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.
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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