preserving raspberries without canning or freezing??

Good morning, does any one have a way to preserve raspberries and blackberries other than freezing.. drying.. canning ..or jamming i have the book, preserving food without canning or freezing. and i do my blueberry's that way and they are wonderful, i tried it with the raspberries last year and had sparkling berries, they just fermented. i usually wind up with 30-40 pounds of them and you can only make so many cordials i've also made fruit leather and that was good. any ideas would be helpful

Chutney ?

David

Let me embed that for you.

thank you... i like chutneys, one more way to use them up

raspberry vinegar?

Raspberry wine
Raspberry vinegar
Fruit leather
Raspberry vodka
Chutneys are always good

I heard of someone using confit once, but I think they must have been pulling my leg.

Last year I only got about 5 or 6 blackberries as the birds got the rest.  I soaked them in vodka.

So far this year maybe I am going to get a decent crop so I need to know easy things to do with them.  Maybe a Blackberry syrup?

Both of these fruits can made into wine
David

My parents tried to make wine ... it turned to vinegar.  I have read on here what to do to make it vinegar if it goes wrong.  My parents just threw theirs away.

Now is it really as easy as this article makes it sound?  

http://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/homemade-wine-recipe-zmaz70sozgoe

Any pointers?  The article says bread yeast is ok ... other sources says its not.  That is all I have.

I doubt that DH will let me buy anything so I have to use what I have.

Anne Miller wrote:.Now is it really as easy as this article makes it sound?  

It's almost that easy...

My Honey does use bread yeast.

The air lock in the jug here, https://winemakermag.com/1169-choosing-the-right-fermenter is what my Honey uses for escaping gas, without allowing air in. I've seen it used in fermenting foods also. It can be inserted into a jar lid that can be closed air tight, if you do not have a jug. The above link also describes using 5 gallon buckets and other containers for wine making. You just need an airtight container with that air lock for escaping gases. Here is another style air lock. http://www.homebrewing.org/3-Piece-Airlock_p_883.html This site also pictures using 5 gallon buckets. Just drill a hole in the bucket lid the appropriate size for your air lock. I wish the Mother Earth News article had pictured his home made air lock. I can't visualize it.

After fermenting is done, you need to rack the wine into another bottle or container. This means to siphon the wine out, leaving the sludge in the original container. This sludge is discarded. We use clean fish tank tubing to do the siphoning with, a couple of dollars.

Oh, and I have never purchased from the above business.

I have fermented elderflower wine right in the bottle, using a wodge of cotton wool (a cotton ball) as an airlock.  I moistened it first, shoved it into the neck of the bottle, and let it ferment.  I didn't remove it or re-moisten, but let it sit in place until fermentation was complete (I think about 3 months).  I can't guarantee similar results for anyone else, but I read about it in The Complete Book of Self Sufficiency by John Seymour, I believe.

I started to buy an airlock last summer so maybe it will be on the list this year.  I have also read about using tubing, balloons and/or plastic wrap and rubber bands to act as an airlock.

I read that the reason it turns to vinegar is that air got into the container so using an airlock is very important.

Thanks everyone for the information.

A few days ago I checked the blackberries and they were still red, two black ones ... I ate the one I could reach!  Yesterday they were all dried except for abt 6/7 red ones so I picked everything even the dried ones.  I put the red ones in an airtight container with an apple slice, a few have turned black.

I will put these with the ones from last year in the liquer.

Now that I am all enthused about wine making, I think I will make wine from something else.

I made raspberry vinegar with the last pounds of raspberries in the autumn. It tastes great. Result, i'm running out, much sooner than i expected.
I used the commericial stuff, at a rate of one smallish bottle a year. I use my own stuff much more - the aroma is that much better. Even using the raspberries picked in october and november.

The drought and heat wave we have here has brought forward the early summer raspberry harvest. I will put the excess raspberries in vinegar again. I hope the aroma is even better. I should be - these raspberries are ripe and overripe.

My experiments with elderflower liqeur and elderflower vinegar went really well. I hope for even better results.

Erwin Decoene wrote:I made raspberry vinegar with the last pounds of raspberries in the autumn. It tastes great.

Recipe please! (What I really want to know is, did you ferment the raspberries to make your own vinegar, or did you soak them in existing vinegar?)

Hey Rebecca

I started with a simple, decent grain alcohol vinegar. I did not ferment them - i have no experience with that and i have no way of knowing if the fermenting culture is OK.

I soaked the raspberries in a 2,5 liter lambrusco bottle we brought back from our honeymoon in Tuscany. About one third of the bottle was raspberries. I started harvesting the last raspberries in october and halted in november, adding the newly harvested raspberries every second or third day. These are raspberries that traditionally are seen as to poor in quality to use for deserts and jams.

Then i let the mix alone for 2 months. I shaked the bottle before and after adding new raspberries and every second day.

I estimate about 500 g fruit and plusminus 2 liter of vinegar. I generally don't cook from recipes.

Before bottling i sieved out the fruit and pressed it into the mix. I used nettle cloth to sieve out debries. I used several gluhweinbottles to store the product. I used several as XX-mass gifts.

