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Citrus Fruit Conservation

Florida Fruits and Vegetables in the Commercial Menu

1931

While more than one hundred plants in Florida are taking care of the citrus surplus in the form of jams, jellies, juices, marmalades and crystallized products, and while many of these products are on the market in attractive standard packages, it is true nevertheless that many of the smaller commercial kitchens still find it profitable to conserve left-overs and surplus in the big season.

During the plentiful season to store the pantry with those Florida products which say the last word in attractiveness and palatability to the future guest who yearns for something, different. is the purpose of the ambitious menu-maker not only for the small dining room, but for the most pretentious and popular resorts.

It is the individual touch in the menu that counts; the added surprise that increases value; the final flavor that allures. Therefore the following suggestions are offered for using citrus by-products.

(a) JUICES

Grapefruit "Hearts."

Prepare the grapefruit heart as for salads, removing them from the core whole. Cut a slice from each end of the grapefruit in such a way as to remove all peel and membrane. Then cut down the sides in wide slices, removing membrane each time. With a sharp knife or wooden spatula remove hearts.

Pack hearts solidly into sterilized containers and add two tablespoons medium sugar syrup. Process 35 minutes at 180 degrees.

Grapefruit Juice.

Extract juice in such a way as to exclude oil of the peel or the bitterness of the rag. Bring juice to 165° or 170° in open vessel. Fill bottles to overflowing with juice, boiling hot. Cap quickly. Process in water at 180° F. for 30 minutes.

Orange Juice.

Sweet orange juice keeps its flavor better in canning when combined with sour citrus juice in proportion of 4 to 1. Lime, lemon, calamondin, Seville or sour orange may be used. Use sugar in proportion of 2 cups sugar to one gallon juice mixture. Bottle and process at 165° F. for 30 minutes

Other Fruit Juices.

Ripe grapes, plums, berries produce valuable fruit juices. Bring fruit to simmering temperature. Remove juice, strain through a heavy cloth. Sweeten slightly, about 1 cup sugar to a gallon of juice. Strain again if a clear juice is desired. Seal hot and process at about 180° F. Fruit jars may be used for keeping juices for home use. If bottles are used, cork tightly, process and seal with wax afterwards, or use a bottle capper.

(b) JELLY

Fruits Containing Pectin for Jelly—Citrus fruits, partially ripened grapes, blackberries, dewberries, huckleberries, quinces, guavas, crabapple, May haws, plums, pomegranate, roselle.

Fruits Lacking in Pectin—Strawberries, peaches, pineapples, rhubarb.

Fruits Lacking Acid for Jelly—Pears, quince, sugar apple, sapodilla, sweet guava.

Tropical Fruits for Jelly—Tamarind (red), satin fruit (red), pitanga (red), mulberry (dark), guava, carambola, Persian lime, pomegranate, Cattley guava, jaboticaba, umkokolo, ketembilla (English gooseberry).

Citrus Fruit Especially Recommended for Jelly—Kumquat, sour orange, Florida lemon, grapefruit, and orange (not too ripe).

Citrus Pectin for Other Fruits.

The fruits in many sections require additional pectin to produce jelly. Fortunately, Florida has an abundant supply of pectin in citrus fruits.

It may be prepared for convenience as follows:

One-half pound white part of orange peel, 1 pint water, 4 tablespoons lemon juice.

Cut or grate the yellow from orange peel. Pass white peel through a food chopper. Weigh, add lemon juice, mix, allow to stand 1 hour. Add 1 ¼ pints water. Let stand 1 hour. Boil gently 10 minutes. Cover, let cool, place in flannel jelly bag and allow to drain. Press to remove juice. Drain juice through a clean bag.

The Pectin Test.

To give the pectin test, pour 1 teaspoonful of jelly stock into a clean cup. Pour into cup a teaspoon of grain alcohol (or denatured alcohol). Gently shake. Pour into a spoon. If the pectin shows a solid clot, use one measure of sugar to one measure of juice. If it is not so solid use less sugar.

Strawberry and Orange Pectin Jelly.

½ pt. orange pectin,
½ lb. sugar,
½ pt. strawberry juice.

Preparation of Strawberry Juice for Jelly.

