Preserves

by Pam Corbin

  PRESERVE IDEAL SHELF LIFE

  Fruit curds Use within 4 weeks. Store in the fridge once opened

  Vegetables in oil Use within 4 months. Refrigerate one opened and use within 6 weeks

  Pesto Store in the fridge and use within 4 weeks

  Fruit butters Use within 9 months and refrigerate once opened

  Jams and jellies Use within 1 year

  Fruit cheeses Use within 1 year and refrigerate once opened

  Mincemeat Use within 1 year

  Relishes Use within 1 year. Store in the fridge once opened

  Sauces Use within 1 year

  Chutneys and pickles Store for 4–10 weeks before using.

  Use within 1–2 years

  Marmalades Use within 2 years

  Alcohol preserves Use within 3 years

  In a cool, dry, dark place These conditions apply to the storage of all preserves. Few houses these days have good old-fashioned larders or cellars so you may find the best place to keep your preserves is in the garage or shed.

  Key preserving ingredients

  Most of the ingredients needed for preserving are in general use in a busy kitchen. It is, however, worth considering their different characteristics.

  Sugar

  A concentration of over 60 per cent sugar in a preserve creates an environment that is hostile to micro-organisms. Sugar can also be combined with vinegar in sweet-and-sour preserves such as chutneys and sauces. The sugar you use not only affects the cooking process but also influences the final flavour of your preserves:

  Granulated sugar Available in pure white or golden, unrefined varieties, this is a good basic, inexpensive sugar that will work well in almost any of the recipes in this book. It has medium-coarse grains so takes a little longer to dissolve than fine-grained caster sugar but is less likely to stick to the bottom of the pan and burn. Granulated sugar is produced in Britain, from sugar beet (Silver Spoon is one brand), but an intensive refining process is involved. If you’d prefer an unrefined sugar, which will retain its natural golden colour and delicate caramel flavour, choose an imported one, derived from sugar cane. Billingtons produce an unrefined, organic, golden granulated, and also a fair trade variety. I use both unrefined and refined granulated sugar. Golden, unrefined sugar is ideal for marmalades, and with strong-flavoured fruits such as blackcurrants, but I prefer a refined white sugar for more delicate fruits and berries, for jellies and curds, and for flavoured liqueurs.

  Large-grain preserving sugar This is more costly than granulated sugars. It’s by no means essential for good preserves but the big, chunky crystals dissolve slowly, need less stirring and are less likely to stick to the bottom of the pan. They also produce less froth or scum. Preserving sugar does not generally contain added pectin.

  Jam sugar This usually signifies a sugar with added pectin – and sometimes citric acid too. It’s ideal for use with low-pectin fruits such as rhubarb and strawberries and will ensure a quick and easy set. However, don’t use it with pectin-rich fruits like gooseberries, plums and Seville oranges – the set will be more like wallpaper paste.

  Brown sugar Using unrefined demerara or muscovado sugar in a jam or chutney – either wholly, or in combination with a lighter sugar – changes the colour and taste. These dark sugars are not highly processed and are full of natural molasses flavour. They can overpower delicate ingredients but are wonderful when used with citrus fruit in marmalades or with vinegar and spices in savoury chutneys and pickles.

  Honey This can be used to add another layer of flavour to a preserve, although it cannot entirely replace the sugar as it burns very easily. Supplement 10–15 per cent of the total sugar in a recipe with honey and add it when the sugar has dissolved.

  Vinegar

  Vinegar has been used for centuries to preserve everything from onions to eggs, and foods preserved in this medium are generally referred to as being ‘pickled’. The word ‘vinegar’ comes from the medieval French vin-aigre, meaning ‘sour wine’. It is produced by a double fermentation of some form of fruit or grain. The first fermentation is brought about by yeasts turning sugar into alcohol, as in the production of wine, beer and cider. The second fermentation involves bacteria turning the alcohol to acetic acid, thereby creating vinegar.

