Preserving Tradition

IT SOUNDS IMPRESSIVE. IT FEELS PERSONAL. And an "old-fashioned" gift of homemade jam or pickles can look and taste as up to date as you like. Moreover, unlike your grandmother, you don't have to spend a whole weekend in a hot kitchen, turning out an entire winter larder's worth of food when all you want is a few jars of jelly.

The best preserves are made with fresh, local produce. This isn't the time of year to make strawberry-rhubarb jam, pickle relish, or peach butter; you'll have to wait until June for native berries, July for cucumbers, and August for the sweetest peaches. However, the fruits of fall - apples and their close cousins, quinces and pears - are still available in local markets, and should be for the next several weeks.

When I set out last year to write a cookbook about pickles, jams, and relishes, I started with family recipes for inspiration. But when I found the experts at the National Center for Home Food Preservation at the University of Georgia, I learned that in terms of food safety, there are radically new practices to follow - and for good reason. Sealing jars with paraffin, for example, is no longer considered safe. Filled jars now get self-sealing lids, plus an extra few minutes in boiling water. Recipes in The New Preserves - including those excerpted here - meet these standards. And the funny thing is, they're actually a lot easier.

Just don't tell the recipients of your lovely gifts.

PICKLED PEARS
MAKES 2 PINT JARS

Tiny Seckel pears, available at grocery stores and farm stands this time of year, are ideal for this recipe. About 4 whole pears fit into a pint jar, but squeezing them in can be a bit of a puzzle. If you cut the last pear in half, it is easier to fit it in. The finished pears may be eaten immediately, but their flavor improves if they sit for at least 2 weeks.

1 cup white or cider vinegar
2 cups sugar
3 thin slices lemon
1 cinnamon stick, snapped in half
1 teaspoon whole cloves
1 teaspoon whole allspice
2 pounds pears (about 8 Seckel pears)

Prepare a hot-water canning bath, 2 pint jars, and 2 sets of lids as directed below. You do not need to sterilize the jars, but once they are clean, place them in the hot water as directed.

In a large saucepan, combine the vinegar, sugar, lemon, and both halves of the cinnamon stick. In a spice bag (available at kitchen stores), place the cloves and allspice and tie with string. Add it to the pan. Bring the mixture to a boil, then cover and let simmer 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, wash and peel the pears, leaving the stems in place, and cutting out blossom ends and any bruised or damaged spots.

Add the pears to the syrup mixture. Remove the lemon slices and, turning the pears frequently, bring the syrup to a boil, then simmer another 15 minutes.

With tongs, remove 1 jar from the hot-water bath, tipping it so the water pours back into the pan and the jar is empty. Fill with half of the pears and 1 piece of the cinnamon. With a ladle, add the pickling liquid to the jar, leaving a 1/2-inch space at the top. With a clean paper towel, wipe spills from the jar lip. With another paper towel, dry off a flat lid and set it on the jar; screw on the ringed lid. Repeat with the other jar.

Bring the canning bath to a boil and use a jar lifter to transfer filled jars into the water. Boil for 20 minutes. Remove the jars and let them sit for 12 hours without disturbing. Check that the lids have sealed before storing.

APPLE BUTTER
MAKES 3 PINT JARS

This version of the dark, spicy spread has a hint of cloves and vinegar permeating its applesaucelike texture. Any apple is fine to use in this recipe.

4 pounds apples
1 cup apple cider
1 cup vinegar
2 cups brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves

Prepare a hot-water canning bath and 3 pint jars as directed below. You do not need to sterilize the jars, but once they are clean, place them in the hot water as directed.

Wash, core, and cut the apples into quarters. In a large saucepan, place the apples, cider, and vinegar and cook over low heat for about 1 hour or until the apples are very soft when pierced with a fork.

Put the apple mixture through a food mill (or press through a colander with the back of a ladle), and return the mash to the saucepan. Add the sugar, cinnamon, and cloves and simmer for another hour, stirring frequently so the mixture does not scorch.

When a spoonful of the butter sits in a mound on a plate without any liquid separating out, it is ready to go into the jars. Remove the saucepan from the heat.

With tongs, remove 1 jar from the hot-water bath, tipping it so the water pours back into the pan and the jar is empty. Fill it with a third of the butter, leaving a 1/4-inch space at the top. With a clean paper towel, wipe spills from the jar lip. With another clean paper towel, dry off a flat lid and set it on top of the jar; screw on the threaded lid. Repeat with the other jars.

Bring the canning bath to a boil and use a jar lifter to transfer filled jars into the water. Boil for 10 minutes, then remove the jars and let them sit for 12 hours without disturbing. Check that the lids have sealed before storing.

