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

[HungryChris]

2 hours ago, Wayne said:

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

Wayne,

Would you mind talking about what your process was? I kind of expect to see more gochugaru in there, but don't pretend to be anything other than a person who likes...ok, loves kimchi. I have been looking for some nice Napa for a while now, myself.

HC

[Wayne]

6 hours ago, HungryChris said:

Wayne,

Would you mind talking about what your process was? I kind of expect to see more gochugaru in there, but don't pretend to be anything other than a person who likes...ok, loves kimchi. I have been looking for some nice Napa for a while now, myself.

HC

 

Sure.

I use the same method but can vary the ingredients. Didn't use daikon this time though I do like it. The one thing I don't like in kimchi is carrot (which I've seen in a lot of recipes).

For this batch:

1 4 lb. napa cabbage cut into bite sized pieces

1 bunch green onions sliced

4 cloves garlic grated

1 thumb sized piece of ginger grated

1/4 C. fish sauce

1/4 C. chili powder (I didn't use gochugaru as I grow a lot of hot peppers, dehydrate them and use those. This mix was 1:1:2

                                 Naga red, Scotch Bonnet  and cherry. Packs a lot of heat.).

Method:

Toss and massage the cabbage in a bowl with 3 Tsp. pickling salt, put a follower on the cabbage and weigh to press. Leave at room temp. for 4-5 hours (I lost about 50% of the volume and the cabbage was submerged in brine at the end. Drain the cabbage and

squeeze out as much moisture as you can. Mix the grated garlic, ginger, chili powder and fish sauce together and add to the cabbage along with the green onions. Mix really well (I get my hands in there and really work the mixture in) then pack into your container (I used a 2 L. (8 C.) mason jar eliminating any trapped air. Put on a follower (I use a plastic food bag half filled with water) and leave in a cool dark place for 4-5 days (I start tasting after 3 days) although it can be eaten 'fresh'.

 

Cheers.

 

              

 

[sartoric]

1 hour ago, Wayne said:

 

Sure.

I use the same method but can vary the ingredients. Didn't use daikon this time though I do like it. The one thing I don't like in kimchi is carrot (which I've seen in a lot of recipes).

For this batch:

1 4 lb. napa cabbage cut into bite sized pieces

1 bunch green onions sliced

4 cloves garlic grated

1 thumb sized piece of ginger grated

1/4 C. fish sauce

1/4 C. chili powder (I didn't use gochugaru as I grow a lot of hot peppers, dehydrate them and use those. This mix was 1:1:2

                                 Naga red, Scotch Bonnet  and cherry. Packs a lot of heat.).

Method:

Toss and massage the cabbage in a bowl with 3 Tsp. pickling salt, put a follower on the cabbage and weigh to press. Leave at room temp. for 4-5 hours (I lost about 50% of the volume and the cabbage was submerged in brine at the end. Drain the cabbage and

squeeze out as much moisture as you can. Mix the grated garlic, ginger, chili powder and fish sauce together and add to the cabbage along with the green onions. Mix really well (I get my hands in there and really work the mixture in) then pack into your container (I used a 2 L. (8 C.) mason jar eliminating any trapped air. Put on a follower (I use a plastic food bag half filled with water) and leave in a cool dark place for 4-5 days (I start tasting after 3 days) although it can be eaten 'fresh'.

 

Cheers.

 

              

 

 

Im keen to try this too. When you say "cool dark place" roughly what temperature is best ?

[Wayne]

3 minutes ago, sartoric said:

 

Im keen to try this too. When you say "cool dark place" roughly what temperature is best ?

 

I leave mine in our 'pantry'/storage room which, when the heat is on, varies from 60-70 degrees F. over the course of 24 hours. It's

slightly cooler when the heat's off during the summer. I do all of my ferments there and have never had a problem. The current batch is showing signs of working (CO2 bubbles forming). For a lactoferment the temperature range should be between 55 and 75 at the upper level.

 

Cheers.

 

 

[sartoric]

Thanks @Wayne, I might have to wait until winter. 

I will buy a thermometer though, a cupboard under the stairs might work.  

[Wayne]

10 hours ago, sartoric said:

Thanks @Wayne, I might have to wait until winter. 

I will buy a thermometer though, a cupboard under the stairs might work.  

 

Still worth doing, Tastes great a few hours after made. Won't get the acidic component from the ferment but still good.

 

[sartoric]

I picked up 3 mangoes for $5 at the farmers market last week, so here's the significant eaters favourite chutney. At the very least it gives me an excuse to make Indian curries .....

 

 

 

[FrogPrincesse]

Meiwa kumquats in vodka. These should be ready very soon. I plan on using them as a cocktail garnish.

 

 

 

 

 

[kayb]

Put a dozen hardboiled quail eggs in to pickle today. Brine of 1/2 cup rice vinegar, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/2 cup water, a sizeable dash of sesame oil, and a half-tablespoon or so of sriracha. Heated and poured over eggs, which are now in the fridge and can be sampled for Easter hors d'ouevres. 

 

Other six eggs are in the fridge awaiting the purchase of sausage to make mini-Scotch eggs. Forgot that while I was errand running today.

 

[ElsieD]

14 minutes ago, kayb said:

Put a dozen hardboiled quail eggs in to pickle today. Brine of 1/2 cup rice vinegar, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/2 cup water, a sizeable dash of sesame oil, and a half-tablespoon or so of sriracha. Heated and poured over eggs, which are now in the fridge and can be sampled for Easter hors d'ouevres. 

