3 large ruby red grapefruits
3 cups water
4 cups sugar
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
2 tablespoons rose water or lemon juice

1. Set a large pot of water to boil. Cut off the peel of the grapefruits, working to get good thick slices, but leaving the inner white pith closest to the fruit still attached to the fruit. Cut the peels into strips. Blanch the peels by submersing them in boiling water for about three minutes. Drain in a colander and rinse under running water. Bring a fresh pot of water to a boil and repeat the blanching process again, this removes any bitterness. Drain and rinse again.
2. Place the peels in a large pot. Cut off all the white pith from the remaining fruits then, working over the pot, cut between the grapefruit membranes so that the fruit sections fall into the pot. Squeeze juice from the membranes and discard them. Repeat with remaining fruits.
3. Add the water and sugar to the pot and bring to a boil, stirring to combine. Lower the heat to a very low simmer. Simmer until the marmalade is thick and translucent, about one hour. The marmalade may still appear a touch watery- keep in mind it will thicken as it cools.
4. Add the vanilla bean seeds and simmer another five minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the rose water (or lemon) and set aside to cool. You could can this and process in a hot water bath or simply store in jars in the fridge.

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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

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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. 
4. Return to a boil.  Check the set.  Pour the jelly into jars and seal.
5. 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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amounts given PER PINT

about 1 lb Roma or other variety plum tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon bottled lemon juice. (I don’t like using bottled lemon juice because it tastes like wet dog dunked in Drano, BUT the argument for it is that commercial lemon juice has a set acidity level so it’s more reliable for food safety.)

1. Peel the tomatoes: working in small batches, blanch tomatoes in a large quantify of boiling water for 1 minute. Remove with a slotted spoon to a bowl of ice water to arrest cooking. Cut out the stem with the point of your paring knife and then peel away the skin.

2. Now you need to work quickly: quarter enough tomatoes into a pot to cover the bottom, mash them good with a potato masher to release their juices and quickly bring them to a lively simmer.

3. While they heat, blanch and peel your next small batch of tomatoes. Add them one by one to the now-simmering liquid in the pot. If you want you can quarter each new tomato as it goes in. I like to crush each one lightly in my palm and immediately push it down into the hot juice.

4. Once all your tomatoes are in the pot, return to a boil and cook steadily for 5 minutes, stirring and turning over the tomatoes periodically.

5. Ladle into jars and seal. Process in a boiling-water bath for 35 minutes for pints and 45 minutes for quarts.

If any of this is unclear, please consult Ball or USDA-approved canning guidelines before attempting the process.

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BASIC RATION by weight 4:3

FOR A BIG BATCH
8 pounds Alberta peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced (Note that 10 pounds whole fruit yielded 8 pounds prepared.)
6 pounds sugar
juice of 3 lemons
1. To peel peaches: cut a shallow X in the stem end of each fruit and, working in small batches, blanch briefly for perhaps 30 seconds until skin begins to visibly loosen. Remove from boiling water. When cool enough to handle, remove skins (most will readily slip off), pit and slice into eighths.

2. Stir together prepared fruit, sugar and lemon juice in a large shallow pot. Bring to a full rolling boil. Moderate heat, skim and continue stirring until mixture is thickened to the jell point. (I didn’t time this batch, but I’d guess it cooked about 25 minutes. Peaches are juicy and time some time to reduce.) Ladle into pint jars, seal and process in a boiling-water bath for 10 minutes.

YIELD
10 pounds whole fruit yielded 6.5 pints
6 x pints

1 x 8 oz

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