Texas Persimmon Jam

What you need

• 4 cups prepared juice
• 4 packages No-sugar needed or Low-sugar Pectin
  (for a softer jell, use 3 packages of the pectin)
• 1/2 tsp. butter or margarine
• 3 cups sugar, measured into separate bowl

How to make it:

BRING boiling-water canner, 3/4 full with water, to simmer. Wash jars and screw bands in hot soapy water; rinse with warm water. Pour boiling water over flat lids in saucepan off the heat. Let stand in hot water until ready to use. Place empty jars in boiling water for a minute. Drain jars well before filling by placing upside down on a paper towel.

POUR juice in large saucepan. STIR pectin into juice in saucepot. Add butter to reduce foaming. Bring mixture to full rolling boil (a boil that doesn’t stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 min., stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with metal spoon.

LADLE immediately into prepared jars, filling to within 1/8 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with two-piece lids. Screw bands tightly. Place jars on elevated rack in canner. (Water must cover jars by 1 to 2 inches. Add boiling water, if necessary.) Cover; bring water to gentle boil. Process 5 minutes (look up instructions for processing at higher altitudes). Remove jars and place upright on a towel to cool completely. After jars cool, check seals by pressing middles of lids with finger or listen for them to pop as the mixture cools. (If lids spring back when pressed, lids are not sealed and refrigeration is necessary.)

Makes about seven 8 oz. jars of jam.

PROCESSING Black Persimmon fruit: Gather ripe fruit (they turn to black when ripe) and rinse with cold tap water or bathe in cold tap water, removing any stems or leaves that have been collected. Place ripe fruit in large pot. I like to use at least 2 quarts of fruit. Cover fruit with water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 10 min., stirring occasionally. Let mixture cool until it is just warm. Crush cooked fruit with potato masher. Strain pulp through strainer into large bowl to begin collecting juice. Place a two-foot square of a clean white t-shirt in large bowl. Ladle the pulp from the strained fruit into center of t-shirt. Gather edges of t-shirt around pulp. Squeeze juice from t-shirt into large bowl. Discard squeezed pulp or separate seeds to grind into coffee-like beverage (I haven’t tried this, but another writer suggests it, as well as making tea from the dried leaves of the Black Persimmon tree). I have stored the berries in a cold refrigerator for ten days before processing. I have stored the juice for two weeks in a cold refrigerator before making into jam. Berries or juice could also be frozen.

Recipe developed in October 2012