Preserving our gluts!

[ethelb]

Will anyone join me for a preserving thread? I made two jars of these at the weekend: www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-dill-pickles-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-193350

And one of this: www.myhumblekitchen.com/2013/07/a-simple-recipe-for-homemade-natural-fermented-pickles/

They look fermented.

I'm just waiting for my tomatoes to ripen to can some salsa (maybe green tomato salsa if they don't) and my patty pan squash to hurry up so I can make piccalilli.

I alsready have lots and lots of rubbish strawberry jam. I think I didn't disolve teh sugar properly.

Is anyone else making anything?

[CogitoErgoSometimes]

I've got several lbs each of apricots, strawberries and plums to turn into jam over the next few days. Trying to keep it simple.

[feetheart]

Oooo excellent, a preserving thread.
Picked about 20lbs of wild plums at the weekend (we got a little carried away as usual )
I now have 7 jars of yellow plum jam, 13 jars of red/black plum jam (some in little jars to give away) and 3 jars of spicy plum sauce.

Seem to be on a bit of a roll so will try and use up what is left in the freezer from last autumn before filling it up again - generic hedgerow jelly is a BIG favourite in this house :)

[SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius]

Cogito - my mum used to make a lot of jam, and one year, when we had a glut of strawberries, she decided she really didn't want to have to slave over a hot stove, in the heat of summer, making jam, so she froze the strawberries, and made the jam in the autumn - and she found it set much better than when she made it with fresh berries.

[4merlyknownasSHD]

Apricots in Brandy, in big Kilner Jars.....delicious. I did this a couple of years ago. Don't use expensive 5* cognac, Spanish brandy perfectly OK to use.

[feetheart]

Oh yes, I made a big thing of plum vodka too - how could I forget :)

[gaggiagirl]

i made this

[gaggiagirl]

I also pickled beetroot but don't have any jars left to cope with the rest.

[ethelb]

That tom chutney looks ace. Im planning on canning salsa when my toms finally decide to turn red and Im going to make pickled green toms if they dont!

[13greentomatoes]

gaggiagirl, daft question, but how do you pickle beetroot? I harvested 7 beetroot yesterday, roasted them and put them in the fridge.

Probably will use those for cooking the next few days, but I am planning on sowing more beetroot just to preserve/pickle.

Where do you all get your jars and stuff from?

[4merlyknownasSHD]

13green, if you are anywhere near Birmingham, my DW would love me to get rid of a lot of jars!

[13greentomatoes]

4morley, I live in the bottom of the Pennines in the NW, so could be difficult travelwise, but thanks anyway

[IScreamForIceCream]

For jars, the cheapest way to get 'new ones' (not in massive massive bulk) is unfortunately to buy value jam etc and chuck away the contents. I think that Tesco value lemon curd is cheapest for a 1lb ish jar @ 22p, and the mint sauce for a smaller jar.

I have loads of cucamelons, so may try pickling them I think.
And chillis for chilli jam, with more to come for... more chilli jam.

[13greentomatoes]

cheers Iscream, will go down that line. I love lemon curd and stuff, plus I'll keep an eye out on the jars we are currently using

[gaggiagirl]

13green I use asda jars 3 for 3 quid they look fancy!

To pickle beetroot:

Boil whole until tender
Peel
Slice or dice. Up to you
Put in jar
Pour over malt or red wine vinegar that has been bought to the boil.

you can add a little salt sugar or mixed spice to the vinegar and make sure the beets are fully submerged in the vinegar.

So easy and so yummy I hope you try it.

[gaggiagirl]

13green I use asda jars 3 for 3 quid they look fancy!

To pickle beetroot:

Boil whole until tender
Peel
Slice or dice. Up to you
Put in jar
Pour over malt or red wine vinegar that has been bought to the boil.

you can add a little salt sugar or mixed spice to the vinegar and make sure the beets are fully submerged in the vinegar.

So easy and so yummy I hope you try it.

[JamNan]

Sweet and sour courgettes
delish with burger in a bun or ham sarnie with mayo
Makes 1 x 500ml jar or 2 x 250ml jars, last about 2 months (store in the fridge)

500 g Courgettes
1 medium red onion
2 tbsp salt

For the brine
400 ml white wine or cider vinegar
200 g white sugar
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp red chilli flakes - add more if you like it hot
1tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp *dry roasted coriander seeds

1. Trim the ends then slice the courgettes into 1/2cm coins. Peel and slice the red onion into thin rings Layer in a bowl and sprinkling with salt as you go Cover and place in the fridge for about an hour or cover with ice for the same time. Keeping them cold helps to keep the courgettes firm.
   
