What Are You Preserving, and How Are You Doing It? (2016–)

[ElsieD]

@kayb  it wasn't me.

[Shelby]

4 hours ago, kayb said:

Someone in here -- @ElsieD, was it you? -- posted last fall about harvesting black walnuts. We had them everywhere, seemed like, when I was a kid, but they were typically passed over in favor of pecans which yielded more nutmeat per nut. Walnuts were often left for the squirrels and hogs, although I do remember the "old folks" dyeing cloth with the juice from the outer hulls.

 

I have of late discovered and become a confirmed fan of preserved walnuts. I've found a recipe, here. Be assured I will be on the lookout for black walnuts, which for these purposes should be picked before they fall, while they're still green) and trying to make my own.

 

Anybody tried making preserved walnuts? I don't recall how much these were at Kroger, but I checked Zingerman's, and they ain't cheap. There should be marvelous things I can do with the syrup, too.

I'm making  dinner but tomorrow I'll look more....I think it was @ninagluck ?

[Shelby]

18 hours ago, kayb said:

Someone in here -- @ElsieD, was it you? -- posted last fall about harvesting black walnuts. We had them everywhere, seemed like, when I was a kid, but they were typically passed over in favor of pecans which yielded more nutmeat per nut. Walnuts were often left for the squirrels and hogs, although I do remember the "old folks" dyeing cloth with the juice from the outer hulls.

 

I have of late discovered and become a confirmed fan of preserved walnuts. I've found a recipe, here. Be assured I will be on the lookout for black walnuts, which for these purposes should be picked before they fall, while they're still green) and trying to make my own.

 

Anybody tried making preserved walnuts? I don't recall how much these were at Kroger, but I checked Zingerman's, and they ain't cheap. There should be marvelous things I can do with the syrup, too.

Ok, yes, it was @ninagluckpost that I was thinking of here

(where has she been, by the way, I miss her!)

[Jacksoup]

I’ve just made some lemon ginger marmalade, last weeks orange marmalade is canned and given away. I’m overwhelmed with Meyer lemons.  I’ve dehydrated them , still have frozen cubes of juice from last year.  Have two batches of Ina Garden orange marmalade to can tomorrow.  Any ideas to preserve this bounty are welcome.  

[Jacksoup]

And here’s a small sample of the dehydrated Meyers.   They rehydrate rather quickly.  I use them every day in water and tea.  Also in chicken piccata.  Any other ideas for them would be appreciated.  

 

Edited January 8, 2019 by Jacksoup
Bad photo (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Marmalade sounds best to me.  That or make a mammoth batch of jack rose and invite us and all your friends.

 

[Jacksoup]

@JoNorvelleWalkerWhat’s jack rose?  

[Jacksoup]

@JoNorvelleWalker  googled jack rose.  I don’t have that many friends.  Make your way to the west coast and we’ll make a dent in all those lemons.  I also have an over abundance of limes.  Say the word and I’ll send you a box of Meyers

[sartoric]

 

10 minutes ago, Jacksoup said:

@JoNorvelleWalker  googled jack rose.  I don’t have that many friends.  Make your way to the west coast and we’ll make a dent in all those lemons.  I also have an over abundance of limes.  Say the word and I’ll send you a box of Meyer

I envy your lemons, they’re $9 per kilo here at the moment. What about preserved lemons or limoncello ?

[Jacksoup]

I have preserved lemons in a quart jar in the fridge.  I need to be more aware of opportunities to use them.  They’re tucked away in the back and I forget about them.  Give me ideas please.   Limoncello is a great idea, thx

Edited January 8, 2019 by Jacksoup (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

44 minutes ago, Jacksoup said:

@JoNorvelleWalker  googled jack rose.  I don’t have that many friends.  Make your way to the west coast and we’ll make a dent in all those lemons.  I also have an over abundance of limes.  Say the word and I’ll send you a box of Meyers

 

 

Any friend of Jack's is a friend of yours.

 

[Jacksoup]

@JoNorvelleWalker that looks delicious.  I’ve not been into the cocktail world but you’re pulling me in there with that

[sartoric]

2 hours ago, Jacksoup said:

I have preserved lemons in a quart jar in the fridge.  I need to be more aware of opportunities to use them.  They’re tucked away in the back and I forget about them.  Give me ideas please.   Limoncello is a great idea, thx

 

Salad of baby spinach, black olives, and feta cheese with tiny dice preserved lemons springs to mind. I’ll think of more later. 

 

Edited to add : I had a great lemon pickle in the south of India, would be worth a google.

Edited January 8, 2019 by sartoric (log)

[TicTac]

At the organic market we go to every Saturday there is often an Indian lady who sells various items.

 

One she told me about was something her mother made for her entire life back in India, basically lemons preserved in salt and their juices.  It is said to have tremendous health benefits and drank as a tea.  It is a slightly acquired taste, but I have grown to enjoy it and whenever a cold strikes it becomes part of my 'regime'!

 

The stuff lasts for years, I still have a jar that is about 2 years old and only necessary upkeep is the addition of some fresh lemon juice every so often.

 

[Kerry Beal]

Here's my grannies recipe for Lemonade - it would more accurately be called Lemon Squash I think. It's a concentrate. You could use a lot more lemons per batch.

 

Lemonade

Ingredients

• 6 lemons
• 8 cups sugar
• 2 ounces citric acid
• 1 ounce tartaric acid
• 3 pints boiling water

Method

 

Cut lemons in half and squeeze out juice. Put juice, shells into jug with sugar and acids. Top with boiling water. Let stand two days then strain and bottle. Dilute to taste 1:5 with cold water.

