[Maryann]

Hi everyone - not sure if you can help but I have committed the cardinal sin of pressing my fruit and now have a cloudy batch of juice 
I used my steam juicer to produce the juice - 4lbs of mixed fruit for hedgerow jelly. When I checked my fruit in the top of the steamer it looked completely broken down but still very wet so I gave it a bit of a press with a potato masher. I didn't press it hard but obviously it was enough to make the juice cloudy.

I know that not many folk use a steamer so I might be asking the impossible but if I set the steamer up again with a fresh batch of fruit - say a few apples and then pour the juice over the apples will this clear the juice do you think? I can also lay a muslin square under the fruit. I'm worried I might spoil the flavour of the juice if I mess about with it too much. I'd rather settle for cloudy jelly than bad flavour clear jelly if you get my drift.

The steamer does the job of the jelly bag for those that use that method. It has 3 parts to it with the juice being collected in the middle section. There is a spout on the side with a plastic tube that you siphon the juice through. Normally you pour the first lot of juice back through anyway as this sterilises the tube and also gets the remaining juice out of the fruit.
I'm just not sure which way to go with it - am I wasting my time? Once it has gone cloudy is that it or can it be recovered. I'm not sure whether to try and re-steam the remaining pulp or use fresh fruit to aid the recovery of the cloudy juice.

Any thoughts or ideas?

[Kleftiwallah]

   I use a steam powered juice extractor. (Old ally one [fruitmaster])       I shouldn't blame yourself.  I've just steam juice extracted about 10 pints of pear juice and that is cloudy.   As long as you aren't going for the big prize at the Village fete, I should just leave it.

A quick question,  do you have the exit tube down into the collecting vessel, or do you leave it clipped up so the juice stays in the collector?  I used to just let it slowly trickle, but a response ton this queary says that leaving it to collect will pasterise the juice.

Off down the lane to check out the brambles to steam juice after a half of cider in the pub this afternoon.    Cheers,     Tony.

[Maryann]

Hi Tony - lovely to meet a fellow steamer 
I tend to have the tube sealed off at the end with the metal clip and tuck it up under a handle whilst steaming is in progress. Then I siphon off about a pint and tip that back into pan with fruit. Was advised to do that to make sure tube is properly sterilised. It certainly gets hot!

I'm not entering any shows - not that brave but was disappointed with look of juice. It is my first batch of hedgerow jelly and used, crab apples, blackberries, haw berries and wild damsons. It is a cloudy pink - quite deep in colour but I was hoping for a nice clear one to give away as gifts.

I often lay a square of muslin under the fruit to stop anything going through the holes - especially when doing rosehips and this is very effective so may give it another go this afternoon and use a few windfall apples I have to hand.
Happy foraging 

[Maryann]

Hi again - good news about the cloudy juice.
I steamed a few more apples and then poured my cloudy juice over the apples when they were pulpy and that sort of strained the juice through into the collection section of the steamer. Then, when I siphoned it off I did so through a nice clean muslin square and ended up with 1800 ml of lovely clear juice which has potted up into 4 1/2 lbs of jelly. Mind you it is dark – which surprised me as not made it before and was expecting something more pinky red. Just hope it tastes as good as it looks– I'll let you know!

[fiano60]

 Hi thought I would comment on cloudy juice if you are using to make
    jelly its fine because once you reheat it with sugar it will end up as
    a clear jelly I really squashed mine down thought oh dear then
    made it anyway was fine.
                                             Fiona