Wild Waiawi Preserves again again

28, September 2011

- pick strawberry guava in firm but red stage
- wash and cut into slices, discarding ends and blemishes
- ended up with almost 16 oz of slices
- cover with water and boil vigorously for about 20 minutes (tried to bash the pulp while stirring)
- forced through strainer with spoon (was able to get a lot of the pulp into the juice)
- ended up with about 2 cups (didn't measure)
- put in 'fridge jar

29, September 2011

- pick strawberry guava in firm but red stage
- wash and cut into slices, discarding ends and blemishes
- ended up with almost 12.5 oz of slices
- cover with water and boil vigorously for about 25 minutes (tried to bash the pulp while stirring)
- forced through strainer with spoon (was able to get a lot of the pulp into the juice)
- ended up with about 1.5 cups (didn't measure)
- put in 'fridge jar

1, October 2011

- pick strawberry guava in firm but red stage
- wash and cut into slices, discarding ends and blemishes
- ended up with about 8 oz of slices
- cover with water and boil vigorously for about 25 minutes (tried to bash the pulp while stirring)
- forced through strainer with spoon (was able to get a lot of the pulp into the juice)
- ended up with about .75 cups (didn't measure)
- put in 'fridge jar  - now full!

2, October 2011 (guava black pepper preserves batch 3)

made jelly with ~ 4 cups guava juice puree
added juice of 1 medium lemon and 4 tsp calcium water
added fresh cracked black pepper - maybe a tsp?
used 1.5 cups organic cane sugar with ~ 2.5tsp pectin.
steamed 15 minutes

yield = about 4 8oz & 1 4oz jars

Lilikoi Pepper Jelly

18 September 20011 (Lilikoi hot pepper jelly batch 1)

Modified protocol by Sonia.

Used:
- 4 cups lilikoi juice
- juice of 1 lemon
- 24 minced Hawaiian peppers without seeds

- heated to boil ~ 10 min and tasted = plenty hot

- added 4 tsp Ca++ water
- used 2 cups sugar
- 2.5 tsp Pomona pectin

- steamed 15 min

Yield = 10 4oz jars

apple guava preserves - first try

21, September 2011

- pick apple guava just when it is starting to turn yellow from green, kept inside overnight
- wash and cut into slices, discarding ends and blemishes
- ended up with about 8 oz of slices
- cover with water and boil vigorously for about 20 minutes (tried to bash the pulp while stirring)
- forced through strainer with spoon (was able to get a lot of the pulp into the juice)
- ended up with about 1 cup
- store in jar in 'fridge

27, September 2011

- pick apple guava just when it is starting to turn yellow from green, kept inside for a few days
- wash and cut into slices, discarding ends and blemishes
- ended up with about 6 oz of slices
- cover with water and boil vigorously for about 15 minutes (tried to bash the pulp while stirring)
- forced through strainer with spoon (was able to get a lot of the pulp into the juice)
- ended up with about 1 cup
- store in jar in 'fridge

"blueberry guava" jam - first try

14, September 2011

- pick "blueberry guava" in when turned purple and slightly soft, also picked some in the process of turning, but probably won't again.
- wash and cut into slices, discarding ends and blemishes
- ended up with about 8 oz of slices
- cover with water and boil vigorously for about 20 minutes (tried to bash the pulp while stirring)
- needed to add more water during this stage
- forced through strainer with spoon (was able to get some of the pulp into the juice, the skins and seeds were left over)
- ended up with about 2/3 cup

26, September 2011

- pick "blueberry guava" in when turned purple and slightly soft, also used some picked when just turning and let ripen for a few days.
- wash and cut into slices, discarding flower end
- ended up with about 6.5 oz of slices
- cover with water and boil vigorously for about 20 minutes (tried to bash the pulp while stirring)
- needed to add more water during this stage
- forced through strainer with spoon (was able to get some of the pulp into the juice, the skins and seeds were left over)
- ended up with about 2/3 cup


6, October 2011

- pick "blueberry guava" in when turned purple and slightly soft, also used some picked when just turning and let ripen for a few days.
- wash and cut into slices, discarding flower end
- ended up with about 6 oz of slices
- cover with water and boil vigorously for about 20 minutes (tried to bash the pulp while stirring)
- needed to add more water during this stage
- forced through strainer with spoon (was able to get some of the pulp into the juice, the skins and seeds were left over)
- ended up with about 1 cup

8, October 2011 (FuBu jam - batch1)

used less than 4 cups FuBu puree + juice of 1 large lemon + 4 tbsp (oops!) Ca solution
added 1.5 cups sugar + 2.5 tsp pectin
steamed 15 min

yield = 7 4oz jars

result - tastes like mealy grape jelly. Really sweet, but I didn't use much sugar. Gelled really easily.
next time -  add another favor? use less pectin?

