Crazy for Cranberry Sauce

It seems to be right around this time of year when people start to hang up their Christmas lights, the days get shorter and the wind gets colder and I start to think about cranberries.

There are a lot of great cranberry sauce recipes out there. Some of them add ginger or orange zest to the sauce to make the flavour more complex and interesting.

What do you do to your cranberry sauce to make it stand apart?

I can tell you what I do. I add roasted walnuts and pecans. I take anywhere from 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of a combination or walnuts and pecans and I chop them roughly and place them in a pan on my stove top over medium-high heat and stir them occasionally. Keep an eye that they don't burn. You want the nice flavour of the roasted nuts to permeate your cranberry sauce - not a burnt flavour. In about 5 minutes the scent of roasted nuts will be evident and they will have turned a golden brown.

Prepare your sauce as per your normal instructions and add the nuts close to the end of the cooking time. Delicious!

Pressure Canning vs Water bath

There are two ways to process preserved fruits and vegetables, but how do you know when you need to use one method over the other? When can you safely water bath something versus having to pressure can it?

There is a simple rule - fruits and HIGH acid foods can be safely preserved using the water bath whereas vegetables and LOW acid foods are what NEED to be pressure canned. Now don't go confusing pressure canners with pressure cookers or steamers, or it may result in some exploding jars, contaminated product or worse. Pressure cookers and steamers simply will not heat the contents of your jars to the correct temperature, so be sure you are using a pressure cooker and follow the operating instructions that you will find inside the box. Pressure canning increases the temperature of the product inside your jars to a hot enough temperature that it kills and bacteria present and will also deactivate any unwanted enzymes.

So what types of items are considered LOW acid?

• tomato sauce recipes that do not have lemon juice added to them
• vegetables that are not pickled using vinegar
• meats and seafood
• vegetables with a pH level higher than 4.6, lack the acidity to stop the growth of bacteria spores

The basic process of the water bath

- To calculate the size of the water bath canner, keep these measurements in mind. You need to allow for the following:

• height of your jar
• a minimum of 1 inch of water above the jar
• 1 inch of air space above the water level
• 1 inch for the rack you place on the inside of your pot
• the pot should be no more than 4 inches larger in diameter than your stovetop burner to allow for the water to achieve and maintain the proper temperature

Once you have chosen the correct sized water bath canner/pot for the job, follow these simple steps to complete the water bath process.

• Put your rack on the bottom of your canner and fill with water, leaving as much as 4 inches of clearance from the top of the canner. If you notice mineral deposits beginning to form on your processed jars, you can add vinegar to the mix to prevent this.
• Place the lid on the canner and place your canner on your stovetop and turn heat to high
• Using a jar lifter, place each of your sterilized and filled jars into the canner and ensure it is sitting flat on the rack within. Leave space between each of the jars to ensure water continues to circulate between the jars and heats jars evenly.
• Ensure that there is a minimum of 1 inch of water above the top of your filled jars and if necessary add more hot water to the pot
• Bring the temperature of the water up to the level required for your recipe and begin timing the water bath.
• Ensure the temperature maintains at a minimum the temperature outlined in your recipe and increase heat if required.
• Process for the full amount of time prescribed in the recipe. Do not shorten this time or you may not kill any harmful bacteria present inside your jars
• When the time is complete, remove the jars from the bath and place on a cooling rack or tea cloth. Never place your hot jars directly onto your countertop or they could shatter.
  
• Allow the jars to cool and then store in a cool, dark place.

The basic process for pressure canning using a weighted gauge canner (be sure to read any manufacturer instructions that come with your pressure canner)

• Place the metal rack that comes with your canner on the bottom of the canner and fill with 2-5 inches of water
• Place the pressure canner on your stovetop over low heat and bring the temperature to 180F.
• Using a jar lifter, place each of your sterilized and filled jars into the canner and ensure it is sitting flat on the rack within. Leave space between each of the jars to ensure water continues to circulate between the jars and heats jars evenly.
• Put the lid on top of your canner and twist into place leaving the weighted gauge off the canner to start
• Increase your heat to medium-high until steam begins to escape. At this point, set your timer for 10 minutes.
• After it has steamed for 10 minutes, place your weighted gauge on the steam vent. The gauge you use will be outlined in your recipe. Do not change the weight used
• After about 4-5 minutes your gauge should show that you have reached the desired pressure. Set your timer for the amount of time outlined in your recipe. Ensure the pressure does not drop throughout the entire process. If it begins to drop, increase your heat.
• Once the time is complete, turn off the heat. Let the canner cool until the gauge reads zero. DO NOT OPEN BEFORE IT REACHES ZERO AS THERE WILL STILL BE A BUILD UP OF PRESSURE INSIDE THE CANNER AND YOUR LID COULD SHOOT UP
• Once you have reached zero pressure remove the weighted gauge and allow the steam to escape before opening the lid. Give your jars a few minutes to cool before removing them from the canner
• remove the jars from the canner and place on a cooling rack or tea cloth. Never place your hot jars directly onto your countertop or they could shatter.

Couple of tips to remember:

- if the pressure drops during the process for less than 5 minutes, increase your heat until pressure has returned to the desired level. Add 10 extra minutes to the time remaining in the process.

- if the pressure drops during the process time for more than 5 minutes, increase your heat until the pressure has returned to the desired level and re-process for the entire time outlined in the recipe.

