Texas Home Cooking
Page 39
2 cups good-quality port
3 cups sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 cinnamon sticks, broken in half
1 3-ounce package liquid pectin, such as Certo
Makes about 4 half-pints
Prepare the canning jars according to the manufacturer's directions.
Combine the port, sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon sticks in a heavy saucepan, and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Stir to help dissolve the sugar. Boil vigorously for 2 minutes, remove the pan from the heat, and immediately add the pectin.
Spoon the jelly into the prepared jars, leaving ¼ inch of headspace. Place a piece of cinnamon stick in each jar. Process the jars in a water bath according to the manufacturer's directions, generally 10 minutes.
If this small batch of jelly is to be used soon, the processing can be skipped, but keep the jelly refrigerated.
Variation: Fortified wines like port make some of the best jellies, but any wine you like to drink can be used. Just substitute your favorite vintage, and eliminate the cinnamon sticks.
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Most Texas wineries now market jellies made from their grapes. We particularly like Messina Hof's Jalapeño Blush Jelly.
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Technique Tip
Jellies gel because of pectin, which is found in fruit. Commercial pectin, usually distilled from apples or citrus, comes powdered and in liquid gel-packs. Both kinds work well when combined with sugar and acid, but they shouldn't be substituted for each other. Low methoxyl pectins such as Sure-Jell Light are chemically treated to gel with substantially less sugar than regular powdered pectins. They are a little trickier to use but worth the trouble when you want a lower level of sweetness.
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Technique Tip
For a full discussion of canning, check out Jeanne Lesem's Preserving Today, a revised and expanded version of her 1975 Pleasures of Preserving and Pickling. Another helpful resource is the Ball Corporation's Blue Book, available from the canning products giant based in Muncie, Indiana. The book is updated every few years for the latest on techniques, recipes, and safely considerations.
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Jim Hightower, former commissioner of the Texas Department of Agriculture, started the Taste of Texas program in 1983. Condiments and other foods that carry the Taste of Texas logo are made by Texas companies using Texas food products. The businesses range from familiar corporations like Wolf Brand Chili in Richardson to small-scale entrepreneurs like Z's and Key's Bees, honey producers in Point.
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Bonham Pear Butter
You don't have to use good eating pears, such as Bartletts and Boscs, for this recipe. Texans make this butter as a tasty way to enjoy coarser pears, like Kieffers, which are more common in the state.
4 pounds pears, preferably Kieffers, peeled, cored, and chopped
2 cups sugar
1 cup fresh orange juice
¼ cup pear brandy
1
to
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Makes about 5 half-pints
Prepare the canning jars according to the manufacturer's directions.
Combine the pears, sugar, orange juice, brandy, and 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice in a heavy saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook slowly until the pears are very tender, about 30 to 35 minutes.
Spoon the mixture into a food processor or blender, and purée it, in batches if necessary, until it is smooth. Return the mixture to the heat, and simmer over low heat, stirring frequently, until it is very thick, another 25 to 30 minutes. Taste, and add the remaining lemon juice, if you like.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared jars, leaving ¼ inch of headspace. Process according to the manufacturer's directions, usually 10 minutes.
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Anyone who thinks canning is a lost craft hasn't been to the State Fair of Texas lately. If you can't make it in person, check out the winning entries in the annual cookbooks, published by Elizabeth Peabody, the fair's Creative Arts head, since the 1970s. The Texas Sesquicentennial collection, from 1986, is particularly good.
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Persimmon Chutney
Chutneys combine fruit with vinegar, sweetening, spices, and sometimes hot chiles. Peaches are the most common fruit used in Texas, but persimmons work well. too. Try this as an accompaniment to grilled or roasted meats or as an appetizer with crackers and cream cheese or mild goat cheese. If you plan to use the chutney within a few weeks, it doesn't have to be canned, though you should still start with sterilized jars and store it in the refrigerator.
2 pounds ripe persimmons
1 cup chopped onions
½ cup white vinegar
¼ cup water
¼ cup raisins
¼ cup dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon unsulphured dark molasses
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
½ teaspoon powdered ginger
½ teaspoon white pepper
Makes 4 to 5 half-pints
Prepare half-pint canning jars according to the manufacturer's directions.
Split the skins of the persimmons, and spoon out the soft flesh. Combine the fruit and other ingredients in a heavy saucepan. Simmer the mixture over low heat for 40 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it is very thick. Add a little more water if the mixture starts to be sticky.
