What Are You Preserving, and How Are You Doing It? (2006 - 2016)

Anna N · April 3, 2016

14 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

Yes, that's exactly the one. @Anna N used that recipe for a batch of lemon and lime marmalade using the Instant Pot that she described here and here.

The recipe I've used for lime marmalade is a rather more involved 2 or 3 day procedure and it may be that's what's needed to tame the bitterness of limes but I was encouraged by Anna's results to give this a try when those pretty lemons came my way.

I liked the result and am looking forward to trying it with oranges or maybe a mix of citrus.

I really must get around to making more lime marmalade. I reached for it the other morning only to remember that I had used the last jar!

IowaDee · April 3, 2016

Shelby, this might be a tad off topic but here goes...have you ever ordered anything from Jake & Amos? They make some awesome pickled products, beets among them. They have mix and max sales that are pretty good. I buy their stuff at a local Amish store but have ordered on line and the service was fine. Got a girl friend a case of the beets, half plain and half pickled, for her birthday and it wowed her.

**Shelby** · April 3, 2016

1 minute ago, IowaDee said:

Shelby, this might be a tad off topic but here goes...have you ever ordered anything from Jake & Amos? They make some awesome pickled products, beets among them. They have mix and max sales that are pretty good. I buy their stuff at a local Amish store but have ordered on line and the service was fine. Got a girl friend a case of the beets, half plain and half pickled, for her birthday and it wowed her.

No but I'm off to check it out. Thanks!

kbjesq · April 3, 2016

On 3/21/2016 at 6:54 PM, Wayne said:

Found some nice Napa cabbage yesterday so I've got a small batch of kimchi started:

Oh my goodness! YES PLEASE! that looks delicious and I wish that it was sitting on my counter

kbjesq · April 3, 2016

2 hours ago, IowaDee said:

Got a girl friend a case of the beets, half plain and half pickled, for her birthday and it wowed her.

I wish that I had such a thoughtful friend. What a great gift. It would definitely "wow" me! PS my birthday is coming up in a few months

sartoric · April 9, 2016

On 1 April 2016 at 4:22 PM, liuzhou said:

It's many years ago, but I did grow box button mushrooms under the bed in London very successfully. Never tried shiitake, but good luck.

Yeah, I've done the "leaving the chillies out" trick, too just in time for an overnight monsoon! Managed to rescue them though. There is a bit of a cottage industry round here of drying chillies. I see sidewalks, railway station platforms, basketball courts etc literally covered in drying chillies. Any flat space.

And if you can't find a flat space, make one.

Here's the shiitake mushroom growing board and dry spawn grains. The total cost was $21.

I'll post an update at harvest time, but don't hold your breath, they'll take a couple of months

**andiesenji** · April 9, 2016

Back when I was growing a lot of chiles and drying them, I made cheap screened frames, 6' x 3' hinged two together with hook fasteners on the open side with hooks in each corner so I could hang them horizontally so they were off the ground and so the birds couldn't get at them, which would happen if I left them out open. I had 3 of the units (6 doors) and gave them to my neighbor who has since moved a few miles away, has more land and grows a lot of peppers. Still using those frames I made with stretcher bars.

The ravens here LOVE peppers and I had shade cloth over the rows of plants to keep them away.

Anna N · April 16, 2016

Pink house kraut on the right.

Daikon kimchi on the left.

Wayne · April 18, 2016

On ‎16‎/‎04‎/‎2016 at 2:27 PM, Anna N said:

Pink house kraut on the right.

Daikon kimchi on the left.

That daikon kimchi looks intriguing. Last season I ended up growing about 40 daikon and was challenged finding enough things to do with it. I'd like to try this.

I did check out Maangchi's recipe online and will try it.

Did you let it ferment or did you use it as is?

Cheers.

Anna N · April 18, 2016

@Wayne

I am letting it ferment a bit. But I am a paranoid fermenter so it won't be for very long!

Anna N · April 18, 2016

Paula Wolfert's 7-day preserved lemons. These should be ready in another day or so. I am a little concerned as I was unable to get the thin-skinned lemons. They may turn out to be too bitter.

**Shelby** · April 18, 2016

I've never seen (in person) nor (obviously lol) eaten one. Dumb question: Do you eat the peel too?

Anna N · April 18, 2016

5 minutes ago, Shelby said:

I've never seen (in person) nor (obviously lol) eaten one. Dumb question: Do you eat the peel too?

"When using preserved lemons, remember to wash each lemon to remove the brine and scoop out the pulp within, which will be too salty; the thin skin is all you need to impart the flavour. They can be used in stews or tagines, or chopped finely and added to couscous dishes or salads.

BBC - Food - Preserved lemons recipes

www.bbc.co.uk › food › preserved_lemon

Thought it better to quote an expert!

**Shelby** · April 18, 2016

Ah, so quite the opposite to what I was thinking. No eating of the pulp.

Anna N · April 18, 2016

Here are some ways to use them. If you're really interested you might want to try the more normal way which takes considerably longer. I am pretty sure if you Google for preserved lemons and Paula you will find the recipe for the traditional version.

I have made that one a couple of times and every time I ended up dumping them as they had been in my fridge so long I wasn't sure about them anymore.

