Marisa McClellan's Blog, page 78

Cookbooks: The Canning Kitchen, Preserving, Preservation Society Home Preserves, and Preserving the Japanese Way

One of the things I find intriguing is that when I’m deep in the process of writing a book, I have a very hard time digging into cookbooks by other authors. I’m not sure if it’s fear of inadvertently borrowing a line or concept, or if it’s simply that my brain is so entrenched in my own ideas that there’s no room for others.

Whatever the reason, over the last six months I’ve really struggled to engage with new cookbooks. However, as I come to the end of the editing process with Naturally Sweet Food in Jars, I’m suddenly once again hungry for the words and recipes of others. These four preserving books have all come out during this foggy period of mine, and now that I’m seeing more clearly, I’m so delighted by them. I think you’ll be as well.

The Canning Kitchen by fellow blogger Amy Bronee, came out back in May and is a sturdy paperback, filled with homey, family friendly preserves.

The book is divided by kind of preserve and includes delicious sounding things like Lemon Raspberry Jamalade (page 54), Coconut Lime Marmalade (page 93), and Chipotle Cherry Tomato Relish (page 130). Every recipe has its own picture and Amy shot all the images herself (a feat I could never dare replicate).

Preserving was originally published in France in 1948 under the title, Je Sais Faire les Conserves (I Know How to Make Preserves), by famed French food author Ginette Mathiot. The book has been updated and translated by author and food blogger Clothilde Dusoulier and is now accessible to new generation of home cooks.

This comprehensive volume offers its readers guidance on how to dry, salt, cure, jam, confit, and otherwise put up the fruits of the growing season for the colder months. While there are some recipes that might be seen as relics of an earlier age, like the Stuffed Goose Neck (page 90), even the quickest glance through the book reminds me how much of the book’s knowledge is still relevant today.

One particularly useful technique is the one for Flattened Apples (page 220). It instructs the reader how to prepare, dry, and store whole apples, so that they can later be rehydrated and included in stews and tarts. I am confident that there are many out there in possession of an apple tree who would find it incredibly useful.

It is always interesting to see the differences between preserving books written by home cooks and those written by folks who make a living by making jam. Preservation Society Home Preserves is a book firmly in the latter category. As far as I can tell, having a wider audience for their preserves often leads the professionals down a more varied range of culinary trails and I’m often surprised and delighted to see where those paths lead.

Written by Preservation Society founder and head preserver Camilla Wynne, this book definitely pushes well beyond the traditional array of flavor combinations and leaps right into the edible creative fray. The book features an array of intriguing things, including Fig Jam with Secrets (page 22), Sea Buckthorn Jelly (page 68), pickled Maple Chile Onions (page 117), and Pickled Raisins (page 118).

Another nice element of this book is that it includes a small section towards that back that offers insight into how Camilla likes to put her preserves to use. Onion Jam Poutine, anyone?

Last up in the stack of books is the beautiful and immersive Preserving the Japanese Way, by Nancy Singleton Hachisu. Nancy is a native Californian who married a Japanese farmer and has spent the last two and a half decades living, raising children, and feeding a family in rural Japan.

Over her years in Japan, Nancy has made a point to has learn many of the traditional making and preserving skills, both to preserve the knowledge and because the resulting sauces, pickles, pastes, and other preserves are so much more flavorful and delicious.

As I type these words, I feel like I’m only just skating around the edges of this book, as it is a huge volume, both in the number of pages and in the sheer mass of information of information it offers. When I approach it, I feel much the same as I do when I open one of Sandor Katz’s books. I know that I can dip in and find the information I need to proceed in that moment, but that the words and concepts on the page deserve more than a quick visit. I look forward to finding the time diving more deeply into this one.

Disclosure: I received copies of The Canning Kitchen, Preserving, and Preservation Society Home Preserves for review. Preserving the Japanese Way, I bought.

