A Love Affair with Southern Cooking (71 page)

4 pounds stemmed muscadine or scuppernong grapes

¾ cup cold water

6 cups sugar

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

• 1.
  Wash the grapes in a sink full of cool water and drain well. Peel the grapes (see Tip at left), then place the skins and the ¾ cup cold water in a large, heavy nonreactive kettle and the grapes in a second large, heavy nonreactive kettle, this one broad-bottomed.
  
• 2.
  Set the two kettles over moderate heat and bring each to a boil. Adjust the heat under the grapes so that they bubble gently; cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until the grapes are mushy. At the same time, cover the grape skins and boil 20 minutes or until they are tender. If they threaten to boil dry, add a little additional water.
  
• 3.
  Force the grapes through a food mill or fine sieve, extracting as much pulp and liquid as possible. Return the grape pulp to the kettle, then mix in the grape skins and any remaining water, the sugar, and lemon juice. Insert a candy thermometer.
  
• 4.
  Bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves, then cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reaches the jelling point (218° to 220° F.).
  
• 5.
  Meanwhile, wash and rinse 7 half-pint preserving jars and their closures and submerge in a large kettle of boiling water.
  
• 6.
  Ladle the boiling jam into the hot jars, filling each to within ¼ inch of the top.
  Tip:
  To avoid spills, use a wide-mouth canning funnel.
  Wipe the jar rims with a damp cloth and screw on the closures.
  
• 7.
  Process the jars for 10 minutes in a hot water bath (185° F.). Lift from the water bath; complete the seals, if necessary, by tightening the lids, then cool to room temperature.
  
• 8.
  Date and label each jar, then store on a cool, dark shelf for about a month before serving.
  

SPICY PEACH BUTTER

MAKES
6
TO
8
HALF-PINTS

Among some southern mountain folk, peach butter is more popular than peach jam, maybe because it seems less fussy. It’s not as sweet as peach jam but is a good bit spicier, yet it’s equally tasty on hot biscuits, hoecakes, and corn pones. As with peach jam, freestone Georgia Belles and Elbertas are the peach varieties to use.

6 pounds medium firm-ripe peaches, washed and drained (see headnote)

1 cup cold water

Sugar (½ cup for each 1 cup of cooked peaches)

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest

1 teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

• 1.
  Blanch the peaches in batches in boiling water, allowing 30 seconds for each. Transfer at once to ice water, then slip off the skins. Drain the peaches well, pit, and coarsely chop.
  
• 2.
  Transfer the peaches to a large nonreactive kettle, add the 1 cup cold water, and bring to a boil over moderate heat. Adjust the heat so that the peaches simmer gently and cook uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes or until they are very soft. Measure the cooked peaches carefully and make a note of the total amount.
  
• 3.
  Return the peaches to the kettle, then for every 1 cup of peaches, add ½ cup sugar. Also add the lemon juice, orange zest, and three spices. Insert a candy thermometer.
  
• 4.
  Bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves, then cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reaches the jelling point (218° to 220° F.).
  
• 5.
  Meanwhile, wash and rinse 8 half-pint preserving jars and their closures and submerge in a large kettle of boiling water.
  
• 6.
  Ladle the boiling peach butter into the hot jars, filling each to within ¼ inch of the top.
  Tip:
  To avoid spills, use a wide-mouth canning funnel.
  Wipe the jar rims with a damp cloth and screw on the closures.
  
• 7.
  Process the jars for 10 minutes in a hot water bath (185° F.). Lift from the water bath; complete the seals, if necessary, by tightening the lids, then cool to room temperature.
  
• 8.
  Date and label each jar, then store on a cool, dark shelf for about a month before serving.
  

Her hand was as light with her pastry as with her husband, and the results as happy.

—
ANONYMOUS

DAMSON PRESERVES

MAKES
4
TO
5
HALF-PINTS

The damson plum
(
Prunus insititia
)
is believed to have been introduced into Greece by Alexander the Great, who found it growing near Damascus; into Western Europe by Crusaders returning from Jerusalem; and into the New World by the English colonists. According to
Sturtevant’s Notes on Edible Plants
,
the damson still grows wild throughout Europe and Asia as well as over much of the United States. Sturtevant describes the damson thus: “The fruit is globular, black or white, of an acid taste but not unpleasant, especially when mellowed by frost; it makes a good conserve.” Quite so. The tiny, tart, black-skinned, golden-fleshed damsons are what Southerners prize for preserves. Note:
It’s important that the plums not be fully ripe, for if they are, they will not contain enough natural pectin to thicken the preserves.

3 pounds firm-ripe damson plums, halved and pitted but not peeled (you’ll need 5 cups of prepared damsons)

1 cup water

4 cups sugar

2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

• 1.
  Place all ingredients in a large, heavy nonreactive kettle—a broad-bottomed one is best—and insert a candy thermometer. Set over
  moderately low heat and bring to a boil, stirring now and then. Adjust the heat so the mixture bubbles gently, then cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reaches the jelling point (218° to 220° F.).
  
