Sweetie Pie

Vanilla Pears

We had an afternoon and one day off for fall break.  It was odd to realize that what I most wanted to do with that extra free time was to peel, chop, cook and can pears.  A friend offered an abundance, and when someone offers free produce, I always accept it.  Pears can sit around for a while without going bad, so I was able to leave them until I had time to work with them.  I peeled hard little pears until my hands cramped.

Pears seem to be nostalgic for many people over the age of about 60.  I say this because I don't know anyone younger who really likes pears.  However, I know at least 5 older people who LOVE pears.  I am personally working to change this and am proud to report that my eight year old son didn't just like these pears, he LOVED them! 

The pear tree is easy to grow, requiring little to no maintenance, and no spraying.  These trees grow tall and last for generations.  They fruit prolifically.  They are versatile and preserve really well.  Even after they are cooked and canned, they have a wonderful succulent texture.  Pears taste great with all kinds of seasonings from vanilla to cinnamon, ginger and cloves.  No wonder our grandparents ate them a lot and remember them fondly.  These were cooked in a light syrup with a whole vanilla bean and then canned to give away at Christmas.

Vanilla Pears in Light Syrup

Peel and chop as many pears as you can.

Make a light syrup in a large heavy pan with 2 1/4 cups sugar and 5 1/2 cups water.  Bring to low boil, add one whole vanilla bean and all the pears you can fit.  Put the lid on and let them cook while you prepare the water bath and jars for canning.

Sterilize the jars in boiling water.  Using a funnel, fill each jar with pears.  Press them down and remove air bubbles with a spoon and add more if they will fit.  Ladle the hot syrup over the pears to cover them, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.  Wipe the rims with a hot cloth to remove any spilled syrup and fit with fresh lids and rings.  Process in boiling water for 20 minutes.  Remove jars to cool.  After 24 hours, remove the rings, label and date.  If any jars did not seal, store in the refrigerator.

Any pears that are left over after you've filled your jars are to be enjoyed right away with your family or kept in the fridge for tomorrow.  They make a light and yummy dessert.

 

Tangelo Marmalade

Welcome to a new year and new possibilities.  We suffered through a traditional southern New Years Day meal of black eyed peas, rice, greens and cornbread.  I'm sorry to say that I still don't like greens (sorry Mom).  I've had a series of false starts and missteps in the kitchen so far this year.  Despite some dubious attempts at new recipes I am undaunted because as Albert Einstein said, "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new."  

Along with our dinners of partially burned steaks, greasy pork and other disappointing dishes, we've been enjoying the most wonderful, juicy and sweet tangelos.  This citrus fruit is a hybrid of tangerines and either grapefruits or pomelos.  There are several different varieties, but all are known for their juiciness and mild sweet taste.  Knowing that citrus season won't last much longer, and thinking about all that juice, and because these are organic tangelos, it only made sense to try my luck at some marmalade. 
It's important to use organic fruit when you're making marmalade because you will be using the whole fruit, peel and all.  Last January I took my first step into the world of preserving and canning with Meyer Lemon Marmalade and enjoyed the bright taste of lemon for months after.  Citrus fruits become ripe in the wintertime, so this is when you can find great deals on beautiful fresh and organic lemons, limes, oranges and other varieties.  With my experience making marmalade last year, and lots more canning practice, I just knew this project would be a success.  The process is simple,  all you need is citrus fruit, water, sugar and time.

The first step is to thoroughly wash all the fruit and slice it as thinly as possible.  I find it's easiest to cut each piece in half and remove the seeds and pith first, then use a mandoline for fine slicing.  Save the seeds, and try to keep all the juice.  The next step is to soak the fruit in water over night.  This helps to soften the rinds.  Some recipes instruct you to tie up the seeds in some cheesecloth and let them soak too.  The seeds contain pectin which will help the marmalade to 'jell'. 

Most recipes call for a lemon too so I threw one in.  The next day you're all ready to make that marmalade.  First, the fruit and water boil until the peels are teeth tender.  Then the sugar (lots of sugar) is added and it's all boiled until it reaches the mysterious 'jelling point'.  This is a few degrees higher than the boiling point of water, and can be tested in many ways.  Apparently, I have not completely mastered these methods of watching and testing because my first batch turned out to be something more of a very thick syrup than a jammy consistency.  In my eagerness to avoid overcooking the marmalade like I did last year, I was too quick to pull the pot off the heat.  I'm guessing that it only needed another minute or two for perfection.  My second batch I think I got it right.