Wild Waiawi Preserves again

12, September 2011

- pick strawberry guava in firm but red stage
- wash and cut into slices, discarding ends and blemishes
- ended up with about 10.5 oz of slices
- cover with water and boil vigorously for about 20 minutes (tried to bash the pulp while stirring)
- forced through strainer with spoon (was able to get a lot of the pulp into the juice)
- ended up with about 1 cup
- store in 'fridge

15, September 2011

- pick strawberry guava in firm but red stage
- wash and cut into slices, discarding ends and blemishes
- ended up with about 12 oz of slices
- cover with water and boil vigorously for about 20 minutes (tried to bash the pulp while stirring)
- forced through strainer with spoon (was able to get a lot of the pulp into the juice)
- ended up with about 1.25 cup
- added to 'fridge jar

20, September 2011

- pick strawberry guava in firm but red stage
- wash and cut into slices, discarding ends and blemishes
- ended up with about 8 oz of slices
- cover with water and boil vigorously for about 20 minutes (tried to bash the pulp while stirring)
- forced through strainer with spoon (was able to get a lot of the pulp into the juice)
- ended up with about 1 cup (didn't measure)
- added to 'fridge jar

22, September 2011

- pick strawberry guava in firm but red stage
- wash and cut into slices, discarding ends and blemishes
- ended up with about 6 oz of slices
- cover with water and boil vigorously for about 20 minutes (tried to bash the pulp while stirring)
- forced through strainer with spoon (was able to get a lot of the pulp into the juice)
- ended up with about 3/4 cup (didn't measure)
- added to 'fridge jar - now full!

27, September 2011 (guava black pepper preserves batch 2)

made jelly with ~ 4 cups guava juice puree
added juice of 1 medium lemon and 4 tsp calcium water
added fresh cracked black pepper - maybe a tsp?
used 1.5 cups organic cane sugar with ~ 2.5tsp pectin.
steamed 15 minutes

yield = exactly 5 8oz jars

More liliko'i ginger Preserves

6, September 2011 (lilikoi ginger preserves batch 3)

- washed and rinsed jars (used 8 oz jelly jars), set out (inverted) to dry
lids & rings - bring to boil, turn off burner, let sit in hot water

- 4 cups liliko'i (5, Sept batch) + juice of ~6 oz ginger + juice of 1 lemon in sauce pot. Added 4 teaspoon calcium water (following the pectin directions).

- Measured 2 cups sugar in a separate bowl, thoroughly mix with ~4 teaspoons Pomona pectin

- Brought juice to roiling boil, stirring frequently.
Added sugar mix, stirring vigorously to dissolve pectin.
Let boil, then turned off heat.

- Used ladle to fill jars to 1/4 inch from top.
Skimmed off foam in each.
Wiped off jar tops.
Screwed on lids and rings.

- Water bath = 8 cups water plus ~1.5 tablespoons vinegar

- Put jars on rack in water bath.
Washed and put on top, brought to boil.

- Started timing 10 min when lots of steam. (Instructions say 8 in continuous stream.)

- Turned off heat, let sit a few minutes before (carefully) opening lid.
Heard *pop* pop* *pop*. Brought jars to a towel on the counter.

- Checked seals, wash jars

Yield: almost exactly six 8 oz jars

11, September 2011 (lilikoi ginger preserves batch 4)

Used same batch of juice for more liliko'i ginger jelly.

4 cups lilikoi juice
juice of 1 1/2 small lemon
juice of ~4 oz ginger
4 tsp Ca water
scant 2 cups organic cane sugar
~3 tsp pectin
15 min steam

yield = exactly 6 8oz jars


15, September 2011 (lilikoi ginger preserves batch 5)

Used same batch of juice plus a bit of the new batch for more liliko'i ginger jelly.