Naftal · April 18, 2016

11 minutes ago, Anna N said:

"When using preserved lemons, remember to wash each lemon to remove the brine and scoop out the pulp within, which will be too salty; the thin skin is all you need to impart the flavour. They can be used in stews or tagines, or chopped finely and added to couscous dishes or salads.

BBC - Food - Preserved lemons recipes

www.bbc.co.uk › food › preserved_lemon

Thought it better to quote an expert!

Thank you! I preserved a batch of lemons in salt too. But I was-until now- unclear as to how to use them. BTW I also preserve ginger in vinegar. They are wonderful.

**Smithy** · April 18, 2016

This topic on Preserved Lemons has extensive discussion on how to preserve lemons and what to do with them. Paula participated in it, along with Suvir Saran.

For what it's worth, I ignore the advice not to use the pulp. I find that in small amounts it adds a pleaantly salty/lemony note to the sauce. It can be overdone, though: like anchovy paste, a little makes a pleasant mystery enhancement, but enough to identify the flavor is probably too much.

scubadoo97 · April 19, 2016

On April 18, 2016 at 0:29 PM, Shelby said:

Ah, so quite the opposite to what I was thinking. No eating of the pulp.

I've not done 7 day preserved lemons but the regular ones have been amazing flavor enhancers to many dishes. Just slivered up some for a bagel and lox the other day. The salty and floral lemon peel was an excellent addition

Edited April 19, 2016 by scubadoo97 (log)

Anna N · April 19, 2016

On April 18, 2016 at 1:01 PM, Smithy said:

This topic on Preserved Lemons has extensive discussion on how to preserve lemons and what to do with them. Paula participated in it, along with Suvir Saran.

For what it's worth, I ignore the advice not to use the pulp. I find that in small amounts it adds a pleaantly salty/lemony note to the sauce. It can be overdone, though: like anchovy paste, a little makes a pleasant mystery enhancement, but enough to identify the flavor is probably too much.

Thanks for the link. I was a little disconcerted when Paula said that seven day lemons must be used within two days! The recipe I have which came from a magazine I can no longer identify but which is titled Paula Wolfert's Seven-Day Preserved Lemons clearly states that after seven days if covered with a layer of olive oil will keep six months if refrigerated.

**Smithy** · April 19, 2016

2 hours ago, Anna N said:

Thanks for the link. I was a little disconcerted when Paula said that seven day lemons must be used within two days! The recipe I have which came from a magazine I can no longer identify but which is titled Paula Wolfert's Seven-Day Preserved Lemons clearly states that after seven days if covered with a layer of olive oil will keep six months if refrigerated.

I haven't been back through the entire topic yet, but I think by "they won't keep" she was referring to disintegration, not the growth of nasty bugs. She noted in this post that Moroccans don't refrigerate their preserved lemons and her first book doesn't mention it either (this for the traditional recipe) but that people started coming to her cooking classes with strange-smelling samples and decided after that to recommend refrigeration in order to keep lawsuits at bay.

Have you found anything to suggest that vile things could grow in your 7-days lemons without their being noticeably 'off' in flavor or odor? Put another way: are there bacteria that could grow in that environment without being noticeable? It's too acidic and salty for botulism.

Anna N · April 19, 2016

58 minutes ago, Smithy said:

I haven't been back through the entire topic yet, but I think by "they won't keep" she was referring to disintegration, not the growth of nasty bugs. She noted in this post that Moroccans don't refrigerate their preserved lemons and her first book doesn't mention it either (this for the traditional recipe) but that people started coming to her cooking classes with strange-smelling samples and decided after that to recommend refrigeration in order to keep lawsuits at bay.

Have you found anything to suggest that vile things could grow in your 7-days lemons without their being noticeably 'off' in flavor or odor? Put another way: are there bacteria that could grow in that environment without being noticeable? It's too acidic and salty for botulism.

To me it seemed illogical to make 4-6 lemons that must be used within two days! Surely even a Moroccan cook would find that a bit of a stretch. Seems to me that with all that salt and lemon juice not much is likely to prosper. We shall see.

heidih · April 20, 2016

I ran out and picked about a 1/2 cup of mallow (cheese weed) fruits as our heat wave was making everything mature rapidly. The pickling liquid was white wine vinegar, a touch of course ground mustard, bit of salt and sugar - warmed and poured over in the little jar. I had previously only nibbled them raw as a kid. After sitting for a few days, a spoonful in my tuna salad was nice instead of pickle relish.

Plant info http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/WEEDS/little_mallow.html

Edited April 20, 2016 by heidih (log)

Thanks for the Crepes · April 21, 2016

Interesting forage @heidih. I had never heard of them before, and the fruits in the photo in you link sort of resembled tomatillos, but other images do not, and apparently there's no relation.

**Smithy** · April 21, 2016

Cheeseweed mallow was as common as, well, weeds where I grew up, but I had no idea it was edible! Thanks for that information on the edibility and the pickling idea, @heidih.

**FrogPrincesse** · May 6, 2016

A couple of recent jams. On the left a peach and saffron jam made using Christine Ferber's recipe - great consistency, easily spreadable but not too thin, and a wonderful flavor.

On the right, a strawberry jam made using Russ Parsons' small batch method. It is delicious but runnier than I would like. Each small batch yielded two jars. The last two are runny but manageable; the first two are too liquid so I will have to recook the syrup (I plan on straining out the fruit beforehand so it doesn't cook more).