Related Posts:

Other People’s Preserves: Preservation Society

Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Plum Butter

For most of the last three weeks, my left crisper drawer has been almost entirely occupied by plums. I’ve slowly working my way through this bounty, cooking them into jam, using them in my various demonstrations, and relying on my slow cooker to turn them into butter (two batches, thus far). The bottom of the drawer is finally in sight and I think the remaining plums will become a batch of cardamom-spiked jam.

I’ve written a great deal over the years about using a slow cooker to make fruit butters, so if you’re a long-time reader, this post might feel oddly familiar. However, I’m of the belief that anything useful and good can always bear repeating, and so, I push on and offer you another slow cooker.

The plums I most like to use for butter are late season Italian plums. Bred for cooking and drying (they are also known as Italian prunes), they are typically the last variety of stonefruit available before the weather slips into fall. They can be slightly bitter or tannic when eaten raw, but once heated or dried, trade those unpleasant elements for a lush texture and natural sweetness.

To make plum butter, I fill my biggest colander, give the plums a good rinse, and then stand at the sink for a time to cut the fruit into halves and remove the pits. I find that for my 6 quart slow cooker, my starting weight is typically between 7 and 8 pounds.

Then I heap those plum halves in the cooker, add a few tablespoons of water to prevent scorching in the early stages of cooking, set the lid in place, and cook on high for somewhere between 2 and 4 hours. This first stage of cooking is designed to soften the plums enough so that they can easily be pureed with an immersion blender.

Once they’re soft, I apply my immersion blender until the plums have been transformed into a puree. Then I balance a wooden chopstick across the lip of the slow cooker crock, and rest the lid on top of it, so that the steam can easily vent. Finally, I turn the cooker on low and proceed to cook the plum puree down over the course of the next 6 to 10 hours (your mileage will always vary here).

I try to give the cooking butter a good stir every couple of hours, to ensure that the top doesn’t dry out while the underside burns.

Once the plum puree has reduced down to a dense, thick, spreadable butter, it is done. I like to scrape it out into a medium saucepan for the final pureeing, because if you’ve done your work well, there won’t be enough depth in the slow cooker for an immersion blender to work well.

When the butter is smooth from the second application of the immersion blender, I add the sweetener and spices. In the case of this batch, I sweetened with brown sugar, thinking that it’s molasses-y flavor would go well with the plums. I also added 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg, and a splash of lemon juice for balance.

As with all fruit butters, you can sweeten this one to your taste. You could reduce the amount of sugar, use regular granulated sugar, add a bit of honey instead, or even leave it entirely unsweetened (though I find that even a small amount of sugar helps balance the fruit and also improves shelf life).

To preserve, funnel the finished butter into jars (I like half pints for this one, as a little goes a long way), leaving a generous 1/2 inch of headspace. Wipe the rims, apply the lids and rings, and process in boiling water bath canner for 20 minutes. I always process fruit butters for longer than jam, because their increased density makes it harder for the heat of the canner to penetrate to the center of the jar. A longer processing time helps combat that.

PrintSlow Cooker Brown Sugar Plum Butter

Yield: 5 half pints

Ingredients

7 pounds Italian plums
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Juice of 1 lemon

Instructions

Wash plums, cut them in half, and remove pits.
Place the plums into the slow cooker. Add 2 tablespoons of water and put the lid on the cooker.
Set the cooker to high and cook for 2 to 4 hours, until the plums are tender and have released a great deal of liquid.
Using an immersion blender, puree the fruit until smooth.
Set a wooden chopstick across the rim of the slow cooker and set the lid on so that it is vented slightly.
Turn the cooker on to low heat and cook the fruit puree for 6 to 10 hours, until the plum puree has reduced into a thick, dense, spreadable paste.
Scrape the finished butter into a medium saucepan and puree again with your immersion blender.
Add sugar, spices, and lemon juice. Taste and adjust as necessary.
To process, funnel the finished butter in half pint jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
Wipe the rims, apply the lids and rings, and process in a boiling water bath canner for 20 minutes.
When time is up, turn off the heat, remove the lid from the canner, and allow the jars to cool gradually in the water.
After they've slowly cooled for 6 to 7 minutes, remove the jars from the canner and set them on a folded kitchen towel to cool.