4 (+ a little) cups lilikoi juice
juice of 1 1/2 small lemon (= ~1/3 cup)
juice of ~6 oz ginger (= ~1/2 cup)
4 tsp Ca water
scant 2 cups organic cane sugar
~2.5 tsp pectin
15 min steam

yield = a tiny bit more than 6 8oz jars

jelled nicely - keep reducing pectin?

15, September 2011 (lilikoi ginger preserves batch 6)

Used new batch of juice for last (?) lilikoi ginger batch.

4 (+ a little) cups lilikoi juice
juice of 1 1/2 small lemon (= ~1/3 cup)
juice of ~6 oz ginger (= ~1/2 cup)
4 tsp Ca water
scant 2 cups organic cane sugar
~2 tsp pectin

result: jelly did not jell well - put it back into the pot before steaming and boiled ~ 5-10 min. Poured it back into the jars and it did jell.

15 min steam

yield = a skinny 6 8oz jars

moral: keep pectin at 2.5 tsp for 4 cup batch.


27, September 2011 (lilikoi allspice preserves batch 1)

4 cups lilikoi juice
- boiled with 30 allspice berries, after 10 mins no flavor
- added 9 scored allspice berries, 10 more min - better!
juice of 1 medium lemon
4 tsp Ca water
scant 2 cups organic cane sugar
~2.75 tsp pectin

result: jelled well, but allspice flavor quite subtle

15 min steam

yield = 4 8oz jars + 1 4oz jar

Lilikoi Wine the third

5, September 2011

- poured 4 cups of fresh liliko'i juice in 1 gallon jug
- dissolve 4 cups ( ~ 2 pounds) organic cane sugar in 3 cups water; heated on stove
- let sugar water cool to warm
- take about 1/3 cup sugar water plus 1/3 cup cool water - add a pinch of yeast (K1-V1116 Saccharomyces cerevisiae) ~ 20 min later, yeast seemed active
- poured sugar water into jug
- added water to jug to about 3/4 full
- yeast to jug and water to shoulder
- put (pricked) balloon on top

6, September 2011

Vigorous yeast happenings! The bubbles/froth almost overflowed the jug today:

Roselle Preserves

1, September 2011

- took seedpods out of 6 roselle calyx
- divided each into about 4-5 pieces
- boiled in ~ 1.5 cus water for ~20 min
- left with a pretty but sort of dilute juice


5, September 2011

- took seedpods out of 6 roselle calyx
- chopped calyces finely and added 2 cinnamon stick and 1 cup water

11, September 2011

- took seedpods out of 7 roselle calyx
- chopped calyces finely and added 2 cinnamon stick and 1 cup water
- boiled vigorously for 20 min (with cover off)
- let cool in p0t with cover on


15, September 2011

- took seedpods out of 8 roselle calyx
- chopped calyces finely and added 1 cup water
- boiled vigorously for 10 min (with cover off)
- let cool in p0t with cover on

26, September 2011

- took seedpods out of 9 roselle calyx
- chopped calyces finely and added 1 cup water
- boiled vigorously for 15 min (with cover off)
- added to batch in 'fridge

6, October 2011

- took seedpods out of 8 roselle calyx
- chopped calyces finely and added 1 cup water
- boiled vigorously for 10 min (with cover off)
- let cool a bit with cover on
- added to batch in 'fridge

Wild Waiawi Preserves - take 2 (Waiawi + black pepper)

4, September 2011

(This protocol is similar to the last one, except for the straining stage.)

- pick strawberry guava in firm but red stage
- wash and cut into slices, discarding ends and blemishes
- ended up with about 7 oz of slices
- cover with water and boil vigorously for about 20 minutes (tried to bash the pulp while stirring)
- forced through strainer with spoon (was able to get a lot of the pulp into the juice)
- ended up with a bit less than a cup
- put back into pot and vigorously boiled with 6 peppercorns for about 6 minutes
- left with about 3/4cup of liquid, thicker and more flavorful than using old method
- didn't have any peppercorn flavor

