Fig jam with rosemary
Makes: 3 to 4 cups
Total time: 45 minutes, plus canning or cooling
2 pounds fresh ripe figs, stemmed and chopped (about 6 cups)
4 large sprigs fresh rosemary (wrapped and tied in cheesecloth) 2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons lemon zest (from about 4 lemons)
¼ cup lemon juice (from 1 to 2 lemons), plus more to taste
½ teaspoon kosher salt (Diamond Crystal), plus more to taste
1. Place the figs in a 4-quart heavy-bottomed pot. Pour in 1 ½
cups water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the figs soften and the liquid begins to thicken, about 10 minutes.
2. Add the rosemary and sugar, and stir until the sugar dissolves. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the syrup thickens, the figs are mostly broken down and the jam goes from a rapid boil to slow bubbles, about 25 minutes. Remove and discard the rosemary.
3. Stir in the lemon zest and juice and kosher salt. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for another minute for a runnier jam or up to 8 minutes if you prefer a thicker jam. Taste and adjust with more lemon juice and salt as needed. (Adding lemon juice will thin the jam, but it does thicken as it cools.) The jam should be sweet and tart with a hint of fresh rosemary.
4. Transfer to sterilized jars and can, or cool to room temperature, then store in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks.
Apple jelly
Makes: 4 to 5 cups
Total time: 2 hours, plus cooling and canning
3 ½ pounds cooking apples, such as Granny Smith, Pink Lady, Jonagold, Braeburn or Honeycrisp, or a combination, scrubbed
4 cups sugar
¼ cup lemon juice (from about 2 lemons), plus more as needed
½ teaspoon kosher salt (Diamond Crystal)
1. Cut the apples into 1-inch pieces without peeling or coring, but discard any damaged or spoiled spots.
2. Place the apples in a large nonreactive pot and pour in 8 cups water. Bring to a boil over mediumhigh heat. Lower heat to maintain a simmer and cook without stirring until the apples soften, 35 to 40 minutes.
3. Remove from heat. Set a finemesh sieve lined with cheesecloth or a muslin bag over another large pot, and pour contents of pot into sieve. Do not press on apples to prevent the jelly from becoming cloudy. You should have at least 7 cups of juice. Some apple varieties absorb more water and may need 2 to 8 hours for the juice to naturally strain out. If that’s the case, refrigerate the pot.
4. Place a small plate in freezer to use for testing setting point of the jelly. Set pot with the juice over medium-high heat. (Discard fruit.) Add sugar and lemon juice, and stir until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil, skimming and discarding any foam that rises to surface. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until liquid reduces by about three-quarters and a candy or deep-fry thermometer registers 225 degrees, 40 to 50 minutes. To test for doneness, spoon a small amount of liquid onto the cold plate from the freezer and return to freezer to cool completely, about 2 minutes. Drag a spoon through jelly. The setting point has been reached if it wrinkles and the wrinkles hold their shape. If they don’t, continue to cook jelly and test every few minutes on cold plate.
5. Once the jelly is done cooking, add the salt, stir to dissolve and adjust with more lemon juice, if needed, for a nice balance of sweet and tart with a floral taste. Ladle the hot liquid into clean, sanitized jars, screw on the lids and follow steps to can, or allow to cool to room temperature and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks.