Holiday giving is near and this year I am trying something new. A Beta test of sorts.
Archive - Canning and Preserving
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A month or so ago I came across a book that had a recipe for Salt Cured Peppers. I was intrigued at the idea of an option other than pickling or drying, so I decided to give it a go. The result was amazing! The flavor of the pepper is well preserved along with the heat. In fact, I find it very much like eating them fresh. Well, with a salty bite on the tongue.
Salt Cured Chili Peppers
A month or so ago I came across a book that had a recipe for Salt Cured Peppers. I was intrigued at the idea of an option other than pickling or drying, so I decided to give it a go. The result was amazing! The flavor of the pepper is well preserved along with the heat. In fact, I find it very much like eating them fresh. Well, with a salty bite on the tongue.
The great thing about these peppers is that you can save them a year or more and when you find yourself needing to make a salsa in February or wanting a touch of hot pepper oil you need to only chop them or puree them with the accompanying ingredients to fulfill the needs of your recipe. No more store bought peppers for you!
The process is easy. You need only cut your peppers into 1/2 inch segments, salt them and then cover and refrigerate them for 5 days, stirring them once each day. At the end of five days you bottle them in one or two quart jars and you are on your way.
| Salt Cured Chili Peppers |
Recipe type: Condiment
Prep time: 10 mins
Total time: 10 mins
Use these peppers anywhere you would typically use hot chilies.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds fresh hot peppers
- 1/2 cup salt
Instructions
- Wash, dry and chop the peppers into 1/2 inch segments.
- Put them in a ceramic or non reactive bowl and pour the salt over the peppers. Mix the salt throughout the peppers, and let them sit at room temperature for at least 24 hours cover and refrigerate.
- After placing them in the fridge you will need to stir them once each day for 5 days, skim off any scum that may form at the top.
- After 5 days have passed, Pack them in a jar and keep in the fridge for a year or more. Every time you need peppers your supply is at hand.
Easy Rhubarb Jam
| Rhubarb Jam |
Recipe type: Jams/Jellies
Author:
Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 65 mins
Total time: 1 hour 25 mins
Rhubarb Jam is hard to find. While so many love it, it is also disliked by an equal number (perhaps more) and that makes it a rare find. When you can find it, it is often used with strawberries in pies and jam and it is rarely allowed to stand alone and at it’s singular best. That being the case, I have to make it myself if I want just the glorious taste of rhubarb. Enjoy the recipe below.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pounds fresh rhubarb, chopped
- 2 cups white sugar
- 2 teaspoons grated orange zest
- 1/3 cup orange juice
- 1/2 cup water
Instructions
- In a saucepan, combine the rhubarb, sugar, orange zest, orange juice and water. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium-low heat for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until thick. It will thicken more as it cools. You can test for doneness by placing a small dollop of the jam on a plate you have chilled in your freezer. Place the jam on the plate and into the freezer for 2 minutes. If you can draw your finger through it bunches up, then it is ready for canning.
- Ladle into hot sterile jars adding 1 tbs of lemon Juice per pint, and seal with lids and rings in a water bath or pressure canner using directions for your altitude. For quick use it can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
Tomatoes everywhere. Time to can some tomato sauce.
So, last weekend I got the bug to go pick tomatoes at one of our local U-Pick Farms. It was Day Farms up in Layton. It is a great place and just a short drive from SLC.
It really was a beautiful Day. Not too hot and not too cool. Just right for the back breaking job of tomato and pepper gathering.
So I sent the laborer off into the fields…
And we came home with this!
And a case of peaches and a case of peppers and a bag of zucchini and a bunch of corn. Day Farms is a great place!
Two days later I was canning tomato sauce and tomato paste.
It took all day but I did end up with 10 quarts and 9 pints of sauce and 11 4oz jars of Tomato paste. Today I am working on more sauce. Should get another 10 pints or so.
The process is pretty easy so check out the photos below and have fun.
First you roughly chop up about 12 pounds of tomatoes and put skins, seeds and all into a large pot to simmer. (I leave the skins and seeds on to add depth and flavor) You will also notice chopped garlic in that photo. I added one clove per 12 lb batch for added depth as well. No salt. I’ll do that when I cook.
You should have a pot like this.
Notice the super cool Portable Induction Cooktop
Once you get it warmed up and simmering you can mash it a bit with a masher.
Simmer some more (1/2 hour I guess) and then dump it into your food processor to puree the whole lot of it. Better yet, if you have an Immersion Blender
Then you simmer some more (1/2 hour I guess).
And then ladle it into a Food Mill
Then return it to the pot to simmer some more. You want to go from about 7 quarts to about 5 quarts of sauce. Then bottle your sauce in quart or pint jars and process it in your pressure canner per the directions as they are laid out for your region and altitude. In my case it was 13 lbs of pressure for 25 minutes.
When you are done ( in my case I did it four times), you will end up with this…
Want to make tomato paste? Then roast your tomatoes in a 450 degree oven for about 1/2 an hour – 45 minutes. Then follow the steps above and simmer to a lovely thick paste.
Fall Means Busy Time.
It was a long day of canning tomatoes and preparing some garden beds for Fall crops yesterday. Today the Fall/Spring lettuce and spinach crops are now planted and I have enough tomatoes put up to feed our family for the winter. Tomorrow I should get the carrots, radishes and chard in. I am going to miss Summer, but I love fall as well.
I’ll leave you with a photos of the Tomato jars I filled yesterday and watch the blog for a full post on how we canned them.