  In order to preserve successfully, the acetic acid content of vinegar must be at least 5 per cent – check the label. This level of acidity creates an environment where few micro-organisms can survive. The harsh flavour of vinegar can be mitigated by the addition of sugar and/or spices, while the choice of vinegar itself will also have a considerable effect on the final taste of your pickles:

  Malt vinegar Produced from fermented barley, malt vinegar is inexpensive and has been the backbone of traditional pickling for many years. It has a very strong taste which some people love, but I often find it a bit too aggressive. Nevertheless, in a really hearty, well-spiced chutney or pickle, it can give precisely the right robust bass note of flavour and is a stalwart favourite for pickled onions. The colour in dark malt vinegars comes from the addition of caramel – pure, distilled malt vinegar is colourless.

  Wine vinegars Derived from grapes, red and white wine vinegars are more expensive than malt but have a finer, more delicate flavour. I like to use them for pickling ingredients such as nasturtium pods, where I don’t want the pods’ fiery bite swamped by vinegar.

  Cider vinegar This is sweeter and fruitier than wine vinegar and my choice for seasonal chutneys, pickles and relishes. Aspall’s (see the directory) sells an excellent range of home-produced cider vinegars and, if you live in cider apple country, you may well find some excellent local varieties.

  Salt

  High concentrations of salt are of course inimical to yeast, bacteria and moulds, which is why this ingredient is so important in many preserving methods. Salt is also crucial for enhancing flavour. In addition, it is often used in the preparation of foods prior to pickling, where it draws out excess water, which would otherwise dilute and spoil the preserve (see Pickles, Chutneys & Relishes).

  Sea salt This is produced by evaporating sea water. You can buy unrefined, natural flaky types, such as Maldon or Halen Môn, which are lovely sweet-tasting ingredients. They are also much more expensive than other salts so, while you might be happy to use them for seasoning, you may think it rather extravagant to use them in large quantities for dry-salting or pickling. A relatively inexpensive fine-grained sea salt, available from health food stores or supermarkets, is what I use most often in preserving. It’s certainly the most suitable type for dry-salting vegetables for pickling, as it will coat them well. However, like many fine-grained, free-flowing salts, some fine sea salts contain an anti-caking agent, so do check labels before you buy.

  Rock salt Generally the cheaper alternative to sea salt, this is mined from underground mineral deposits. It may also be sold as kitchen salt or table salt. Some is highly processed, purified and treated and tastes correspondingly harsh. I don’t use salts like this in preserving as they can affect the final quality of the preserve. However, coarse, additive-free rock salts, such as Tidman’s, are available, and make a good alternative to sea salt.

  Alcohol

  This is a very useful preserving medium but, to function effectively, it must be in the form of a spirit that is at least 40 per cent alcohol (80 per cent proof). Gin, vodka, rum, brandy and whisky are all suitable. Gin is a tried-and-tested favourite with fruits such as sloes and damsons, while stoned cherries will make a splendid liqueur when steeped in brandy. Colourless eau de vie (brandy or flavourless alcohol that has not been aged) is an ideal base for more delicate or subtle ingredients. Wines, fortified wines and cider can be used for preserving but need to be combined with other preservative ingredients such as sugar, or with sterilising methods such as bottling.

  Oil

  An effective means of sealing out oxygen, oil is a useful and potentially delicious part of many savoury preserves. The oil will be an integral part of the finished preserve and, as it will
have taken on flavour from the preserved food, you might want to use it to enhance other dishes. So I’d advise always using the best you can afford.

  Olive oil This is extracted by grinding olives to a paste and then pressing with large millstones. ‘Extra virgin’ refers to olive oil with very low acidity, which is completely unrefined and taken from the first pressing of the olives. It’s considered to be the very best type. However, it is expensive, and often powerfully flavoured, and I rarely use it in preserves. ‘Virgin’ olive oil has a little more acidity, but is also unrefined and will have a good flavour. It is much more affordable, and my choice for most oil-based preserves. Anything labelled ‘pure’ olive oil, or just ‘olive oil’ will be a blend of refined and unrefined oils. Less exciting, they are still perfectly acceptable to use.

  Sunflower oil Light in colour, almost flavourless, and much less expensive than olive oil, a good-quality sunflower oil is useful when you don’t want the taste of the oil to intrude on the preserve. It can also be blended with other, more robustly flavoured oils (see below).

