Sorrel Jam

As I promised, here's the sorrel jam "recipe".  Since I made this after making jelly, there was an awkward messy stage where I was plucking the seeds pods of the sorrel out of the goopy seedy petally glop that I had in the jelly bag.  There was still enough liquid in there that I didn't feel like I need much more, but I did end up rinsing some of the seeds, poured the liquid through a large-hole sieve, and probably added about 1 cup more water that way.    (If you just wanted to make jam without the previous jelly step,  I would suggest just breaking the petal off the seeds while fresh and cooking them with a 1 cup of water per pound of petals til they were falling apart and mushy, probably about 15 minutes, more or less).

Once I had just petals, I added sugar to taste (a lot).  I'd say about 1/2 cup per cup of sorrel, but I didn't measure.  I just stirred it in until it tasted pretty sweet, but with a tiny bit of tart.

Then I boiled away, stirring often, for about 10 minutes.  I didn't wait for it to jell or anything, since it was already so thick and since I'd just seen what the jelly did, I wasn't concerned with its performance.  It did not end up being super jelled, but it is a nice spreadable thickness...

Process the jars the same way I did with the jelly.  From the original 5 pounds, the jam made an additional 6 half pints, but I would guess, maybe, you would get a higher yield if skipped the jelly step?

Fake Blood

I mean, Sorrel Jelly.

When Mike and I were in the beautiful island of Dominica way back in 2010, we drank lots of Sorrel Tea, also known as Christmas Tea.  I smuggled some seeds across the border for my mother, she tried to grow them, the Caribbean seeds were unhappy in our frigid climate, but she was smitten with sorrel so she kept trying....

She grew some last year- but just a measly few.  I got a tiny jar of dried petals for Christmas, which I saved and saved until I squandered them on Pink Lemonade for some event or 'nother.  This year, it's a different story.  She grew a whole row, leaving me plenty to play with.  

Sorrel is more commonly known 'round these here parts as Hibiscus, or Cranberry Hibiscus.  Or Roselle.  I prefer to call it Sorrel, because that's how I was introduced, but it is not to be confused with the french sorrel of sorrel bisque.   This sorrel has a very cranberry-esque flavor, and is wonderful as a warm or chilled tea- especially with ginger.   It is also related to okra, and I had been hearing rumors of its okra-like slime and goo.  Well sir, the rumors are true.  Imagine okra slime, but pleasantly tart, and one of the most gorgeous colors in the world.  

It takes a lot of sorrel to make a batch of jelly, but it takes no store-bought pectin.  This is the first jelly I've ever made.  After I made the jelly (five pounds of sorrel to six half pints of jelly!) I had all the spent fruit petals which I turned into six more half pints of jam.  I had to laboriously pick the seed pods out, but it was worth it as I almost like the jam more than the jelly.  (keep on the lookout for the jam recipe, she'll be coming)

blood and guts

It is important to do this when you have a lot of time and sorrel on your hands.  The 

                                           drip 

                                                      dro

                                                                 p

                                                                          ping 

                              takes a 

              long 

                    long 

                           time

Sorrel Jelly makes 6 half pints, or 3 pints

takes about 4 hours

you will need: 

•  a jelly bag OR a large tea towel
• something to hang this tea towel/jelly bag from (I finally figured out a use for my above-the-stove-microwave)
• large, wide, shallow non-reactive pan
• canning pot for hot-water bath

for the jelly:

• 5 pounds of sorrel fruit- seed pods included.  I picked the petals from the seeds, which helps a lot if you are planning on making jam as well
• 7 cups water
• 5 cups sugar (maybe a little less if you'd like- feel free to taste as you go)

Put the sorrel fruit and seeds in a large pot with the water. The water will not cover, you want to make a rich extract.  Cook over medium heat, stirring often, til the fruit is soft and the seed pods begin to become translucent.  This should take about 10-15 minutes, depending on how fresh the fruit is.  When the petals are soft, pour everything into a jelly bag, or a colander lined with a large tea towel.  I used a tea towel  and had to be very careful that the short edges did not slip under.  I then used a rubber band to secure it into a "bag" before I tied string around it and rigged it up to the handle of my microwave, allowing it to drip into a bowl placed below.  Experienced jelly-ers will no doubt have a hook and a jelly bag ready.

Allow juice to drip til no more drops out.  Do not squeeze, as this could make the jelly cloudy.  I did massage the bag about 2 hours in, just to loosen things up in there.  This juice is very viscus, so there will be no steady stream, but you will know when it's stopped dripping.  Mine took about 3 hours.

