Pyracantha Jelly - a long time goal

When I was a child, I fell in love with a book my parents had.  I don't know if they knew it, but it really clicked with me and I knew I wanted to try the recipes and ideas it contained.  When I was an adult, they  cleared out their excess books -- and I made sure I got this one.  

Published in 1974 (it cost $3.95!!!) and written by John E. Bryan and Coralie Castle, The Edible Ornamental Garden is an alphabetical collection of interesting and sometimes unusual garden plants.  Each entry is accompanied by a description, some botanical history, and recipes.  

ISBN 912238-46-1

The authors wrote in the Preface:

Here we propose a unique approach:  commonly known edible plants, lesser known for their decorative qualities, blended with ornamental flowers, bushes and trees almost completely unknown today for their culinary applications, along with unusual recipes for both.

The illustrations are basic but powerful - many are reproductions from Gerard's Herbal, published in 1633.  The authors include a section with gardening advice and another that discusses in general how to gather and cook with flowers, leaves, and herbs.  There are even recipes for making infused syrups, honey, oil, and more, and how to crystallize, deep fry, or glaze leaves, flowers, or fruit.

So what sort of plants were the authors referencing in their preface?  Here is a sample:

• asparagus
• bay
• scarlet runner bean
• birch
• chamomile
• Chilean guava
• chives
• chrysanthemum
• Douglas fir
• fuschia
• geranium
• lavender cotton
• violet

And then there is the one that I am addressing today:  the pyracantha or firethorn.  As a child we had pyracantha shrubs on our property; I intentionally bought two to plant on my property now.  They are a few years old and are producing berries in abundance.

It was time to try the recipe for pyracantha jelly (page 137).

Pyracantha Jelly

Combine and bring to boil:

4 cups slightly underripe pyracantha berries

5 cups water

Cover (tilt lid slightly) and cook over medium heat 40 minutes.

Mash berries lightly and transfer to jelly bag as directed on page 59:

Wet a jelly bad and wring out well.  ... Hang bag over a saucepan or place on a strainer over saucepan.  Let drip overnight to extract all juice.  Discard pulp ... and bring liquid to boil.  Skim any scum that rises to surface.

There should be approximately 2 cups liquid.

 Add to the juice:
1/4 cup grapefruit juice
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup sugar

Continue following directions for making jelly and start testing after 10 minutes of cooking.

Stir to dissolve sugar and boil rapidly 8 minutes.  Start testing at this point by placing a small amount of syrup in a wooden spoon and cooling it slightly.  Tip spoon and let syrup drop from side of spoon back into saucepan.  As the syrup thickens, 2 drops will form along the edge of the spoon on either side.  When drops run together and drop as one, the firm jelly stage has been reached.  Remove syrup from fire and pour immediately into hot sterilized jars to within 1/4 inch from the top.  Seal.  Store in dark, cool place. 

Enough for a double batch.

My Notes

I filled a container with berries, thinking it would be about 4 cups.  It was 8 cups!  I decided to make a double batch.

After picking, I picked through the berries well, removing leaves and most of the stems.  I noticed there was a lot of dirt on them, so I rinsed them in small batches, rolling them in the sieve to make sure they were clean.  Each batch went into the Dutch oven as it was drained.  Then I added 10 cups of water.

I turned the heat to high.  It took a while to bring it to boiling, which I expected because of the quantity.  However, I do think I might have missed the time when it actually started boiling.  It was not a roiling boil - I saw a lot of bubbles bumping the berries around.  I decided it had been long enough that I needed to start the timer.

You can see a color change from the cooking.

Then I put on the tilted lid, turned the heat to medium, and set the timer to 40 minutes.  It smelled good while cooking - appealing and slightly fruity.  Here it is after cooking:

Some of those yellow bubbles looked like they had fine particles in them.

I took the potato masher and mashed the berries until I thought most were at least even slightly crushed.

My jelly bag was set up on a stand over a bowl.  I ladled the berries and liquid into it.  I was really surprised that it all fit - I was certain I would have to drain it in batches.  

All of it!

The liquid that went into the bowl was red, which also surprised me.

I let it drain overnight.  The goal was 4 cups of liquid.  The liquid that was already in the bowl went into the refrigerator and the bag was left out to drip more.  

I tasted the liquid:  it was mildly tart, not sweet.  Slightly astringent.  A flavor that was mild and pleasant, although I can't really describe it.

The next day I measured 6 cups of liquid.  I put it into the Dutch oven over a very low heat to warm it while preparing the canning jars.  Then I added:

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup grapefruit juice

4 tablespoons lemon juice

and stirred it until the sugar was dissolved (no more scraping noises when I stirred).

It was brought to a rapid boil over high heat.  I saw a lot of small particle scum on the surface and so started to skim that immediately.  In total, I removed about 3/4 cup of liquid + particles.

The scum kindly gathered together, as you can see in the creamy patch at the upper right corner.

After the suggested 10 minutes, I found the temperature to be about 211 degrees F and the liquid still very runny.  This is not surprising due to the quantity I started with.  At 215 degrees F it started foaming and I had to lower the fire.  The cooking was completed over a medium heat.

Nearly done.  You can see how much it reduced.

It took a total of 35 minutes to get the temperature to 222 degrees F, which is in the range of jellying.  However I never saw the sheeting action as described in the directions.  A small bit poured on some cool metal thickened and looked somewhat jelly-like, so I called it done.

The final quantity was about 2 cups, which I put into one canning jar and allowed to cool.  My 6 cups of liquid had reduced to 1/3 of its original amount.

There was a little liquid left over which went into a bowl and into the refrigerator.  Thirty minutes later it was cold but not jelled.  It was a very thick syrup.  This is what was used for the taste test.

The Verdict

My guest taster and I tasted it by putting a small spoonful in our mouths.  We both liked it!  It did not taste the way we thought it would (although we really weren't sure what that was, except possibly like the raw berry).  

I could taste the grapefruit, and I thought it was a good flavor addition.  The flavor was balanced and the astringency was muted to just right.  The astringency was, I think, what made it intriguing.  My mouth didn't expect it in a jelly (AKA syrup!).  Also, it was just acid enough and not too sweet.  

Success!

Later I checked the jar full of syrup to see if it had jelled at all.  Nope.  It was a very thick syrup.  I didn't mind at all.  It still tasted good.

Not thick enough to jell.

The authors included a recipe for chicken poached in the jelly.  I think the flavor of pyracantha syrup makes it just right for a savory dish.  It looks like a good candidate for more kitchen playtime.