Timestamp: Mid Fall, 514 AV
The Sanctuary had large gardens that had seemed to do well in the spring and summer, still producing deep into the fall. Kavala attributed that to Caelum’s influence and some of the gardeners she took on periodically to help manage the grounds. And thanks to Xira and help from some of the other staff, it also had a greenhouse. So when it came time to harvest, there was far more than the staff thought they could use. That meant it was time to utilize some of their more valuable books and focus on food preservation. If the truth be told, Kavala was thrilled there was more than enough. She knew this was the second and third year in their conjoined effort to be more self sustaining. But without the harvest, it seemed there was very little hard work that could be done.
They had honey in abundance as well, thanks to the bees which Kavala also gave credit for the fruits and berries that seemed to thrive planted against the fences and walls where the stone absorbed the light and was warmer.
Their current crop consisted of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries they had collected out in the fringe forest and a ton of blueberries from bushes that had been planted. Then in terms of herbs there were mints, and a whole host of things they could dry and preserve that way. It was the fruits and vegetables however, that Kavala felt was really important to preserve. She wanted tomatoes in the winter and fresh pickles year round. So not only did they have the berries, but they had cucumbers, tomatoes, asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage for slaw, and onions which she thought they didn’t have to can but only store properly. The meat they hunted going into the winter would be preserved other ways on other days, but today there was a whole list of things Kavala wanted to do.
First and foremost was making jellys and sauces to can from the berries and a bit of the plums they had from the plum tree. She’d also purchased a crate of apples for apple sauce and filling for pies. There was a second crate of not so nice apples that she’d be using to make pectin. The jellies, jams, and sauces couldn’t be made without it. Then she’d done the same thing with pears and peaches. She’d also picked up a couple of cases of corn grown outside the city.
So her checklist read like:
Make Pectin from bruised apples.
Berry jelly – strawberry, raspberry, blackberry
Mint Jelly
Salsa, Relash, and Chutney
Can the rest of the veggies, fruits whole
Can the rest of the apples and pears into sauces.
So Kavala had gathered the children, Alyra, and anyone else working at The Sanctuary who was free to can, cook, and preserve and had decided to get it all done in one day. She’d already picked up the spare fruit, the enormous amount of sugar they’d need (both of which she got trading straight across for honey from her hives), and was all ready to go. She’d purchased cheese cloth, had a strainer from the kitchen. All the pots and pans and tools they would need were clean and set out ready for use.
“We need someone to juice the lemons I picked up since we’ll need lots of lemon juice.” Kavala said, gesturing to a small basket of lemons and a little hand juicer glass plate resting by them. “That will need bottled so we’re all ready for it. The rest of us will be making pectin if anyone is interested in learning how. We need to make it to make the rest of the jams, jellies, and sauces. We’ll used the bruised apples.” She said, flipping her book and turning to the page on pectin. She read the page out loud.
Pectin is a naturally occurring substance found in berries, apples and other fruit. When heated together with sugar, it causes a thickening that is characteristic of jams and jellies. Without pectin, jellies and jams won’t thicken. Pectin is concentrated in the cores and skins of all apples, and is especially strong in tart green apples. It is made usually from apples that lack flavor or are past their prime. Using the cores and skins left over from making a pie is a great way use all your pieces. So if you are going to make a great deal of applesauce, filling for apple pie, and the like, do that before you make your pectin. You don’t need pectin to can these things, but you’ll need it to make jellies and jams.
Ingredients:
3 lb Apples
4 cups Water
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
Needed Tools:
cheese cloth and strainer
Directions:
Cut 3lbs the apples into quarters or so. Do not remove skin or core them. Place into a large pot with the water and lemon juice and simmer until the apples are completely tender, but not disintegrated. This could take between 20 and 40 chimes, depending on the apples and how large the pieces are. Strain the results through a cheese cloth to extract only the liquid. To concentrate the pectin, place the liquid strained off into a pot and boil the strained liquid until reduced by half. Stir occasionally to avoid getting a film.
Testing Pectin Levels:
If you want to test the level of pectin in your reduction, put a few drops into rubbing alcohol and the pectin will gel almost instantly. Obviously this should not be eaten. Test pectin levels in each batch of jam or jelly this way, then discard the spoonful after the test. Jelly and Jam must have enough pectin or they will be running and not set up. Do not ‘finish’ off jam or jelly until the level is the desired consistency.
Kavala read the directions aloud, looked around, and quietly asked. “Who wants to get started on this?” If no one volunteered, she’d get going on. In the mean time, however, someone needed to get started coring and peeling and slicing the rest of the apples so they could throw the scraps into the pectin project.
