Cranberry, Raspberry, Pecan Conserve
- 8 ounces pecans
- 1 pound (16 ounces) fresh cranberries
- 4 half-pints raspberries
- 3 cups sugar
- Juice of one lemon
- 1 Tablespoon orange zest
- In a skillet, toast pecans over medium heat, shaking pan to avoid burning.
- In about 8 minutes, nuts will become fragrant and smell toasty; remove from heat and chop.
- In a large heavy pot, bring cranberries, raspberries, sugar, lemon juice and zest to a boil.
- Remove from heat, pour into a ceramic or glass bowl, then cover and refrigerate overnight.
- If not canning, add pecans and serve.
- If canning, put a rack in a large stockpot or line the pot with a folded kitchen towel.
- Fill with water and bring to a boil.
- Add 4 half-pint canning jars or two pint-size canning jars and boil for 10 minutes.
- Jars may be left in the warm water in the pot until ready to be filled.
- Alternatively, sterilize the jars by running them through a dishwasher cycle, leaving them there until ready to fill.
- Place canning rings in a small saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil.
- Turn off the heat and add the lids to soften their rubber gaskets.
- Rings and lids may be left in the water until jars are filled.
- Strain the cranberry raspberry mixture through a sieve over a heavy pot, then place the strainer in a bowl to catch any additional syrup.
- Reserve the fruit solids.
- Bring liquid to a boil.
- When syrup reaches 220 degrees, or an active boil that cannot be stirred down, add back the fruit and any juices that have accumulated.
- Bring the mixture back to a hard boil, stirring constantly.
- Add the pecans, and then cook until the conserve is at a boil that cannot be stirred down and has thickened to a jammy consistency.
- Remove the jars from the pot.
- Ladle hot conserve into the hot jars, leaving 1/2-inch head space.
- Wipe jar rims with a damp towel.
- Place lids on jars, screw on rings and lower jars back into the pot of boiling water.
- Return to a full boil and boil the jars for 15 minutes for half pints, 20 minutes for pints.
- Transfer jars to a folded towel and allow to cool for 12 hours; you should hear jars ping as they seal.
- Once cool, test seals by removing rings and lifting jars by the flat lid.
- If the lid releases, the seal has not formed.
- Unsealed jars should be refrigerated and used within a month, or reprocessed.
- Rings and jars may be reused, but a new flat lid must be used each time jars are processed.
- To reprocess, reheat conserve to boiling, then continue as before.
pecans, fresh cranberries, raspberries, sugar, lemon, orange zest
Taken from cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1014422 (may not work)