Notes

As with all fruit butters, the finished yield of the batch you make in your own kitchen will naturally vary from my yield. This one could swing from 4 to 7 half pints, so make sure you have a couple extra jars before diving into the canning portion, just to be sure.

3.1http://foodinjars.com/2015/09/slow-cooker-brown-sugar-plum-butter/

Related Posts:

Pickled Italian Plums
More on Fruit Butters in a Slow Cooker
June Can Jam: Slow Cooker Blueberry Butter

Can-It-Forward Demo Videos Now Available on FreshPreserving.com + Home Depot Gift Card Giveaway

Back in July, I traveled to Indiana to participate in Ball Canning’s International Can-It-Forward Day. We were supposed to be streaming live from their brand new test kitchen (kitted out in Martha Stewart Living cabinets, counters and hardware), but there were some technical difficulties and the videos were never made available.

Happily, the Can-It-Forward team has been hard at work behind the scenes, and today, the videos of the recipes that we all demonstrated that day are finally ready for viewing! You’ll see the following demos…

A pickling segment with Sarah Page, Jarden Home Brands Culinary Marketing Manager and Jessica Piper, Analytics Specialist, Consumer Affairs, Jarden Home Brands
Spicy Corn Salsa recipe demo from Liz Latham of Hoosier Homemade
Green Tomato Relish recipe demo from Christy Jordan of Southern Plate
Apple-Blueberry Jam recipe demo from Malia Karlinsky of Yesterday on Tuesday
Recipe demo from Rebecca Sullivan, Jarden Home Brands Ambassador for Ball Canning, Australia
My demo of my Gingery Pickled Blueberries
The Test Kitchen Reveal with Sarah Page and Home Depot Designer, Sandy Chamberlain
And finally, a series of four Science of Canning Segments with Jessica Piper, and Brandon Shrock, Quality Laboratory Technician

Click here to see all the Can-It-Forward Videos!

For those of you who missed the interactivity of International Can-It-Forward Day, fear not. Your friends at Jarden Home Brands have you covered. This Thursday, September 24 they’ll be live streaming an fall canning program starting at 3 pm ET. You’ll have a chance to ask questions and see a behind the scenes peek at that gorgeous test kitchen I mentioned earlier.

If you’re interested in tuning in, you can pre-register here. And if you can’t make the livestream, they’ll be posting the full video later in the day, so you can catch up at your leisure.

Now, for the last bit of good news. I have a $100 Home Depot gift card to give away to one lucky Food in Jars reader (I know. Two giveaways in one week!).

Jarden Home Brands worked with The Home Depot and the Martha Stewart Living Kitchens line during their kitchen renovation and the results are so gorgeous. If you like the looks of the kitchen they created, this giveaway is your change to bring a little bit of the same durable style into your own home.

Here’s how to enter:

Leave a comment on this post and share how you’d spend $100 at The Home Depot.
Comments will close at 11:59 pm east coast time on Friday, September 25, 2015. The winner will be chosen at random and this post will be updated with their name.
Giveaway is open to US residents only (and is void where prohibited).
One comment per person, please. Entries must be left on the blog.

Disclosure: I am a paid Ball Canning Ambassador and was compensated for my participation in this year’s Can-It-Forward Day, but my thoughts and opinions remain entirely my own. 

Related Posts:

International Can-It-Forward Day Saturday, August 1
Gingery Pickled Blueberries for International Can-It-Forward Day
Ball Canning Books Giveaway

Live Online Class on Tuesday, September 22!

A quick note to say that I’ll be teaching my last live online class of the season on Tuesday, September 22. We’ll start things off at 8 pm eastern time and will go for about an hour.

I’ll make a batch of low sugar plum jam and will talk about how to reduce sugar without compromising set, how to use Pomona’s Pectin (my low sugar pectin of choice), and ways to ensure good flavor when you’re reducing the sweetener.

The recipe I’ll be making is below the jump, just in case you want to can along or have something to reference while I cook.

PrintLive Online Class on Tuesday, September 22!

