckon a sheep one would do or are they not eaten?

[velcromom]

Berry syrup from NT -

4c berries (not strawberries), 2 tsp sea salt, 1/4c rapadura, 1/4c whey. Place berries in a quart jar and press down lightly. Mix remaining ingredients and pour into jar, add filtered water til liquid is at top of the berries. Cover tightly, keep at room temp 2 days. Store in fridge & use within two months.