Winter Jam Recipe: Pineapple-Orange Conserve

In this cold weather, who thinks about making jam? And yet, this is a good time for canning because we can all use the extra heat in our homes, and we tend to have a little more time on our hands at this time of year. And if we're canners, we also have some empty jars that can be filled again to restock the shelves.

I had some oranges in a basket that were looking pretty sorrowful--you know how they get after a week or so. The skins lost their luster and were beginning to look shriveled. I hate to throw away something I paid good money for (I wonder about that saying-what is bad money anyway?). I had a can of crushed pineapple left from the cheesecake I didn't make over the holidays, so I decided to make pineapple-orange jam. Only I thought it needed a fancier name, so I'm calling it Pineapple-Orange Conserve. It just sounds better, doesn't it?

Ingredients: 5 sorry oranges, 1 20-ounce can of crushed pineapple, 3/4 cup water, 1/4 cup boiling water, 2 TBSP dried orange peel, 1 box dried pectin. (You could substitute the grade rind of your oranges if your oranges are fresh.)

To make this recipe, I had 5 pitiful oranges, the 20-ounce can of crushed pineapple, and some orange peel I'd dried earlier in the winter. I try to dry it whenever I can because dried orange peel is so useful in recipes like scones, cookies, and jams. I poured 1/4 cup of boiling water over 2 tablespoons of the dried peel and let it set for about 10 minutes to soften. If my oranges had been nice and fresh, I could have simply grated their rind but these oranges were beyond that point, so the dried were a good substitute for the fresh.

I put the pineapple, juice and all, into my big jam-making pot (a 6 quart stainless steel dutch oven). Then I juiced the oranges and added the juice and whatever pulp also came loose into the pineapple. I stirred in the soaked peel and one box of dried pectin, then added another 3/4 cup of water and turned the heat on high. I stirred until my mixture reached a good boil, then added 3 1/2 cups of granulated sugar. I cooked it until it came to a rolling boil and timed it for 1 minute, stirring constantly. I turned off the heat, set the timer to 5 minutes, and stirred occasionally as the jam cooled. This step is necessary for jam, but not for jelly--it prevents the fruit from floating to the top of the jam.

When the timer dinged, I ladled the jam into hot, sterilized jars, put on the lids and bands, and turned the jars upside down for about 10 minutes to help the seal take hold; then I tightened the bands again and that was that. Most authorities recommend putting jams and jellies into a water bath canner for a short period of time. I don't do that, so check your cookbooks for the recommendation time.

End result was a very pretty, and completely delicious jam that is not too sweet--a cross between orange marmalade and pineapple preserves. It was a good use of the oranges, helped warm the house, and looked right pretty in the bargain.

And you know, it was delicious on the Orange-Cranberry-Walnut scones I made too. I'll share that recipe tomorrow.


Copyright 2012 Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.