Preserving the Past

by Elizabeth Kelly

This week I decided to make Ginger Pear Marmalade. I’m not sure why, it’s not the best time of the year to be making a jam with no additional pectin but it sure was a tasty was relieve to Covid boredom.

A lot of equipment is needed when making any cooked jam, jelly, or marmalade, and since I hadn’t made any in a number of years, my equipment was scattered all over the house. I found spider webs in my canner.

Jars, Rings and Lids

Water bath Canner and Pot. This is the right size pot, the one I actually used was much bigger

Large mouth funnel, jar lifter, skimmer, wooden spoon, ladle

The process of making a jam or jelly without pectin differs somewhat from making it with added pectin. The most striking difference to me was the time. It is a much longer process and the amount of cooking time needed is considerably longer as it must be reduced and and get hot enough to gel.

The recipe I used came from the Bernardin Complete Book of Home Preserving. It was a bit risky because pears are not in season and the recipe was without added pectin. It is always best to make jams and jellies when they are in season and fresh. I used bosc pears and they weren't too bad. The outside looked a bit beat up but there very were few bruises. I ended up with more than half of the pears being ripe and juicy and some were still hard. The recipe called for limes, which would help as citrus fruit is high in pectin. I thought I had a reasonable chance of success reaching the gel stage.

The cookbook also offers no pictures to show the prepared fruit before beginning. Neither did it give a pot size and the one I used was too large. Thankfully, my pot has measurements inside so I was able to determine a more appropriate pot size for next time. I had to boil hard for 30 minutes before I reached the gel stage and once I did I knew I had before testing it.

Doubling the suggested time for boiling hard could have been the fruit or it could have been my stove or pot. At the 15 minute mark, I was still above 1.5 L of mixture in the pot and the recipe yield was 1 L. Since the canner was on the biggest burner, the one I was using was too small for the pot. Overall it was a success as the marmalade did set. I would definitely make a small batch of jam or marmalade using the no pectin method again, out of season and see how it goes.

I ended with a tasty treat, both sweet and tart at the same time. It set nicely and had a great jelly consistency. The lime peel gave the texture and taste of marmalade, while the pear made it more like a jam. I didn’t really notice the ginger, but the lime flavour was very strong. This would be very versatile, I can see eating as part of a savory meal, with a pork roast or a sweet, on toast with some cheese. It would be nice in yogurt.

I thought I was new to the process of using no additional pectin and to some extent I was but I was not new to making fruit preserves. Growing up, I made strawberry jam with my mom. I come from a big family and it was therefore a big job, picking the berries, washing and preparing them, then making the jam. We would make batch after batch, with little relief from the heat in June. We also didn't process the jam in a water bath, just poured hot paraffin was onto the top of the jam to seal it. This is not the best way to seal as the wax will shrink and leak causing the jam to spoil (I found that out the hard way one year) but jam never stayed long enough in our house for that to happen.

I thought about my mom a lot while making this, remembering things I had forgotten. I could see her measuring the sugar, counting off the cups with her finger, looking up at the clock in the kitchen to start counting the one minute of hard boil, using a china teacup to fill the jars. I was really glad I made this, for that alone. You can make jams, jellies and marmalades on your own but it is much more enjoyable with someone else. Next time!

Ginger Pear Marmalade

Yield: 4 c (2L) or 4-250 mL jars

Prep Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Cook Time: 25 - 40 minutes

Processing Time: 10 Minutes

Equipment: 16 c (4L) stainless steel pot, water bath canner, jar lifter, 2 small pots, measuring cups, measuring spoons, skimming spoon, wide mouth funnel, 4 250 mL canning jars with separate rings and lids (lids must be new), 4 - 6 spoons (for gel test)

3 Limes 3

8 c Pears, peeled, cored, cut into eighths and then thinly sliced 2 L

4 c Granulated Sugar l L

3 tbsp Finely chopped crystalized ginger 45 mL

1 1/4 c Water 300 mL

Peel limes, including the which inner later and thinly slice. Set aside. Squeeze the juice from the limes into a large stainless steel pot, at least 16 cups (4 L). Place sliced pears in the pot with the lime just and mix well to coat the pears with the juice. Add the juice and the crystalized ginger and mix well to combine. Let stand at room temperature for one hour.

Meanwhile, place the jars in the canner and fill the canner with water until the jars are just covered. Place on the stove over medium heat, cover, and bring the water up to 180° F/82° C. It is not necessary to boil the jars, they just need to be hot when you fill them with the hot marmalade. Place the spoons in the fridge to get cold.

Place the lime peels in a small pot and add the water. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until soft and most of the water is gone, about 20 minutes. Pour the liquid into the pear mixture and set the peels aside.

Place the jar lids in a small pot and heat over medium heat to 180° F/82° C. Does not need to boil.

Bring the pear mixture to a full rolling boil, stirring frequently, over high heat. Boil for 15 minutes, maintaining the hard boil. Add the peel and continue boiling another 5 minutes until the mixture reaches the gel stage.

To Gel Test: Dip a cold spoon into the mixture and lift it out, holding it so that the edge of the spoon faces down. If the mixture drips off, it has not yet gels. If the mixture drops off the spoon in a sheet, one, the mixture will gel when cooled.

If the gel stage has not been reached, continue the hard rolling boil, for another 5 minutes, and test again.

When the mixture has reached the gel stage, ladle the mixture into the hot jars, until the mixture comes to 1/4 inch from the top. Wipe rim, place hot lid on top, then screw on the ring until resistance is met. Do not tighten the band. If in doubt, once you meet resistance, turn the ring back a quarter turn.

Place the jar in the canner. When all jars are filled and in the canner, add water if needed to make sure the jars have a least one inch of water above them. Cover and bring to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes. Turn of heat and remove lid. Let sit for 5 minutes. Remove from canner and place of a wire rack or towel on the counter and cool completely. Listen for the pop that tells you the lids have sealed. Avoid touching them or moving them for 24 hours while they cool completely.

Label the jars with the contents and date and store in a cool dark place.

Tip:

There are 3 ways of testing jams and jelly. See Testing Jelly without Pectin for more about each of the tests.

Sources:

Kingry, J., & Devine, L. (Eds.). (2006). The Complete Book of Home Preserving. Robert Rose Inc.

FFT