Yesterday I attempted, for the first time, to make pectin jellies. I started with strawberry fruit puree and all the other required ingredients. Adjusting for altitude, I lowered the cooking temperature, mixed up the ingredients, and cooked away. In under an hour I was at the right temperature, and added my acid and poured the jelly.
It set up almost just right, perhaps just a bit soft. I cut them on the guitar cutter and they were almost perfect.
Today, I made a second attempt with blackberry puree. I cooked it up slowly; it thickened to almost a jellylike consistency before I added my acid. I poured it into the frame and left it to set up. After over an hour, it was still fragile and a bit crumbly. Unfortunately, it never did set up firmly like the first batch. Guess I'll have to use it for blackberry jam or something.
I am considering making these for sale here as part of my product line, so I went online to some of the major chocolate/confectionery shops in the US. I was fairly appalled to see that most places charge upwards of $50 a pound for this item. My major considerations for pricing include cost of ingredients and labor, as packaging and marketing are fairly fixed across the board. I thought maybe I could get $10 a pound. But considering that quantity trumps almost all other factors, even quality, I had to go down in price.
The most difficult factor in selling high-end products and getting a decent price for them here is the lack of understanding and appreciation for craftsmanship and quality. The root of this problem lies in the country's economic situation as well as cultural factors. Labor is cheap, even if it is highly skilled. The overall level of quality of most products here is fairly low, so there is no recognition of quality, even when it is obvious. And most people aren't willing, and often are unable, to pay for it.
The lower levels of education and lack of a sophisticated consumer culture makes marketing a high-end product difficult. You can't appeal simply based on quality or craftsmanship. It takes consumer education, and time, to be able to market a product here based on those traits.
Taking Patés de Fruit as a specific example, most people simply equate it with gum drops, those cheap, mass produced, corn syrup laden gum drops with artificial flavors and colors. It's hard to compete on price with these, unless I were to be selling to the mass market. And it's even hard to make people understand that the two are not the same thing.
As for ingredient costs, Ecuador is blessed with an abundance of cheap, fresh, exotic tropical fruits. 500g of passion fruit puree in the US could cost anywhere from $20 to $35. Here, costs are less than a tenth of that. Blackberries are so cheap here you might as well be buying rice or flour. The same goes for other exotic and not so exotic fruits, including strawberries, soursop, orange, pineapple, and mango. So I have reduced the price to $7 a pound, and I'll keep experimenting until I get it right.
Showing posts with label fruit summer spring fall strawberries raspberries apples. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fruit summer spring fall strawberries raspberries apples. Show all posts
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Help, My Fruits Are Rotting!
For those of us living within a few hours drive of a pick-your-own style farm, as a result of our overzealous efforts we often arrive home with more fruit than we know what to do with. In May, it's strawberries. June and July bring blackberries. August is for Raspberries, and September through October and even early November, a variety of apples become available.
Berries are some of the most quickly perishable fruits, so if you don't eat them, you have to do something with them quickly. Making pie is one option, but pies don't freeze well and so you still have to eat them. A better option is making fruit compote. Canning and jarring are yet another option, but we won't discuss those here as I'm looking to offer a quicker, simpler solution that's almost as good. You'll need the following:
To make compote, start with equal parts sugar and water. Mix gently to moisten all the sugar. We are making what's known as a simple syrup here, which is simply a sugar syrup. Start with low heat and let all the sugar dissolve. You want to make sure the sides of the pot are clean and no stray sugar grains are left out, otherwise your syrup will recrystallize in a few days and you will end up with rock candy. Use either a moistened pastry brush to brush down the sides of the pot as the syrup boils, or put a tight-fitting lid on the pot; the steam will gather on the lid and sides and wash down the pot for you. Make sure all the sugar has dissolved before moving on to the next stage.
Have at the ready recently washed and hulled strawberries, or blackberries, or raspberries, whatever is available at the time. Since strawberries are much less delicate than black or raspberries, you can add them right when the syrup is ready and even cook them a little while over low heat until they are just soft. Blackberries and raspberries will soften very quickly, so once you have added them to the hot syrup you should almost immediately cool your pot and cooking liquid in the ice bath. You can add a teaspoon or two of vanilla and a squeeze of lemon juice when they're done.
Now you want to lower your cooking pot into that bowl of ice water you have ready. This will cool the berries quickly and prevent them from overcooking. Stir gently with the pot submerged in the water until the berries and syrup have cooled substantially.
You can now store your compote for several weeks in the refrigerator. You can use the berries on toast, rewarm it for crepes or to put on pancakes or waffles, mix it in a fruit salad with other fruits, or serve over ice cream. And if you have syrup left over, strain it and keep it for ice cream, to decorate a plate for cakes or pies, or again for waffles or pancakes. It will keep for a long time.
My preference for apples is to make apple sauce. It keeps along time and also has many uses. To make apple sauce you'll need:
Once your apples are cooked to the stage you like them-some people enjoy chunky style apple sauce-add sugar to taste, a little lemon juice, and spices if desired. Let cool and store in containers in the refrigerator.
Apple sauce is great with plain yogurt, pork chops, or just on its own! Enjoy!
Berries are some of the most quickly perishable fruits, so if you don't eat them, you have to do something with them quickly. Making pie is one option, but pies don't freeze well and so you still have to eat them. A better option is making fruit compote. Canning and jarring are yet another option, but we won't discuss those here as I'm looking to offer a quicker, simpler solution that's almost as good. You'll need the following:
- sugar
- water
- lemon juice and or vanilla
- large bowl of ice water
- medium size pot for cooking berries
To make compote, start with equal parts sugar and water. Mix gently to moisten all the sugar. We are making what's known as a simple syrup here, which is simply a sugar syrup. Start with low heat and let all the sugar dissolve. You want to make sure the sides of the pot are clean and no stray sugar grains are left out, otherwise your syrup will recrystallize in a few days and you will end up with rock candy. Use either a moistened pastry brush to brush down the sides of the pot as the syrup boils, or put a tight-fitting lid on the pot; the steam will gather on the lid and sides and wash down the pot for you. Make sure all the sugar has dissolved before moving on to the next stage.
Have at the ready recently washed and hulled strawberries, or blackberries, or raspberries, whatever is available at the time. Since strawberries are much less delicate than black or raspberries, you can add them right when the syrup is ready and even cook them a little while over low heat until they are just soft. Blackberries and raspberries will soften very quickly, so once you have added them to the hot syrup you should almost immediately cool your pot and cooking liquid in the ice bath. You can add a teaspoon or two of vanilla and a squeeze of lemon juice when they're done.
Now you want to lower your cooking pot into that bowl of ice water you have ready. This will cool the berries quickly and prevent them from overcooking. Stir gently with the pot submerged in the water until the berries and syrup have cooled substantially.
You can now store your compote for several weeks in the refrigerator. You can use the berries on toast, rewarm it for crepes or to put on pancakes or waffles, mix it in a fruit salad with other fruits, or serve over ice cream. And if you have syrup left over, strain it and keep it for ice cream, to decorate a plate for cakes or pies, or again for waffles or pancakes. It will keep for a long time.
My preference for apples is to make apple sauce. It keeps along time and also has many uses. To make apple sauce you'll need:
- Apples
- Sugar
- A vegetable peeler
- A large pot
- Paring knife
- Lemon juice
- Nutmeg, cinnamon (optional)
Once your apples are cooked to the stage you like them-some people enjoy chunky style apple sauce-add sugar to taste, a little lemon juice, and spices if desired. Let cool and store in containers in the refrigerator.
Apple sauce is great with plain yogurt, pork chops, or just on its own! Enjoy!
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