Addition of liquor in Jam,Preserves,Conserves,Relish,Chutney

A bit of liquor or liqueur added to these scrumptious recipes will certainly make them sparkle! Add a bright bow, and they make excellent holiday gifts! What are your favourites?
( I've duplicated these recipes from :
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/762806/ )

chrissy100 (Sydney (Australia))
Apricot and almond jam
500 grms (1 lb) of dried apricots
2 and a 1/2 cups of boiling water
2 oranges
2 kilos of sugar (4lbs)
45 grms of slivered almonds (1 and 1/2 ozs)
1/2 a cup of Grande Marnier or orange flavoured liqueur (optional)

Cut the apricots into small pieces,Place in a bowl and cover with boiling water.Leave stand o/night
Remove rind from oranges with a zester ..place in cold water and leave overnight.Drain the next day.
Add peel to the apricots,place fruit and the liquid in a saucepan and bring to the boil.
Place sugar on a baking tray and warm in the oven.Add to the apricots.Cook gently until a skin forms from a little placed in a cold
saucer.Remove and let cool for ten minutes.Add the Liqueur and bottle in warm sterile jars.Seal when cold.
Makes 8 cups ...so you can adjust for how much you require.
This jam will keep for a year and is a real treat.
I will send another tomorrow as I am pushed for time.....hope you like it! :)

Bedouin, Fort Lauderdale

PEACH CONSERVE 8 . 8oz jars. From Gourmet Adventures with liqueurs. StevenCole.
4lb fresh peaches, peeled, pitted, diced
48 dried apricot halves, cut in small piees
3cups light brown sugar
3cups granulted sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1cup blanched, toasted almonds, chopped
1/4 c slivered angelica
1/2 cup B&B
combine first 5 ingredients & cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, about 15 mnutes or til mixture is thickened. Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients. Put up.

CRANBERRY-APPLE JAM 6 X 8oz jars
3c sugar
3/4 c water
4 1/2 c cranberries
2 medium apples, peel, core, chop
1/4 c creme de cassis.
Heat sugar and water in saucepan till sugar dissolves. Add fruit and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring often, 15 min or till the mixture is thick. Remove from heat and stir in liqueur. Pot up.

CRANBERRY RELISH 3 Cups
1 can whole cranberry sauce
1 orange, peel, dice
1/4 t cinnamon
1/4 t mace
1/4 t nutmeg
1/2 c orange juice
1/4 c Curacao.
Blend all ingredients in a blender & chill before serving.

ORANGE MARMALADE 6 X 6oz jars
2c wine (May wine)
3 oranges, thinly sliced
1 lemon, thinly sliced
1.4 c lemon juice
1 6oz bottle fruit pectin
1 1/4 c light brown sugar
1/2 c triple sec
Simmer wine and fruits 1 hour or till rind is tender. (can be done in the pressure cooker)
Stir in lemon juice and pectin, bring to boil, add sugar and cook 2 min, stirring constantly. Cool marmalade to lukewarm, stir in liqueur. Pot up.

MINT JELLY4 x 8oz glasses
1c green creme de menthe
1c water
2 1/2 c sugar
6T fruit pectin
4 sprigs fesh mint.
Heat first 3 ingredients in double boiler, stirringtillsugar dissolves. Remove from heat and stir inpectin. Boil mint sprigs for 1 minute and put one in each of 4 sterilized jelly glasses. Skim jelly, pour into glasses and seal.

chrissy100, Sydney (Australia)

Prunes In Spiced Port.
500g (2lbs) large desert prunes (seedless)
2 cups of Tawny Port
1 cinnamon stick
2 strips lemon rind
2 strips orange rind
3 tablespoons of brown sugar

Pour Port into a saucepan...add cinnamon stick,lemon and orange strips...and the sugar.
Heat gently until mixture just comes to the boil.
Place prunes in a bowl and pour hot liquid over the prunes....leave stand until cold.
Remove Cinnamon stick,but leave the rinds in the syrup.take out the prunes with a slotted spoon and place in jars,slowly pour the syrup over the prunes filling all the gaps.Seal.
Makes 4 cups
Leave for a week before using
Keeps well for 12 months (ha ha ha that's funny ...they will be eaten well before then:)

This is a very rich tasting....and highly flavoured treat.Serve with ice cream....or whipped cream...chop and mix into fruitcakes or puddings,,,or fruit mince. (no not on the cornflakes! ha ha ha)
makes a great gift presented with a bottle of Port.
This is one of my favourites.

Bedouin, Fort Lauderdale
KIWI AND PINEAPPLE JAM WITH KIRSCH 1.75 liters (3 pints)
3 kiwi-fruit, peeled and cut into chunks
925g (2lb) fresh pineabble (weighed after pineapple has been cored and peeled)
580g (1 1/4 lb) sugar with pectin
8Tbsp Kirsch.
Process fruit to a pure. Put inn heavy saucepan, add sugar and stir over moderate heat till the sugar is dissolved. Raise the heat and bring to a rolling boil. Boil for about 4- minutes or till jam has set. Remove from heat. Stir in the Kirsch and pot up immediately.

