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

[Okanagancook]

Thanks for posting the recipe Elaine.  Looks like a project for December when the weather isn't so nice.

 

[kayb]

Saved that one myself. Will be making some next summer.

 

[ChocoMom]

Despite having temperatures in the high 30's at night, the zucchini and crooked neck squash refuse to stop producing. The tomatoes are still going at breakneck speed, as well. So....as I have done before, the zucchini and crooked neck get shredded in the cuisinart, then the tomatoes. Rather than adding meat this time, I just cooked them, strained out the excess water, then reheated and put into quart jars. Added in some garlic salt and lemon juice, too. This will make a nice, thick tomato base for multiple dishes later on.  

 

With all the pie pumpkins ripening quickly, I plan on canning a good deal of it.  Still not sure what to do with the 30+ spaghetti squash, though. Thinking of tying bows on the stems and leaving them on doorsteps throughout the township.     I've been taking a big box of veggies to my daughter's elementary school every Friday...but there is still so much left!!! I even set a box of more veggies out on the back porch here at the condo, and invited all the neighbors over to take whatever they'd like. 

[ElainaA]

@ChocoMom  It sounds like you have a great crop! If there is a food pantry or soup kitchen in your area I am sure they would love anything you take them. Here, most of their donations are commercially canned or processed foods so they are always very happy to get fresh produce. In my state (NY) health laws will not let them accept home processed food but fresh produce is fine.

[kayb]

Had a few Romas and cherry tomatoes on my plants, and picked up a variety of grape and cherry tomatoes at the farmers' market today to dry some. Got two shelves' worth in the dehydrator. Drizzled with basil oil and sprinkled with sea salt; we'll see how long they take. Also have some marinating in olive oil and balsamic for a salad with some of my fresh ricotta I made this morning.

[blue_dolphin]

Largely in the interest of trying out some things from the new Deep Run Roots cookbook, I made a couple of small batches - 5 half-pint jars of jalapeño peach glaze and 2 half-pints of watermelon rind pickles.  

Not the most beautiful of preserves, but I like both of them.

The glaze was a good choice for some late season peaches that were less than stellar in texture.  

I was intrigued by the flavor profile of the watermelon rind pickles (white wine vinegar, sugar, cloves, coriander, star anise, cinnamon stick, ginger, lemon juice and sliced lemon, orange peel) and it did not disappoint.  My October watermelon had very thin rind so I ended up with very thin pickles but I will certainly do this again next summer when the melons are in season.

 

 

[Rudy Foodie]

I just tried making these picked green tomatoes, according to the recipe of Domenica Marchetti (they are the Calabrian, salt preserved ones). https://www.amexessentials.com/canning-and-preserving-ideas. Almost ready to try them! 

 

[Shelby]

Brother-in-law texted me yesterday and asked if I wanted more jalapeños.  

 

I must have had a moment of insanity.

 

I swear I said something back like "ok, but not near as many as the first time".

 

 

Apparently it's payback for all of the zucchini gifting I did.......

 

I guess I'll try my hand at jelly again.  I've done cowboy candy and I've pickled......and I've frozen.  Not wild about dragging up the dehydrator.  Drying these makes me sneeze like you wouldn't believe.  Any other ideas?

Edited October 14, 2016 by Shelby (log)

[Wayne]

 

21 minutes ago, Shelby said:

Any other ideas?

 

 

Besides pickles, jelly and freezing whole the other method I use is roasting them. Standard technique and I will admit it's finicky afterwards peeling and deseeding them but come February I can dig them out of the freezer and have my version of a New Mexico green chili burger.

 

 

[HungryChris]

Looks like there will be fried green tomatoes with dinner and green tomato pickles in my future.

HC

[ElsieD]

I started processing squash a week or so ago and finally finished the job yesterday.  I did them all in the Instant Pot.

[cyalexa]

bumper crop of figs this year, have 2 zip-top bags full of dried figs (1 qt each) so far and they are still ripening

 

[ElsieD]

Since I was on a bit of a roll, I decided to make applesauce today.  We had a family reunion on Saturday and my BIL brought me some apples.  These are from the wild trees on their property and the apples are a mix, the only identifiable ones were a few small delicious.  The others are very red with an almost pink flesh, and very tasty.  The picture of the apples below are the remaining apples to be cooked as I had already filled up the IP with a batch.  I took out the blossom end, quartered them and cooked them up, skins, pips and all.  I put them through a sieve when they were cooked and am using the slow cooker function to thicken it a bit. A part of me wants to make a small batch of apple butter but I am waffling because as much as I love applesauce and apple desserts, i'm not sure if I would like apple buter.

