From the Demo: Saving the Season, Winter Citrus
Recipe Courtesy of Bettina Birch, BeeGreenFarm
Christine Ferber, author of “Mes Confiture” inspires with her recipe for “Pectin Stock”, a natural alternative to packaged pectin.
3 1/2 pounds green apples
4 2/3 cups granulated sugar
6 1/2 cups water
Juice of one small lemon
- Rinse apples in cold water. Remove stems and cut fruit into quarters without peeling. Put them in a pan and cover with water. When mixture comes to a boil, simmer for half an hour on low heat.
- Collect the juice by pouring preparation through a fine chinois sieve and pressing lightly on the fruit with the back of a skimmer. Then filter a second time through cheese cloth that has been wet and wrung out.
- Pour 4 1/4 cups of the juice into a preserving pan with the lemon juice and the sugar. Bring to a boil, skim and continue cooking on high heat for 5 to 10 minutes. Skim again if necessary.
- Return to a boil. Check the set. Pour the jelly into jars and seal.
- This is a “pectin stock” jelly and can be added to jams such as pear or cherry which have very little natural pectin: it will facilitate the jell. Choose very green apples, preferably at the beginning of July when they haven’t ripened yet. You can make a compote with the pulp by putting it through a coarse food mill and adding sugar and spice to taste.
Thanks to my good friend Susan the pastry chef who shared Ferber’s book with me.
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