/ck/ - Food & Cooking

>>14778295
You can blitz the grape with the skin, but I recommend you to remove the seeds, if possible.

For jams or preserves I typically use 2:1 ratio fruit and sugar. You don't need a lot of sugar, particularly if you store the final product in the fridge. I do like it tart, so I quite a bit of citrus, but that's personal taste.

You need a big ass wide pot for jam. The bigger and wider the better. It cooks for long ass time.

>>14778311
Thanks anons. I've been watching some YouTube videos now, and seems like there's no need to add any water while boiling it, the grapes release enough liquid.
I know that removing the seeds or using seedless grapes would be the best option, but i just cant think of an easy way to remove the seeds from so much grapes, i guess ill just hope they get sliced enough by the chopper that they aren't annoying to eat in the end product. Ive read that grape seeds are acrually pretty good for you and have important nutritious benefits so i guess that's a plus.
Also, should I bother putting any of that powdered gelatine shit they sell in stores or is it pointless?

And about preserving it, it should be fine to just put it in clean jars and then keep it in my fridge for a few months, without having to seal the jars and boil them and shit, right? Sorry, for the dumb questions, I've never done preserved food before

I make jams a few dozen times per year, but never made preserves. I don't use nearly as much sugar as most because I don't need it as a preservative since the results get eaten quick af.

>>14778358
If you put enough sugar, it should keep, moreorless. I think so, anyway. I have some chilli "jam" (more a paste, really) I made TEN YEARS AGO that's still good. 5kgs of dried chilli plus lots of garlic, pineapple juice, salt and sugar, boiled down then blitzed.
Never made grape jam, tho, so maybe the garlic and pineapple juice aid in preserving the chilli jam so ymmv with grape jam without them. idfk

>>14778358
>Also, should I bother putting any of that powdered gelatine shit they sell in stores or is it pointless?
Heavens, no. They use pectin because it allows them to put more water and still get it to set.

>And about preserving it, it should be fine to just put it in clean jars and then keep it in my fridge for a few months, without having to seal the jars and boil them and shit, right?
Yes. It should keep for about 6 months in the fridge, but rinse the jars with some hot water just to be safe and kill whatever bacteria may be there.

>>14778295
Grape jam is disgusting

>>14779194
kys

>>14778295
I do muscadine jam from wild muscadines when they're in season. No need to add lemon or pectin, as they're acidic enough and have enough pectin on their own. I just put a little water in a pot, like 1/4 to 1/2 a cup, add somewhere between 8-10 cups of whole grapes, cook till they've softened and separated the skins and seeds. Then strain the juice and pulp out from the skins and seeds using a sieve or some cheese cloth. That gets around 4 cups of pulp, to which I add another 1/4 to 1/2 cup water, and about 3.5 cups sugar. Boil that for 15 to 20 minutes, or until it starts to gel when you place a little spoonful in the freezer. Then it's over to the mason jars and in a hot water canner for about 10 minutes, and cooling overnight.

>>14778295
Sugar, the fruit, lemon juice, and pectin are your go-to things
unless you have a large family that lives with you and you all regularly eat things with jam, put it in half-pint jars. trust me

as for the canning itself, you'll need a large stock pot that you can boil at least 1 inch of water over the jars you place in, something to keep the jars off of the bottom of the pot (they make specific things for this, but if you have plenty of jar lid rings, you can just use those in a pinch. the point is, don't let the jars touch the bottom of the pot), and I'd recommend getting one of those jarring accessory kits off amazon. it's affordable and has everything you'd need (mostly jar tongs, a jar funnel, and one of those things to get bubbles out of the jars)

make sure to clean jars and lids before you start, then sterilize the jars prior to canning. leave the jars in the water and use some of it to keep the lids heated
fill the jars one at a time, wipe the rims before topping with the lids and tightening the rings, boil them to seal it, and let them cool for 24 hours before removing the rings (if you sealed them properly, the lids should hold. you can sound-test with a spoon to check)

sealed, they should last up to a year safely. after breaking the seal, they've got about a month in the fridge

>>14781387
Not OP, but won't the jars explode by doing that? I mean, I know people do it, but I've never understood why it doesn't explode.

Also, can I use old pickle jars for it?

>>14781406
You don't tighten the lids so much that nothing can escape, and I think the principle behind no water getting in is that the air inside has a higher pressure than the water outside as it expands from being heated. That's also how the seal gets created, as the air inside cools and creates an area of lesser pressure, pulling the lid towards the inside of the jar.

>>14778295
bumping for interest

I don't do it as much as I should.
Picked some elderberries today, though, so I'm making a concentrated juice or whatever you want to call it from those.
Boiling them with sugar, an apple, and some ginger. Then straining and bottling. Lovely for hot toddies in Winter.
If you feel inspired please be aware that elderberries MUST be boiled. They are poisonous when they're raw.
And pickling a few beets.

>>14784259
If you boil them whole you can just rub the skin off with your hands afterwards. This is especially useful if you're like me and you buy them and then forget about them for so long that they go flaccid

>>14784402
Just a tiny little batch today. These are great as a sangewedge topping. Having them with the local version of liverwurst is a classic but they also go nicely as a side for stews or mince steaks or even chopped on a hotdog.
I'll be pouring boiling vinegar with loads of sugar on top of them.

>>14784415
The elderberries are draining. I'll cheesecloth the liquid as well, then bring it back to a boil before bottling.
I will also add a teasponful of sodium benzoate as a preservative.

>>14784442
Ended up with a little under 3 liters. Not bad at all.
Even thinned 1:10 with hot water it's still dark as hell and with plenty of flavour.
You can have it like this or mix in some dark rum or whatever. Lovely on a Winter night.

Made peach/cinnamon jam and some grape jelly a few weeks ago, tastes great. The grape jelly especially on PBJ's.

>>14778295
If you have some leftovers make some mustard with it.

>>14784756
>peach/cinnamon
Sounds like a good combo. I'll try it

>>14781406
unless you're a freak of nature, finger-tightening the lids still allows the air to escape during the canning process
the point of the rings is to hold the lids in place during the boiling process. if you leave them on, there's risk of them breaking the seal and leading to spoilage

>>14784415
>>14784442
>>14784705
>>14784756
Absolutely based anon, my grandma used to make elderberry juice too, loved that shit as a kid. Also, the white version too, dunno how it's called in English