Yield: Makes 3 pints (with just a little bit leftover for the fridge)

Ingredients

10 cups of chopped plums
2 1/2 cups of sugar, divided
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon calcium water
1 tablespoon pectin powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon grated nutmeg

Instructions

Prep jars and canning pot.
Combine plums, 2 cups of sugar, and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Once the fruit is tender, add calcium water, stir well and return to a boil.
Whisk remaining sugar, pectin powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon zest together and add them to the cooking fruit.
Cook jam at a rapid boil for another 3-5 minutes, until it begins to thicken.
Turn off the heat under the jam and fill jars. Wipe rims, apply lids and rings and process jars in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
When time is up, remove jars from canner and let cool on a folded kitchen towel. When jars are cool enough to handle, remove rings and test seals. Any unsealed jars should be refrigerated. All sealed jars are safe for shelf storage.
3.1http://foodinjars.com/2015/09/live-online-class-on-tuesday-september-22/

Related Posts:

Live Online Tomato Canning Class Tonight!
Upcoming Classes: Morris Arboretum and Online!
Upcoming Classes: Online Tonight! Collingswood Tomorrow!

Giveaway: T-fal Clipso Pressure Cooker

Update: There’s been a bit of confusion and so to clarify, this is a pressure cooker, not a pressure canner. This is not a device in which you can pressure can. It is only good for pressure cooking.

In the early days of this blog, I was a pressure cooking and canning neophyte. Because of a family legacy of pressure cooking disasters, I was just weeks shy of my 30th birthday before I gathered my courage and tried cooking under pressure for the first time.

After that maiden voyage with my pressure cooker (documented here), I was a quick convert to its many uses. I often use my pot for quickly cooking dried beans, braising chicken thighs, or making small batches of highly concentrated chicken stock.

Earlier in the summer, I got an email asking if I might be interesting in trying the new Clipso Pressure Cooker from T-fal. Its defining feature is that instead of having a lid that turns to lock into place, you place the lid on the pot (no need to line it up with the handles) and press the button on the top of the pot. One-handed closure magic!

Once you’ve locked the lid in place, you toggle the valve to the cook setting (the other setting is the steam release, which we’ll talk about in just a second), set the pot on the heat and start building up a head of steam. The safety button will wiggle into place (making it impossible to open the pot while the contents are under pressure) and eventually some steam will start to escape through the valve.

Once the steam starts to escape, you reduce the heat to a medium level. I’m always amazing by how relatively little heat you need to maintain pressure for cooking and canning.

When the cooking time is up, you pull the pot off the heat. Because the valve is built in, this doesn’t produce the same amount of uncertain jiggling that you get with a more traditional pot (which I really appreciate).

To release the pressure, you can either let it cool slowly and drop naturally, or you carefully turn the control valve to allow the steam to escape. I highly prefer this method to rapidly cooling a pot by running it under cool running water. Finally, to remove the lid, you press the button on the side of the lid handle to release the locking mechanism. So easy.

The first thing I made in my very sturdy Clipso was a batch of garlicky garbanzo beans. I went from dry beans to soft, tender ones in just half an hour (and if your beans were fresher than mine, it might take even less time!). I combined 2 cups of garbanzo beans in the pot with 8 cups of water, 1 teaspoon of salt and 5 smashed garlic cloves. It’s hummus time!

Because the folks at T-fal want to share the pressure cooker love with you guys, they’ve given me one Clipso Pressure Cooker to give away! Here’s how to enter.

Leave a comment on this post and share a pressure cooking tale. Have you done it and love it? Or are you scared? Perhaps you’re somewhere in between.
Comments will close at 11:59 pm east coast time on Saturday, September 26, 2015. The winner will be chosen at random and will be posted to the blog on Sunday, September 27, 2015.
Giveaway is open to US residents only (and is void where prohibited).
One comment per person, please. Entries must be left on the blog, I cannot accept submissions via email.

Disclosure: T-fal sent me the Clipso you see pictured here and are providing a second unit for this giveaway. No additional compensation was provided and all opinions remain my own. 