Spoon the chutney into the prepared jars, and screw on the lids. Refrigerate the jars, or process them in a water bath for 10 minutes. If you are processing, leave about ¼ inch headspace.
The chutney is best if it is allowed to gain flavor for a couple of days.
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Texans started growing persimmons, a late fall fruit, in 1894, importing the trees from China and Japan.
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Technique Tip
Supermarket persimmons are often unripened, giving their taste an unpleasant blast of tannin. Allow the bright orange fruit to sit a few days at room temperature. The flavor should hint of apricots, but the texture should be juicier and more voluptuous.
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Drunken Cranberry Sauce
This fruit sauce isn't actually canned, because it keeps at least two weeks in the refrigerator, longer than it will last at Thanksgiving or Christmas.
1 12-ounce bag cranberries
1
to
1¼ cups sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Dash of nutmeg
¼ cup bourbon
Makes about 2 cups
Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Combine the cranberries, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in an 8-inch square pan, and cover the pan with aluminum foil. Bake 50 minutes to 1 hour, until the cranberries have softened and become juicy. Uncover the pan, and immediately stir in the bourbon. The alcohol will evaporate, leaving just the liquor's warm, smoky essence. Refrigerate the sauce, covered, until ready to serve.
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Texans made their first jellies and jams out of wild berries and fruits. Mustang grapes, agaiitas (a type of currant), and apple-like mayhaws were particularly popular for canning. Some of these and other heirloom ingredients are making a comeback in commercial products. For a true taste of the past, check with the companies listed in "Mail-Order Sources" ([>]).
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Watermelon Pickles
Hard to find at the local grocery, these morsels will make you a believer if you try them just once. Just save the rind from the next watermelon you eat, and take a little time over the following three days to complete a series of simple steps.
FIRST-DAY INGREDIENTS
Rind of one large watermelon, about 16 cups cubed
¾ cup pickling salt
1 gallon water
SECOND-DAY INGREDIENTS
8 cups sugar
4 cups white vinegar
2 lem
ons, sliced thin
1 tablespoon whole cloves
1 tablespoon whole allspice
4 cinnamon sticks, broken in half
¼ teaspoon mustard seeds
Makes about 8 pints
The first day. This is the toughest part of the process. Cut the watermelon rind into manageable chunks. Scrape all the remaining red meat from the inside of the rind. Then pare off the hard green outer skin with a small knife. It's not difficult, but it takes a while. Cube the rind into bite-size pieces.
In a large bowl, dissolve the salt in the water. Transfer the rind cubes to the salted water, and weight the rind pieces down with a plate to keep them submerged. Find an out-of-the-way coiner of your kitchen for the bowl, and soak the cubes about 24 hours.
The second day. Combine all the second day's ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring them to a boil, and simmer the syrup for about 5 minutes.
While the syrup simmers, drain the cubes, rinse them, and drain them again. Rinse the bowl the cubes were soaking in, and return them to it. Pour the hot syrup over the cubes, place the bowl back in its original resting place, cover it lightly, and let it sit another 24 hours, more or less.
The third day. Sterilize pint canning jars according to the manufacturer's directions.
Pour the cubes and syrup into a large pan, and bring the mixture to a boil. With a slotted spoon, pack the cubes lightly into the prepared jars, dividing the lemon slices equally among the jars. Pour the syrup over the cubes, adding equal amounts to each jar and filling to within ½ inch of the top. Process the jars in a water bath for 10 minutes.
Allow the pickles to sit for at least one week before you indulge.
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Watermelons require hot weather to reach a peak of flavor, but after harvesting they keep best in a dark, cool place. Until the days of modern refrigerators, people often stored them under their beds.
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Technique Tip
Fine-textured pickling salt is made without additives. Use it instead of regular salt to prevent syrups and brines from becoming cloudy.
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Gingered Cantaloupe Pickles
As rare, as watermelon pickles on supermarket shelves, these cantaloupe cousins have an assertive gingery sweetness and tang. They're made from the meat of the melon rather than the rind, and they work best with one of the underripe specimens found so often in chain groceries.
½ cup pickling lime
2 quarts water
2 small cantaloupes, about 3½ pounds total
5 cups sugar
2½ cups vinegar, preferably distilled white
⅓ cup minced crystallized ginger
Makes 7 to 8 half-pints
The first day. Dissolve the pickling lime in the water, following the directions on the package. Cut the cantaloupe meat from the rind, and slice it into bite-size chunks of similar size and shape. Add the cantaloupe to the lime solution, and let it stand about 4 hours at room temperature.