  Rapeseed oil Golden in colour and nutty in flavour, this is extracted from the tiny, jet-black seeds of Brassica napus, a member of the mustard family, and is often home-produced. It contains less saturated fat than any other oil, is high in omega 3 and is a good source of vitamin E. I like to use it for flavoured oils.

  Hemp oil Cold-pressed hemp oil is vivid green in colour and has a very strong nutty flavour. Again, it can be grown and processed in this country. Alone, it would be overpowering for many ingredients, but 10–15 per cent blended with sunflower oil creates a well-flavoured oil.

  Equipment for preserving

  Kitting yourself out for preserving will not entail a second mortgage. You probably already have most of the equipment you need in your kitchen. Here is a very quick run-through of essentials and useful items:

  Preserving pan Sometimes called a maslin pan, this is almost an essential item – but a large, wide, heavy-bottomed stock pot could stand in. Preserving pans do have the advantages of sloping sides which maximise evaporation, a pouring lip and a strong carrying handle. Go for a robust stainless-steel one of approximately 9-litre capacity. This should be large enough for most jamming and chutney sessions. Your pan must be deep enough to contain the rapid rise in liquid that occurs when jam comes to a full rolling boil. It is useful to buy one with a calibrated volume measure on the inside of the pan which allows you to see by how much your ingredients have reduced.

  Wooden spoons These need to be big and long-handled. If possible, keep one especially for jam and one for chutney-making (they will become impregnated with fruity and vinegary juices respectively).

  Preserving or sugar thermometer This is not expensive and will help you to check that your preserves have reached the right temperature for setting point, as well as giving you an accurate guide to temperature when bottling.

  Slotted spoon For skimming scum or fishing out fruit stones.

  Sieves A couple of heatproof nylon sieves are useful for puréeing fruit – the acid from which can react with a metal sieve.

  Paper coffee filters For straining small quantities of fruit vinegar or liqueur.

  Mouli or food mill Great labour-saving tool for puréeing fruits and removing skins and pips simultaneously. Useful when making fruit butters and cheeses.

  Jelly bag, or muslin, and stand These are essential for straining the juice from cooked fruit when making jellies. Purpose-made jelly bags and stands are available from specialist shops (see the directory). Or you can improvise, using an upturned stool with a double thickness of muslin tied to each leg to form a bag. Jelly bags and muslin can be re-used, even though they become stained by fruit dyes. Before use (even when new) they should be scalded by placing in a pan of water and bringing to the boil.

  Spice infuser Not essential, but an alternative to tying spices in muslin for spicing vinegars and chutneys.

  Measuring jugs and spoons One or two calibrated, heat-resistant measuring jugs are indispensable for measuring ingredients and pouring preserves into jars. A set of measuring spoons is also very useful for spices and seasonings.

  Funnel A wide-necked pouring funnel can prevent spillages when filling jars but is not essential – a steady hand and a good pouring jug is often easier.

  Accurate kitchen scales Very important for preserving success.

  This is the sweetest chapter in the book, where you will meet what I call the ‘sugar set’. In other words, recipes that rely purely on a high concentration of sugar to keep spoiling at bay. Sugar-based recipes form a broad and extensive branch of the preserving tree, and they are also the most familiar and perhaps widely used type of preserve. Here you will find out just how essential sugar is as a preserving ingredient and how, by means of various preserving techniques, it can be used to transform a host of fresh produce into goodies that can be safely stored away for the future.

  The different types of sugar-based preserve that I make at home are as follows:

  Jams Without doubt, jams are the most familiar of all the sweet preserves. They are simply mixtures of lightly softened fruit and sugar, boiled together until they gel into a mass.

  Marmalades Although originally referring to a type of quince jam (marmelo being the Portuguese word for quince), the term ‘marmalade’ is now universally understood to mean a bittersweet preserve made from citrus fruit. Marmalades are made in a similar way to jams but the hard citrus peel needs long, slow cooking to soften it before sugar is added.

  Conserves Made with whole fruit that has been steeped in sugar before cooking to draw out the juices, a conserve is similar to a jam but often has a slightly softer set. Commercially, the word conserve is often used to describe a posh jam with a high fruit content.

