Madelaine Bullwinkel - Artisanal Preserves: Small-Batch Jams, Jellies, Marmalades, and More

2TECHNIQUES AND EQUIPMENT
FOR PRESERVING

Lemon Amaretto Souffled Pudding
with Raspberry Sauce

Master Recipe for Fruit Sauce Made from
Jams and Preserves

Rarely does a cooking teacher have the opportunity to share a long-time passion with a new generation of eager cooks and seasoned preservers alike. I dont think you will be disappointed. The recipes in Artisanal Preserves remain true to the traditional methods that first inspired me to make jams and jellies more than thirty years ago. At the same time, they keep pace with both cooking trends and technical preserving advances in the 21st century. Each recipe has evolved slowly and naturally over years of testing, sampling, and enjoying at Chez Madelaine, my home-based cooking school.

Artisanal Preserves is really two books in one. If you are new to fruit preserving, the second chapter will read like an owners manual. A list of instructions also accompanies each preserving subject in the chapters that follow. But, trust me, once you have the basic techniques mastered, the process of cooking preserves will become both predictable and fun. Additional rewards await you in the baking and dessert sectionsthose recipes provide an opportunity to amplify delicious homemade treats with your personally created preserves. Dont even try to resist!

Artisanal Preserves captures, in its technical efficiency, the spirit of new approaches to fruit preserving. For instance, careful experimentation over the years has led me to develop recipes for small fruit quantitiesoften appropriate for limited family needsthat preserve full flavor with a minimum of cooking and adhere to natural pectin levels, which means less added sugar. We now vacuum seal all preserves, in keeping with standards of the preserving industry, which has discarded melted paraffin as both unreliable and flammable. All our breads are now checked for doneness with a modern, instant-read thermometer, so we can say goodbye to the guesswork of thumping on hot loaves.

Look for some (to me) daring technical twists, such as the use of powdered commercial pectin; it helps make Quick Preserves and comes to the rescue when preserves refuse to jell. You will learn how to add just the right amount of pectin powder to keep sugar levels the same as they would be if you used only naturally occurring fruit pectin. Preserve connoisseurs will still prefer the texture and mouth-feel of natural pectin in jelly, preserves, and marmalades, but, like me, I think you will be grateful to have an alternative when time is limited.

What hasnt changed in the many years I have been making fruit preserves is the knowledge that each labeled jar is truly a present from the heartfrom me, from my kitchen. Theres no better gift nor way to say thank you to friends and associates. I make sure to pack several quarter-pint jars in my carry-on bag each time I lead a tour group to France, knowing that old friends will be looking forward to receiving these unique personal gifts as an expression of our common love of life at the table.

Now its time for you to join with me in the pleasure and satisfaction of creating an abundance of elegant and delicious fruit preserves right in your own home kitchen. After you have tried your hand at fruit preserving, let me know how you have fared. Please send news of your successes, questions, and recipe creations to me at: chezmpreserves.com .