chockcherries grow wild in Nebraska or planted in gardens. Wild are usually a schrub, my son planted the trees on his farm. They ripen in July and are a pruple berry the size of a small eraser. They have a small seed that is not edible but the berries make the best jelly. Bought in the store it is $5 or $6 a jar.

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I have been making chokecherry jelly for years.this time it was too thick. I wondered if I could reheat the jelly, add more water and maybe a small amount of pectin to make it a nice spreadable consistsy?

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Mysore Fruit Products Ltd.(MFPL) is manufacturers & exporters of a various fruits products like Mango pulp, Fruit pulp, Guava pulp and Mango concentrates in India.for more details visit http://www.mysorefruits.com/

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Thank you, Hector! Aloha!

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Aloha maureen, you must come to hawaii!!! May I confess I have not used american spoon, but I do recommend it from what others have. Really.

I am still making my own rasp conserve and ALWAYS with frozen berries and one drop per pint jar of la cuisine essence.

Regarding your pastry for a party with apple compote, I wouldn't can, I would freeze. You could lightly poach the apples first, then drain and freeze in the pastry already.

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Aloha maureen, you must come to hawaii!!! May I confess I have not used american spoon, but I do recommend it from what others have. Really.

I am still making my own rasp conserve and ALWAYS with frozen berries and one drop per pint jar of la cuisine essence.

Regarding your pastry for a party with apple compote, I wouldn't can, I would freeze. You could lightly poach the apples first, then drain and freeze in the pastry already.

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Hector-2- should I use the American Spoon raspberry preserves or the spoon fruit? Which do you prefer?

Thanks again,
Maureen

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Hector, Hector, Hector, What would I do without you? I just found your message. Usually responses go to my email. I do wish I'd found this before today --because today, I broke down and bought the canning kit. (Already washed everything and threw out the packaging.)

Since raspberries are not at their peak, I bought 3 pounds of frozen berries and they've given off 2 1/2 cups of juice -- vs the 1/2 cup Rose references in the Christmas cookie book. As long as I've bought the equipment, should I work with these berries? I'm concerned that they've given off so much liquid -- maybe it won't work. If it's not worth it, I don't want to do it. I can always put the berries to other use.

Also, I thought I'd make Rose's apple sauce (Celebrations) for the pastry that calls for apple compote. Do you think I could can that too? (I'm baking for 200 June 19 and 20, so if I can get some work done in advance, that's a plus.)

Both my daughter and my brother used to live in Hawaii so I used to get over there with some regularity. Not so much anymore, but I would so love to meet you and see the paradise you've created!

Thank you so much for your help with this. I will look for American Spoon.

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dear maureen, i would buy the conserve from American Spoon Foods www.spoon.com

it is a lot of work to make your own, and would do only if you must have that type of recognition. American Spoon Foods is great.

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I need advice. I'm going to be making Rose's Raspberry Conserve for a pastry I'll be serving in mid-June. I don't plan on doing a lot of canning, so I really can't invest in canning supplies.

If I'm not going to can and I'm going to assemble, bake and deliver the pastries on a Friday, what day should I make the conserve? Will it be safe for a few days?

I've read the comments above on freezing and I hesitate to do that because this pastry has to be absolutely perfect for a rehearsal dinner. Also, I'll be working with frozen raspberries, and I don't know if you can freeze them twice. Will I be safe if I just put it in plastic quart containers and refrigerate it for a few days?

Hector talks about a KitchenAid attachment for sieving. I have a French food mill. Is that good enough? Can't really afford the KitchenAid attachment right now.

If I should bite the bullet and can, please tell me.

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Joan, I don't see why a large batch of Cordon Rose Strawberry Conserve wouldn't work, as long as you have a fairly large shallow pan, or two pans going at the same time. The largest batch I've done is with a 6lb of premium frozen strawberries, which yielded to about 7 to 8 pint jars.

The key is to use the minimum time possible to cook the strawberries and to reduce the syrup.

I stress (as many do), to use frozen premium strawberries picked at their peak rather than fresh strawberries picked green and ripen during transportation, unless you live nearby a strawberry farm! Also, strawberries picked at their peak but later refrigerated for transportation or selling, loose flavor.