[Shelby]

20 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

Since I was on a bit of a roll, I decided to make applesauce today.  We had a family reunion on Saturday and my BIL brought me some apples.  These are from the wild trees on their property and the apples are a mix, the only identifiable ones were a few small delicious.  The others are very red with an almost pink flesh, and very tasty.  The picture of the apples below are the remaining apples to be cooked as I had already filled up the IP with a batch.  I took out the blossom end, quartered them and cooked them up, skins, pips and all.  I put them through a sieve when they were cooked and am using the slow cooker function to thicken it a bit. A part of me wants to make a small batch of apple butter but I am waffling because as much as I love applesauce and apple desserts, i'm not sure if I would like apple buter.

I think you would LOVE apple butter.

[ElainaA]

4 hours ago, Shelby said:

I think you would LOVE apple butter.

I have to admit I am not a great fan of apple butter. I love apple sauce, sautéed apples, baked apples, just plain crisp, juicy apples, apple pie, etc.etc. etc...... But there are so many more interesting jams and spreads......

[kayb]

Arkansas Black apples should be in season. Must pick some up to make apple butter. And @ElainaA, I so disagree....apple butter can be VERY interesting. I love my recipe, and would be happy to forward to you. It does wonders for a pork roast in a nice braise. Chicken, too. And on a Dutch  baby, with some homemade ricotta? Well, not to be dissed!

 

[ElsieD]

1 hour ago, kayb said:

Arkansas Black apples should be in season. Must pick some up to make apple butter. And @ElainaA, I so disagree....apple butter can be VERY interesting. I love my recipe, and would be happy to forward to you. It does wonders for a pork roast in a nice braise. Chicken, too. And on a Dutch  baby, with some homemade ricotta? Well, not to be dissed!

 

 

I 'm pretty sure mine weren't Arkansas Black apples but if you could forward your recipe or post it here, I'd love to give it a try.  After all, Shelby thinks I would really like it, and if not, my sister does so I can always pass it along.

[ElainaA]

8 hours ago, kayb said:

Arkansas Black apples should be in season. Must pick some up to make apple butter. And @ElainaA, I so disagree....apple butter can be VERY interesting. I love my recipe, and would be happy to forward to you. It does wonders for a pork roast in a nice braise. Chicken, too. And on a Dutch  baby, with some homemade ricotta? Well, not to be dissed!

 

I would certainly try your recipe if you post it or send it to me. It's apple season here (local apple festival is coming up). I am open to conversion....where food is concerned anyway.

[kayb]

Here you go:

 

• 5 pounds tart apples of your choice (Gala, Fuji or Arkansas Black are good choices; Granny Smith would also work, though they’re more tart than the first three)
• 3 cups sugar
• 1/3 cup cider vinegar
• 3 tbsp water
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves

Cut the apples in quarters. Don’t peel or core them. Pile them into the Instant Pot, or into a pressure cooker or a Dutch oven, and add two cups of sugar. If you’re using an IP or other pressure-cooker vessel, or even a slow-cooker, add the listed amount of vinegar and water; if a Dutch oven, go up to about 1/2 cup each.

In the IP, cook the apples on “steam” for 20 minutes, with a natural steam release.This will be enough to completely cook the apples to the point they’re soft, brown, and start to disintegrate. On the stovetop, bring to a boil over medium high heat, then quickly lower to medium low and simmer, covered, for about 45 minutes to an hour, until apples reach the same stage.

Using a food mill with its medium plate, or a chinois, or in a pinch a colander, press the pulp into a Dutch oven. Add the remaining sugar and spices; simmer for an hour or so over very low heat, until the apple puree thickens and darkens more.

Process 15 minutes in a water-bath canner, or freeze in pint containers. Keeps 2-3 weeks, opened, in the fridge.

[ElsieD]

29 minutes ago, kayb said:

Here you go:

 

• 5 pounds tart apples of your choice (Gala, Fuji or Arkansas Black are good choices; Granny Smith would also work, though they’re more tart than the first three)
• 3 cups sugar
• 1/3 cup cider vinegar
• 3 tbsp water
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves

Cut the apples in quarters. Don’t peel or core them. Pile them into the Instant Pot, or into a pressure cooker or a Dutch oven, and add two cups of sugar. If you’re using an IP or other pressure-cooker vessel, or even a slow-cooker, add the listed amount of vinegar and water; if a Dutch oven, go up to about 1/2 cup each.

