Photo copyright Fairwinds Press
Happy Saturday Afternoon! I hope you’re enjoying the weekend. So, I wanted to let you all know about something I’m quite excited about–a giveaway that I’m participating in with my friends at Pomona’s Pectin! The giveaway includes a copy of my book “Preserving with Pomona’s Pectin and a box of Pomona’s Universal Pectin, both provided by Pomona’s, as well as a case of 6 Orchard Road jelly jars (8 oz), including lids and bands, and a stainless steel funnel, provided by Fillmore Container.
Just for fun, and especially for folks who might not be familiar with my book, I thought I’d share a recipe with you from the book–Gingered Lemon-Preserves! It’s definitely one of my favorite recipes in the book, and you can see it, pictured above.
Gingered Lemon-Fig Preserves
Excerpted from Preserving with Pomona’s Pectin by Allison Carroll Duffy (Fair Winds Press, June 2013)
In this spectacular preserve, a touch of heat from the ginger and a little tartness from the lemons beautifully highlight the lushness of fresh, ripe figs. Try serving sandwiched between gingersnap cookies to accentuate its flavor profile. To ensure proper acidity levels, be sure to use commonly available, full-acid lemons such as Eureka or Lisbon lemons in this recipe.
Before You Begin:
Prepare calcium water. To do this, combine ½ teaspoon calcium powder (in the small packet in your box of Pomona’s pectin) with ½ cup water in a small, clear jar with a lid. Shake well. Extra calcium water may be stored in the refrigerator for future use.
Yield: 4 to 5 half-pint (8-ounce) jars
Ingredients:
2 pounds ripe figs
2 tablespoons peeled, finely grated ginger root
7 medium lemons, divided
4 teaspoons calcium water
1¼ cups sugar
3 teaspoons Pomona’s pectin powder
Directions:
1. Wash your jars, lids, and bands. Place jars in canner, fill canner 2/3 full with water, bring canner to a rolling boil, and boil jars for 10 minutes to sterilize them. (Add 1 extra minute of sterilizing time for every 1000 feet above sea level.) Reduce heat and allow jars to remain in hot canner water until ready to use. Place lids in water in a small sauce pan, heat to a low simmer, and hold until ready to use.
2. Rinse figs, remove stems, and slice them in half lengthwise. (Cut them into smaller pieces if you prefer, or if you’re working with large figs.) Combine figs in a saucepan with grated ginger.
3. Wash lemons thoroughly. Using a vegetable peeler, slice off long pieces of the exterior of some of the lemon peels, avoiding the inner white part. Then, using a chef’s knife, slice these pieces into very thin strips about 1-inch long. Repeat this process until you have accumulated ¼ cup of thin, 1-inch long strips. Add these strips to the fig mixture.
4. Slice lemons in half and squeeze out their juice, discarding the remaining peels. Divide the juice, setting aside 1/3 cup for later use. Add the remaining quantity to the fig mixture.
5. Bring the fig mixture to a boil over high heat, reduce heat, and simmer, covered, for 12 to 15 minutes or until lemon peels are soft, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
6. Measure 4 cups of the cooked fig mixture and return the measured quantity to the saucepan. Add the reserved 1/3 cup lemon juice and calcium water and mix well.
7. In a separate bowl, combine sugar and pectin powder. Mix thoroughly and set aside.
8. Bring fig mixture back to a full boil over high heat. Slowly add pectin sugar mixture, stirring constantly. Continue to stir vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes to dissolve pectin while the preserves come back up to a boil. Once the preserves return to a full boil, remove from heat.
9. Can Your Preserves: Remove jars from canner and ladle jam into hot jars, leaving ¼ inch of headspace. Remove trapped air bubbles, wipe rims with a damp cloth, put on lids and screw bands, and tighten to fingertip tight. Lower filled jars into canner, ensuring jars are not touching each other and are covered with at least 1 to 2 inches of water. Place lid on canner, return to a rolling boil, and process for 10 minutes. (Add 1 extra minute of processing time for every 1000 feet above sea level). Turn off heat and allow canner to sit untouched for 5 minutes, then remove jars and allow to cool undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours. Confirm that jars have sealed, then store properly.
Grate That Ginger!
Using a paring knife or a vegetable peeler, slice the thin, brown skin off a chunk of fresh, firm ginger root. Then, using a fine mesh grater, grate the ginger root. Don’t peel the whole root at once—continue to peel as you go along, so that you don’t peel more than you need. Grating the ginger will create a good bit of juice; be sure to incorporate it into your measured quantity of grated ginger.
OK, so back the giveaway…..here are the nitty-gritties:
There will be two giveaway winners. Each winner will receive 4 different goodies! They are:
1.) A copy of the book Preserving with Pomona’s Pectin by Allison Carroll Duffy and the Partners at Pomona’s Universal Pectin (provided by Pomona’s Pectin)
2.) A package of Pomona’s Universal Pectin (provided by Pomona’s Pectin)
3.) A case of 6 Orchard Road jelly jars (8 oz), including lids and bands (provided by Fillmore Container).
4.) A stainless steel funnel (provided by Fillmore Container)
The Giveaway terms and conditions are: Giveaway is open to anyone with a U.S. or Canadian mailing address who is 18 years or older. Giveaway runs from August 5, 2014, through August 13, 2014. Winners will be randomly chosen. We will email the winners to send us their mailing address. The names of the winners will be posted on the Pomona’s Pectin website blog 48 hours after the giveaway ends.
So….all you need to do to enter the giveaway is to click on the link below. Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
From Pomona’s: 