STRAWBERRY AND RUM PRESERVE
A large glass jar with a tight fitting lid
a variety of soft fruit
rum or brandy
granulated or caster sugar
It is traditional to begin with strawberries, but you can begin with your favourite fresh fruit, as long as it is ripe (not over ripe( and full of flavour.
Start with strawberries. Layer them at the bottom of the jar. Sprinkle with sugar and cover with either rum or brandy.
Add more fruit as it comes into season, sprinkling each layer with sugar and covering with the liquor of your choice.
Fruit with pips should be skinned and stoned before being used. (Peaches, nectarines cherries)
choose constrasting colour of fruit for the layers.
Avoid rhubarb, apples and melon.
Store jar in a cool, dark place and leave for at least 3 months before using.
Serve spoonfuls over ice cream or in small glasses with a dollop of whipped cream.
Or fill small jars with the rumtopf as gifts.

Ideal fruits are:
Pineapple (remove rind & core and cut in large cubes)
Cherries (any variety, pitted)
Apricots (halves, pitted)
Nectarines (halves, pitted)
Peaches (remove pits and cut in halves, quarters, or slices)
Pears (cored, peeled & sliced)
Plums (remove seed and half or quarter)
Grapes (sweet seedless red or green grapes are ideal)
Strawberries (don't wash, just remove stem & leaves). Strawberries will lose their red color.
Raspberries (don't wash). Raspberries will lose some of their red color.
Red currants (removed from stem)

Other less ideal fruits, may be added if you wish:
Blackberries or Blueberries (can be bitter and can discolor the other fruits)
Watermelon and Cantaloupe chunks (can make the mixture a bit watery)
Rhubarb (can make mixture sour)
Apples
Melon
Bananas (too mushy)
Citrus (too acidic)

Or you can mix all the fruit together with the sugar before putting it into the jar
Directions:
Wash and dry the inside of the Rumtopf.
Wash and dry the first chosen fruit. (Don't wash Strawberries and Raspberries.)
Remove any stems, seed and pits.
In a separate bowl cover the fruit with an equal weight of granulated sugar and allow to sit for one hour. (example: 3 pounds of fruit and 3 pounds of sugar)
Place the fruit, sugar and any juices left in the bowl into the Rumtopf.
Pour in just enough rum or brandy to cover the fruit.
Weigh the fruit down with a clean saucer or plate
Cover the opening of the Rumtopf with plastic (to avoid evaporation) and place the lid firmly on top.
Store in a cool place away from heat and sunlight.

Adding additional layers of fruit:
For each additional layer of fruit follow the instructions above, but use only half as much sugar.
(Example: 3 pounds of fruit and 1 1/2 pounds of sugar.)
After the fruit and sugar has rested for one hour, gently add this mixture onto the earlier layer.
Do not mix the fruits.
Add more rum or brandy to cover the new layer.
Cover with fresh Saran or plastic wrap and the lid.

Throughout the summer, repeat the process for each new fruit until your Rumtopf is full.
Then allow the entire mixture to sit for another 4 to 6 weeks. It is best at 2-3 months, which is just in time for the H oliday festivities.

chrissy100
Sydney(Australia)
This is to die for ....very rich....desert preserve ...serve with ice cream ...vanilla yoghurt
or slices of buttery cake

Apricots with ginger and almonds

4 cups of water
1 cup of sugar
8ozs of dried apricots
4 thin slices of lemon cut into small pieces
1/3rd cup of glace ginger chopped into small pieces
1/2 cup of port
1/3 cup of slivered almonds
1/2 a cup of brandy

Place water and sugar in a saucepan...bring to boil...and then simmer for about 5 mins
Add apricots and lemon .....simmer gently until soft...uncovered
Some of the liquid will cook away but there will be enough left
to cover the fruit....if there is still too much liquid remove the apricots with a slotted spoon and set aside...reduce the liquid down further if you want to on a rapid boil for a couple of minutes
Then return the apricots to the liquid
Add the port and ...bring to the boil
Remove from the heat and add almond slivers
Then the brandy.
cool a little...then pour into dry sterile jars and seal when cold.
makes 4/5 cups ...improves if left for a week (hard to do after you smell it :)
keeps for 4 months ...fridge it after opening.
I urge you to double this quantity as I know you will just love it.

bedouin (Fort Lauderdale)

BLACK FOREST PRESERVE 1.5 liters (2 1/2 pints)
1.2 kg (2 1/2 lb) black cherries, stoned
juice of 2 lemons
1.3 kg (3 lb) sugar with Pectin
8 Tablespoons Kirsch.
Place prepared cherries in a pan with lemon juice and sugar. Bring slowly to the boil, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved. Then boil hard for about 5 minutes till setting point is reached. Add the Kirsch and pot up immediately.



This message was edited Aug 28, 2007 2:07 PM