In the IP, cook the apples on “steam” for 20 minutes, with a natural steam release.This will be enough to completely cook the apples to the point they’re soft, brown, and start to disintegrate. On the stovetop, bring to a boil over medium high heat, then quickly lower to medium low and simmer, covered, for about 45 minutes to an hour, until apples reach the same stage.

Using a food mill with its medium plate, or a chinois, or in a pinch a colander, press the pulp into a Dutch oven. Add the remaining sugar and spices; simmer for an hour or so over very low heat, until the apple puree thickens and darkens more.

Process 15 minutes in a water-bath canner, or freeze in pint containers. Keeps 2-3 weeks, opened, in the fridge.

 

Thank you for posting this, I am going to try it.  I made applesauce yesterday, which is to say I cooked the apples without sugar or any other additives.  I did not weight the apples but I'm sure it was way more than 5 pounds.  My IP is full to about 2 inches from the top.  Do you have any idea how much applesauce you get from 5 pounds of apples?  When I cooked the apples yesterday I had three full pots to which I added maybe 1/4 cup water and I cooked it under high pressure for 4 minutes with manual release.  I put them through a food mill then a sieve to get rid of whatever the food mill didn't.

 

[ElainaA]

2 hours ago, kayb said:

Here you go:

 

• 5 pounds tart apples of your choice (Gala, Fuji or Arkansas Black are good choices; Granny Smith would also work, though they’re more tart than the first three)
• 3 cups sugar
• 1/3 cup cider vinegar
• 3 tbsp water
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves

Cut the apples in quarters. Don’t peel or core them. Pile them into the Instant Pot, or into a pressure cooker or a Dutch oven, and add two cups of sugar. If you’re using an IP or other pressure-cooker vessel, or even a slow-cooker, add the listed amount of vinegar and water; if a Dutch oven, go up to about 1/2 cup each.

In the IP, cook the apples on “steam” for 20 minutes, with a natural steam release.This will be enough to completely cook the apples to the point they’re soft, brown, and start to disintegrate. On the stovetop, bring to a boil over medium high heat, then quickly lower to medium low and simmer, covered, for about 45 minutes to an hour, until apples reach the same stage.

Using a food mill with its medium plate, or a chinois, or in a pinch a colander, press the pulp into a Dutch oven. Add the remaining sugar and spices; simmer for an hour or so over very low heat, until the apple puree thickens and darkens more.

Process 15 minutes in a water-bath canner, or freeze in pint containers. Keeps 2-3 weeks, opened, in the fridge.

Thanks! I will try it. I do not have an IP or pressure cooker of any kind so it will be stove top all the way. I will report back - but not until next week at the soonest. (I have garlic to plant.)

[ElsieD]

So I decided to dive right in and do a test batch using 4 cups of applesauce to which I added 1 1/2 cups sugar, 2 t apple pie spice and 2 T apple cider vinegar.  It has been on a very slow simmer for 1 and a half hours.  It is getting thicker but I have no idea how thick it is supposed to get.  It tastes really good, though I think it might need a bit more of the vinegar.  Can anyone tell me how thick it is supposed to be?

 

[Shelby]

17 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

So I decided to dive right in and do a test batch using 4 cups of applesauce to which I added 1 1/2 cups sugar, 2 t apple pie spice and 2 T apple cider vinegar.  It has been on a very slow simmer for 1 and a half hours.  It is getting thicker but I have no idea how thick it is supposed to get.  It tastes really good, though I think it might need a bit more of the vinegar.  Can anyone tell me how thick it is supposed to be?

 

It's pretty thick.  Spreadable, but thick.  It should look smooth....and it will be very dark brown in color.  Making me hungry for toast and apple butter!

[ElsieD]

@Shelby  Here are two pictures of where i'm currently at.  I hope the close up gives you an idea of the texture.  I did read somewhere that it reduces to about 1/8 of what you started out with but I'm having a hard time believing that.  I don't think the texture is ready yet for toast as I think it would make it soggy.  My husband just tasted it and said it's way better than applesauce so we have one convert so far.

[Shelby]

The bottom picture is the perfect color...but I do think it needs to reduce more.