Loquat Jelly 2010

nearly empty jar, batch #1

Ok, I've made 2 batches now, seems like the technique I'm using is working. I'm basically doing plum jelly -- unpeeled, unpitted fruit simmered in water to get out the flavor and the pectin. Then ~1/2 the volume of liquid in sugar, boiled up. Batch #1 set up for sure and was tasty, I've eaten some of it already. Batch #2 we shall see. Loquats, when cooked, make the kitchen smell like cherries! Very cool. A pictorial recipe:

Bucket of loquats
I stemmed them and washed them well, but otherwise they went in to a pot as-is. I cooked about 6Q of loquats/water to cover at a time.

Simmered them for a couple of hours, then pressed them in a colander with a potato masher to extract the juice. The 6Q of fruit/water yielded about 3Q of fairly thin juice, which I boiled down to ~1Q of happy red juice. Thus added ~1/2 Q (16 oz) sugar. Also I read in one of my preserving books that acid helps the pectin to set the liquid, so added 1.5 t of citric acid, too. Cooked batch #1 to 228 degrees F. As an experiment I used less sugar in batch #2, it only cooked to ~220 F. (Sugar raises the boiling point of liquid).

Canned by putting hot jelly in hot jars, lids had been simmering in water for ~10 minutes. Screwed down the bands, let cool, they popped. This method is not recommended in modern preserving books for lawyer reasons, but seems to work for me for jam/jelly.

Batch #2.
purty glass

Batch #1:
1Q fairly reduced loquat liquid
16 oz sugar
1.5 t citric acid

Batch #2:
~3Q fairly reduced loquat liquid
32 oz sugar
3t citric acid