Pour juice into your wide, shallow pan and add the sugar.  Heat very low and stir to dissolve every last bit of sugar before you bring it to a boil.  Turn heat high to boil, and then turn heat down to maintain  gentle boil for about 10-15 minutes, or until a bit of jelly dabbed on a chilled plate from the freezer wrinkles slightly when pushed with a finger.  I actually never got to this stage- but it was thick and goopy, so I took my chances.  I cooked it for about 15 minutes, and although it never properly wrinkled, it had some give, so I just went ahead and canned it.  The leftover bit I refrigerated and it set within an hour.  

Sooo, when the jelly has gotten to the point you feel good about, pour boiling water over new canning lids you have placed in a heat-proof bowl.  Then ladle jelly into hot jars that have been boiled in a hot water bath for about 10 minutes, and are waiting patiently in warm water.  Make sure all the rims of the jars are clean (wipe with a damp paper towel or clean dish towel if needed), place on lids and tighten just til finger tight.  Place jars in a warm water bath and boil for 10 minutes to process.  Remove jars from water and let sit for 12 hours without jostling.  Check for un-sealed jars after a few hours and refrigerate any you find (I hardly ever find any).

And there you have a right proper jelly.....

Pickling Right Along

Also adapted from Canning For a New Generation come the not-too-sweet bread and butter zucchini pickles.  She uses ginger in her recipe, but I didn't have any.  It sounds super good, but I couldn't wait so I did without.  I also added a little more sugar (but not much) and a little less turmeric (because I ran out).   One jar didn't seal, so, unlike the turnips, I can assure you with all certainty that these pickles are delicious.  They go perfectly with a little rye bread and Dancing Fern cheese.  And, they're made from zucchini.

Bread and Butter Zucchini Pickles

makes about 6 pints

takes 2 days, or one very long day (8 hr-overnight ice bath)

• 4 pounds zucchini, washed and beheaded
• 1 pound sweet onions, peeled and halved
• 1/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon kosher or pickling salt 
• 2 Tablespoons whole coriander seeds
• 1 Tablespoon whole yellow mustard seed
• 2 teaspoons crushed pepper (or 1 teaspoon minced dried cayenne)
• 6 cups cider vinegar (5% acidity)
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• (6 rounds fresh ginger if you have it)

Cut zucchini into 1/4 inch rounds.  Thinly slice onions.  Place together in a large bowl and toss with 1/4 cup of salt.  Cover with a healthy layer of ice cubes and let sit in the refrigerator 8 hours, or overnight.  Pull out any unmelted ice cubes, drain, rinse well, and drain again.  Toss with coriander seed and pepper flakes, set aside.  

Sterilize clean jars in a canning pot of boiling water, and let jars sit in warm water while preparing the vinegar.

Place new jar lids in a heat-proof bowl and pour boiling water from the pot over them- also leave in water til needed.

Combine vinegar, water, sugar, turmeric, and 1 T salt in a pot.  Bring to a boil.  Drain the jars and gently stuff the zucchini in, being sure not to pack too tightly.  If using ginger, throw a slice in the bottom of each jar first.  Carefully ladle or pour vinegar into each jar, leaving about 1/2 inch headspace.  Run a clean chopstick around the side of each jar to remove large air bubbles- the zucchini tend to fold up against the sides and trap air in them.  Screw the lids on well, but not too well (til "finger tight"), and process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes.  Place on a dry towel and don't move jars for 12 hours.  Check to make sure all are sealed (buttons on top will be popped down), and store in a cool dry place.  They can be eaten after 3 weeks, although I tried my unsealed jar after 1 week and they were still amazing.

O, Just Some More Turnips

Mike didn't use all the turnips for kimchi- mostly because we were worried about all-turnip kimchi (unfounded fear), so I've put some up in vinegar.  It's too early to say how they rival the turnip kimchi- but they smelled good, and look great in my hoard.

This has been adapted from Canning For a New Generation by Liana Krissoff- a book that is as good as its name.

