Winter Fruit Mostarda from Preserving by the Pint

We were pleased to welcome Marisa McClellan, a food writer, canning teacher, and dedicated farmers market shopper who lives in Center City Philadelphia, to our booth at the PA Farm Show, yesterday. She made a few recipes from her books Food in Jars: Preserving in Small Batches Year-Round and Preserving by the Pint: Quick Seasonal Canning for Small Spaces, and we are sharing her recipe for Winter Fruit Mostarda with you today.

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Marisa will join us again on Tuesday to continue to talk about basic water bath canning tips and how to reduce the use of sugar by using other sweeteners. Marisa’s third book, called Naturally Sweet Food in Jars, will be published on March 22, 2016. It features 100 recipes sweetened with honey, maple, agave, coconut sugar, dried fruits, and fruit juice concentrates. Lisa Reinhart will close the day by making some Caramelized Red Onion Relish from Marisa’s first book, Food in Jars.

10:00am Winter Fruit Mostarda from Preserving by the Pint
1-2pm Honey Sweetened Pear Vanilla Jam from Naturally Sweet Food in Jars @ Family Living Stage
3:00pm Spicy Pickled Cauliflower from Preserving by the Pint
6:30pm Caramelized Red Onion Relish from Food in Jars

Winter Fruit Mostarda

“Recipe reprinted with permission from Preserving by the Pint © 2014 by Marisa McClellan, Running Press, a member of the Perseus Book Group.”

Traditionally, mostarda is whole or sliced fruit that’s been preserved in a mustard oil-infused syrup. The end result looks like innocent preserved fruit, but has the sharpness and sinus-clearing power of horseradish. Because mustard oil is hard to find in the US, I’ve combined mustard seeds and a few pinches of hot pepper to replicate that arresting flavor. Try it with cold roast beef or aged cheddar.

Makes 3 half pints

Ingredients

1 pound pears
1 pound apples
1 cup honey
2 tablespoons mustard seeds
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Prepare a boiling water bath canner and three half pint jars. Place three lids into a small pan of water and bring to a gentle simmer.

Wash apples and pears well.

Combine honey with one cup of water, mustard seeds, apple cider vinegar, Aleppo pepper, and cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil.

While the syrup heats, peel, core, and slice the fruit. As you cut each piece, slip it into the cooking syrup, so that the fruit never gets a chance to oxidize.

Once all the fruit segments are in the syrup, let it cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, until the apples and pears are starting to go translucent, but before they fall apart.

When time is up, use a slotted spoon to transfer the fruit into the prepared jars. Return the syrup to the stove, bring it back up to a boil and cook until it has reduced by at least half and looks quite thick. Ladle the thickened syrup over the fruit, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.

Tap the jars to help remove any trapped air bubbles and add more syrup, if necessary.

Wipe rims, apply lids and rings, and process in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes.

Giveaways

We hope you’ll stop by and see more great recipes, being demonstrated at our Preservation Station. Don’t forget to enter two great giveaways we have happening! Win a Fermenting Kit or a Canning Kit.