Fresh Apricot And Cherry Fruit Preserves Food

APRICOT & MARASCHINO CHERRY PRESERVES

Steps:

• Place water and apricots in a Dutch oven. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 30 minutes or until liquid is almost evaporated. Stir in pineapple, sugar and lemon juice. Cook and stir 35-40 minutes or until thickened., Using a potato masher, mash fruit. Add cherries; bring to a boil. Remove from the heat; skim off foam if necessary. Carefully ladle hot mixture into five hot half-pint jars, leaving 1/4-in. headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding hot mixture. Wipe rims. Center lids on jars; screw on bands until fingertip tight. , Place jars into canner with simmering water, ensuring that they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil; process 10 minutes. Remove jars and cool.

FRESH APRICOT AND CHERRY FRUIT PRESERVES

Steps:

• 1. Place a small plate in the freezer for testing if jam is ready later on. 2. Add prepped fruit, sugar, and lemon juice to a large pot . 3. Turn the heat on to medium high, and bring jam to a rolling boil for one minute. While waiting for jam to come to a boil, make sure that all sugar crystals are dissolved from the sides of the pot using a pastry brush that has been dipped in water. 4. Reduce heat, and let the jam simmer gently for approximately 30 minutes (This process could take longer for fruit that naturally contains less pectin.) Skim off any foam that rises to the surface with a ladle. NOTE: Jam continues to set as it cools, so a jam that is ready will appear thickened, yet it will not be nearly as thick as the final product. 5. While the jam is simmering, place washed and dried jars (without the lids) on a lined baking tray, and heat at 350°F (175°C) for 10 minutes. This is done to kill off any lingering bacteria that could cause jam to spoil later on. 6. When the jam has visibly thickened and appears gelled, turn the flame off, and place a spoonful of jam on the frozen plate. Return the plate to the freezer or fridge for a couple of minutes until cooled. Run finger through the cooled jam, or drop off of a spoon to check for the desired consistency. 7. If you feel the jam is done, you are ready to fill your still warm sterilized jars with the hot jam (with oven mitts, and over your paper-lined tray!), fit with lids, and process. If it is not ready, cook for a couple more minutes and repeat the test. 8. To process: Place a dessert plate upside down on the bottom of a large pot. Fill the pot ⅔rd the way full with water (you can always remove some later if you think the jars will cause it to overflow.) 9. Place on a high flame and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn down to a gentle simmer, and carefully add up to 4 jars at a time with tongs. The water should cover the jars completely. 10. Let the filled jars simmer for 5-6 minutes to pasteurize, and help the vacuum lids form their seal. 11. After 5-6 minutes, carefully remove the jars from the water, and place on your counter. Let sit until cool. During the cooling process the lids should make a loud popping sound as they seal. If one of the lids fails to seal, it can be removed, reclosed, and processed once again in the water bath within 24 hours. 12. Label and share with family and friends!

APRICOT JAM

Steps:

• Mix apricots and lemon juice in a large pot; add sugar. Slowly bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Cook and stir until apricot mixture thickens, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat and skim foam if necessary.
• Meanwhile, prepare jars, lids, and rings by cleaning and sterilizing in dishwasher or boiling water bath. Leave lids in simmering water until ready to seal jars.
• Ladle hot jam into hot sterilized jars, leaving about 1/4 inch of space on top. Run a knife or a thin spatula around the insides of the jars after they have been filled to remove any air bubbles. Wipe the rims of the jars with a moist paper towel to remove any food residue. Top with lids and screw on rings.
• Place a rack in the bottom of a large stockpot and fill halfway with water. Bring to a boil, then carefully lower the jars into the pot using a holder. Leave a 2-inch space between the jars. Pour in more boiling water if necessary until the water level is at least 1 inch above the tops of the jars. Bring the water to a full boil, cover the pot, and process for 15 minutes.
• Remove the jars from the stockpot and place onto a cloth-covered or wood surface, several inches apart, until cool. Once cool, press the top of each lid with a finger, ensuring that the seal is tight (lid does not move up or down at all). Store in a cool, dark area.

