How to Make Your Own Fruit Preserves
Posted by Gwen Watson on Oct 2, 2015
Fruit preserves are made with fresh fruit, sugar, and water. In years past, before refrigeration, fruit preserves helped extend the life of a good crop. Instead of letting the extra fruit go bad, people would make preserves so they could enjoy it throughout the year. Today, we still eat preserves but not because we have to – we simply love the way it tastes! Here’s a formula that will help you make perfect preserves every time:
Choose Your Fruit
The very first thing you need to do is choose the fruit you will use in the preserves. Keep in mind that the fresher the fruit is, the better it will taste when you’re done. Your best bet is to choose whichever fruit is in season. At this time of year, preserving fruits such as apples and pears is a good bet since they’re at their peak.
Prepare the Fruit
Once you choose the fruit, your next step is to clean it. At this stage you’ll want to wash and peel the fruit as well as remove any seeds. Keep in mind that if you’re making a berry preserve, there’s no need to remove the seed. However, if you’re preserving fruit such as peaches, plums, and apples, you’ll definitely want to get rid of the pit and core. Use your judgment as to whether or not you want to remove the peels in fruits such as apples and pears. Most apple skins are too course and won’t taste good as a preserve. However, since pear, peach, and plum skins are so thin, removing them is optional.
Get Your Ingredients Ready
Once you clean your fruit, you’ll want to coarsely chop it. Preserves are a little chunkier than jam, but the technique for making it is the same. Once you chop the fruit, you’ll want to measure it. This will help you determine the rest of the ingredients. For every cup of fruit that you’ll be preserving, you’ll need one cup of sugar and one tablespoon of lemon juice. If the fruit you are using has a low amount of pectin (such as berries, cherries, and grapes), you’ll also want to add about 1 tablespoon of pectin.
Make the Fruit Preserves
To make your preserves, you’ll want to start by mashing the fruit if you’re making jam, or you can leave the fruit chunky if you want a thicker preserve. Add all the ingredients to a saucepan that is big enough to hold all the ingredients and set the heat on low. Stir constantly throughout the cooking process with a wooden spoon. Cook until the preserves are at the desired consistency. Pour the preserves into a sterilized canning jar and seal with a vacuum sealer or follow procedures for water bath canning if you plan on storing it. Otherwise, cover the lid tightly and store it in the refrigerator for a few weeks.
There’s nothing tastier than homemade preserves and they also make great gifts. If you’re giving them away as gifts, be sure to sterilize the jars properly.