Pure Sugar and Fruit Preserves, -maceration Process
Ingredients
Directions
Macerate the fruit
Mix 15 pounds of prepared fruit with 15 pounds of sugar in a pan.
Let it sit for 6 to 12 hours until the sugar dissolves in the fruit juice.
If using very dry fruit, add 1-2 ounces of water to help dissolve the sugar.
Cook the mixture
Transfer the mixture to a kettle and cook without stirring until the syrup drops like jelly from a paddle.
Cool and jar
Dump the mixture into a pan.
Let it cool for a few minutes.
Stir the mixture.
Let it cool again.
Transfer to sterilized jars.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Prepared fruit
- Supplies the flavor and natural pectin that help the preserve thicken and set.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the preserve, draws water out of the fruit, and helps it thicken and keep.
The step that matters
Cook without stirring until the syrup drops like jelly from a paddle. Sugar and fruit must reach a concentration where the syrup gels when cooled. Stopping too early leaves the preserve runny, while cooking too long makes it stiff and can caramelize the sugar. Stirring during cooking can encourage sugar crystals to form, so the mixture is left alone until the drip test shows it is ready.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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