6, September 2011

- pick strawberry guava in firm but red stage
- wash and cut into slices, discarding ends and blemishes
- ended up with about 15 oz of slices
- added 12 peppercorns
- cover with water and boil vigorously for about 20 minutes (tried to bash the pulp while stirring)
- forced through strainer with spoon (was able to get a lot of the pulp into the juice)
- ended up with a bit less than 2 cups
- put back into pot and vigorously boiled for about 10 minutes
- left with about 1.5 cup of liquid

8, September 2011

- pick strawberry guava in firm but red stage
- wash and cut into slices, discarding ends and blemishes
- ended up with about 8.5 oz of slices
- added 12 peppercorns
- cover with water and boil vigorously for about 20 minutes (tried to bash the pulp while stirring)
- forced through strainer with spoon (was able to get a lot of the pulp into the juice)
- ended up with a bit less than 1 cup
- puree is flavorful but didn't taste pepper

10, September 2011

- pick strawberry guava in firm but red stage
- wash and cut into slices, discarding ends and blemishes
- ended up with about 13 oz of slices
- added crushed peppercorn
- cover with water and boil vigorously for about 20 minutes (tried to bash the pulp while stirring)
- forced through strainer with spoon (was able to get a lot of the pulp into the juice)
- ended up with about 1 cup
- puree has a little pepper flavor

11, September 2011

made jelly with ~ 4 cups guava juice puree
added juice of 2 small lemons and 4 tsp calcium water
added fresh cracked black pepper - maybe a tsp?
used 2 cups organic cane sugar with ~ 3tsp pectin.
steamed 10 minutes

Yield: 10 4oz jars

Results: jelled well with more intense guava flavor and has nice pepper touch. Perhaps too sweet?

Next: try different flavor with this protocol. Maybe use less sugar.

Wild Waiawi Preserves

30, August 2011

- picked waiawi, chose fruits that were red but still firm. Also included one semi-soft yellow guava.
- weighed 10 oz fruit (whole)

- washed, cut off ends and blemishes, and sliced thinly
- covered with just enough water in sauce pan
- boiled for 15-20 min
- let cool ~ 1 hr
- strained through nylon stocking
- left with pretty pink juice
- yield about 2/3 cup

1, September 2011

- picked more waiawi, red & firm, plus used slightly soft yellow (common?) guava gathered earlier
- washed, cut off ends and blemishes, sliced thinly


- weighed 18 oz processed fruit
- covered with just enough water in sauce pan
- boiled for 15-20 min
- let cool ~ 1pm -
- strained through nylon stocking
- yield = almost 2 cups

2, September

- third batch of just strawberry guava

3, September 2011


made jelly with ~ 4 cups guava juice

Used 4 tsp calcium water and 2 cups sugar with ~ 1tsp pectin.

Results: did not jell well and tastes kind of bland

Conclusion: try to pack more guava flavor into the juice, add a spice, and use more pectin.

Lilikoi ginger jam

25, August 2011

Juiced liliko'i (see liliko'i ginger wine entry below). Grated a big chunk of ginger and added to 8 cups juice. Put overnight in 'fridge.

26, August 2011

Created the following protocol from http://www.attainable-sustainable.net/lilikoi-passion-fruit-jelly/ and the instruction for my brand new steam canner.

- washed and rinsed jars (used 8 oz jelly jars), set out (inverted) to dry
lids & rings - bring to boil, turn off burner, let sit in hot water

- Strained the liliko'i/ginger/lemon mixture into stock pot. Added 8 teaspoon calcium water (following the pectin directions).

- Measured 5 cups sugar in a separate bowl, thoroughly mix with 8 teaspoons Pomona pectin

- Started to heat water bath = 8 cups water plus ~1.5 tablespoons vinegar (turned off burner when water was hot)

- Brought juice to boil, stirring frequently.
Added sugar mix, stirring vigorously to dissolve pectin.
Let boil, then turned off heat.

- Tried to skim off foam, had some trouble.

- Used ladle to fill jars to 1/4 inch from top.
Screwed on lids and rings.

- Put jars on rack in water bath.
Washed and put on top, brought to boil.


- Started timing 15 min when lots of steam. (Instructions say 8 in continuous stream.)

- Turned off heat, let sit a few minutes before (carefully) opening lid.
Heard *pop* pop* *pop*. Brought jars to a towel on the counter.