A good marmalade should have yummy peels suspended in a golden, wobbly jelly.  If you cook it too long, it will become very thick and candy like.  If you don't cook it quite long enough, it will be syrupy.  I had to divide this recipe in half and cook it in two batches because I don't have a saucepan big enough to accommodate the large quantity.  I guess the only way to find that balance between too thin and too thick is to practice.  After the two batches that were too thick last year, and the first that was too thin this year, I think the final jars this year are just right.  The good news is that every single batch is absolutely scrumptious.

Tangelo Marmalade

recipe modified from the Ball Blue Book guide to preserving 

7 1/2 cups very thinly sliced tangelos;  I used one 3lb bag

1 lemon sliced thin

seeds tied in a cheesecloth

1 1/2 quarts water ( that's 6 cups)

sugar; about 10 cups

Day One:

Wash and slice all the fruit and collect the seeds.

Combine all ingredients except sugar in a large pot and bring to a simmer for about 5 minutes.  Cover and let stand in a cool place for 12 -24 hours.  This can be left for 2 to 3 days according to some sources. 

Day Two

Put the pot of fruit and water back on the stove and boil until the peel is tender. 

Now, measure the fruit/water combination again.  You'll nee another large bowl or pot to transfer everything into while you're measuring.  Measure about 1 cup of sugar for each cup of fruit/water mixture.  Now mix it all up and place everything back on the heat.  Bring to a full boil and cook, stirring constantly until the jelling point is reached. Remove from heat and ladle into hot jars.

If you divide this recipe and make a small batch, you can simply ladle the marmalade into clean jars and store it in the refrigerator.  If you're making the full recipe, you'll probably want to can it.  To do this, you'll need to ladle it into hot, sanitized jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace.  Close with new lids and screw on the rings, then place in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes at a full boil.  Remove from the water and let stand undisturbed for 24 hours.  You will hear the lids pop quietly as they seal.  If any do not seal, store in the refrigerator.

 

Yes I can.

I learned to can this year.  My mom helped me get started when we made Meyer Lemon Marmalade this winter.  I did not document all this jamming and canning here on the blog because the process is the same no matter what fruit you're using, but described it in more detail here.                  

We eat a lot of jam around here and since I learned to make it myself we have been eating even more.  Jam for breakfast on toast, peanut butter and jam sandwiches, jam with cream cheese, jam cookies, almond butter and jam sandwiches, greek yogurt with jam ... fresh and fruity jam makes everything better.  Even with all this sweet eating, my husband reports that we've been eating 'just the right amount of jam.'

I started with strawberries and jammed through the spring and summer with the fruits that came into season.  Here's the rundown and review of my progress. 

Strawberry jam:  Three batches with some plain,  some with vanilla bean and some with mint.  Of all the jams I've made this summer, I think strawberry vanilla is my favorite. 

Blueberry jam:  One large batch with the zest and juice of a lime.  This was the easiest fruit to work with because it's easy to rinse the berries off and they don't have to be peeled or pitted or cut up.  Blueberries also have a lot of natural pectin so they're easy to make into jam.

Cherry Vanilla jam:  I thought about calling this one 'Cherry Vanilla Love Jam' because pitting all those cherries was a labor of love that left my fingers and nails stained for days.  It's a really pretty deep crimson red jam. 

Tomato jam:  I had been eagerly awaiting tomato season since I read about this recipe last winter.  It's a sweet and sour jam with the subtle flavors of ginger spices in the background.  If I make it again I'll look for a recipe with less sugar because this jam is a little too ketchupy for my taste.  However, it is outstandingly good on a vegetarian sandwich and I'm sure it would be great on a burger as well.

Peach jam:  I used the leftover vanilla pod from the cherry jam and a little bit of ginger to make the first small batch of peach jam.  It's was such a huge hit that I knew I needed to make a second batch. I used grated fresh ginger this time and another vanilla pod for an awesome zing and mellowness. 

Pear Vanilla jam:  I used a different pectin in this batch with very little sugar and some white grape juice for sweetness.  The result is slightly tangy and speckled with those lovely little vanilla beans. 

