Melba's Jammin' wrote:

>
> You sure work hard.

Ha. I've got you fooled.

> I've got my asbestos skivvies on so any replies won't be bothering me:
> I read "somewhere" - sure wish I'd paid more attention to where I read
> it (I"d venture to say it was from some Unis extension division) -
> recently that stuff made with added pectin tastes better (fresher?)
> because of the quick cook. I'm inclined to agree. My opinion.

There are crabapples everywhere here this year. I've never seen so many
before. I'll pick some more and try using the steam juicer and see how
it does. I didn't want to run the steamer for 2 hours last night and
steam up the house.

> And as I said in my email, I did both ways this summer and the stuff
> with the Ball Fruit Jell powder (I've given up on Sure?Jell due to cost)
> was better and won the 4th Place ribbon. It was also from a different
> batch of juice than the stuff I did long-cook. Five cups juice to 7
> cups sugar for 8 (?) half-pint jars.
>
> Let the games begin!

Adding the sugar and boiling for hours will concentrate the flavors, but
it will drive off any aroma and subtle flavor notes. Quick jelly made
with added pectin will be less concentrated juice but won't be cooked as
much. A good compromise might be using the long-boil-no-pectin method,
but do small batches and cook them in a non-stick wok over very high
heat -- so the jelly cooks up in just a few minutes.

I like berry jams and jellies better when they are made with added
pectin. When they are cooked for hours, they don't taste like much
anymore except sweet, sour, and purple. I don't really have an opinion
on apple jellies yet cuz I don't have enough experience with them.

This is such an opinionated bunch of folks, I figured I'd get lots of
data points to add to the experimenting that I am doing. [damn, I'm
talking like Dilbert again]

Best regards, :-)
Bob