Cumin and Paprika Pickled Turnips

about 4 pints

takes 2 days to make, as turnips have to brine for at least 8 hrs (for those of you, like me, who don't read recipes through before you begin chopping)

• 3 pounds of turnips (I used purple top and hakuri), washed, peeled, and cut into 1/2 inch-wide sticks
• 1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon kosher or pickling salt
• juice of 1 organic lemon, plus chopped rind of same lemon
• 3 teaspoons ground cumin (or 4 t whole cumin seed)
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1/2 inch of dried cayenne (I've had mine hanging for 2 years, and 1/2-an-inch-at-a-time is not the quickest way to work through them)
• 3 cups cider vinegar, plus 1 cup water

Put turnips in a large bowl.  Dissolve the 1/4 cup salt in 1 quart of water and pour over turnips.  Place a plate on top to keep all the turnips submerged and brine at room temperature for 8-10 hours, or overnight.  Drain and rinse the turnips, and then toss with spices and lemon juice and rind.

Sterilize 4 pint jars in a canning pot of boiling water.  Leave jars in hot water while you heat the vinegar, 1 cup of water, and the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt in a medium saucepan (as I write this I am becoming increasingly worried that I added 1 tablespoon of salt instead, and that these pickles might just make better shelf ornaments than taco topping).  Bring vinegar just to a boil.

Place new jar lids in a heat-proof bowl, and pour boiling water over them- either from a kettle, or the canning pot.*  Sterilize tongs, a jar lifter, your canning funnel, and a ladle (unless you've already used it to ladle water on the lids) in the boiling canning pot.  You may need to remove the jars first: lift them out with tongs, pouring all the hot water back into the pot.

Working rather quickly, loosely pack the turnips into the jars, to the bottom of the screw-top point (about 3/4 inch from the top).  Ladle or pour the vinegar though a canning funnel over the turnips, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.   Wipe jar rims with a clean damp paper towel, if needed.  Poke a clean chopstick down around the sides of each jar to remove any large air bubbles. Place lids on top of jars, and tighten lightly.  Return jars to pot make sure they are covered by at least 1 inch of water, bring back to a boil, cover pot, and boil (or 'process') for 15 minutes.  Lift jars from pot and place on a wooden cutting board or a dish towel.  Do not disturb for 12 hours.  Put any unsealed jars (the ones whose button on the lid didn't pop down) into the fridge, and enjoy after about 3 weeks.   Place the sealed, labeled jars in a cool, dry, dark place and admire them from time-to-time.

*I used to boil the lids for about 5 minutes, but Canning For a New Generation advises against this, as it can break down the seal on the lid and make it less, or not, effective.  

Muscadines!

The smell and taste of muscadines captures the true essence of fall.   The smell of them fallen on the ground and fermenting brings joy to both me and the honey bees.  This year we went to a vineyard outside of the city and picked muscadines, where we were accompanied by many of the said bees.  They reminded me of this, although it happens at a different time of year, different side of the country, and different winged creature it's still the same joyous outcome:

On a certain day in the shouting springtime great clouds of orangy Monarch butterflies, like twinkling aery fields of flowers, sail high in the air on a majestic pilgrimage across Monerey Bay and land in the outskirts of Pacific Grove in the pine woods.  The butterflies know exactly where they are going.  In the millions they land on several pine trees- always the same trees.  There they suck the thick resinous juice which oozes from the twigs, and they get cockeyed.  The first comers suck their fill and then fall drunken to the ground, where they lie on a golden carpet, waving their inebriate legs in the air and giving off butterfly shouts of celebration, while their places on the twigs are taken by new, thirsty millions.  

John Steinbeck, Sweet Thursday

thanks Luke

Crawl under the drooping vines and there you'll share a world of rich ripe red, pink, or golden fruits in various stages of ripeness with the bees, who themselves are in various stages of drunkenness, all shouting the same  joyous yells of celebration.

yeah, thanks Luke

I came home and made a few things to remember that by.

Muscadine Jam

My grandmother is the only one who usually makes this, and now I know why.  It is time consuming and you must be patient.  The result is better than anything you could hope for though, so it's completely worth it.  I took this recipe directly from Canning For a New Generation, with the exception that it was made with Concords in the book.  I would prefer muscadines anyway.

• 4 pounds muscadines red, pink, and/or golden (although it helps to have a fair amount of red, to give the jam a nice rich color), stemmed and rinsed
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 T fresh lemon juice

Sterilize 4 half-pint jars in boiling water and keep them hot in the canning pot while you proceed..