Related Posts:

Can-It-Forward Demo Videos Now Available on FreshPreserving.com + Home Depot Gift Card Giveaway
Giveaway: Cheese Making Kit from Hobby Hill Farm
Giveaway: Two Flip Cap Kits

Brit + Co Online Jam Making and Canning Class

Back in late July, I spent a couple fast-paced days in San Francisco, filming a jam making and canning how-to video with a collection of delightful folks from Brit + Co. Their goal is to spark and inspire creativity and they offer an extraordinarily wide range of how-to videos, tutorials, and products designed to do just that.

The canning class we filmed is now available for purchase! In it, I’ll walk you through the steps of prepping a canning pot, choosing fruit, cooking the jam (we used plum jam as an example, but the skills apply to any fruit), filling up the jars, and processing it into shelf stable deliciousness. If you’ve ever wanted to take a class with me but haven’t been able to, now’s your chance to do it, no matter where you are.

Buy Marisa’s Canning Class!

Once you buy the class (it costs a very affordable $9.99), you can watch it again and again (which is great, because it means you can always go back for clarification).  I’ll also be checking in and answering any questions that pop up.

For those of you who buy it, I’d love to know what you think once you’ve taken the class!

Related Posts:

Weck Jar FAQ and MightyNest Giveaway
Urban Preserving: Italian Plum Jam with Star Anise
Mourning the End of a Jar

Links: Plums, Tomatoes, and Stovetop Granola

Autumn is nearly here and while I’ll miss the long days, the warmth, and the produce (oh, the produce!), I am so very happy for things to be slowing down a bit. I have just a couple more classes on the schedule before settle myself back into a regular routine, catch up on email, and start plotting out the tour for my next book. While I gather myself, may I offer you some links?

Honey, rosemary and apple jelly.
Dansom plum and habanero jelly.
Tomato plum jam.
Ginger lime plum sauce.
Roasted tomatillo salsa.
Orange pickled fennel.
Homemade sauerkraut.
A summer’s worth of preserving.
Homemade fire cider.
Stovetop granola.
Granola bars for back to school.
Any-jam oat bars.
Dark chocolate ginger yogurt scones.
A fun Kickstarter project about decorative mason jars.

There’s no winner to report this week because there was no giveaway last week! However, I’ll have a nice one up tomorrow, so stay tuned!

 

Related Posts:

Links: Roasted Tomatoes, Basil Salt, and a Winner
Links: Late Summer Jams, Soggy Pickles, and Winners
Links: Tomatoes, No-cook Jams, and Winners

CSA Cooking: A Trio of Salads and Dips

This month’s Philly Foodworks share arrived during an intensely busy week. My mom was in town, we were prepping for the family wedding, and soon after, I was on my way out of town. I did my best to make quick work of the most perishable things and these three little dishes were the results.

First up is this tomato mint salad. We typically pair tomatoes with basil, but they go awfully well with mint as too. This particular salad contained one large heirloom tomato, half a finely chopped white onion, and a generous fistful of torn mint. The dressing was a big pinch of kosher salt, four turns of the pepper grinder, and a few lashings of olive oil (about two tablespoons, if I had to guess). Add some homemade croutons and it would be a tasty panzanella.

Next up is this quick corn salad. It consisted of six lightly cooked ears of corn (five minutes in a pot with an inch of simmering water). After a rinse of cold water, I hacked the kernels off the cob (saving them for stock), and combined them with half a minced red onion (you could also use the other half of the white one from the tomato salad above), and a couple handfuls of roughly chopped mustard greens.

The dressing was 2 tablespoons olive oil, 3 tablespoons champagne vinegar, a teaspoon of kosher salt, and a whole bunch of freshly ground black pepper.

Last one is a roasted eggplant dip. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking dish with parchment. Cut a big eggplant in half, drizzle it with a little olive oil and throw five or six garlic cloves (still in their wrappers) in the pan as well. Roast the eggplant, cut side up, until it is brown (maybe 15 to 20 minutes). When the eggplant is tender, it is done.