La Cuisine has a wonderful French wild strawberry arome, be sure to get it if you can. They are wonderful people.

I've noticed that no-one at home asks for butter anymore when I offer bread, they ask for the Cordon Rose Conserves instead!

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If the recipe wants you to add the pudding once it's prepared, I think you'll be okay. I don't think the recipe would work well if your are supposed to use the dry mix.

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When a recipe calls for instant pudding, can you substitue the regular "cook and serve" type?

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Joan - here is an excerpt from a previous posting on this blog:

Posted by: Laila | March 26, 2006 - I absolutely love your raspberry and strawberry conserves from "The Cake Bible." I think the conserves taste so much better without all the excess sugar in other recipes. My question is this--have you ever used your conserve-making method with other fruits (besides berries)? I was thinking of trying but unsure of what sugar/water ratios to use with other fruits. Thank you!

Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | March 26, 2006 - good question! part of the reason this technique works with the berries is because they have natural pectin. with other fruits you might need to add pectin but at least you could use the type of pectin that requires less sugar. i don't think that concentrating the juices alone would do it. though it certainly works brilliantly for fruit pies--have you seen the way i do this in the pie and pastry bible for pies like peach and nectarine? it requires only 1/3 the thickener which gives it better flavor and perfect texture.

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Hi Joan - the pectin is naturally present in the fruit.

Thanks for posting you finding on canning supplies online - very helpful!

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Hi - A while back a newcomer to Rose Strawberry conserve came and asked a lot of questions about the process. I can't seem to find that posting or the answers to her questions. I am about to embark upon the task of strawberry conserves. First off, I see remarks about 'pectin' but nothing in the recipe? Hector do you find that doubling or tripling the recipe works as well as just the smaller batch? I have heard that it doesn't, altho I do see Rose has a formula here. Any advice going in from you, Patrincia or other newcomers to this would be appreciated. Thanks, Joan
*By the way, I have found really cute round shapes, etc., and regular shaped jars on-line in places like Sur La Table, and other kitchen suppliers...just look under canning supplies. I also came across a rack for water bath that is meant for 7 quart bottles, but didn't like that configuration, and then searched some more and found a flat bottomed rack that will hold different sized jars, which is what I intend to order. On-line I am getting a kit that contains the whole lot, bottle lifter, pot, water bath rack, etc. Cheaper that trying to find each item, which I have not been able to locate anywhere in the city of San Antonio.

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Oh Hector, I can't imagine how I've inspired you! Haha! I'm definitely inspired to bake and decorate more by all the lovely pics all of you post on the site.

Decided to pipe hearts instead of conventional fondant-shaped ones. Have seen a book that displays all kinds of pressure piped 2D and 3D figures, just using a round tube - bears, rabbits etc! Quite impressive.

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Elicia, YOU inspire me!

I use my Kitchen Aid Fruit and Vegetable Siever. It isn't the finest sieve, so I run it 2 or 3 times. Yes, you can't do without a motorized one!

Glad you are getting piping brave.

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Thks, Hector, The initial result was thick jammy but so little! I thot of leaving it as well but was curious to try reboiling. May have destroyed the whole batch! In any case, will wait 2 days to see if it has thickened... I agree making the full batch is as much work, but I don't have a machine that efficiently sieves the puree from the seeds (I still have to put the pulp through a manual sieve to get the most out of it - there's just too much leftover with the seeds inside te sieve). Can't get that damn Back to Basics strainer here and they don't mail out of US!

FYI, found fresh passionfruit in an organic shop and made the most delicious curd today - will be reserving it for a grand Mango Passion Rose cake (will try to use mango chiffon cake as the base instead of genoise) - hope the cake turns out well without a tube pan!

Have been practice piping double hearts with a round tube - quite cute I must say. Your roses on the other thread were just lovely!

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Hmm, the full recipe should yield 4 little pint jars (which is about 3/4 cups each) plus 1/4 cup extra. I would have left the conserve as is, and add more liquid whenever needed on your recipes. I am due to make my second batch! It is as much work to make one batch than 1/2.