Drain the cantaloupe, rinse it, and drain it again. Return the fruit to the bowl, cover it with more water, and let it stand at room temperature for about 2 hours.
Drain the cantaloupe once more. Return the fruit to the bowl, and add the rest of the ingredients. Stir well to dissolve all of the sugar. Weight the fruit with a plate, and let it sit overnight.
The second day. Transfer the cantaloupe and liquid to a large saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil quickly. Boil vigorously for about 1¼ hours, until the liquid has reduced to a thick syrup.
While the cantaloupe cooks, sterilize half-pint canning jars according to the manufacturer's directions.
With a slotted spoon, divide the fruit chunks evenly among the jars, filling them to within ½ inch of their tops. Pour the syrup evenly over the cantaloupe. Process the jars in a water bath for 10 minutes.
Let the pickles sit at least a week to develop their flavor.
Hill Country- Pickled Peaches
One of many Texas canned peach preparations, this pickled version uses firm-textured peaches. You can complete the recipe in one day if you start early, or you can spread the steps over two days.
8 pounds peeled whole peaches, small to medium in size, ripe yet still firm
6 cups sugar
4 cups vinegar
2 cups water
4 cinnamon sticks
1½ tablespoons whole cloves
2 teaspoons powdered ginger
½ teaspoon white pepper
Makes 4 quarts
Combine all the ingredients in a heavy saucepan. Bring the mixture to a rolling boil over high heat. Boil until the peaches can be pierced easily with a fork, a matter of minutes; do not allow them to soften. Remove the pan from the heat, and let the peaches sit in the syrup at room temperature for at least 8 hours or overnight.
Prepare quart canning jars according to the manufacturer's directions.
Return the pan to the stove, and bring the mixture back to a boil. Spoon the peaches into the jars, wedging them in, and divide the syrup and spices equally among the jars. Leave about ½ inch of headspace in each jar. Process the jars for 20 minutes.
For the best taste, store the peaches for at least 2 weeks before serving them.
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In old Texas cookbooks, pickling preparations were among the most elaborate. one recipe for pickled peaches called for slicing the fruit in half, filling the centers with a chutney-style mixture of more peaches, mustard, ginger, and other ingredients, and then sewing the halves back together before pickling.
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Molasses Mustard
When frontier children complained about their food, a common parental rebuff was, "Help yourself to the mustard." This pungent one would have been a treat, particularly with grilled or smoked meat. Even without canning, it lasts as long as a Houston summer.
½ cup dry mustard
4 tablespoons beer
2 tablespoons unsulphured dark molasses
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
Makes about 1 cup
Place all the ingredients in a small bowl, mix them together well, cover, and refrigerate. Let the mustard mellow at least 24 hours. It keeps indefinitely.
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The original pickle potentate, H. J. Heinz, installed the first electric sign in New York City. It was a 40-foot-long pickle that used twelve hundred bulbs during an era when few homes had even one.
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Chili Sauce Rojo
Not to be confused with sauces of red chiles, common around El Paso, a chili sauce is a ketchup with character. The short season for fresh red chiles coincides with the height of tomato season, allowing you to can a blazing crimson ketchup. A classic chili sauce by Helen Witty inspired our Rojo.
14 cups (about 7 pounds) skinned and coarsely chopped tomatoes, preferably Roma or another Italian plum variety
3 cups (about 6 medium) minced red bell peppers
3 cups (about 3 large) minced onions
1 cup (about 4 medium) minced fresh large red chiles, preferably New Mexican, or ¾ cup (about 8 medium) minced red jalapeños
1 cup (2 to 3 ribs) minced celery
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups cider vinegar
1 cup dark brown sugar
½ cup light corn syrup
¼ cup pickling salt
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1½ teaspoons ground cloves
Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce, optional
Makes about 7 pints
Place all the ingredients, except the Tabasco, in a stockpot. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for about 2½ hours, stirring occasionally. The mixture is ready when it has cooked down to a thick sauce. Stir it more frequently toward the end of the cooking tim
e to prevent it from sticking. The seasoning can be adjusted near the end, with a few splashes of Tabasco added if the heat level is not sufficient. We sometimes add another tablespoon or so of brown sugar.
Sterilize pint canning jars and lids according to the manufacturer's directions.
When the sauce is ready, pour it into the jars, filling them to about ¼ inch from their tops. Process the jars in a water bath for 15 to 20 minutes.
For peak flavor, allow the sauce to sit at least 1 week before using it.
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Technique Tip