• 2.
  Meanwhile, wash and rinse 5 half-pint preserving jars and their closures and submerge in a large kettle of boiling water.
  
• 3.
  Ladle the boiling preserves into the hot jars, filling each to within ¼ inch of the top.
  Tip:
  To avoid spills, use a wide-mouth canning funnel.
  Wipe the jar rims with a damp cloth and screw on the closures.
  
• 4.
  Process the jars for 15 minutes in a hot water bath (185° F.). Lift from the water bath; complete the seals, if necessary, by tightening the lids, then cool to room temperature.
  
• 5.
  Date and label each jar, then store on a cool, dark shelf for about a month before serving.
  

The year was 1584…[English captain Arthur Barlowe] was looking for a landfall. He turned toward the perfumed sand banks [in what is now North Carolina] to discover a woven ambuscade of vines bearing golden brown fruit…the “mother vineyard,” home of America’s first grape, the scuppernong.

—
CLEMENTINE PADDLEFORD
,
HOW AMERICA EATS

FIG PRESERVES

MAKES
8
HALF-PINTS

Whatever figs my mother didn’t pickle, she would preserve, again using an old southern recipe. My favorite way to eat fig preserves was on hot buttered biscuits.

4½ pounds small firm-ripe figs, washed but not peeled or stemmed

6 cups sugar

4 cups (1 quart) water

²
/
₃
cup fresh lemon juice

• 1.
  Prick each fig with a sterilized needle (to keep the figs from bursting) and set aside.
  
• 2.
  Bring the sugar, water, and lemon juice to a boil in a large, heavy, nonreactive kettle over high heat. Add the figs, adjust the heat so the liquid bubbles gently, then cook the figs uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes until translucent. Set off the heat, cover, and let the figs plump in the syrup overnight.
  
• 3.
  The next day, wash and rinse 8 half-pint preserving jars and their closures and submerge in a large kettle of boiling water.
  
• 4.
  Set the kettle of figs over moderate heat and slowly bring to a boil. Skim off the froth, then pack the figs as attractively and tightly as possible in the hot preserving jars, filling to within ¼ inch of the top. Ladle in just enough boiling syrup to cover the figs, again leaving ¼ inch head space. Run a thin-blade spatula around the inside of each jar to release air bubbles; wipe the rim with a clean, damp cloth, then screw on the closure.
  
• 5.
  Process the jars for 20 minutes in a hot water bath (185° F.). Lift from the water bath; complete the seals, if necessary, by tightening the lids, then cool to room temperature.
  
• 6.
  Date and label each jar, then store on a cool, dark shelf for about a month before serving.
  

SHENANDOAH APPLE-BLACKBERRY JELLY

MAKES
4
HALF-PINTS

For me one of the loveliest parts of the South is Virginia’s fertile Shenandoah Valley, where apple orchards twill the foothills and wild blackberries are yours for the picking. This recipe, 100 years old or more, shows how women made jelly before commercial pectins were available in liquid or powdered form. The apples provide the pectin and produce a jelly of exquisite delicacy.

2½ medium Rhode Island Greening apples (about ¾ pound), washed and thinly sliced but not peeled or cored

1 cup water

10 cups (2½ quarts) firm-ripe wild blackberries, washed and drained

3 cups sugar (about)

• 1.
  Place the apples along with their stems, cores, and seeds in a medium-size, heavy nonreactive kettle. Add the water and bring to a boil
  over moderately high heat. Adjust the heat so the mixture bubbles gently, cover, and cook for 15 minutes.
  
• 2.
  Add the blackberries and crush well with a potato masher; cover and boil 5 minutes more.
  
• 3.
  Suspend two damp jelly bags over two large heatproof bowls (or line each of two large footed colanders with four thicknesses of cheesecloth and stand in the bowls). Pour half the berry mixture into each jelly bag and let the juice drip through undisturbed. The juice extraction may take an hour or longer, so have patience. If you try to rush things by squeezing the bags, your jelly will be cloudy.
  
• 4.
  Meanwhile, wash and rinse 4 half-pint preserving jars and their closures and submerge in a large kettle of boiling water.
  
• 5.
  Measure the extracted juice carefully; you should have 4 cups. Pour the juice back into the kettle, now rinsed and dried, and for every cup of juice, add ¾ cup of sugar. Insert a candy thermometer.
  
• 6.
  Set over moderately low heat and bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Adjust the heat so the mixture bubbles gently, then cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes or until the mixture reaches the jelling point (218° to 220° F.).
  
• 7.
  When the jelly is done, skim off the froth, then ladle the boiling jelly into the hot jars, filling each to within ¼ inch of the top.
  Tip:
  To avoid spills, use a wide-mouth canning funnel.
  Wipe the jar rims with a damp cloth and screw on the closures.
  
• 8.
  Process the jars for 5 minutes in a boiling water bath (212° F.). Lift from the water bath; complete the seals, if necessary, by tightening the lids, then cool to room temperature.
  
• 9.
  Date and label each jar of jelly, then store on a cool, dark shelf for about a month before serving.