Tag: fruit butter

Passion Fruit Curd

20170703_202429
Cream scones with lightly whipped cream and dollops of passion fruit curd

It was probably our honeymoon in Tahiti that kicked off my love affair with passion fruit. A yellow skinned variety grew wild on the island of Moorea and we picked and ate whatever we could get our hands on. Oh, how I wish I could grow passion fruit here in Oregon. I did discover years ago that I could order a big box of the fresh fruits from farms in S. California, as well as you can find bags of maracuya pulp frozen in Mexican groceries. The frozen pulp works perfectly here and is a lot more reasonable than buying the fresh fruit in grocery stores.

(Yield: 2 1/2 cups curd)

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup or 1 stick of unsalted softened butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons lemon zest
  • 4 eggs beaten lightly
  • 1 cup of passion fruit pulp
20170703_200805
Passion Fruit Curd

Steps:

  1.  Fill bottom of double boiler with 1 to 2 inches of water and bring to a simmer. Avoid boiling the water as it can cause the egg to congeal into hard bits.
  2. Place all ingredients in top of double boiler and cook over gentle heat until mixture thickens. Whisk often for 20 – 30 mins., until curd sticks to spoon without running off.
  3. If you see bits of firm white egg in the curd, you can strain the mixture with a sieve.
  4. Pour into jars and allow to cool. Store in the refrigerator and use within a month.

20170703_202133

Aunt B’s Apple Butter

20171009_152644
Apple Butter

When I was growing up, my Great Aunt Barbara in South Georgia would occasionally send my family jars of homemade jam, jelly, and apple butter. These little jars of sweets were always a warm reminder of far away family, as well as the tastes, smells, and kindnesses of Aunt B’s home.

As an adult, I eventually had her write down a few recipes for me, including the apple butter. I make it yearly now, and we enjoy it liberally on Apple Cottage Cheese Hotcakes, or toast and such. At some point years ago, I realized I preferred not to use tons of sugar in my preserves, so I reduce the sugar here from her original 6 cups to 2 1/2 cups.

(Yield: 5 pints)

20171009_122119

Ingredients:

  • 5 pounds of apples (weight before cleaning)
  • 3 cups of water
  • 2 cups packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 box low sugar pectin; OR, 6 teaspoons Pomona Pectin and 6 tsp. calcium water

 

20171009_130355

Steps:

  1. Peel, core, and slice the apples and place them in a large pot or dutch oven. Pour in 3 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook 20 – 25 mins. or until tender. Stir occasionally. (I’ve also used a pressure cooker for this step which brings the cooking time down to about 10 mins.)
  2. While apples are cooking, prep your canning jars, lids, and rings according to manufacturer’s instructions. Heat a large pot of water to a boil.
  3. Mash the fruit with a potato masher until it looks like thick apple sauce. (If you prefer a smoother texture, you could put the apple mush through a food processor or blender.)
  4. Stir in sugars and spices and pectin and bring to a boil. Cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
  5. Pour mixture into hot sterilized jars, leaving a quarter inch of head space. Place lids and rings on jars and lower into the pot of boiling water. Make sure the water covers the lids and boil jars for about 5 mins. Remove from the water and let cool on a rack.

20171009_131933