- Checked seals, wash jars

- Tasted: very liliko'i! Maybe too sweet. Not gingery enough. But very yummy! Success!

- Well, almost success... the stuff I skimmed from the top set fine, but I had fruit float and slow setting in the rest. To remedy fruit float, I shook the jars when they were almost cool.

27, August 2011

The next morning, still not completely set. FAQs online says that it could take weeks and/or to empty the bottles are try again. It could be that I did not boil long enough. (I certainly did not achieve the "rolling boil" mentioned - I did not want to overheat and ruin the pectin. Perhaps too timid.


28, August 2011

With leftover 4 cups of liliko'i ginger juice, I made a half batch of jelly using the directions above with the following changes.

- did not strain juice
- added juice of 1 lemon
- used 2 cups sugar (instead of 2.5)
- used a smaller pot and got a good rolling boil
- steamed for 10 min

- jelled fast and well; tastes ono! Maybe more gingery?

Likikoi ginger wine

25 August 2011

The first batch of liliko'i wine (made at Laura's) turned out so well, we decided to try again - this time with liliko'i-ginger.

We juiced near to a billion liliko'i from our vine (some also for the liliko'i-ginger jam!) using a strainer and funnel over a mason jar. I grated a big chunk of ginger and added the juice plus gratings to 8 cups / 2 quarts of liliko'i juice. Then it went into the 'fridge overnight because it became way too late to proceed further.



26. August 2011

- poured 4 cups of lilikoi ginger juice in 1 gallon jug
- dissolve 4 cups ( ~ 2 pounds) organic cane sugar in 3 cups water; heated on stove
- let sugar water cool to warm, added some additional water
- added 1/4 tsp yeast (EC-1118 Saccharomyces banyanus) to sugar water
- after sitting a while, no yeast action.
- poured everything into jug and added water to sugar
- put balloon on top
- after a couple of hours, nothing
- added a little K1-V1116 Saccharomyces cerevisiae to the top
- started bubbling!

(Conclusion, the EC-1118 we got is dead.)

28, August 2011

Bubbling away!


5, September 2011

Bubbling has petered out. Balloon fills after agitating bottle, but soon becomes limp.

Hawaiian Chili Hot Sauce

14, August 2011

Picked chilies - Hawaiian chilies and purple chilies from our plants. Ended up with a little less than 2 oz.


Finely chopped chilies with seeds and added 1 cup coconut vinegar and about 3/4 teaspoon salt.

Simmered for about 6 mins in sauce pot.

Allowed to cool then blended.


Tasted - yum! And - hot! About as hot as Tabasco? More?

Transferred to jar and put on a dim shelf to age a few months.

Soursop Sparkling Hooch

2, June 2011

J saved the third and last sour sop for me. I decided to use it for wine, since sour sop wine must taste divine. The fruit was big and heavy, stored in the 'fridge for about a week. It still tasted ripe and fresh. Although one fruit is not really enough for a gallon, I decided to not add another fruit. Even if the flavor is subtle, I really want to taste soursop, and I was afraid that adding another fruit flavor would overshadow to soppiness.

- squeezed 1 soursop through a strainer; got about 2 1/3 cups of a puree-like consistency
- dissolved 4 cups of sugar (organic cane) in 4 cups heated water
- added 4 cups of water

mix together in 3Gal carboy

- dissolved a pinch of champagne yeast in a small bowl with diluted sugar water, let sit ~ 2 hour
- add to carboy solution

3, June 2011

A morning peek shows that a lot of action occurred overnight.



8, June 2011 - day 6

I've been shaking the container about once a day. It's still bubbling. Today I added another cup of soursop juice.

Lime Ginger Wild Brew

16, April 2011

Adapted from a recipe from Lenore - thank you, Lenore!

13 large, yellow limes (Tahitian, maybe?) juiced to make about 8 cups
3 cups organic, raw sugar, dissolved in 3 cups warm water on stove
1/2 cup chopped organic ginger root
added 4 cups water to make about 1 gallon

Mixed in 3 gallon carboy. Put a towel around the top, secured with a rubber band.


30 April 2011 - 14 days

We were worried about the brew because almost immediately it started growing white fungusy tubules on top. It *smelled* right, though. Later, the top acquired a frothy white mat that looked yeasty, so we decided to decant the liquid and take a taste.