I've just finished piping zillions of roses.

/H

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Hi buddies, I finally tried making raspberry conserve - half the recipe. Initially, I seem to have reduced it too much - I ended up with 1 1/3 cups instead of approx 2 cups. This morning, I added water to it and reboil the jam - now I have 2 cups. However, it seems a little liquid - like puree. I know Rose indicated that it shld thicken over the next 2 days, but shld it be so liquid? Any advice? It's my first time making conserve ... it tastes heavenly though!

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Brenda, I am afraid no-one in this blog could assure you that your canned tomatoes are safe or unsafe to eat. The concern is not microbes that you can just kill by heating it prior to eat. The concern is botulism, it isn't a matter of heating your tomatoes to make them safe to eat, it is about this odorless, tasteless, and colorless chemical (botox) that accumulates in your canned foods during storage when not properly canned. Botulism doesn't make you ill (infection, running stomach, etc), it paralizes your body instead, it is like injecting botox (the same for face cosmetic use) but to your throat, lungs, heart, and stomach

You may want to check with Ball, or other canning published author or specific website, to answer your questions.

Tomatoes are the #1 incident case for botulism.

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I recently canned tomato's from my garden for the first time and was using an old canning book. Even though I sterilized the jars and packed the tomato's hot, I only water bathed them for 8 minutes, going by the old book.I did add 2 teas lemon juice to the quarts. Will they be safe to eat or can I boil them some more??

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Yes, Mary, thanks for reporting back on your research!

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Mary - very good to know, thanks!

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Patricia, I realize I took awhile to do tihs, but I wanted to let you know the results of freezing the conserve. I froze a bit in a plastic freezer box for around 24 hours, then let it thaw in the fridge for about the same amount of time. I did two comparisons: direct tastes from each jar, and spread on toast.

I couldn't tell the difference on the toast. When tasting from the jar, it seemed that the non-frozen batch had a stronger flavor, however the tasting wasn't "blind" and canning might well have had a similar effect.

In the end, the consistancy and flavor were excellent after freezing.

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Ooh, Hector, I agree with Matthew an d Patrincia on this one. Botulism is very dangerous stuff and is very pesky in that it can grow in low-oxygen environments.

Even though your 'reused' lids were the ones you'd just used the day before, I think the sealing compound really is only a 1-shot deal.

I just wouldn't want to take any chances, botulism (and other toxins and spores and bacteria and the like) is a really bad bug!

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Re: Reboiling Jelly

Hector, I read an article about how approval for this practice has changed with recent research:

"Discard jams and jellies with mold on them. The mold could be producing a mycotoxin (poisonous substance that can make you sick). USDA and microbiologists recommend against scooping out the mold and using the ramaining jam or jelly. Some molds capable of growing on jellies produce root-like filaments which penetrate into the product. Mycotoxins are metabolites of some mold species and are being investigated for mutagenic and carcinogenic characteristics."

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Oh no, botulism is possible in many circumstances - especially low-acid home canning. Here's just a little of the Botulism Prevention info from Wikipedia. There is tons of info available on the subject however:

"While commercially canned goods are required to undergo a "botulinum cook" (121°C for 3 minutes) and so rarely cause botulism, there have been notable exceptions (such as the 1978 Alaskan salmon outbreak). Foodborne botulism has more frequently been from home-canned foods with low acid content, such as carrot juice, asparagus, green beans, beets, and corn. However, outbreaks of botulism have resulted from more unusual sources. In July, 2002, fourteen Alaskans ate muktuk (whale meat) from a beached whale, and eight of them developed symptoms of botulism, two of them requiring mechanical ventilation [1]. Other origins of infection include garlic or herbs[5] stored covered in oil,[2] chile peppers, tomatoes[citation needed], improperly handled baked potatoes wrapped in aluminium foil [6], and home-canned or fermented fish. Persons who do home canning should follow strict hygienic procedures to reduce contamination of foods. Oils infused with garlic or herbs should be refrigerated. Potatoes which have been baked while wrapped in aluminum foil should be kept hot until served or refrigerated [7]. Because the botulism toxin is destroyed by high temperatures, persons who eat home-canned foods should consider boiling the food for 10 minutes before eating it to ensure safety. Canned foods may also indicate botulism infestation by outward bulges in the can which result from gas production (perhaps during bacterial growth) causing increased pressure inside the can; it would be safest to simply throw such cans away as the bacteria which grew may have been botulism. Honey and other sweeteners should not be fed to infants until their digestive systems have matured—typically this will be after weaning age (ie, 18 months+). Wound botulism can be prevented by promptly seeking medical care for infected wounds, and by avoiding punctures by unsterile things such as needles used for street drug injections."