I also canned a huge batch of gardiniera, or Italian vegetable pickles.  I discovered vegetable pickles and thought maybe I'd start eating all my veggies pickled from now on. So I learned to make and can them.     

Last but not least, Pear Chutney for my hubby.  This is a sweet and sour condiment made with pears, onion, peppers, cranberries and lots of spices.  My man loves it on black eyed peas.  I've never seen him wolf down any vegetable so fast as those peas with a generous scoop of pear chutney over them.   

After a summer of canning and experimenting, I cleaned up my kitchen, put away the big canning pot, and hung my apron until next time.

 

 

Perky Pickles

 
Here are two easy pickle recipes for beginners.  I am new to making pickles, but am quickly developing a pickle problem.  I've made four batches of pickles this week and only stopped because I ran out of jars.  When it's so hot and humid outside that you get sticky with sweat just sitting in the shade, nothing is better than a crunchy, tart and salty pickle.  These two recipes are for refrigerator pickles, so there's no canning involved.  Just assemble the ingredients and enjoy.
I grew cucumbers and fresh dill in my garden.  I think the intense flavor of the dill straight from the summer sunshine makes this simple recipe shine.  All you need is cucumbers, dill, garlic, vinegar, and salt.  Yum.  Vinegar and salt.

Refrigerator Dill Pickles

3/4 cup apple cider vinegar or white distilled vinegar

2 cups water

1 0r 2 cloves garlic

fresh dill or dried dill and seeds

1 tablespoon salt (kosher or pickling salt only)

cracked black pepper

cucumbers - cut into spears, slices, or whole if they are very small (If you buy your cukes at the grocery store, look for UNwaxed.)

Clean and dry 2 glass pint jars or one large quart jar.  You can reuse any glass jar for these recipes since they are refrigerator pickles and don't need to be canned or sealed.  When you're cutting up the cucumbers, cut off the blossom end (one end has the stem, the other usually smaller end is where the flower used to be - the blossom end) because it has an enzyme that can cause limp pickles - yuck!  Put as many cucumbers as you can into the jar(s) along with a clove or two of garlic, some dill and cracked pepper.  You can vary the amount of garlic, dill, and pepper according to your taste.  Place the vinegar and salt in a saucepan and heat to a boil.  Spoon the hot brine over the veggies until the jar is full and the cucumbers are submerged.  Put the lids on and let the pickles cool to room temperature.  Move them to the refrigerator and enjoy after 24 hours.  The inspiration for this recipe came from Urban Preserving.

These pickles crunch and snap with each mouthwatering bite. 

The next recipe is both sweet and sour and comes directly from the White On Rice Couple blog.  They have lots of fantastic recipes so you should click through and see for yourself.   For this recipe you'll need some fresh ginger, sugar, fennel seeds, and of course the vegetables you want to pickle.  Although cucumbers are by far the most common vegetable to be brined, you can pickle just about anything.  This recipe recommends using snap peas or asparagus, but I didn't have any so I used the veggies I had left over from another recipe (yes, another pickle recipe). 

Quick Ginger Pickles

1 clean pint jar or 2 jelly jars

1/3 cup white distilled vinegar

1/2 cup water

zest and juice of 1 lemon

3 or 4 sprigs fresh tarragon or dill

2 Tablespoons sugar

A 1 inch piece of fresh ginger, julienned (cut into very thin matchsticks)

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 teaspoon dill seeds ( I didn't have any, so I added extra fresh dill.)

1 teaspoon salt - use kosher or pickling salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper

pinch red pepper flakes

1/2 pound snap peas, asparagus, cucumbers, or other vegetables

1/2 medium red onion thinly sliced

Combine everything except the veggies and mix well to dissolve the salt and sugar.  I heated the mixture just a bit to get it to dissolve.  Now, scoop out the solids (lemon zest, seeds, dill...) and divide it evenly between your jars.  Next, put your vegetables into the jars and press down a little.  Pour the brine over it all and refrigerate.  Viola!  A lovely sweet and sour and most importantly, very gingery pickle. 

Preserving Spring

I made strawberry jam this week.  I picked the berries, found the recipe and jammed 'em up all by myself.  This was my first foray into home canning without the supervision of my mother.  Joining in the long tradition of preserving the flavors of the seasons I felt my mom, grandmothers and great grandmothers smiling on me.