SAFTA RACHEL'S FRESH APRICOT PRESERVES

Steps:

• Wash and dry apricots; halve and seed them.
• Place fruit in a large, non-reactive pot with heavy base.
• Pour sugar over apricots and cover; let stand several hours or preferably overnight to draw out juices.
• Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat, uncovered.
• Reduce heat to low and continue to boil very gently for 45 minutes, making sure that liquid is always bubbling and stirring often with a wooden spoon to keep preserves from sticking.
• Add butter during this time.
• Do not allow to scorch.
• Test preserves for consistency; drop a small amount of the mixture on a plate. The preserves should mound, not drip from the spoon. the fruit should still be chunky.
• For thick preserves, continue to cook until desired consistency is reached; approximately 20 minutes longer.
• If preserves become too thick, add a little water.
• Taste and correct sweetness with lemon juice if needed.
• Pour preserves into prepared half-pint canning jars; process in hot water bath canner for ten minutes.
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APRICOT PRESERVES

Steps:

• Select good clean apricots. Wash then, cut in two, and take out the stone, pull out any stem, it could be cut, but shouldn't need to be.
• Put them into a saucepan or soup pot. Add enough water, to just have them float, or be barely covered.
• Season them with a pinch of salt and a squeeze of lemon.
• Bring to the simmer, and cook, covered until they are quite tender, but not falling apart, 20-25 minutes approximately.
• Do one of two things, purée the apricots, with their water, in a food processor, in batches, or mash with a masher, for a chunkier consistency.
• In either case, measure or weigh, the pulp, and add back to it, in the pan, an equal volume of sugar.
• Bring the mixture to a boil, and cook until the mixture is set, 212-220 degrees f, on a candy thermometer.
• Bottle and process for 7 minutes.
• Enjoy.

APRICOT AND CHERRY CROSTATA

Steps:

• Make crust
• Blend flour, sugar and salt in processor. Add butter; cut in using on/off turns until mixture resembles coarse meal. Blend in water by tablespoonfuls until moist clumps form. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic; chill 30 minutes. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.)
• Roll out dough between 2 sheets of plastic to 11-inch round. Remove top sheet of plastic from dough and invert dough onto 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Remove second sheet of plastic. Press dough onto bottom and up sides of pan. Fold excess dough in, forming double-thick sides. Pierce dough all over with fork. Freeze 20 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake crust until set but still pale, piercing with fork if crust bubbles, about 25 minutes. Cool on rack. Maintain oven temperature.
• Make filling
• Blanch apricots in pot of boiling water 1 minute. Transfer to bowl of ice water to cool. Drain. Peel, halve and pit apricots. Cut each apricot half into 3 wedges. Arrange, rounded side down, in crust. Arrange cherries over and around apricots. Sprinkle sugar over.
• Bake tart until apricots are tender, about 50 minutes. Transfer to rack. Stir apricot preserves in heavy small saucepan over low heat until melted. Strain. Brush strained preserves over fruit in tart. Remove pan sides from tart. Place tart on platter. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature. (Can be made 4 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)

BEST CHERRY PRESERVES

Steps:

• Sterilize your jars and keep them hot while you're cooking the preserves.
• Place cherries in a large, heavy duty dutch oven.
• Combine pectin with 1/4 cup sugar; stir into cherries, Add butter.
• Bring to a full boil, stirring, over high heat.
• Add 3 more cups sugar and return to a boil , stirring constantly, boil 1 minutes.
• Remove from heat; skim off foam.
• Immediately spoon preserves into 3 one pint sterilized jars, leaving 1/4" headspace.
• Wipe the sealing surface of the jars with a clean paper towel, dampened with hot water, to remove any preserves or sugar crystals.
• Place lids and screw on bands fingertip tight.
• Process in a boiling water bath for at least ten minutes, depending upon your altitude.
• When the jars have been processed in boiling water for the recommended time, turn off the heat and remove the canner lid; wait 5 minutes. Remove jars from canner using a jar lifter and keeping jars upright. Carefully place them directly onto a towel or cake cooling rack to protect your countertop, leaving at least one inch of space between the jars during cooling. Avoid placing the jars on a cold surface or in a cold draft.
• After jars have cooled undisturbed for 24 hours, remove ring bands from sealed jars. Put any unsealed jars in the refrigerator and use first.