   
2. In the meantime, place all the sweet brine ingredients into a (non-reactive) saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn heat down and simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and let the brine cool to room temperature. Layer the courgettes and onions (do not rinse off the salt) into a sterilised jar, pour over the sweet brine, cover and refrigerate. Ready after a 24 hour steep and still tastes delicious 6 weeks later.
   
   *To dry roast seeds like cumin and coriander, pop them into a non-stick pan on medium high heat for about 5-8 minutes, stirring or shaking the pan from time to time to ensure that all sides are being roasted. You can smell them as they begin to toast - but do keep as eye on them as they can burn easily. I usually do a small jar full at a time as they keep for a long time. Dry roasting really intensifies the flavour and adds more depth to the finished dish.

[JamNan]

Jamie's piccalilli
Makes 5 x 450g jars

Ingredients
½ large cauliflower, cut into small florets
1 head broccoli, cut into small florets
2 bulbs fennel, cut into small chuks
4 red chillies, seeds still in, finely sliced
2 green chillies, seeds still in, finely sliced
200 g fine green beans, chopped into short lengths
150 g runner beans, cut into short lengths
300 g shallots, cut into eighths
1 red onion, roughly chopped
2 handfuls fine sea salt
2 tablespoons mustard oil
2 heaped tablespoons mustard seeds
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons turmeric
1 nutmeg, grated
2 tablespoons English mustard powder
4 tablespoons flour
500 ml white wine vinegar
2 apples, grated
2 mangoes, peeled, stoned and roughly chopped*
6 tablespoons sugar
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons dried oregano
4 bay leaves

Method
Put all the vegetables in a bowl, add the salt and enough water to cover. Leave in a cool place for about 1 hour.

Heat a saucepan big enough to hold all the vegetables. Add the mustard oil to the pan, then fry the mustard seeds, cumin, turmeric and nutmeg for a moment. Lower the heat, add the mustard powder, flour and a splash of vinegar. Stir well to make a thick paste. Gradually add the remaining vinegar and 100ml water, stirring all the time to make a smooth paste. Add the apples, mangoes, sugar, garlic, oregano and bay leaves. Cook for 2–3 minutes.

Drain the salted vegetables and add them to the pan, stirring well to coat with the spicy paste. Cook for 10–15 minutes until the vegetables have just softened and started to release some juice. Spoon into sterilized jars (see the how to video www.jamieoliver.com/videos/how-to-sterilise-jars) and close the lids tightly.

• I have never used mangoes in piccalilli but mango chutney is nice.

[gaggiagirl]

jam I have courgettes! They are going to get this treatment. Great recipe thank you.

[JamNan]

Nigella's courgette fritters are very nice too.
recipe here

[13greentomatoes]

Thanks gaggiagirl, that does sound easy enough

[13greentomatoes]

I've got loads of green tomatoes (hopefully they'll ripen), but if not, I like the idea of green tomato salsa.

I'm extremely new to this, the pickled beetroot recipe gaggiagirl mentioned will be the first time I've pickled ANYTHING. In fact, this is the first year I've grown veg.

Can anybody recommend any beginner/easy-to-follow preserve/conserve/chutney books at all?

I have ordered strawberry seeds and will be sowing my blueberry seeds later in the year.

Would be a shame to waste what I've grown/am growing....

[Bonbonbonbon]

I pickled asparagus a few weeks ago, they're already gone! Just finished pickling some sugar snap peas and green beans tonight. Ethel, have you considered pickled green tomatoes? My favorite!

[ColdCottage]

To use up the lemon curd look up raspberry and lemon curd cake - amazing!

[feetheart]

River Cottage Preserves is my bible - small, compact and full of easy-to-read, useful information, good basic recipes and some unusual ones.

I don't really grow stuff but we forage a lot, mainly for fruit. If anyone is close to Bedfordshire there are plenty of wild plums ready for picking in Priory Country Park right now - we got 20lbs last w/e

[victoryinthekitchen]

does anybody know if courgette soup freezes ok? We're getting a bit tired of eating it just now :)