If you're looking for a recipe, look no further than the inside of a box of Sure Jell.  This is a pectin product produced by Kraft that allows for shorter cooking time. The website provided this interesting information about the history and uses of pectin:

Pectin was originally discovered in 1825, by a French chemist named Henri Braconnot.

It is a natural carbohydrate extracted from the inner peel of many fruits. The amount of pectin varies in different fruits, in varieties of fruit, from season to season, and in progressive stages of ripeness. More pectin is present in fruit before it is fully ripe.

Pectin functions to thicken and gel jams, jellies, relishes, butters, conserves and marmalades.  Commercial pectin is used to enhance the level of naturally occurring pectin in fruit, enabling  jams and jellies to "set" after shorter cooking time; it provides higher recipe yield and more true fruit flavor than previous, long-boiled method.

If you choose not to buy pectin, just plan to spend a lot more time boiling the fruit while waiting for it to jell.  Many no added pectin recipes also call for the addition of some lemon.

I bought the Sure Jell for less sugar recipes in the pink box.  Six cups of chopped strawberries and 4 cups of sugar yielded a dozen cute little jars of sweet spring strawberry jam.  I also added the zest and juice of one lemon, which gave it a nice little zing.

Not able to leave well enough alone, I did some experimenting with added flavors.  I made 4 jars of plain strawberry, I added a sprig of fresh mint to 4 jars, and I stirred the seeds from half a vanilla bean into the remaining jam.  The whole process was not only easy and quick, but very satisfying.  Everything was canned and cleaned up in about 45 minutes.  I still haven't put all the jars away on a shelf because it's so nice to see them all lined up on the counter top.

We had a taste testing at breakfast yesterday.  We liked all three flavors.  The mint is refreshing, the vanilla is subtle and feels rich, and of course there's nothing wrong with plain home made strawberry jam. 

Meyer Lemon Marmalade

Meyer lemons taste like sunshine on a bleak winter day.  I just want to bottle it up, put on a shelf and save it so that I can open and enjoy it any time.  But how?

Marmalade.   The word alone brings happy things to mind:  Paddington Bear, Seville oranges, sweet breakfast treats, and CITRUS. 

I MUST make Meyer Lemon Marmalade.  But do I dare?  I have limited jam making and canning experience and even less appropriate equipment.  It looks so simple, and it would be the perfect way to both use and save my beautiful lemons.

I have two living grandmothers in their eighties, maybe they would have some words of wisdom.  They used to come up to our house and help my mom with the summer vegetable canning.  No one seemed to enjoy this activity, especially on a sweltering summer morning before our family got air conditioning.  They were however very efficient, well equipped and knowledgeable and our pantry was stocked with tomatoes and green beans year round.  Surely I could make a simple marmalade under their supervision. 

My mom and grands were happy to help, but it turns out that none had made marmalade of any kind before.  They have made plenty of blueberry and blackberry jelly, but always used a product called surejell.  This makes the process go very quickly, and they sealed the jars with wax instead of canning them in a water bath.  So they were really just there to keep me company.  This was a good thing because after two hours over a stove with little progress, you need someone to talk to. Let me explain.  I'm not going to provide the recipe in detail because you can just follow this link to One Green Generation where I got it.  These instructions are simple, clear and easy to follow.  The only ingredients for this recipe are lemons, sugar and water.  It calls for 2 1/2 pounds meyer lemons, which I found to be somewhere between 10-13 lemons depending on their size. You will also need some jelly jars, lids, pots for boiling, and time.  What this recipe didn't tell me was that I would be stirring lemons for hours while waiting for them to 'jell'. 

Here's what I learned.  First of all, you need a HOT stovetop and gas is probably best.  We made the first batch at Grandmommy's house on her flat top stove and it took over two hours for the lemons to reduce and turn to jelly.  That's a long time, plus waiting for them to boil before even adding the sugar.  If I had known, I would have brought a book.  Secondly, it's not necessary to use a candy thermometer.  I used one for this first batch and nearly cooked the marmalade into pure candy because it never reached the proper temperature.  Just look for the signs, and maybe drip a drop onto the counter and see if it looks like jelly when it cools. 

