Doris and Jilly Cook » canvolution

Beets for Everyone!

dorisandjilly — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 21:57:43 +0000

Beets! They’re beautiful! They’re delicious! They’re in season! And they’re red!

It’s been a veritable beetfest over here at goat central. We’ve been shredding them, pickling them, and pressure canning them. And, very importantly, teaching other people how to do these things, too. I love a good beet salad in season—one of my favorites follows below—but if you want to eat them in January, you’ve got to think ahead. Hence, the pickles and pressure canning.

Recall that beets are a low-acid food. That means that if you want to can them in a water-bath canner, you’ve got to douse them in acid—that is, pickle them. But if you don’t like pickled foods, you can still preserve them with the help of a handy dandy pressure canner. It’s a bit tricky, but not impossible, to explain this over a blog. I’ve tried to cover the basics in this detailed post on chicken broth. Put the beets into pint jars, cover them with water, and process for 35 minutes at 10 pounds pressure. If this sounds mysterious or scary, though, consider joining me for a “beets two ways” class on Saturday, June 26th, in West Philadelphia. If you want to know what you’re getting into, check out these two great Flickr sets by two adventurous souls who tried it a couple of weeks ago. (That’s me, Doris, in the blue and green flowered apron.)

Details for Beetfest 2! Pickled and Pressure Cooked

When: Saturday, June 26th, 1 PM
Where: Doris’s house in West Philly (details upon registration)
What: Learn to pickle and pressure can beets
Why: Why not?
Cost: $25/person
How to register: Send me an e-mail at dorisandjilly@gmail.com

Beet Salad with Walnuts

Beets
A handful of walnuts
little bits of blue cheese
chopped herbs from the garden
a splash of balsamic vinegar and twice that much olive oil
salt

Cook your beets however you like: boiled, roasted, or, my new favorite, pressure cooked for 10 to 15 minutes (depending on size) at 15 pounds of pressure. Peel and cut into bite-sized pieces. Let cool, then combine with everything else. Devour.

Tangerine Marmalade

dorisandjilly — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:34:18 +0000

Apparently great minds think alike. Yesterday morning I made a big batch of tangerine marmalade, as, apparently, did the folks at Put Up or Shut Up! The ingredients are pretty similar (there are only so many ways to combine tangerines and sugar), but there’s still plenty of variety in the technique. Pros of their version: the use of a microwave speeds things up. Pros of my version: none of this pesky “peeling” business. That’s right: I use rind, pith, and all. I hereby guiltily confess that in all the time I’ve made marmalade, or any preserve involving a whole lemon, it’s never occurred to me to actually peel the thing. I suppose if you were using something very pithy, like a naval orange or a grapefruit, it would be a good idea—but with tangerines, no problem.

This tastes like pure sunshine. A great gift, obviously. The serving suggestions are endless, too: bake in on a ham, put it on bruschetta, or, if you’re feeling fancy, serve it in mugs with clotted cream for afternoon tea.

Tangerine Marmalade

3 pounds tangerines
2 small lemons
1 1/2 c. water
4 1/2 c. sugar

1) Chop the tangerines, peel and all. I do this by hand, so as to remove the seeds. If you’re using a seedless variety, then by all means use the food processor. Repeat with the lemons.

2) Combine the tangerines, the lemons, and the water in a pot. Bring rapidly to a boil; simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover, and let sit 12 to 18 hours.

3) Add the sugar (or more, if you like a sweeter marmalade) and bring rapidly to a boil. Meanwhile, start heating up your boiling water bath in a separate pot. Stir constantly while bringing the mixture almost to the gelling point.

4) Transfer to clean, sterilized jars and screw on two-piece lids. Process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes.

Applesauce vs. Applesauce

dorisandjilly — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:55:57 +0000

Last year, you may recall, I made a lot of applesauce. When I had time, I canned it; when I was lazy, I just stuck it in the freezer. Nine months later, we’ve been eating lots of each. The results?

No contest.

The canned applesacue is sooooo much better than the frozen. It has excellent texture, a great taste, and you don’t have to remember to thaw it. The freezer applesauce is…well…gummy. It’s fine to bake with, but I’d only eat it in a pinch. I suppose it’s possible that all of the gummy apples ended up in the freezer batches, but that seems highly unlikely, no?

If you, too, want to can applesauce, you have some choices. The National Center for Home Food Preservation says 15 minutes for pints and 20 minutes for quarts in a boiling water bath. If you’d rather use a pressure cooker, they recommend 8 minutes for pints, 10 minutes for quarts, both at 5 pounds of pressure. When I’ve done this, I’ve always used 10 pounds of pressure for 0 minutes, which seems to work pretty well, too, but note that you do so at your own risk.

Ignite Philly video

dorisandjilly — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 20:38:45 +0000

…in which I demonstrate everything that you need to know about high-acid food canning, in 5 minutes or less.

IgnitePhilly postmortem

dorisandjilly — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:49:47 +0000

(Thanks to relaxing for the photo, via Flickr.)

IgnitePhilly was awesome! Thanks so much to the crew for inviting me, to all of you who came out to pack the room, and to the other presenters for putting on such a great show. There was so much clamour and din at Johnny Brenda’s that several conversations got cut short, so this post is my attempt to answer your questions. Please drop me a line at dorisandjilly@gmail.com if you have others.

Do you teach classes?

Sure! I can do interactive classes on water-bath canning, pressure canning, and pressure cooking for groups of 6 to 12. If you have more than 12 people, it will be more of a demonstration, but we can talk about it. Just drop me a line (and remember that I’m in Philadelphia).