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Oh, I want to emphasize that I believe Rose designed the Raspberry and the Strawberry Conserves specifically for buttercream flavoring. Besides the indication of using less sugar to prevent over-sweating the buttercream, I think these conserves are "THE BEST" way to flavor your buttercreams with raspberry or with strawberry. I think these conserves aren't just a way to preserve the bounty of the fruit season, but a way to concentrate the flavor so nicelly that when diluted in the buttercream it becomes a dream. I haven't been able to achieve a frosting "so-strawberry" with any fresh strawberries ever.

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Getting back into the canning topic. I recall on CB saying for the raspberry and strawberry conserves: if the canning/vacuum process fails to store the jars in a cool dark place and that if mold appears to scrape it off and re-boil. How safe is that?

I think my "reused" lids are very vacuum, I've been trying several days to pop the lids out without using a spoon or screwdriver, and I can't.

For "reused" lids I mean "new" lids that I popped open the very next day of the canning process. I run my conserve thru the food processor to blend the berries with the syrup better. I boiled the lids and jars, refilled the jars, and reprocess.

Regarding botulism? Isn't this only with tomatoes canned on metal cans (not on glass canning jars)?

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Shirley O. Corriher has an EXCELLENT no egg recipe for chocolate chip cookies in her book CookWise. They are thin but chewey at the same time. My family LOVES them!!!

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I wanted to post a comment on how to bake cookies without eggs, but I didn't see a "post a comment" link in that entry.

I made chocolate chip cookies for my vegan son following a traditional chocolate chip cookie recipe. I substituted 3 tsps. soy milk for the egg and you'd never know the difference.

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Oh Mary, do fill us in on the texture of the 'thawed from frozen' conserve! BTW, is it better to use a non-stick pan or stainless steel pan for simmering conserve? I know copper is recommended but I can't find copper kitchenware here at all.

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WIsh I could share tastes with you all, though my little cup of conserve would be gone pretty fast!

I can't find a PYO farm here with sour cherries; I'm blessed to have a good friend who has a very productive tree. I'm also looking to plant one in my yard.

Patricia, I just stuck a little in a freezer box to test freezing. I'll pull it out soon so I can compare it to the original.

Hector, it did burn a little so it was a bit fast, but only enough to add a slight (and not unpleasant) caramel trace to the jam. Next time I'll watch it a little more closely!

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Mary, I'm also ready for a taste! Sour cherries are one of my favourites and they're completely unavailable in stores here in Melbourne.

Every summer we make an effort to get out to the country to the one PYO farm which has them, but the season is so short that its hard sometimes.

I'm going to be making Cordon Rose cranberry preserve soon, I'll keep you all posted on how it goes!

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Oh Mary, your Cordon Rose Sour Cherry Conserve sounds heavilly! I think it is "ok" to simmer at high heat, provided it doesn't burn. The faster less cooking the better conserves?

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Mary - are you planning on freezing a bit to see if the texture is affected?

PS - we're all ready for a taste!

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In a spirit of experimentation today, I took the last pound of pitted sour cherries, 3 ounces of water, and 5 ounces of sugar to make Cordon Rose Sour Cherry Conserve. Oh my, it's heavenly! I tasted it during the simmer with the berries in, and it wasn't quite sour enough so I added a tablespoon of lemon juice about halfway through.

It took less than 10 minutes of simmering (though I had the heat a little too high) to cook down to 1 cup. I didn't process it but simply put the jar the fridge to enjoy soon. It's setting nicely.