The second batch was made at my mom's house on a gas range and it went much more smoothly and quickly.  If you have children I would recommend that you do this at your mother's house so she can entertain them, or just wait until they're in bed because it will take over an hour and you wouldn't want it to scorch while you're tending to the kids. 
When the lemons jell, they will turn into a thick frothy boil.  You can turn the heat off, take the sanitized jars out of their bath and fill them up.  Once the lids are on, put them back into the boiling water to seal.  When you pull them out, you'll hear them pop quietly as they form a vacuum seal. 

The first batch yield was 6 half pint jars and the second batch produced 7.  Both batches are very very thick, but the first is darker and more condensed in flavor and texture.  If you think this seems like a lot of work for a bakers dozen jelly jars, it's only because you haven't tasted it.  Pure lemon, a clean citrus taste and texture that leaves the mouth feeling happy.  It's pretty sweet, so I like to eat it on something plain like toast, but my favorite way to enjoy this marmalade is with a spoon, straight from the jar.  (Did I mention that I love lemons?)

 

Preserved Lemons

If I told you I just bought 45 lemons would you think I'd lost my mind? 

Well, I'm not crazy.  I just know a good deal when I see one.  It is completely irrelevant that I already had a bag of regular lemons in the refrigerator.  These lemons are special for two reasons.  They are Meyer lemons, and they are organic.  Meyer lemons are sweeter than the ordinary ones, and their skins are a little thinner.  They have a particular floral fragrance to their zest which is wonderful.  It's important that these are organic because I plan to eat them rind and all! 

I wish I could say I first learned about preserved lemons in Morrocco, but that would be stretching the truth since I have almost no idea what I ate there.  The truth is that I read a good book full of recipes and asked my husband to pick one to try.  Of course he picked the one with an impossible to find ingredient.   I couln't find them anywhere but was determined to do it correctly if I was going to make the dish.  So I looked everywhere from the grocery store to specialty stores and small markets.  Not only did no one have them but they all looked at me like I was insane, especially when I explained that it's sort of like a pickled lemon.  Most shopkeepers tried to sell me marmalade, which obviously I didn't want or else I would have asked for marmalade.

Finally, I stopped into a farm stand and discovered a small store as well.  The owner is from Egypt I believe, and he was delighted when I described what I was looking for.  He said he likes to eat these lemons plain on toast.  I was skeptical but bought his only jar and used them to make the recipe (Chicken Tagine with two kinds of Lemon).  It was outstandingly good.  I'll make it again and write about it another day.  However, that was probably a year ago at least, and the last time I checked those lemons smelled a little like Lysol so I'm not sure I want to cook with them any more. 

Skip to today and this blog and the lemon bonanza I'm enjoying, and here I am making my own preserved lemons.  If this turns out I'll always keep some on hand because it could hardly be easier.  This recipe works perfectly well with regular lemons, but I'm using Meyers because that's what I have.  All you need is a clean glass jar with a lid, kosher or sea salt, and lemons.  Don't use regular table salt because it will give a chemical taste to your lovely lemons.

Wash the lemons and cut off any woody stem that might be still attatched.  Sterilize the jar just to be safe - I boiled mine while I was working on the lemons.  Now cut the lemons on one end in an X shape, stopping about an inch from the other end.  So you're quartering the lemons but leaving them intact.  Pack each lemon with salt and don't be skimpy.  You'll need a tablespoon or more per lemon.  Put the lemons in your clean jar along with any spices you want.  Some common suggestions are coriander seeds, chili, cinamon, and bay.  I used some bay leaves because I want my preserved lemons to be versatile and bay leaves are pretty in the jar.

Press the lemons down into the jar and pack in as many as you want.  Cover and let these stand 24 hours.  I watched in fascination as the level of juice slowly rose even on the first day.    The next day, open the jar and press down on the lemons.  Do the same thing for 2 or 3 days until they are completely submerged in their own juices.  If you need to add fresh lemon juice to accomplish this that's okay.  You can see in the pictures how the lemons squish down more and more each day.  I squeezed an extra lemon over it on day 3 just to make sure they're covered.  Leave this sitting out for a month.  The lemons will turn soft and they are ready to use.  Store them in the refrigerator for six months to a year.  I wonder if all that space at the top of my jar is a problem.  I guess I'll find out.

I got these instructions here.  I'll post some recipes using preserved lemons once mine have cured.  In the meantime, for more information and recipes, look here.  You may be wondering what I'm going to do with the rest of the lemons.  I'm sure your really concerned that I don't let them go to waste!  Never fear for I have a plan, stay tuned.