Tips for the perfect batch of Jam

There is nothing more disappointing than when a jelly doesn’t set or your jam separates or pickles or preserves float or change colour. Don’t take it as a personal failure! There is a lesson hidden in the jar and once you learn what caused this particular batch not to turn out the way you liked, you are one step closer to making the perfect batch the next time.

With that in mind, here are some tips to help you make the perfect batch of jam every time.

Jams, jellies and marmalades are all made from a balanced combination of four ingredients and the correct proportion of each of these in relation to the other is required to achieve the right set.

•      Fruit
•      Sugar
•      Pectin
•      Acid

Too little sugar, acid or pectin in proportion to the fruit and your jam will remain liquidy

Too much sugar, acid or pectin and your jam will be stiff

Thinking of speeding up the preparation time for your batch of jam? Put that food processor or blender back in the cupboard! Using one of these handy kitchen tools to chop or crush your fruit could lead to some rather disappointing results:

• The pureed fruit will be filled with air bubbles and this will lead to additional foam during cooking
• There will be a higher risk to having the fruit float in the jar
• You will release way more liquid from the fruit this way than if you were to cut or chop by hand.
• This can upset the balance of the recipe and you can end up with too liquidy a jam
  • To cook off this extra liquid will require extra cooking time and can lead to burning your jar

Always remember not to double recipes to increase yield. They may fail to set and potentially separate as they cool.

Want to make jam with a sugar substitute or with less sugar, purchase a pectin designed specifically for this purpose and follow the directions on the box carefully

Always check the expiration date on the pectin and follow the instructions for its use carefully.

What tips or tricks do you have for the perfect batch of jam every time?

Why you should always check the expiration date on Pectin

Crestfallen…that is how I felt when I woke up this morning.

crest·fal·len

adjective /ˈkrestˌfôlən/  Sad and disappointed - he came back empty-handed and crestfallen

When I walked into the kitchen and picked up the 125ml jar of what was supposed to be Beer Jam but is still simply beer liquid, I felt my heart drop. I knew that the people who attended my Prosecco Jelly (which turned out beautifully) and Beer Jam class last night at The Depanneur would at some point come to the same realization when they checked the jars they brought home last night.

I sat down with a bit of a thunk at my kitchen table, rested my head in my hands and mentally ran through the list of reasons why a jelly doesn’t set so that I could diagnose the situation.

• Incorrect amount of sugar. I knew that was not the problem as I watched as Vicky meticulously measured the sugar and even got someone to double check the quantity. Sugar was not our problem

• Not enough acid. We used the juice of 1 lemon as the recipe called for and I watched Gwen squeeze the life out of that lemon. Acid was not our problem.

• Overripe fruit. There was no fruit in this particular jelly unless you consider Guinness Beer a fruit, so I knew I could cross this one of our list.

• Not enough pectin. We used the prescribed amount of pectin. Not enough pectin officially crossed off the list.

•  We cooked the jelly for too long after adding the pectin causing it to break down. We timed it to the second. Argghhh….what was the reason

 Suddenly it came to me in a flash and I ran to my Rubbermaid container with the supplies from the class last night and dug out the box with the pectin used in the beer jelly. EXPIRED.

 KEY LEARNING: Always, always, always check the box for the expiration date before using it.

 The good news for those in the class is that you can still use what is in the jar. It is not a total waste. Just bring it to a gentle simmer in a pan until it begins to thicken up and use it as a syrup or marinade.

 But as anyone who knows me will attest, this really bothers me. For those in my class (and I am going to try to reach you via email) who would like a jar of the Beer Jam that they got to taste at the beginning of the class, just drop me a line. I will whip up a batch and drop some off at The Dep for you to pick up.

I hope that the skills you learned in the class will still prove handy and that you will have the confidence to try this recipe again at home!

Shipping an order - the checklist

As I pass each milestone, I have tried to share my learnings, mistakes I may have made, things I would change the next time, etc. Seeing as I shipped my first order to a store this week I thought I would share the little checklist I used to make sure I didn't overlook anything. Some of this is just good old common sense, well perhaps all of it might be. I don't claim to be recreating the wheel, but I think a spirit of sharing and cooperation will only make things easier for the next person who tries to do this.

1) Invoice

Be sure to provide an invoice with the shipment. It should include your company name, address, phone number, email address, HST# if you require one (check out this site and take the quick questionnaire to help figure out if you need one), as well as other important information such as quantity and description of goods shipped.

2) I was advised that for the first few shipments to a new store it is always a good idea to state that your payment terms are COD. At least until you have developed a relationship with the store.

3) Check your jars

Just because you know you make an amazing product, don't take it for granted that all of your jars are sealed. Double check each jar to make sure the seal is perfect and that the colouring of the product inside is as it should be. I always store anything made with vinegar without the rings and put them on when it is time to go to market, etc. It is the best way to tell if your seal is true.

4) Labels

Make sure each jar is labelled appropriately and that each jar looks just as you want it. Remember this is your opportunity to market yourself and your other products as well. They should look great!

5) Commercial Kitchen

I think the first time you ship to a new store you should include a copy of the Food Safety Inspection for the kitchen you use. This way the store has it on hand should they get asked for it and it shows that you are professional and following all of the rules.

6) List of all your products

Include a full price list of all your other products. It acts as a good reminder if the store has only purchased a few of your products that you have others that might be of interest to them.

If you can think of other things to add to this checklist be sure to let me know.