Wash strawberries thoroughly, pour into a colander, cap, crush, pour into a preserving kettle and boil carefully for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Strain through a cheesecloth bag, squeeze and place juice in a flannel jelly bag and allow to drain.

Add one-half pint orange pectin juice to one-half pint strawberry juice. Boil; add one-half pound sugar. Continue boiling until the jellying point is reached. This is indicated by the flaking or sheeting from the spoon. Pour immediately into hot sterilized jelly glasses and skim. When cold, pour hot paraffin over the jelly.

Kumquat Jelly.

1 lb. kumquats,
1 lb sugar,
2 pts. water.

Clean kumquats thoroughly, sprinkle with soda, using about 1 tablespoon of soda to 1 pound of kumquats. Pour sufficient boiling water over this to cover the fruit and allow to stand 10 minutes.

Pour water off and rinse through three changes of water. Cut kumquats horizontally, place in kettle and add 2 pts. of water to every pound of fruit taken. Boil for one-half hour, then pour into a cheese-cloth bag and press until no more juice can be obtained. Strain the juice through a clean flannel jelly bag, put into a kettle and bring to a boil. To this boiling juice add 1 pound of sugar for each pound of fruit taken. Stir until the sugar is thoroughly dissolved and continue boiling until it reaches the jellying point.

The jellying point is determined by dipping a spoon or wooden paddle into the boiling solution and then holding it above the kettle, allowing the syrup to drop. When it drops in flakes or sheets from the spoon, pour immediately into clean, sterilized jelly glasses and seal.

Sour Orange Jelly.

1 lb. peeled sour oranges,
2 pints water,
1 lb. sugar.

The sour orange jelly is made by preparing the juice as directed in recipe for sour orange marmalade. No peel is used in the jelly.

Grapefruit Jelly.

1 lb. peeled grapefruit,
2 pts. water,
¾ lb. sugar.

This jelly is made by following the same directions as for making sour orange jelly.

(c) MARMALADES

Sour Orange Marmalade

1 pound peeled sour oranges
2 pints water,
1/3 of peel,
1 cup of sugar to 1 cup jelly stock or less according to pectin test.

Preparation of Peel—Wash fruit, remove peel, keeping 1/3 cup of thin slices. Leave some white on skins. Place in kettle. Add water 4 times weight of peel. Boil 10 minutes. Drain. Repeat 3 times, each time boiling 5 minutes. Continue until peel is very tender and all bitter taste removed.

Preparation of Jelly Stock—Weigh peeled fruit; cut into small pieces and, for each pound of orange, add 2 pints of water. Boil until thoroughly disintegrated. Drain in flannel jelly bag and press.

Making Marmalade—Pour juice into a kettle; add peel and bring to a boil. Make pectin test and add sugar as needed. Boll until the jellying point is reached. Test by flaking from the spoon.

Grapefruit Marmalade

1 pound peeled fruit,
2 pints water,
1 pound sugar (based on pectin test),
One-third of peel.

This marmalade follows same directions as for sour oranges.

Combination Marmalade-Orange, Grapefruit, Lemon

2 oranges (pulp and peel),
1 grapefruit (pulp),
1 lemon (pulp).

Wash fruit. Grate yellow from orange. Use white peel. Peel grapefruit and lemon and discard peel. Run fruit and orange peel through a chopper. Add 3 times the bulk of water. Boil 15 minutes and let stand over night. Boil 10 minutes and let stand again. When cold, measure pint for pint of sugar. Cook rapidly to jelly stage. 222° F. One cup grated pineapple, previously boiled, may be added with the sugar.

Orange and Carrot Marmalade

3 cups carrots, chopped	2 oranges,
½ teaspoon salt,	3 lemons,
4 cups sugar,	1 cup water.

Wash and scrape carrots and run through a food chopper. Boil until tender. Drain. Wash and peel oranges; chop one-half the peel: strip the other. Boil strips until tender. Pour sugar over hot ground carrots. Let melt. Add water, lemon juice, orange pulp (cut in small pieces) and orange peel. Cook until sirup is thick and fruit is clear. Three slices of canned pineapple may be used instead of orange.

Kumquat Marmalade

Remove seeds and juice of kumquats. Cook skins in water (changing 2 or 3 times if necessary) until tender. Drain. Chop in meat chopper. Combine juice and peel, adding ¾ cup of sugar for each cup of fruit. Boil to jellying point.