Let the roasted halves cool until you are able to handle them. Scoop out the flesh and put it in a bowl or container. Squeeze the garlic out of their peels and add them to the eggplant. Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil, the juice of one lemon, and a pinch of salt. For a chunky dip, mash it with a fork. For something smoother, zap it with an immersion blender (that’s what I did).

We actually ate all three of these dishes together with Joy’s chicken ricotta meatballs for dinner, but any one would make a nice addition to a meal.

Related Posts:

CSA Cooking: Single Quart Fermented Dilly Beans
CSA Cooking: Roasted Tomatillo and Banana Pepper Salsa
CSA Cooking: Zucchini, Fennel, and Green Pepper Relish

Sponsored Post: An Alternative to Plastic Wrap from MightyNest’s MightyFix

Last month, I wrote about the new subscription service, called MightyFix, from our friends at MightyNest. For $10 a month, they’ll send you full sized product that is actually worth at least $10 (and often, will have a far higher price point) and they’ll ship it for free. What’s more, anything else you want to add to your FIX from their site also ships for free.

For the September FIX, MightyNest is featuring a product called Bee’s Wrap. I first wrote about this nifty food storage solution two years ago and it remains one of my favorite tools for reducing plastic waste in the kitchen. And, as an bonus, they’ve also included a recipe card featuring my Honey Sweetened Blueberry Jam with this FIX!

photo courtesy of MightyNest/Bee’s Wrap

It is made in Vermont from organic cotton muslin that has been imbued with beeswax, jojoba oil, and tree resin. You wrap a sheet around a block of cheese, a loaf of bread, or a dish, and then use the heat of your hands to mold the fabric into place. It keeps food fresh and when your sheet of Bee’s Wrap does wear out, you can put it in the compost instead of the landfill (can’t say that about plastic bags).

photo courtesy of MightyNest/Bee’s Wrap

I find that these wrappers are quite easy to care for. For crumbs and condensation, a quick rinse will do it. For sticky residue, a wipe of gentle dish soap and a rinse in lukewarm water (you want to avoid the hottest water your tap can produce, in order to prevent the wax from melting off the fabric) is all you need. Let them air dry and then they’re ready to reuse again.

photo courtesy of MightyNest/Bee’s Wrap

If this sounds intriguing, here’s the MightyFix deal for this month. If you haven’t already been a MightyFix subscriber and you sign up using the widget below, you’ll get your first month of the FIX for free.

The retail cost for the two wraps that this month’s FIX includes costs $13.10 + $5.95 for shipping. Without the FIX, you’d pay $19.05. And remember, if you want to order anything else from MightyNest, you won’t pay a cent in shipping. It’s a darned good deal!

Related Posts:

Sponsored Post: The MightyFix from MightyNest
August Sponsors: Cuppow, iLids, Mason Jar reCAP, Fillmore Container, and More!
Links: Berry Jams and Cucumber Soup

Upcoming Events: Franklinville, NJ! Bala Cynwyd, PA! Online!

Good morning, friends! We’re coming to the end of my teaching and demonstration season, but I have a few more events where you can catch me!

Tonight (September 17), I’ll be at the Franklin Township Library in Franklinville, NJ for a free small batch jam making and canning demonstration. I’ll be making the plum star anise jam from Preserving by the Pint and will be getting that going at the 6:30 pm. You can find more details here.

This Saturday (September 19), I’m demonstrating how to make and can a small batch of pear vanilla jam at the Cynwyd Station Cafe, in Bala Cynwyd, PA. We’ll be kicking that off at 3 pm. I’ll have books for sale and signature and will offer tastes of the jam when it’s finished.

On Tuesday night (September 22), I’m offering another live, online class via Concert Window. This class will focus on low sugar jam making and the tricks I employ to make Pomona’s Pectin work well for me. The class will start promptly at 8 pm eastern time and will last about an hour. There’s no set fee for these online classes, instead I just ask that you pay what feels comfortable for you. Sign up here.

Related Posts:

Upcoming Classes: Online Tonight! Collingswood Tomorrow!
Upcoming Classes: Online! Collingswood! DC! Carlisle!
July Canning Classes: Goodwill at Homefields & Christina Maser Co.