  Fruit spreads and fridge jams These are relatively low in sugar and usually made with added pectin to help them set. In general, they still have a softer, looser set than traditional jams. Providing they are sealed when still over 90°C, they will keep for 9–12 months. However, once opened, they must be kept in the fridge as they do not contain sufficient sugar to prevent them spoiling at cool larder temperature.

  Jellies Clear, translucent and smooth (no fruity bits), fruit jellies are the jewels of the store cupboard. They are made by boiling strained fruit juice with sugar. They are best made with fruits high in both pectin and acid, such as apples, crab apples, gooseberries and redcurrants – either on their own or in combination with other, lower-pectin fruits (see the pectin/acid content chart here). The basic fruit juice and sugar mixture can also be used as a base for herb or flower jellies.

  Fruit butters So called because they spread as ‘soft as butter’, these are made by boiling cooked, sieved fruit pulp with sugar. They are lower in sugar than traditional jams and will not keep as well. For this reason, they are best potted in smallish jars, which can be consumed in a relatively short time and stored in the fridge once opened.

  Fruit cheeses These dense, solid preserves are similar to fruit butters in that they are made by boiling sieved fruit pulp with sugar. However, they are cooked for longer and taste richer and fruitier. You could make a cheese with almost any fruit but, because of the large quantity required, recipes usually favour prolific orchard, stone and hedgerow fruits such as apples, quince, damsons or crab apples. Fruit cheeses are normally packed in straight-sided jars or moulds so the preserve can be turned out whole and sliced.

  Fruit curds These are not true preserves, being very low in sugar, but creamy mixtures of butter, eggs, sugar and an acidic fruit pulp or juice. To prevent the eggs curdling, they are cooked very gently in a double boiler or in a basin over a pan of boiling water. Curds are best eaten within 3–4 weeks, so they are usually made in fairly small quantities.

  Mincemeats Again, these are not true sugar preserves, as alcohol plays its part in the process too. Mincemeats are mixtures of dried fruit, apples, spices, citrus zest, sugar, suet (sometimes) and alcohol. They are traditionally made in the autumn when th
e new season’s apples are crisp and juicy, then kept for a couple of months to mellow and mature in time to make mince pies for Christmas.

  Fruit leathers These rely on drying, as well as sugar, to preserve the fruit. A lightly sweetened purée is slowly dried in a low oven (or, in suitable climates, under the sun), producing a thin, pliable sheet. Fruit leathers store well for several months.

  Candied fruits This is a generic term for fruits preserved by being steeped in sugar for a period of time. The sugar penetrates the fruit flesh, replacing some of the natural juices. Different types include glacé fruits, which are coated with a clear sugar syrup, and crystallised fruits, which are rolled in grains of sugar.

  The essential foursome

  In jam-, jelly- and marmalade-making, four ingredients are necessary to produce the magic result known as ‘a set’ – i.e. the right wobbling, spreadable consistency. These are fruit, pectin, acid and sugar. Getting to know them will help to ensure success.

  Fruit

  All fruit for preserve-making should be dry, as fresh as possible and slightly under-ripe. Over-ripe, wet fruit contains less pectin and acid and makes a poor-quality preserve. If you find yourself snowed under with produce during a particularly good cropping season, remember that most fruits, including Seville oranges, can be frozen and used later in the year quite successfully. Bear in mind that the pectin content reduces a little with freezing so sometimes extra pectin may need to be added.

  With the exception of the citrus family, I have used only native British fruits in the recipes for this chapter. There are, of course, a whole host of imported exotics at our disposal these days, but buying these in the quantities required for jam-making can be expensive. In any case, with the abundance of home-grown fruits available to us, it’s hardly necessary.

  Pectin

  This is a natural substance found in all fruit (and some vegetables) in varying quantities (see the fruit pectin/acid content chart overleaf). When combined with acid and sugar, it takes on a gum-like consistency – which is why it’s essential in achieving a good set. Concentrated in cores, pith, skins and pips, it is released from the cell walls as the fruit is cooked. Pectin levels are at their highest in slightly under-ripe fruit and will decrease as the fruit ripens, or if it is frozen.