It isn't as tart as the jam I had made, but I like it better for it's rich flavor. I shall absolutely make more of it next year. At 5 ounces of sugar to 1 cup of finished jam, I would think that's high enough sugar content to preserve well.

Thanks to all for the help and encouragement. I learned a lot from the discussion.

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If you plan to freeze, regular freezer containers will do.
Canning fruit preserves is one area where one can really capture the summer season!
Just as a note, Pomona's Universal pectin reacts with the calcium content of the fruit so it should be okay with sour cherries. I made a conserve to use in black forest cake that was a combo of frozen sour, fresh sweet and kirsch-soaked canned cherries. It was the best thing to happen to chocolate and whipped cream in a very long time.

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Thks so much to everyone for all the valuable info on canning! It's really something I've never tried. Great to know I can freeze. So I think I will recycle my empty jam jars - sterilise them - then freeze the conserve. After all, I will only defrost the amounts I need for frosting cakes whenever the need arises!

I really haven't found canning jars for sale locally yet!

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Patrincia, I completely understand what you mean. My boyfriend loves his mum's preserves but I'm a bit more cautious--I insist that we keep them in the fridge and that we eat them as quickly as possible. I suppose given that he's reached the ripe old age of 24 with no visible ill effects, I shouldn't complain. So long as no one gets ill eating anything I've prepared, I'm happy!

I'm not huge on canning either, Hector, though I do agree that high quality preserves that actually taste of fruit are so worth it. I'm quite excited about trying the Cordon Rose recipe now! =)

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I agree with Christine and Patricia. This is definitely an area of home cooking that you don't want to "experiment" with. You should always follow recipes and instruction carefully unless you have enough knowledge to play around with them. Preservation relies on the correct balance of acid and preservative (salt, sugar) for safety, and changing the amounts or techniques can be very dangerous. Those canning lids are so inexpensive, I wouldn't risk food poising or worse by reusing them. Everything I have read says you should use fresh seals every time. Maybe I'm overly cautious, but I still remember my great-grandmother telling me stories about people dying from those home-canned green beans.

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I'm "ooky" about canning too, expecially when someone else has done it (you never quite know how "clean" some people are - if you know what I mean). I have made freezer jam, and honestly, I trust it more than home canned (but that's just me - I didn't grow up around home canned goods). As for the freezer jam, the whole family loved it.

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Christine, I have reused the Ball/Kerr canning jars, pint size, regular width. My lids are still sealed, has been 1 week. I've been lifting the jars by its lids =)

I am not a big fan of canning, neither, but some things do taste better in a can, like Cordon Rose Preserves!

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Hi everyone,

Thanks for the compliment, Hector! I'm not a scientist or anything, just a very geeky self-taught ex-pastry chef.

Which lids do you mean for re-canning? I'm told that the lids of the ring-and-lid type jar commonly used in America is a one-shot deal only--the sealing compound on the lid is only good for one go, but the rings and jars are reusable.

Over here in Australia, people commonly reuse commercial jam jars, and they don't process their jars either--my boyfriend's mother says she just sterilises the lids and jars, fills them up to the brim with jam (no headroom), lids them and lets them cool.

I learnt to can in Germany from my guest mother while on a school exchange. She also reused jam jars which she had sterilised but she left headroom, and also left the jars to cool upside down. Everyone in Germany cans this way, and it is even advocated by German magazines.

I'm a bit ooky about the whole food safety issue, so I make an effort to eat home preserves quickly. What's everyone's take on the whole processing/not processing issue?

I've also heard about freezer jams but haven't personally tried any of them. Has anyone tried them?

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Hi Hector - If by re-canning you mean re-processing (boiling again because some of your lid's didn't seal/pop), and you didn't remove the lids to open the jars at all - you just reboiled the jars, then you should be fine. The moment you open the jar is the moment you can no longer reuse the lids for proper canning (sealing via boiling). If your jar lids don't seal even after reboiling, just refrigerate and use like a newly opened jar. Used lids are not a total waste however, they are fine for temp storage in the fridge, longer storage in the freezer, or for shelf storage of dry goods like cereal, sugar, etc. Botulism is a very deadly bacteria that has no smell or taste, so proper canning methods are very important.

