Ornamental and delicious, too!

Unusual Fall Preserves
Turning Showy Ornamentals Into Fabulous Foods
By Natasha Rose And Jim Kohut, Staff Writers

As September rolls along, the harvest continues in our gardens and orchards across the great North. Bright red apples and crisp pears are picked from the trees, becoming delicious sauces and butters, juicy tomatoes are canned or made into piquante salsas, and orange pumpkins are pureed and their fragrant seeds roasted as the bounty of the season is preserved to be enjoyed in the festive months ahead and over the long cold winter to follow.

Traditional fare abounds at this time of year, and far be it from us to tinker with time-honored recipes for preserving these fruits of our labors. Every family has their favorite recipes for applesauce, canned pears and plum jam. And yet, often the curious gardener wonders whether more of the fruits found around the yard might preserve well and become part of the feasts in the upcoming months. After all, just because a plant was put in a landscape for its ornamental attributes doesn’t necessarily mean that it can’t be enjoyed around the dinner table as well!

Of course, these gardeners are correct. The fruits of many of our northern ornamentals are not only edible but are also delicious, and preserve well to be enjoyed during the coming winter months. And so, courtesy of your friends at Northscaping, here are a few recipes for ways to process and keep some rather unusual ornamentals that are certainly worth a try at this time of year!

Highbush Cranberry Jam

The native highbush cranberry (Viburnum trilobum) is so highly ornamental; dainty pinwheels of white flowers in spring, bright red berries from late summer into fall, and rich fall colors in shades of burgundy, red and orange. So would it surprise you to know that the berries make a delicious jam? Spread it on the morning toast or pancakes for a tangy zip.

Pick a few pails of berries (don't worry about exact amounts, you'll adjust quantities later), making sure to get them when they are just ripe or slightly before. Clean berries and wash in two changes of water. Place in a stainless steel or enamel kettle (don’t use aluminum) and cover with cold water to cover the berries. Cover and bring to a boil, then simmer until berries are soft, approx. 1-1/2 hours. Process the cooked berries 2 cups at a time in a conical metal colander or sieve by hand. Discard the remaining pits and skins.

Bring the extracted juice to a boil and boil hard for 10-15 minutes. Add 3/4 cup of sugar for each cup of puree, stirring well. Bring to a boil once again and boil hard for 10 minutes. Add 1 package of fruit pectin for every 4 cups of juice (or 1 package for every 6 cups of juice for a thinner syrup), stir well and boil for a few more minutes. Remove from heat and skim off the white froth that forms on the top of the jam (it’s edible, by the way!). Quickly pour the boiling hot jam into hot sterilized jars, seal and process in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes. Cool upright and store in a dark, cool place.

Crab Apple Juice

You may have wondered to what use you could put those small hard crab apples (Malus spp.) that hang abundantly from the showy tree in your front yard. Jellies are one option, but did you know they make a fine apple juice? Because they are a little more tart than regular apples, they make a sprightly, zippier juice with lots of flavor and a little kick!

4 quarts crab apples
5 quarts water
2 cups sugar
2 tsp cream of tartar

Remove stems and cut crab apples into quarters – do not core or peel them. Bring the water to a boil, then dissolve the cream of tartar in the boiling water. Pour over the crab apple pieces and let sit overnight. In the morning, drain the liquid through several layers of cheesecloth. Add sugar to taste; approx. 2 cups. Juice may either be frozen or processed in sealers in a hot water bath. To do this, bring the juice to a boil and pour into hot sterilized jars, seal and process in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes. Cool upright and store in a dark, cool place.

Firethorn Jelly

Here’s a recipe for using those bright orange berries that decorate the very ornamental firethorn (Pyracantha coccinea) at this time of year. Beautiful yes, but did you know they also make a spectacular jelly?

3 quarts firethorn berries
3 cups water
4-1/2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 box pectin
juice of 1 lemon
juice of 1 grapefruit

Clean, wash and pick through the berries. Put them in a large enamel kettle with the water and boil for 20 minutes. Add the lemon and grapefruit juices and boil again for 3 minutes. Pour into a moistened jelly bag and strain the mixture into a bowl, which should produce about 3-1/2 cups of juice. In a separate bowl, combine 1 cup of this juice with the pectin, then pour back into the kettle along with the remaining juice. Bring to a hard boil, the add the sugar and salt. Boil hard for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat, skim quickly and pour into hot jars, seal and process in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes. Cool upright and store in a dark, cool place.

Rose Hip Tea

This is just one of the many delicious applications for rose hips, the fruits of the shrub roses (Rosa spp.) that we keep in our yards. The approach is to dry the fruits which will preserve them, and then use them to steep a pot of tea to curl up with on a cold winter morning.

To dry the rose hips;

Clean, wash and pick through the rose hips, removing any that are damaged. Remove the stem ends, seams and calyx ends. Place on a roasting pan or cookie sheet and dry in a 120°F oven for 6-8 hours with the over door open. They are done when the berries yield to the pressure of a finger. Grind them coarsely and store the grounds in an airtight container.

To make tea;

Place desired quantity of rose hip grind in tea basket and steep in boiling hot water for 3-4 minutes. Serve as with regular tea, adding cream and/or sugar as desired.

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And there you have it. Now go and enjoy these tasty treats!

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