Greets
Erwin

I accidentally learned that fruity yogurt left in a thin layer on a plate, and in the sun, makes a tasty treat that behaves much like fruit leather. This gives a refrigeration free way of storing both berries and highly perishable dairy products. Once the volume is greatly reduced by this process, they can be put in the refrigerator or freezer, if really long-term storage is desired. I've never tried keeping it for a very long time. Just a happy accident.

There's a store that sells their organic yogurt for half price, once it reaches a certain age. The next time I get some, I will mix it heavily with wild harvested fruit that is run through the blender. A test will follow.

Raspberry and Elderflower Schrub....old fashioned good healthy stuff! My friend makes it all the time. She has a great recipe on her wild foraging blog Hunger and Thirst. Goooooogle it!

thanks Dale and Alexandra, awaiting the test Dale

Once you go to a steam juicer and can, there is no turning back.  This is the 100% juice process.  Nothing added otherwise.

This is NOT your pressure cooker canning process.  Hot steam extractor, into canning jar, place lids on and they will seal themselves.  EZ

Berries, Fruit, grapes, jams, wine, etc, it can do it all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gR05OPkfbl8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4VKpnRYoIA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vF1lYNrG09w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syGAHTGckxA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gLsxhh83-s

r ranson wrote:Raspberry wine
Raspberry vinegar
Fruit leather
Raspberry vodka
Chutneys are always good

I heard of someone using confit once, but I think they must have been pulling my leg.

All excellent ideas: The raspberry vinegar can be used as a raspberry vinaigrette in salads. and I'm definitely with you on the wine and the vodka! I don't use chutneys much. As to the confit, it exists but I could not find the recipe in English. If you follow the link, it is illustrated, so you will be able to follow the gest of it even if you don't speak the language: https://www.meilleurduchef.com/fr/recette/confit-de-framboise.html

Blueberries & cherries dehydrate well. Raspberries & blackberries might also.

Cécile Stelzer Johnson wrote: As to the confit, it exists but I could not find the recipe in English. If you follow the link, it is illustrated, so you will be able to follow the gest of it even if you don't speak the language: https://www.meilleurduchef.com/fr/recette/confit-de-framboise.html

Ohhh.... Oh, MY!

Maybe this rough translation will help (it wouldn't translate, in my browser),  and it's a recipe that is written to promote a brand name, or two, which I'm omitting, in favor of the diy version. The one thing that always messes with these brand name promoting recipes with pectin, is figuring out which way the purchased pectin was created. I'll very likely be trying this, myself, soon, and will do it with Pomona's, which works with calcium, so I'll be able to sweeten it with stevia, instead of sugar. The key to adapting this, is following the directions for your preferred brand, or if you choose to use your own, homemade pectin, doing it the way you'd normally do it. Pectin, if you're using it, will usually be added toward the end of the cooking. This recipe is pretty much like any other fresh raspberry gel recipe, and can be canned, dehydrated into drops, roll-ups, etc. If you increase the pectin, or use unflavored gelatin, you could also make these into gummies, by just piping the gel, in your preferred size and shape, onto sheets and dehydrating, for very chewy ones, or not adding extra pectin, and chilling, for softer ones.

Raspberry confit:
350g pureed raspberries
8g pectin
100g powdered sugar

Use a deep, non-reactive sauce pot. Combine the fruit and sugar, and slowly bring to 60°C (140°F). Sprinkle the pectin evenly over the top, and stir in very well. Slowly bring to a boil. Once the boil is reached, time it for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, allow to cool (unless you are canning it*). It seems this recipe is done as a topping or filling, so once it cols enough to handle, it's ladled into a paper cone and piped into/onto whatever you'd like.

Brian Maverick wrote:Once you go to a steam juicer and can, there is no turning back.  This is the 100% juice process.  Nothing added otherwise.

This is NOT your pressure cooker canning process.  Hot steam extractor, into canning jar, place lids on and they will seal themselves.  EZ

Berries, Fruit, grapes, jams, wine, etc, it can do it all.

I have a steam juicer and a Champion mechanical juicer. I combine the two to preserve my berries. I quarter apples and put them in the steam juicer then start picking the berries.  When I return the apples have cooked down and I add the berries and let them steam until they start releasing juice.  I can bottle and seal the hot juice directly for drinking or fermenting or making vinegar.   The hot pulp is then run through the mechanical juicer to remove the seeds and skins. The result is a thick pure which can be water bath jarred or frozen like freezer jam.  This allows me to get 2 products from the same picking.

Hans, that sounds brilliant. I can think of all kinds of uses for that pulp and the juice sounds delicious.

The main thing we have made with pulp from a Champion juicer is fruit leather in the dehydrator. We made lots of that this year with apple pulp and I am sure it would be even better with raspberries.

I don't think anyone mentioned straight-up dehydrating the raspberries without any other processing. I haven't tried it as I only just planted raspberries this year and haven't had a real crop yet. But I imagine it should work well.

