A Gardeners Forum Forums Willy's Place Members Favorite Recipes Fall preserves

I need some ideas on something to make for fall. I am not too keen on apple butter and hub doesn't like pumpkin. I can't think of anything else to preserve in fall and so I need ideas please!

Apple Pie Jam I get lots of requests for this every year.
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4 cups tart apples, peeled and finely chopped
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
4 cups sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 box pectin
1/2 teaspoon butter

Add water to chopped apples to measure 4 cups. Place apples and water into large, heavy saucepan. Stir in lemon juice, cinnamon and allspice.

Measure sugars. Stir pectin into fruit. Add butter. Bring mixture to full rolling boil on high heat, stirring constantly. Quickly stir in both sugars. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with metal spoon.

Ladle quickly into hot, clean jars, leaving 1/4" headspace. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with two-piece lids. Screw bands on finger tight. Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Cranberry Jalapeno Jelly

3 cups cranberry juice -- (or cran-raspberry juice)
1 cup jalapeno peppers -- chopped and seeded
7 cups sugar
1 cup vinegar
2 pouches liquid fruit pectin (Certo) -- 3 ounces each
10 drops red food coloring -- optional

Prepare your jars and get all canning supplies ready (you'll need 8 half pint jars). Place cranberry juice and peppers in a blender; cover and process until peppers are fully chopped. Strain through a double thickness of cheesecloth. Pour the strained juice into a large kettle; add sugar. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Stir in vinegar and pectin; return to a full rolling boil. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat; skim foam. Add food coloring, if desired. Pour into hot sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Adjust caps. Process for 10 minutes in a boiling-water bath.

I peeled and sliced some apples, made a light syrup with 1 cup sugar and 3 cups water. Then I added some red hot cinnamon candies to the bottom of the jars, I used 3T. per quart. Then just packed the apples, poured in the syrup , sealed, and processed for the time listed for apples. The candies took a while to dissolve after they were canned, but did in a couple days. These tasted great! The color is really pretty, too.
After doing this, I find that adding the candies to the syrup and dissolving is a better method.
Some people can pears this way instead of apples.

Our neighbor has two large pear trees that overhang our fence, and he has little interest in the fruit. My wife made pear jelly last year and it was simply delicious, as fine a jelly as you could ask for. I think the recipe was in the Surejell package. We also canned some pears, and they were far nicer than the pears in light syrup you can buy.

Oh yeah! We have talked about making pear butter...I suspect it would be much tastier than apple butter, and great on french toast, etc. Oooh, and I just thought...what about pear syrup?