Menu: Make one, or make them all: Blackberry Thyme Concentrate Raspberry Simple Syrup Blueberry Ginger Shrub Strawberry Mint Shrub
EQUIPMENT LIST: Quart size wide-mouth glass jar, washed. (aisle 11B) --> One for each finished recipe Blender, food processor or Foley-type manual food mill (this will only be used for the blackberry concentrate in this class) Muddler Cutting board
INGREDIENT LIST Concentrates: Blackberry Thyme Concentrate 3 cups fresh blackberries, rinsed 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves Filtered water to cover
Syrups: Raspberry Simple Syrup 2 cups organic cane sugar (aisle 9A) 1 cup filtered water 1 cup fresh raspberries (about 5 ounces, or 140 grams, by weight) Zest from one lime Optional: 1⁄4 cup organic dried rose flowers (1⁄2 ounce or 14 grams, by weight)
Small paring knife Canning funnel Long spoons Measuring cups Vegetable Peeler 2 qt saucepans, several Either a portable burner or your stove Fine mesh strainer Cheesecloth Jelly bag (optional) Labels for each jar Recipe or 3x5” cards & pen Apron
Shrubs: Blueberry Ginger Shrub 1 heaping cup of fresh blueberries 3/4 cup granulated white sugar (aisle 9A) 1 cup of unfiltered apple cider vinegar (aisle 2A) 1 inch piece of fresh ginger Strawberry Mint Shrub 1 cup fresh strawberries, cleaned and chopped 1 cup organic cane sugar (aisle 9A) 1 cup apple cider vinegar (aisle 2A) 2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves, torn
PREPARE BEFORE CLASS: Wash, measure and prep ingredients. Bring your questions!
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Recipes: Blackberry Thyme Concentrate Raspberry Simple Syrup Blueberry Ginger Shrub Strawberry Mint Shrub
BLACKBERRY THYME CONCENTRATE
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ruit concentrate is just fruit juice - but stronger. The idea is to take all of the flavor of the fruit and remove all of the water from it. INGREDIENTS: 3 cups blackberries, rinsed 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves Filtered water to cover
INSTRUCTIONS:
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here are two ways to make juice concentrate from fruit. They generally depend on the type of fruit you are using:
-For wetter, easily juice-able fruits, use the Frozen Concentrate method. Good for berries, melons, oranges, lemons, and many other fruits. -For fruits that will be a pain to juice, use the Boiled Concentrate method. Good for pomegranate, apples, pears, etc. In this class we will make the Boiled Concentrate, but also discuss use the Frozen Concentrate method. If you can, use the Frozen Concentrate method, since boiling the fruit can change the flavor and you may lose some of the natural sweetness. If not, use the boiling method. I am demonstrating it in this class because it is trickier. Method 1: Boiled Concentrate
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ssentially, the idea is to get the juice out of the fruit by boiling the fruit to a pulp. The heat denatures the proteins, releasing some of the sugars (and flavor) into the water. The water then boils off as steam.
1. Wash, peel, and slice fruit as necessary. 2. Put the fruit in a pot; add water to just cover. This is so that you don’t accidentally fry your fruit!
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3. On medium heat, bring to a boil (uncovered). 4. Boil jut until the fruit is mushy pulp. Boiling longer will reduce water content but may alter the flavor of your concentrate. 5. Cover the inside of a colander with several layer of cheesecloth. Use a jelly bag in place of the cheesecloth if you have one. Place the colander over a bowl to catch the juice. Pour the mashed blackberries into the colander/bag and allow the juice to drain through the cheesecloth/bag. Leave the berries in the colander until the berries are cool enough to handle. Twist the cheesecloth/bag closed and gently squeeze out any excess juice remaining in the berries. Method 2: Frozen Concentrate:
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he method of freezing is based on the fact that juice can be extracted from ice - if you’ve ever made a fruit juice popsicle and sucked on it too hard, you remember that you sucked all the flavor out and had a pure ice-sickle left on the stick! Here’s how to use that.