Where do you get the jars?

Hardware stores. They used to be harder to find, but there’s been so much interest in canning this year that stores are keeping them in stock. If you don’t see them, talk to the manager. You’re asking for “canning jars and lids.” The typical sizes are half-pint (aka, jelly jars), pint, and quart. They also come in regular and wide-mouth styles. If you’re new to canning and plan to use a stock pot for your water bath, regular-mouth pint jars will be the most useful size.

What’s the process, again?

Check out this post on rhubarb compote and this one on canning chicken stock for step-by-step instructions. If you’re interested in the USDA’s safety regulations and the philosophy of canning, check out this entry on the basics of canning tomatoes.

But aren’t canned things all syrupy?

Well, that depends on what you put in the jars, now, doesn’t it?

Fruit’s expensive!

No it’s not. Strategies to save money here.

The Canvolution Goes to Ignite Philly

dorisandjilly — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:57:52 +0000

If you’ve been missing your regular batch of canning instructions and you live in or near Philadelphia, come on out to Johnny Brenda’s tonight for Ignite Philly. Ignite Philly is a super cool event where 16 different speakers get 5 minutes and 20 slides to share their passions. I’ll be there, jar in hand, talking about the Canvolution. Tickets are sold out, but about 100 spots are reserved for walk-ins. Doors at 7, show at 8!

Brandied Pears

dorisandjilly — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 11:55:44 +0000

Like regular canned pears, only drunk.

Brandied Pears

5 pounds ripe, yet firm, pears
Sugar syrup, at your preferred level of sweetness (I like 1 sugar: 2 water)
Several cups brandy

1) Put on a pot for a boiling water bath and sterilize your jars. I used 2 quarts and 2 pints. Life will be easier if you use wide-mouth jars. Heat up appropriate lids to match.

2) Heat up (or make) your simple syrup.

3) Peel and core your pears. Stuff them as tightly as possible into the jars, cut-side down. Pour 1 c. brandy into each of the quart jars and 1/2 c. brandy into each of the pint jars. Top them off with syrup. Run a spatula or knife around the edges to remove air bubbles, then add more syrup if necessary.

4) Screw on the lids and transfer the jars to the hot water bath. Process pints 20 minutes and quarts 25 minutes.

Let these sit for at least a month before opening to allow the flavors to pervade the fruit. Eat them on their own or over ice cream, and don’t forget the best part: pear brandy. You could boil it down to make a sauce, if you wanted, or just serve it in little tiny portions as a digestif.

Peach Sorbet

dorisandjilly — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:55:56 +0000

A spectacularly easy peach sorbet, made from homemade canned peaches. Note that this will only work if you canned your peaches in syrup—if you canned them in water, you’ll need to add at least a cup of sugar.

Peach Sorbet from Homemade Canned Peaches

2 pints or 1 quart canned peaches in syrup
1 T rum, brandy, or vodka

1) Puree everything (including all the peach syrup) in a blender.

2) Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer’s directions.

Seriously. That’s it.

Canned Pears with Star Anise

dorisandjilly — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 12:55:31 +0000

Normally, I am a fan of the hot-pack approach to canning fruit, as it helps you fit more fruit into each jar. A recipe in last month’s New York Times, however, convinced me that it’s silly to poach pears separately, since a water-bath canning process will effectively poach the pears for you. I found their recipe, with its thyme, vinegar, and peppercorns, a bit fussy and decided to take a more straightforward approach: simple syrup + star anise. Since I still had some Seckel pears left over from my last trip to Mood’s, I left them whole. It really is the kind of thing that invites endless variation: if you like peppercorns and thyme with your pears, then by all means, you should try it. I suspect ginger would be particularly nice.

Canned Pears with Star Anise

5 pounds pears
4 cups syrup, at your preferred level of sweetness (I like 1:2 sugar: water)
Juice of one lemon
4 star anise

1) Start a boiling water bath large enough to cover 2 quart jars or 4 pint jars. Dissolve the sugar in water and bring the syrup to a boil. Add the lemon juice. While you’re waiting, peel your pears. If they’re small, leave them whole; if they’re large, cut them in half and remove the core. Cut out any bad spots. Don’t forget to warm up your lids.

2) Fit as many pears as possible into each jar, along with 1 star anise per pint jar or 2 per quart jar. Of course, you may need more jars. Cover the pears with syrup, run a knife or spatula along the inside of the jar to remove any air bubbles, and add more syrup if necessary.

3) Process quarts for 25 minutes or pints for 20 minutes in a boiling water bath. Remember to remove the bands and wipe down the jars, as they may be sticky.

Peach Syrup

dorisandjilly — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 14:01:38 +0000

Should you be so lucky as to still have access to peaches, and should you decide to can some, may I recommend a) that you drown them in honey and b) that you can the leftover juice/syrup/nectar as a base for delicious cocktails for sometime in the future?

Peaches in Honey (for canning)

Straight out of the Ball Blue Book: Make a syrup with a ratio of 1 sugar to 2 honey to 4 water. Peel your peaches, cut them in half, and bring them to boil in the syrup. Transfer the peaches facedown to clean, hot jars and cover with syrup. Run a knife or spatula around the edges to remove air bubbles, then add more syrup if necessary. Adjust two-piece lids and process in a boiling water bath, 20 minutes for pints and 25 minutes for quarts.

Peach Syrup

Now look in the pan. There’s still syrup! Drink it now, or drink it later. To can: transfer into clean, hot jars, adjust the lids, and process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes. Remember to remove the bands and wipe down the jars before storing them—they will be sticky.