86-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 20, 2002 ‘ Berry ’ Delicious Jams, Jellies From Anna Martinis Kitchen LOU ANN GOOD Food And Family Features Editor DENVER (Lancaster Co.) You’ve seen her name. “Anna Martin” appears in print as a fre quent contributor to “Cook’s Question Comer.” Anna’s culinary skills and her recipes are basic ones that she, her husband Gene, and three adult children, their spouses, and five grandchildren endorse. One of the family’s favorites is raspberry jam and jelly, which Anna has been busy preserving the past two weeks. Raspberries, also called bram ble berries, have a short growing season. Although delightful eaten fresh, raspberry goodness can be retained to savor the berry’s flavor throughout the year. Preserving the berries is not for the cook who doesn’t like to get her hands dirty. Raspberries stain hands and anything else they touch. But the time and ef fort is wellworth it for all who taste Anna’s flavorful jelly and jams store-brought varieties are no comparison. To prepare for jelly making, the raspberries need to be squeezed through cheesecloth to remove the seeds for jam, the ber ries are lightly mashed. “Some people don’t like the seeds and others don’t mind them,” Anna said of the process. “I keep record of what my friends and family prefer and give these as Christmas gifts,” Anna said of the attractive and neatly labeled raspberry jelly and jam jars sitting on her kitchen countertop. Although the Martins have a few raspberry bushes growing on their wooded property, Anna picks the bulk of berries along roadsides and remote wooded areas. “The birds get them about as fast as they come,” Anna said of the berries on their own property. That may be because the birds al ready view the Martins’ yard as “bird paradise” because of the many bird feeders they have erected. Because the Martins live in a remote area, bramble berries are plentiful along roadsides. Anna takes long walks in search of the berries. New Research For Bramble Growers PIKETON, Ohio Black said. “It’s not done commonly, raspberries typically are not but with increasing costs of harvested until several years production, anything will after the brambles are planted, help.” said Shawn Wright, an Ohio Brambles usually are planted State University Extension hor- the first year, pruned the sec ticulture specialist. But experi- ond and allowed to produce menters at the research center berries the third. Growers do harvested black raspberries not get a full crop the second early in hopes of benefiting year because the brambles are local berry growers. establishing their crown and “Growers may be able to re- root systems, Wright said. The coop from some of their invest* “baby crop” would aid in get ments quicker by not waiting ting income to the grower a until the third year,” Wright year early. When selecting berries, choose those that are firm, plump, and solid in color. A solid-deep color is a good indicator of ripeness. Immature berries do not sweeten after they are picked. Raspberries are very delicate and should be used immediately after harvested or refrigerated. Black raspberries maintain their freshness for three to five days after harvesting if kept refrigerat ed, but red raspberries last only two to three days. Do not wash berries before refrigerating. When ready to use, wash ber ries gently and quickly in cold water. Gently lift them from the water and drain. Never soak ber ries in water or they will lose sugar, flavor, and color. Avoid using aluminum, tin, or iron utensils or baking pans be cause berries can turn from red to blue in color. Because Anna works part time as a para-educator for IU 13 Spe cial Ed classes, her time preserv ing summmer’s bounty is limited. Anna’s husband Eugene owns Martin’s Sawing Service, a porta ble Wood Mizer band saw that he takes to the customers’ sites to cut wood according to their spec ification. Here are the recipes that Anna uses. Although different brand names can be used to make jelly, Anna cautions that each variety has a bit different measurements and often is not interchangeable. Anna uses Ball Fruit Jell Pectin. For her own use, Anna makes sugarless or less sugar by using the pectin label for sugarless vari eties these directions must be followed carefully because the di rections are not interchangeable for sugar and non-sugar varieties. BLACK RASPBERRY JELLY 4 cups prepared juice 'A cup lemon juice S/i cups sugar 1 pouch Ball Fruit Jell Pectin Prepare juice by crushing one layer of berries at a time with a potato masher or similar method. Simmer berries 5 minutes in cov ered saucepan. Pour into cheese cloth and allow juice to drip sev eral hours. Squeezing may cause cloudiness; however, Anna does squeeze remaining juice from ber ries. Wash jars and lids. Measure juice in saucepan. rvimrcrr a i"\ fxtucXi. v LPdj UiM Anna Martin takes advantage of summer’s bounty by harvesting berries to prepare raspberry jam and jelly for holiday gifts. Add lemon juice. Stir fruit jell pectin into prepared fruit or juice. Bring mixture to full boil over high heat, stirring con stantly. Add sugar. Return to full rolling boil for one minute. Con tinue stirring. Remove from heat. Skim foam off if necessary. Ladle hot jelly into hot jars, leaving Vi inch headspace. Wipe rim and threads of each jar with clean, damp cloth. Cen ter heated lid on jar. Screw band firmly and evenly on jar until fin ger-tip tight. As each jar is filled and capped, place in boiling water bath in canner. Cover each jar with 1-2 inches of water. Place lid on canner and bring water to a gentle, steady boil. Process jelly 5 minutes. After processing, remove jars and set upright on towel to cool 12-24 hours. Do not retighten bands. When jars are cool, test each one for a seal by pressing center of lid. The lid should flex up and down. (If it does not, im- “Some growers think that it’s not worth the risk to the plant, but if you need cash for your operation, this may be a way to do so,” Wright said. The exper imental brambles will be moni tored to see if the earlier berries affect the traditional eight-year production cycle. Ohio State University Exten sion is conducting research. For more information, contact Shawn Wright at wright.7os@osu.edu or 740-289-2071. mediately refrigerate or reprocess berries. (For jam, do not use with new lid for full length of cheesecloth). Bring mixture to time). Remove bands, wipe sealed full boil. Stir pectin into prepared jars with clean, damp cloth. Store fruit. Bring to a full boil over in cool dry place up to one year. high heat, stirring constantly. BLACK RASPBERRY JAM Add sugar. Return to full rolling 5 cups crushed berries boil one minute. Continue 7 cups sugar stirring. Remove from heat. Pour 1 pouch fruit jell pectin into jars. Process in boiling water Wash and prepare fruit. Crush bath for 10 minutes. • Turning berries into Juice can be a bit messy but defi nitely rewarding for the rich, flavorful jams and jellies they produce. Expect to be scratched by briars when picking berries
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