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Christine, I forgot to mention, that your pectin explanation is great! very technical. Thanks for sharing, are you a laboratory people?

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Good topic, do you know if by re-boiling the lids, you can reuse for canning? I had to re-can my Cordon Rose Strawberry Conserve, and the "reused" lids seem to keep its vacuum.

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elicia - you can freeze in recycled jam jars, but you can't properly "can" in them.

In the US, canning jars are commonly found in grocery stores, but I've also seen them for sale in craft stores, and hardware stores (they sell hand tools, lumber, plumbing fixtures, etc).

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Thks Mary for the explanation. I do have large stockpots, but have yet to find canning jars for sale! Canning and preserving is not a popular practice here! The storage glass jars for sale here do not have the specific lids! Looks like I can't recycle used jam jars right?- as the lids wld have 'popped' already!

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Hello again, how nice to come back to such helpful replies!

Christine and Hector, thank you. I have the Ball Blue book but not the Complete one which I will look for tomorrow.

I made some jam today using a natural pectin (Pomona is the brand name) which doesn't require a lot of sugar to gel and also doesn't have preservatives in it. So it's a low sugar jam but now I'm wondering about the keeping ability -- I cam see water droplets on the underside of the lid. I will use these very quickly.

I still want to try the Cordon Rose technique for the cherries, now I'm not certain how I would add the pectin since it's supposed to be mixed with the sugar and added after the fruit boils. Perhaps I could add it with a little extra sugar after the reducing step. I suspect I will be freezing some of these cherries so I can experiment later.

Hector, I learned something about the fruit on top problem, which also happened to my cherry jam last year. If you let the jam cool (one book said 5 minutes, another said 10, I cooled for 10) before putting it in the jars that will allow the fruit to settle into the jam and not rise to the top. Worked like a charm today.

Elicia, canning accessories don't have to be expensive. I have two huge stockpots which I use in canning: one to sterilize the jars and one as a boiling water bath. The BWB needs a rack for the jars to sit on, so I bought an inexpexive round cake cooling rack that fits inside. Most hardware stores have relatively cheap canning pots with racks if you don't have a big stockpot already. (For me it was that I didn't want to store another big pot, since I already had two.)

Then you will need to buy the proper jars with the lids. The jars can be re-used (as long as there aren't any cracks or deformities in them) but the lids can only be sealed once, and you can buy more lids individually.

I don't know what freezing would do to the texture of the jam, nor whether that would matter if your plan to use it is for cake-making rather than spreading.

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Hi, I've been wanting to make the Raspberry Conserve since the puree is heavenly! Unfortunately, I can't even find canning jars in the local shops! Wonder if I can just freeze the conserve as I do with the puree. This canning procedure as described in TCB is new to me. I've never canned before, and doubt I will be doing much of it - so I may not want to invest in too many canning accessories.

Or can I just use any recycled jars and boil them in a pot as described in TCB? I wld prefer to just freeze the conserve since I am only making it for cake-making purposes and not for spreading on bread! Is it ok to freeze?

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Hi again, guys!

Hector, I've checked out (and drooled over) La Cuisine's range of aromes, it's not so much the cost of getting it to Australia, it's more customs that I'm worried about. As you probably know, Australian customs are among the strictest in the world. Though I can't see that they'd have a problem with them (because they're not plant matter or potentially infectious to crops), it's still a worry.

As for pectin, it is a water soluble carbohydrate which holds the fruit cells together. When you heat the fruit, the pectin is released and joins with sugar and acid to gelate and make a spreadable jam. It doesn't preserve jam, sugar does that by taking up the water in the jam, making it unavailable for microbial growth.

I think you can can any fruit you like Cordon-Rose-preserve-style. I'm not sure if it'd be preserved, though, and I think you'd have to be very careful about how you keep it because of the low sugar content. I'm a bit paranoid about these things, I have to say.

Mary, I completely agree with Rose and Hector, the Ball canning book is a great place to start. I know that sour cherries are low-pectin, so you'll probably need to add some. Given that you don't want to add much sugar, maybe you should try the low-sugar or no-sugar pectins available? That may help solve your problem.