QUINCE JELLY
MAKES 3 PINT JARS

This delicate, highly perfumed jelly mellows to a light red color. It is recommended on fluffy biscuits or English muffins.

2 1/2 pounds quinces
5 cups water
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3 cups sugar

Prepare a hot-water canning bath and 3 pint jars as directed on the previous page. Sterilize the jars, then leave them in the hot water.

Wash the quinces, remove the stems, and cut out any bruises. Chop the fruit, including the peels, seeds, and cores, into dice. In a large saucepan, place the chopped fruit and add the water. Cook over low heat, stirring and mashing the fruit, for about 20 minutes or until the fruit is soft.

Using a jelly bag on a stand (available at hardware and cooking stores) or a clean nylon stocking stretched over a colander, drain the cooked fruit mixture so that the juice collects in a bowl, letting it drip for at least 6 hours. Do not squeeze the bag or push on the fruit, or you won't have clear jelly.

The yield should be about 3 cups of juice; add water if needed to reach that amount.

In a large saucepan, combine the quince juice, lemon juice, and sugar and bring to a boil, stirring constantly to prevent scorching. With a candy thermometer, test the mixture. When it reaches 220 degrees, it should begin to jell. (To check, fill a clean, metal spoon with the mixture, then slowly pour the jelly back into the pot. When it comes off the spoon in a sheet instead of a thin trickle, it is ready.) Remove from the heat. With tongs, remove 1 jar from the hot water bath, tipping it so the water pours back into the pan and the jar is empty. Fill the jar with a third of the jelly, leaving a 1/4-inch space at the top. With a clean paper towel, wipe spills from the jar lip. With another clean paper towel, dry off a flat lid and set it on top of the jar; screw on the threaded lid. Repeat with the other jars.

Bring the canning bath to a boil and use a jar lifter to transfer filled jars into the water. Boil for 5 minutes, then remove the jars and let them sit for 12 hours without disturbing. Check that the lids have sealed before storing.

Recipes adapted from The New Preserves: Pickles, Jams, and Jellies by Anne V. Nelson. Copyright © 2005 by Anne V. Nelson. Reprinted by permission of The Lyons Press, a division of The Globe Pequot Press.

PREPARING AND SEALING JARS

Use Mason-type canning jars with new two-piece lids. Some recipes don't require sterilized jars, but all recipes require a hot-water canning bath. Time in the bath will vary by recipe. For a hot-water bath use a canner with a rack or a large stockpot with a cookie rack fitted in the bottom. You will need at least an inch of boiling water below and above the jars. Fill the pot and bring to a boil. Wash the jars in warm, soapy water, and rinse thoroughly. With a jar lifter (available at hardware stores), set the jars, making sure they're upright, into the water. If the recipe does not call for sterilized jars, this step will heat the jars, readying them to be filled. If the recipe calls for sterilized jars, bring the water to a boil and boil for 10 minutes. Turn down the heat and leave the jars in the water until you're ready to use them. Wash, rinse, and, in a saucepan, scald the lids and rims. Once the jars are filled and the lids are in place, use the jar lifter to return the jars to the boiling water. Time according to the recipe. Remove the jars from the bath and leave them undisturbed for at least 12 hours. Check that the lids have sealed - they will be concave and firmly in place - before storing.

FANCY THAT

Paper adds the finishing touch.

We asked Vellum (vellumstore.com, 617-247-2323), a specialty paper and gift store in Boston's South End, to wrap our canned preserves. The results look fancy but are quite simple to put together. A pint jar is wrapped in a cylinder formed from a square of paper (or 2 squares in contrasting colors) folded diagonally. Crease the paper to make flaps at the front and punch holes through the paper (both cylinder and flaps) about 1/4 inch from the crease. Run a ribbon through the holes and tie it to hold the wrap in place. For the fan top, cut a strip of paper about 18 inches long and just over an inch wide; fold it into 1/2-inch accordion pleats. Snip off one corner of the accordion; that will be the center of the fan. Bring the ends of the accordion together, forming a circle, and tape them. Tape the fan to the jar lid. Glue a marble to the center. Another treatment is to wrap a small, lidless box as you would a gift. Put matching paper around the jar's threaded lid and twist a strip into a curl and glue it to the top.

It's important to label and date homemade preserves, since they are shelf-stable for only one year. Once a jar has cooled fully - at least 12 hours - use a permanent marker or a sticker to put the name and date of your preserves on the lid.

Anne V. Nelson is the author of The New Preserves and an assistant editor at the Globe Magazine. E-mail magazine@globe.com.