I don't think anyone mentioned straight-up dehydrating the raspberries without any other processing. I haven't tried it as I only just planted raspberries this year and haven't had a real crop yet. But I imagine it should work well.

Raspberry seeds are very hard and make eating the dried berries uncomfortable.  On the other hand thimble berries which are like raspberries with large leaves and big white flowers make a thin raspberry with very fine seeds and often dry right on  the bush.  I have transplanted them from the wild just for this purpose. They propagate by root cuttings.

With all the seeds,..
maybe you could put some of your crop
in soap for the scrubbing action and scent.

craig howard wrote: With all the seeds,..
maybe you could put some of your crop
in soap for the scrubbing action and scent.

This would be a great exfoliating material for heavily calloused areas, and scrubbing of garden dirt, compost, etc. I just wouldn't try this one in a facial soap - it would be very harsh, I think.  

You can actually buy raspberry seed from soapmaking supply places to add as an exfoliant, so I think you're onto something there! People press oil from the seed too and use it in soap and other skin care. I read it has an SPF of 30! I think in olden times crushed raspberries were used to improve the complexion, so it sounds like they were onto something too. Long before SPF and exfoliant became part of our vocabulary.

Carla Burke wrote:

Cécile Stelzer Johnson wrote: As to the confit, it exists but I could not find the recipe in English. If you follow the link, it is illustrated, so you will be able to follow the gest of it even if you don't speak the language: https://www.meilleurduchef.com/fr/recette/confit-de-framboise.html

Ohhh.... Oh, MY!

Maybe this rough translation will help (it wouldn't translate, in my browser),  and it's a recipe that is written to promote a brand name, or two, which I'm omitting, in favor of the diy version. The one thing that always messes with these brand name promoting recipes with pectin, is figuring out which way the purchased pectin was created. I'll very likely be trying this, myself, soon, and will do it with Pomona's, which works with calcium, so I'll be able to sweeten it with stevia, instead of sugar. The key to adapting this, is following the directions for your preferred brand, or if you choose to use your own, homemade pectin, doing it the way you'd normally do it. Pectin, if you're using it, will usually be added toward the end of the cooking. This recipe is pretty much like any other fresh raspberry gel recipe, and can be canned, dehydrated into drops, roll-ups, etc. If you increase the pectin, or use unflavored gelatin, you could also make these into gummies, by just piping the gel, in your preferred size and shape, onto sheets and dehydrating, for very chewy ones, or not adding extra pectin, and chilling, for softer ones.

Raspberry confit:
350g pureed raspberries
8g pectin
100g powdered sugar

Use a deep, non-reactive sauce pot. Combine the fruit and sugar, and slowly bring to 60°C (140°F). Sprinkle the pectin evenly over the top, and stir in very well. Slowly bring to a boil. Once the boil is reached, time it for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, allow to cool (unless you are canning it*). It seems this recipe is done as a topping or filling, so once it cols enough to handle, it's ladled into a paper cone and piped into/onto whatever you'd like.

Well done, Carla! Because I have a sweeeeet tooth myself [actually, I have the whole set] I'm looking at these gummies, licking my chops.

I personally love lacto fermenting berries. Just 3-5 days in a 2% brine creates a delicious, effervescent tangy berry that I add to yogurt, smoothies, and desserts. They don't usually last long but could easily last a year in a fridge or root cellar. Much faster than canning and making jam and you have some health benefits. I actually do it with a lot of my fruit, plums are delicious too. Originally inspired by Noma's Guide to fermentation.

Hi C Murphy

Welcome to Permies

I don't know if it would work for raspberries, but Townsend's has an 18th century recipe for preserving strawberries:

S Tonin wrote:I don't know if it would work for raspberries, but Townsend's has an 18th century recipe for preserving strawberries:

Thanks for this wonderful recipe. I will try it: It would be wonderful to have such a medley to make pies or cakes in the winter. No energy to make or store, very little time, and you can put away *lots* of fruit very quickly!
This idea of conserving fruit, uncooked in a crock reminded me of mom making her "confiture de vieux garçon". "old bachelor's jam".
Not really a "jam", rather an easy way to put away excess fruit, layered, during the whole year in brandy.
Here is the recipe in French: https://www.gustave.com/recettes/797/confiture-vieux-garcon.html
For those who don't read French, here is a workable, simplified version:
It starts with brandy in a large jar. You can do it in a crock, which may preserve the color better. I prefer a 2 quart glass jar with a rubber/glass [non metal] lid, like the old pickle jars. Keep these fruit in brandy in a dark cupboard. The alcohol will kinda wash the color, but it will still taste great.
Along the year, add fruit and sugar in equal quantity by weight as the season progresses. Of course, make sure your fruit is ripe and blemish free. Make sure the fruit are always totally covered with the brandy. If you can find a way to make a "follower", like you use for sauerkraut, so much the better.
It will be ready by Christmas. Some fruit *not* to add are oranges, grapefruit etc.
Make sure your fruit are not "watery", so don't soak your raspberries, for example, but note that you will keep the stones in the stone fruit.
Eat with [almond] ice cream, white cheese or rice pudding.