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Christine, I got my Wild Strawberry French Arome from Le Cuisine (one of the vendors listed in Cake Bible). It is a $12 small glass bottle, should not be that expensive to get it to Australia eh?

Rose once recommended I get the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving: 400 Delicious and Creative Recipes for Today. It is a beutiful book and paperback-inexpensive. Lots of great tips.

Question: what is the purpose of pectin? Is that for preservation of for thickening? My Cordon Rose Strawberry Conserve turned pretty liquid, but I didn't mind the taste at all. Can you can any fruit if you don't care to be jelly-thick?

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Hello, I'm new to the site. Thank you, Rose, for providing this blog and forum; I'm enjoying the archives.

I am hoping for some help with jam.

It's sour cherry week here and I have access to a friends tree where I can pick all I want. I want to make jam and am trying to figure out whether the Cordon Rose technique will work with cherries. Has anybody tried it? From what I have read, cherries need added pectin to gel, but my sources say the same thing about raspberries which have worked beautifully in the condon rose conserve.

Last year I made a low-ish sugar pectin version with sour cherries (using a natural pectin without preservatives) but it was sweeter than I wanted. I want a really sour flavor, and while the jam tasted great when I cooked it, somehow it sweetened some after being processed.

I'd be grateful for any thoughts.

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Hi guys,

Hector, freezing does damage some of the pectin in fruits and the fact that the fruit is frozen ripe also doesn't help--ripe fruit has less pectin than unripe fruit (which is why some jam recipes advocate adding some unripe fruit to the mix). Your jam sounds delicious, though! I need to find out who can supply those aromes here in Australia.

Matthew, I do indeed own The Pie and Pastry Bible. I'd completely forgotten about that fruit-sugar chart. Thanks for jogging my memory!

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Christine,
I don't know if you own the Pie and Pastry Bible, but there is a chart for adding sugar to fruit. For Cranberries, it is 72% of their weight. For example, for 100 grams, you would add 72 grams of sugar.

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I didn't know that freezing destroys pectin! You know more than me on this one. I've just made a batch of Cordon Rose Strawberry Conserve (with frozen berries), and I think I didn't reduce the liquid enough between adding berries. The conserve was very liquid and the berries were floating (almost whitish) on a very red syrup. I opened all the jars the next day and ran it all thru the food processor, then recanned. It looks better now. I used the wonderful French arome, wonderful.

My Cordon Rose Raspberry Conserve (frozen berries, too), did turned EXCELLENT.

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Somehow, Hector, I knew that you'd come through! Thanks for all the advice! I know that cranberries have a pretty high pectin content but also that freezing destroys some of that pectin...I also reckon that their water content is closer to raspberries than to strawberries.

I might make a small batch following the raspberry jam recipe just to see how I go. That's a really good thought, leaving them low-sugar and adding it as needed. Thanks, Hector!

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Christine, I am not very experienced making jams, but I do make the terrific Cordon Rose Raspberry Conserve. First you need to find out if the "pectine value" and "water content value" of cranberries are similar to either raspberries or strawberries, then use the according recipe. The strawberry conserves use less water because strawberries are higher in water than raspberries.  You can try picking up a jam making book and compare recipes.

I wouldn't add any more sugar, specially if you will use the conserves to flavor frostings. If you don't find it sweet enough, to be used on toasts or bread, just stir in more sugar at the moment or when you pop open the jar. Leave your conserves low sugar because it is easier to add more sugar later!

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I hope you have a lovely holiday, Rose! Forgive me for asking if you've already answered, I'm behind in reading the comments--where are you headed off to?

Here's one for the 'Baking Team': I've recently come into possession of some frozen cranberries. Having made several batches of the superb banana, nut and cranberry bread recipe from The Bread Bible, I was thinking about making some jam. I could just buy jamming sugar from the supermarket, but was thinking about using the Cordon Rose recipe from The Cake Bible. I was thinking about using the proportions from the raspberry jam recipe but as cranberries are so much more sour, should I increase the amount of sugar?

Thanks,
Christine.

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