Sunshine Marmalade

Remove the membranous skin or rag from the orange peel. Put through a food chopper. Add twice its weight in water and 2 tablespoons lemon juice for each cup of water. Let stand one hour and boil and add same amount of water as first taken. Boil 3 minutes, cover, allow to cool. Press through a jelly bag. Keep one half ground peel to add later to boiling juice. Add the other half to the juice. Test for pectin and add as much sugar as the test shows is needed. Use 1 cup juice to one cup sugar if there is a solid clot. Bring it to a boil. Add the remaining half of the ground peel and cook to 222° F, or to the jellying stage.

Tangelo Marmalade.

1 pound peeled tangeloes,
1 ½ pints of water,
1 pound sugar,
½ of the peel.

Preparation of the peel:

Wash the fruit; remove the peel; discard one-half, reserving the portion freest from blemish, and run through food chopper. Boil for 10 minutes; drain free of water, and add water again. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer until tender.

Preparation of the Juice:

After the peel has been removed, weigh the fruit, cut into small pieces and place in a kettle. For each pound of tangelo taken add 1½ pints of water. Boil about 20 minutes. Pour into a cheese cloth jelly bag and press. Drain the juice again through a clean flannel jelly bag without pressing.

Making the Marmalade

Pour juice into a kettle; add drained peel; bring to a boil; add 1 pound of sugar for each pound of fruit. Boil to the jellying point.

(d) PRESERVES

Kumquat Preserves

1 pound kumquats,
3 cups water,
¾ pound sugar.

Wash kumquats with soap and water. Sprinkle with soda (1 tablespoon soda to 1 quart kumquats) and pour on boiling water and let stand 10 minutes. Pour off water. Rinse in 3 waters. Slit kumquats ¼ inch in side, cutting seed cells. Place in kettle with water to cover. Boil 15 minutes. Repeat boiling process until fruit is tender. Drop kumquats into boiling sugar solution made by adding ¾ pounds sugar to 3 cups water. Boil to 222° F. Pack in jars. Strain sirup over fruit. Seal while hot. The fruit may be it allowed to "plump" in the vessel covered for 25 minutes.

Grapefruit Preserves

1 lb. grapefruit peel,
3 cups water,
¾ lb. sugar,
½ lemon sliced.

Select bright fruit with a thick peel, wash well. Cut the peel in strips or shapes. To 1 lb. of fruit add 2 pints of water and the lemon. Boil for 15 minutes, change the water and boil again. Repeat the process as often as is necessary to remove as much of the bitter from the peel as desired. Remove the peel and lemon from the water and drop them into a boiling syrup made by adding ¾ lb. sugar to 3 cups of water for each pound of peel and boiling until the sugar is dissolved. Boil until the peel is transparent and syrup sufficiently heavy.

Note—A ginger flavor may be added to citrus products by adding root ginger to the syrup while boiling.

Sour Orange Preserves

Grate the yellow from the peel. Cut the oranges in halves. Put four oranges into five quarts of water and boil 20 minutes. Change to fresh water and boil 15 minutes. Change and boil to 10 minutes. Change again and boil 8 minutes. Drain and boil in syrup of one part sugar and two parts water until fruit is transparent. When sirup cooks to desired consistency, pour over fruit packed into sterilized jars and process 10 minutes. Seal.

Florida Conserve

2 cups grapefruit pulp	2 cups sugar
2 cups orange pulp	Peel from one orange
¾ cup pecan meats	(chopped)
½ cup grated pineapple

Preparation—To chopped peel add 1 cup water and boil 10 minutes. Cover. Let cool. (If fresh pineapple is used be sure to boil as it contains an enzyme that prevents the action of pectin unless the pineapple has reached boiling point.) Mix fruit pulp and orange peel; boil 20 minutes; add sugar. When dissolved, add pineapple. Cook to the jelly test. Add nuts. Pour into sterilized glasses and seal.

Source:
Excerpt from Stennis, M.A., "Citrus Conservation" Florida Fruits and Vegetables in the Commercial Menu, State of Florida Department of Agriculture, Tallahassee, September, 1931, pgs 90-95.

Keywords: canning fruit, canning fruits, cooking, preserving fruit, preserving fruits, recipe, recipes, storing fruit, storing fruits

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