 

Other six eggs are in the fridge awaiting the purchase of sausage to make mini-Scotch eggs. Forgot that while I was errand running today.

 

 

Well, what do you know!  I just hard boiled and deviled some quail eggs, also as an appetizer for before Easter dinner.  I think I would rather have made your recipe.   How long do they have to  stay in the pickling brine as a minimum before they can be eaten?  Are you deep frying the Scotch eggs? 

[kayb]

5 hours ago, ElsieD said:

 

Well, what do you know!  I just hard boiled and deviled some quail eggs, also as an appetizer for before Easter dinner.  I think I would rather have made your recipe.   How long do they have to  stay in the pickling brine as a minimum before they can be eaten?  Are you deep frying the Scotch eggs? 

When I did Momofuku soy sauce eggs, which are similar to this, I left them undisturbed for three days; I think that ought to work for these. And yes, I'll deep fry the Scotch eggs -- one of the very FEW things I deep-fry -- after they get a good coat of panko.

[liuzhou]

I'm supposing that as drying is a type of preserving this is appropriate here.

 

Wild shiitake mushrooms drying on my balcony.

 

[sartoric]

51 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

I'm supposing that as drying is a type of preserving this is appropriate here.

 

Wild shiitake mushrooms drying on my balcony.

 

 

They look delicious. Do you forage them, or buy them fresh and shred yourself ? 

I think we can buy boxes of "grow your own" shiitakes here. I guess they would be tame, rather than wild. 

Could you elaborate a bit for me on method, temperatures, or anything else ? Thanks !

 

 

[liuzhou]

46 minutes ago, sartoric said:

 

They look delicious. Do you forage them, or buy them fresh and shred yourself ? 

I think we can buy boxes of "grow your own" shiitakes here. I guess they would be tame, rather than wild. 

Could you elaborate a bit for me on method, temperatures, or anything else ? Thanks !

 

 

 

They grow in the nearby mountains and are sold in a  local market. I have been buying from the same woman for about twenty years. Usually, she dries them herself, but this time she ordered me to have a go! So I got them fresh.

 

They aren't shredded, although some have broken. There is nothing particularly methodical or scientific about the process. The whole mushrooms are just lying out in the sunshine. It is around 24-27ºC here now. I take them in at night, when it can get a bit damp. In all, it takes about a week to fully dry them.

 

Edited April 1, 2016 by liuzhou (log)

[sartoric]

Thank you. I think I'll give the box a try.

Good to take them inside, I left a tray of birds eye chillies out one night, of course it rained.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

On ‎3‎/‎12‎/‎2016 at 7:26 PM, kayb said:

How wonderful it must be to have olive trees and be able to brine your own!

 

 

A friend's Moroccan mother in law has her own hereditary olive grove.  Or oliveyard as I think is more correct in English.

[sartoric]

My husband is of Italian descent, that's why we planted the olives. Funny though, where I grew up about 3000 kms south of here, there were wild olive trees everywhere. I remember in the 60's when it was harvest time, Italian or perhaps Greek  people would turn up and collect them.  They'd lay a sheet under the tree, then whack the living day lights out of it. Pick up sheet, done !

[liuzhou]

1 hour ago, sartoric said:

Thank you. I think I'll give the box a try.

Good to take them inside, I left a tray of birds eye chillies out one night, of course it rained.

 

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.

 

[shain]

Vinegar pickled cauliflower, two ways.

First is with sliced beets (baked yesterday), onion, garlic, caraway, mustard seeds, black pepper.

Second is with carrot, lemon slices, chili pepper, paprika, turmeric, all spice, cumin, black pepper.

 

Images are last year's batch.

[blue_dolphin]

Lemon-rosemary marmalade, made in the Instant Pot and on the left, a batch of salted, preserved lemons with about 3 more weeks to go before they are ready:

 

The lemons were a gift from a friend and are a variety called "Pink Lemonade" that has variegated leaves and light pink flesh but is otherwise like an ordinary normal Eureka lemon.

 

[scubadoo97]

7 hours ago, shain said:

Vinegar pickled cauliflower, two ways.

First is with sliced beets (baked yesterday), onion, garlic, caraway, mustard seeds, black pepper.

Second is with carrot, lemon slices, chili pepper, paprika, turmeric, all spice, cumin, black pepper.

 

Images are last year's batch.

Pickled cauliflower. Something I would find in our fridge as a kid.  I don't make it often enough 

[Shelby]

Beautiful, BlueDolphin!

 

I had a huge craving for pickled beets ( I'm also addicted to brussels sprouts right now...I must be missing a vitamin or something lol ) so I bought some and finished off the jar quite quickly.  Re-purposed the brine into some pickled eggs.

 

[Shelby]

double post

Edited April 3, 2016 by Shelby
sorry, double posted (log)

[Tere]

blue_dolphin, are you using this recipe?

 

http://www.hippressurecooking.com/make-a-super-fast-lemon-marmalade-under-pressure/

 

My local pub does such excellent marmalade I've not been tempted but might be useful to file mentally

[blue_dolphin]

40 minutes ago, Tere said:

blue_dolphin, are you using this recipe?

 

http://www.hippressurecooking.com/make-a-super-fast-lemon-marmalade-under-pressure/

 

My local pub does such excellent marmalade I've not been tempted but might be useful to file mentally

 

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.