[Shelby]

Ohhhhh @Jacksoup I envy your lemons!  Here they are about 60 cents a piece right now, but they often go up to a dollar a piece!

 

How about some lemon curd in the Instant Pot?

 

 

[blue_dolphin]

15 hours ago, Jacksoup said:

I have preserved lemons in a quart jar in the fridge.  I need to be more aware of opportunities to use them.  They’re tucked away in the back and I forget about them.  Give me ideas please.

 

The Preserved Lemon Vinaigrette from Shaya has become a staple for me.  He uses it on an Israeli salad.  I use it on everything. 

1/3 cup white wine vinegar

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 1/2 T minced preserved lemon (about 1/4 of a lemon)

4 t za'atar

1/2 t salt

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

 

The book also has a preserved lemon aioli that's fabulous.  I'm always adding a little preserved lemon to things that need a little oomph. 

Edited January 8, 2019 by blue_dolphin
I forgot to include the amount for the lemon juice (log)

[Jacksoup]

@Shelby  I’ve done that before and need to do it again, thanks for the reminder!

[Jacksoup]

@blue_dolphin that sounds really good, plus it uses za’atar which I love.

[SLB]

The citrus fruits are coming in here (I mean being imported in), and I'm kind of going nuts with the ideas of stuff to try. I am definitely going to do that preserved-lemon vinaigrette (after I get my preserved lemons done, I mean).  

 

But I have a question about a different kind of preservation -- freezing.  I freeze vegetables as well as meat, and after I got a deep freezer, I started studying in earnest about how to freeze stuff to best protect its quality (instead of just throwing it in a ziplock bag). The reference books give blanching times for each vegetable, and more pertinent -- headrooms for the bags.  The headrooms prescribed for vegetables are about off-gassing (as opposed to the headrooms for fruits, which seem to be about expansion of freezing water).  

 

But none of the reference books I have are talking about vacuum-packing the vegetables, just regular bags with most of the air pushed out.  I do not have a fancy vacuum-sealer, just a cheapo FoodSaver.  The FoodSaver manual instructs to freeze all vegetables solid before sealing them, in order to avoid the challenge of off-gassing after sealing.  

 

The question is directed to those of you who freeze vegetables -- is the vacuum sealing worth it, after you take the step to open-air freeze the vegetables?  [I'm sure it would be worth it if you have flash-freezing capabilities.]

[lemniscate]

21 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

 I'm always adding a little preserved lemon to things that need a little oomph. 

 

I have done preserved lemons in my seemingly never-ending quest to use my fruit.  Someone on egullet a long while ago posted about "preserved lemon paste".  I took my jar at the time and pulverized the lemons into a smooth paste in the blender.  This stuff was kind of a game changer.  I add it to sauce when cooking chicken and fish, into stews that need an acid/salty kick, into homemade tartar sauce, mixed with olive oil for a bread dip, slathered on focaccia before baking for lemon essence......etc.   I plan on adding it to my next try at bloody mary/bloody ceasar when I remember to make myself one.  I think it's one of the most versatile condiments I have in my larder at the moment.

[Smithy]

@Jacksoup, I'm glad you're asking questions about the Meyer lemons because I also have a generous lot of them to use up. I'd forgotten about Meyer lemon curd, and the vinaigrette noted above also sounds excellent. Thanks for eliciting those tips!

 

When I have Meyer lemons available and mild fish to go with them, I like to cook them with a very lemony sauce with a bit of mustard. My husband and I invented this dish based on what we could remember from a favorite Egyptian hotel, and named it Roadway Inn Fish in a pun off the New Radwan Hotel. You can see a picture of the dish here. A few posts later is the recipe.

 

I believe you have a bumper crop of other citrus as well? If so, then citrus-marinated roasted chicken might be just the ticket. In fact, I think I'll be doing that in the next week, now that you've reminded me. This post has a link to the Fine Cooking recipe. Here's how it came out that time. 

Edited January 16, 2019 by Smithy
"corruption of" to "pun off" for, I hope, clarity (log)

[Jacksoup]

I’ve taken a one day break from canning and dehydrating citrus.  Been using an Ina Garten recipe for the orange marmalade, it’s rather hands off and doesn’t require removing the pith.  But you have to start one day and let it sit overnight, then boil and can.  I’m over it for the moment.  I’ve got 12 pints, 30 half pints and 8 lemon ginger marmalade.  And 30 zip locks of dehydrated lemons.  I think we’ll avoid scurvy this year

Edited January 17, 2019 by Jacksoup
Spelling (log)

[heidih]

Attractive jars. I think the adding sugar and letting it sit is quite common. i remeber the experienced women Vivian Howard interviewed on her series did it,

[Kerry Beal]

5 hours ago, Jacksoup said:

I’ve taken a one day break from canning and dehydrating citrus.  Been using an Ina Garten recipe for the orange marmalade, it’s rather hands off and doesn’t require removing the pith.  But you have to start one day and let it sit overnight, then boil and can.  I’m over it for the moment.  I’ve got 12 pints, 30 half pints and 8 lemon ginger marmalade.  And 30 zip locks of dehydrated lemons.  I think we’ll avoid scurvy this year

 

Argh - no scurvy indeed! I know my recipe for marmalade involves removing the pits - soaking those overnight in water then tying them in cheesecloth and hanging in with the ground whole oranges which have also soaked overnight in water. The whole thing then gets boiled for an hour then measured and matched cup for cup with sugar before adding ground lemons and cooking to finish.