Watch this video on the frozen method: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=wYk9cbAenHY
1. Juice your fruit by any method - a hand juicer, a lime squeezer, or by hand, into a freezer-safe container. Or, if using a blender, food processor or a hand mill, purée until smooth and strain through a fine mesh strainer to remove seeds. 2. Freeze it. This might take a while, like overnight. (You want it really frozen) 3. Set up a container that can hold all of the juice with a narrow funnel on top. Upend frozen juice on top of it. 4. Let sit at room temperature while the juice drips out. 5. When the ice is sufficiently clear/white, you’re done! Throw out the ice and keep the concentrated juice. 6. You may do this several times to really get it concentrated, so repeat the freezing/thawing as necessary.
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or instance, I juiced about 17 oz. of orange juice, and by repeating the freezing/thawing method described above twice, condensed to about 10 oz. It’s much stronger tasting and thicker in consistency. You can also see a darkening of the color.
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STORING METHODS Freezer Preservation 1. Allow the expressed, concentrated juice to cool to room temperature. Pour the concentrate into ice trays. 2. Set the ice trays in the freezer against the freezer walls, where they’ll freeze fastest. Allow about 6 hours for the concentrate to freeze solid in the trays. 3. Transfer the frozen concentrate cubes to a freezer bag, leaving about 1 inch of head space so you can close the bag. Squeeze out as much air as possible and seal the bag. You can place the bag of cubes inside a plastic freezer storage container for additional protection, but this isn’t necessary. 4. Label the bags or containers with the storage date and the expiration date (roughly eight months after the storage date). Canning the Concentrate 1. Pour the concentrate into clean, sterilized canning jars. Use smaller jars if you only expect to use a small amount of the juice at a time. 2. Place a new canning lid over the mouth of the jars and tighten the lids down with a metal band. 3. Transfer the jars to a hot water bath canner, a large pot of simmering water with the water level falling just below the level of the metal bands. Process the jars for 10 to 15 minutes in the hot water bath. 4. Remove the jars from the water bath and set them on a counter to cool. As the juice cools, the button on the lid is sucked down, creating a vacuum seal. You must be sure that has happened, or they are not properly sealed. You can remove the metal bands after the jars are completely sealed. Store the jars at room temperature until ready to use.
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RASPBERRY SIMPLE SYRUP Yields 16 fluid ounces INGREDIENTS: • 2 cups organic cane sugar • 1 cup water • 1 cup fresh raspberries • peels from one lime Optional: 1⁄4 cup organic dried rose flowers INSTRUCTIONS: Heat the raspberries, sugar, and water in a pot on low heat until the sugar is completely dissolved. Add the lime peels (and rose petals if using them) and simmer for an additional 5 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve/cloth, making sure to press, or wring out, the raspberries while still warm to remove all solids. Refrigerate and use within 2 weeks to 1 month. You can also add 1 Tablespoon of vodka to prolong freshness. Check for any signs of spoilage, including bubbling, mold, off-smells, or disconcerting floaters. Discard if spoiled.
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SHRUBS
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his process works for almost all ripe fruit – mix and match as you like!
BLUEBERRY GINGER SHRUB Yields approximately 12 fluid ounces
Muddle Me This with Sarah facebook.com/MuddleMeThisWithSarah Instagram @muddlemethiswithsarah2 muddlemethiswithsarah@gmail.com (707) 295-3590
1 heaping cup of blueberries ¾-1 cup organic cane sugar 1 cup of unfiltered apple cider vinegar 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, chopped or grated 1. Pour heaping cup of blueberries into the bottom of a quart jar and covered them with ¾ -1 cup sugar. Using a muddler, smash until the blueberries are a sweet, pulpy mess. Add ginger. 2. Add vinegar and shake the jar to incorporate. After that, the jar goes into the fridge to rest. While this no-cook process takes a little longer than one where you apply heat, it will taste fresher. 3. Once the fruit has steeped for 5 days, and there’s no sign of any granulated bits of sugar, you can strain your shrub through a fine mesh sieve, but it is imperfect and doesn’t catch every last fruit particle. That’s perfectly fine. More flavor! Use your spent fruit pulp in muffins or smoothies. It really peaks in flavor after being in the fridge for about 2 weeks. To use: Combine 2oz Shrub to 6oz bubbly (or flat) water
STRAWBERRY MINT SHRUB 1 cup ripe strawberries, cleaned and chopped ¾-1 cup organic cane sugar 1 cup apple cider vinegar 2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves, torn Use the same method as the Blueberry Shrub above.
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