Jelly/jam/preserves tricks?

[NightSG]

Looks like there might be a good crop of wild plum/apricot hybrids out at mom's again this year.  They're generally around 50% larger than a cherry, with a slightly larger pit than a typical cherry pitter can handle.  Last time we tried this, I boiled them until they were soft and mashed them through a colander, then pressed the pulp/pit mix in a cloth to get more juice out.  I'm curious if anyone else has some good tips for hard-to-juice fruits.

Can't tell how the pears are going to do yet, but that's another one on the list to do something with; when it's a good year, we can't give away enough to avoid having some rot.

[Guest]

Have you ever tried making fruit leather? It's kinda like beef jerky but made out of fruit. Or, I guess they're like fruit roll-ups...

[NightSG]

Have you ever tried making fruit leather? It's kinda like beef jerky but made out of fruit. Or, I guess they're like fruit roll-ups...

 

I've done it, but the problem with these is just simply getting the pit separate from the pulp.  They're so small that it takes a lot of them to do much with.  Fortunately, in a good year, there are probably a hundred little trees, each with anywhere from 4-5 to a few dozen fruits.  Last good year, we spent an afternoon gathering roughly a third of them, and by the time they'd been boiled and mashed, we had about 2-3 gallons of juice.

[Guest]

Hmm... I've always just done the slice-and-twist method on small seeds like apricots, plums, etc. I have a cherry pitter for cherries.

Basically, cut the fruit in half along where the stem used to be, then twist open. One of the sides will have the seed, cut that side in half again perpendicular to the first cut and then twist again leaving the seed on one side. Then just knife the seed out. If a lot of the seed is still stuck to the quarter piece, then I just cut the thing in half again perpendicular to the last cut and twist again. This usually goes fast without much effort.

I don't know about hybrids but I know you can make crunchy snack out of the seeds but I don't know how people can eat them... they taste terrible!

[Crypto]

The only trick that I know for jam's and jellies is that grandma used to always let the fruit stuff soak in the pot with the water overnight, before bringing it to a boil once and then letting it sit overnight again before finishing the cooking. Seems to help with getting it thick without adding extra pectin.

Sorry if this doesn't help with juicing the stuff.

Edited March 17, 2015 by Crypto

[Guest]

I made jam with my plums last year by just taking out the pit and putting the whole thing, skin and all, through my Vitamix. I didn't want to go through all that smashing and draining stuff. It is really delicious jam. This year I'm going to add jalapenos to a batch. 

[NightSG]

Hmm... I've always just done the slice-and-twist method on small seeds like apricots, plums, etc. I have a cherry pitter for cherries.

 

That's the problem; you need so many of these that it would be like trying to pit cherries without the pitter.  Think cherry tomato sized with an almond sized pit.

 

On the other hand, for the few days they're ripe, they sure make great snacks.  Fill your pockets and take a long hike, munching and spitting the pits.