Using tubing obtained at the local brewing store, we decanted the clearish middle liquid into used wine bottles, netting around 4 bottles. Some of the white scum did get in the mixture. We took careful sips and - ono! At least much better than expected! It tastes only lightly alcoholic, but still sweet enough. The lime flavor is forefront, with a bit of a ginger bite. Quite refreshing. It is certainly yeasty tasting and could use a clarification step. We drank full glasses and had no adverse effects, so - success!


3, May 2011

For fun, figuring out the potential alcohol for this recipe.
"Potential Alcohol (% vol) = glucose + fructose (g/L) ÷ 16.83"

used 3 cups of sugar = ~600g (not including the sugar in the limes)
in 1 gallon = ~4L

600g/4L / 16.83 = 8.91% if fermentation went to completion

Wild Yeast Sourdough Starter - experiment 1 "Gwendolyn"

Adapted from Wild Fermentation by Sandor Ellix Katz.

28, January 2011

Mixed 1.5 cups rye flour with 1.5 cups tap water in ~4 cup mason jar. Covered with ~4 layers of cheesecloth secured with a rubber band. Left on lanai overnight.

(I noticed that the mixture doesn't taste very much like rye. Could Island Naturals have put the wrong flour in that bin?)

29, January 2011 - day 2

About 24 hours later, some bubbles on top. Mixed the solution with a wooden spoon. About 4 hours after that the entire solution was bubbly and almost expanded to the top of the jar. Mixed solution again, causing the volume to decrease, and left out overnight. I hope that it will be cool enough to prevent the solution from overflowing the jar. The mixture already tastes and smells a little sour.

(Katz's book says that it might take 2-3 days for wild yeasts to colonize the starter. There must be much wild yeast in this tropical air! Go, go Hawai'ian yeast!)

30, January 2011 - day 3

Not much activity overnight. Added about 2 tablespoons of rye flour, mixed, and left all day. In the evening, didn't see much activity again, but the mixture (= Gwendolyn) smells and tastes sour.

31, January 2011 - day 4

No signs of activity this morning. Very sour tasting! Mixed in about 2 more tablespoons rye flour.

1, Febrary 2011 - day 5

Very little activity overnight. In morning, added 1/4 cup each water and rye flour; mixed with bamboo spoon.

Cacao Keikis (or pre-keikis)

30, December 2010

We received a gift of a cacao pod at the farmer's market with the instructions: suck off the pulp from the seeds and put in some dirt.

We opened the pod and sucked as much of the yummy pulp off the seeds as we could. Not knowing if any would grow, we put some potting soil in a couple of egg cartons and planted 24. My lab partner planted his all in with the pointy-ish side of the seed down. I planted the seeds in random orientations. We also planted 4 seeds in a larger pot with more dirt.

Reading http://agroforestry.net/scps/Cacao_specialty_crop.pdf I learn that cacao seeds like to be moist and should germinate in 10 days.


5, January 2011 - 6 days

Germination after 6 days. Well, two of the seeds have ventured out of the soil. One is much more pinkish than the other. (And at least one was planted with the pointy-ish side down.)


6, January - 7 days

A few more sprouts spotted today. But a slug (or something) chomped off the pretty pink sprout. Grrr...! Some of the sprouts are pure white, some have pink tips. We pulled the containers up to the lanai overnight to deter slug feasting.

9, January - 10 days

10 days was supposed to be the germination time, so it seems like a good time for an inventory. We are curious about the sprouts - they tend to shoot up then back down, making us wonder if they are really roots? Time will tell... Here's the current status.

container 1:from upper right: A. nothing, B. white poking down, C. light pink poking down, G. white poking down, H. yellowish pointing down, I. white poking down

container 2:

From upper right: A. white with pink tip pointing down, B. yellowish poking up, C. nothing G. dark pink eaten but still growing! H. white poking down I. nothing- plus one pinkish offscreen (D)

container 3:

A. pink pointing up, B. pinkish pointing down, C. white poking down, D. nothing

20, January - 21 days

All have set out a root-stem! Some are still below surface, though, and one is upside-down (the runt?) So cute!

21, January 2011 - 22 days


Lift-off!

28, January 2011 - 29 days


Showing its pretty, lacy new leaves!