Squeeze the grapes one-by-one from their hulls.  It helps to have help, preferably someone who likes the smell of muscadines as much as you do.  Put the hulls in a bowl or saucepan and the pulp in another large saucepan.  Bring the pulp to a boil and then simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the seeds separate from the pulp.  Pour it all into a sieve held over a large saucepan, or ladle batches in the sieve.  Press as much pulp as you can through the sieve with a rubber spatula; discard the seeds.  Add the sugar and about 1/2 of the hulls.  Stir in to melt the sugar and add more hulls to make it nice and thick.  The jam will thicken slightly as it cooks, but it will be more of a preserve, not super thick or gelatinous like jelly.  Some like more skins than others- I added a little over 3/4 of the hulls back and saved the rest for juice.  

Bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until a small dab of the jam spooned onto a chilled plate and then returned to the freezer for a moment becomes somewhat firm, about 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir gently for a few seconds to distribute the hulls in the liquid.

Sterilize the jar lids by pouring boiling water over them, or dunking them in a pot of boiling water for a minute. Be careful not to boil the lids, as that might break down the seals.  Ladle the hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch head-space and process in a boiling-water bath for about 5 minutes.

Store unsealed jars in the fridge and sealed ones amongst your other jars of relishes, pickles, and jams in a cool dark place.

Muscadine Juice

As Liana Krissoff says in Canning for a New Generation:

To make grape juice (for quaffing rather than for jelly), crush the grapes, simmer them (with some whole spices or herb springs (not needed for muscadines I say!), strain, let sit overnight, then strain again.  Return the juice to the pan and add water to dilute it (pure grape juice can be a little intense), add sugar if it needs it (it probably won't), and a bit more lemon juice if desired.  Bring to a boil and then ladle into sterilized pint of quart jars, leaving 1/2 inch head-space, put the lids and rings on, and process in boiling water bath for 5 minutes.

I added neither water nor sugar to mine and left it as a concentrate, as I didn't know how I would like to use it later.

Putting Up. Again

It's time to Swim in Tomatoes!  A few weeks ago we went out to Crabtree and pulled up irrigation tape in trade for 2nds tomatoes.  That means they are spotty and need to be dealt with.

So I dealt with them.  Next time I'm just using a freezer, I've got enough jars to satisfy that desire a lady has to see colorful gems of jars lined tidily up on shelves- waiting for "hard times".  (Winter).

eggplant tomato relish (in background)

Books I used:

Canning For a New Generation.  I don't do Facebook but they do.  You should at least get their real book, even if you aren't interested their face.

The Joy of Pickling by Linda Ziedrich.

But there are lots more.  If you have a favorite canning/pickling book let me know.  I'd really love to get some newer ideas.  For next tomato season.

tomato "chutney" with ginger and fenugreek 

Puttin' Up- the beginning of it

I've only just begun.  But do I ever have some pickled beets to eat through.  Last fall I kind if went a little wild with William's Island's beets and as I begin to clear my cabinets out I am finding that there are plenty left to go around.  Let me know if you love beets, 'cause I'll love you if you want some.

I took this recipe from Canning For a New Generation by Liana Krissoff- totally worth owing no matter what generation you come from or can for.

This is not jam or jelly and will not gel as such.  But it is very beautiful and delicious spooned on biscuits or pancakes or whatever you most love.  

Strawberry Preserves

• 3 pounds-about 9 cups- strawberries rinsed and hulled, and any and all bad spots cut completely off
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 T fresh lemon juice (and I used the zest too)

Prepare hot water bath and 5 half-pint jars and lids (the recipe says 4 but I ended up making 5). For more info on that buy a canning book (Canning for a New Generation is perfect but there are other good ones out there as well).  It is best to learn from the books than some crazed local food advocate.  

Toss strawberries in sugar and let sit over night.  The next day simmer the strawberries and their juice for about 5 minutes.  Drain the berries and add the juice back to the pot.  Boil juice, stirring every now and then, for about 15 minutes, until the juice has reduced to about a cup and a half.  Return the strawberries to pan add the lemon juice, and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring often and skimming off as much foam as you can.  The berries should be glossy but still hold their shape.  The liquid should be thickened but it will not gel.  Ladle into hot sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.  Screw lids on til just tight and process for 5 minutes in hot water bath.  Let sit 12 hours before moving.  Store any unsealed jars in the fridge.

Please please please learn all the rules when canning.  They are worth knowing.  Sugar is easier to play around with but it is always very important to be super clean and sanitary.  Follow recipes exactly until you have a huge understanding of what you are doing.  There are things to know, but once to you know them there's nothing to be scared of.