Posts Tagged: tigress’ can jam

I'm Hungry! / The Politics of Being Me — 4 Comments
20
Aug 10

Tigress’ Can Jam | My First Tomato (August)

oh, i like this…


I’m canning on the road this month.  I packed up some *new* jars, the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving from LAPL, a small bottle of commercial lemon juice and headed to West Hollywood.

I was really excited that this month’s produce coincided with my trip across town to Chez P+K.  It’s the first time I’ve gotten a chance to put up something homegrown from the backyard.  The backyard on the other side of the kitchen window.  Pam’s plants were producing aplenty.  I was all giddy knowing that she was setting aside some freshly plucked off the vine for me.  And my goodness, they were beautiful .

Oh, yeah.  I have new jars.  Non-Weck jars.  Surprise.  I knew that I wanted to can some of Pam’s tomatoes and leave them as a gift.  So, just to be super safe, I thought it might be a good move on my part to expand my jar-i-sphere.

I’d been looking through lots of canning books for recipes.  Simple, easy, SIMPLE recipes.  I really got into the Ball section on tomatoes.  I appreciated that the hefty section had the recipes separated by process, water-bath and pressure canner.  Thoughtfully explaining the use of commercial lemon juice to ensure proper acidity for water-bath canning, as well as, talking about all that separation anxiety.  It made me feel really confident and comfortable about what has probably been my easiest canning experience to date.

By now, you should know my middle name is “Can’t-Leave-Well-Enough-Alone.”  I did go off-book adding a fresh herb instead of the dried used in the Herbed Tomato recipes a few pages later.

Tomatoes Packed in Water

Umm, from the Ball Book…

Tomatoes
Commercial Lemon Juice
Kosher Salt

Prep your canner and sterilize your jars.
Wash those pretty tomatoes.
Set a pot of water to boil.  Set up a bowl of ice water.
Working in small batches, make a small X in the bottom of the tomatoes.  Put them in the boiling water for 30-60 seconds or until the skin starts to crack.
Place the tomatoes in the ice bath and peel off the skin.
Core the tomatoes.  You can leave them whole, halve or quarter them.
In a non-reactive pot/saucepan, add a layer of tomatoes.  Just cover with water.
Bring to a boil over medium-ish high heat.
When it begins to boil, lower temperature and cook for 5 minutes.
In the quart jars, place 2 tablespoons of commercial lemon juice. 1 teaspoon of salt.
In pint jars, add 1 tablespoon of commercial lemon juice and ½ teaspoon of salt.
Fill jars.  Use cooking water to top off tomatoes.  Leave a ½ inch of headspace.
Process 40 minutes for pints, 45 for quarts.

TheNikkiBits: So, yeah.  CLWEA added fresh basil and crushed red pepper to one quart of the tomatoes with the lemon juice and salt.  The other quart got ½ teaspoon of both ground cumin and coriander.  From a bottle.  Not my first choice, but hey I wasn’t at home and I was feeling inspired.  I threw in a few black peppercorns, as well.  I had some left over cooking water.  By itself, it was AMAzing.  Fragrant, with a surprising depth.  Used it to fill out my go-to tomato and goat cheese pasta sauce.

What’sNext: Okay.  I really want it to be winter.  But, wait.  I need put up lots more jars of tomatoes, first.  I can’t wait to get home and put cumin seeds in the mortar and pestle.  I want to make chili and curries and MMMmmm…  Wow. I’m hungry and excited.  First, though, I’m going to put up a couple of quarts of tomatoes for Pam.  Simple and Plain.  CLWEA is going to be locked in a room somewhere.

While everything else we’ve done, during Tigress’ Can Jam this year, has been a fun and tasty learning experience, this really has been the month that makes better something I already do as opposed to hipping me to something new.  Ummm, Tinned Tomatoes.  See Ya!

My birthday is quickly approaching.  I think I need a food mill.  Hmmmm.  Mommy!

Nikki♥

LAPL – Los Angeles Public Library… I ♥ that place, hardcore.

I'm Hungry! / The Politics of Being Me — No Comments
23
Jul 10

Tigress’ Can Jam | Linda’s Gingery Watermelon Pickles (July)

yeah… this has been a weird one…


As always, I was soooo excited to do this month’s canning.  When I first read that we were entering the cucurbit world, I got all goofy about it.  It wasn’t even hot enough in LA to fully enjoy the refreshing goodness of watermelons, but I was buying and eating.  And the canning of the rind was what I wanted to do.

I liked both Linda Ziedrich’s The Joy of Pickling and Bryant Terry’s Vegan Soul Kitchen recipes for the rind, but couldn’t decide between them.  Then, things got complicated.  Well, the discussion of race in the country and under my window took over.

I started avoiding my rind and avoiding this post.  I’m not sure if I’ve ever shied away from eating watermelon in diverse company, but I wasn’t finding the nuanced, fun way to talk about watermelon, race and my canning of the lovely rind.  The week started getting heavier than I expected.  Then, it just got away from me.

I’ll come back and update over the weekend with more.  I think I’ll be on the other side of this.

Gingery Watermelon Pickles
adapted from Linda Ziedrich’s The Joy of Pickling

1/8 cup pickling salt
2 cups of water
3 cups of rind

syrup
1/2 lemon, thinly sliced
1/2 cinnamon stick
1/4 teaspoon whole cardamom seeds
1/4 teaspoon whole cloves
1/2 inch piece of fresh ginger sliced
1/2 cup of water
1/2 cup of white wine vinegar
1 cup of sugar

Hellllllo! Eat your watermelon down to the rind.  Pink, be gone.  Removed the green skin.  I used a veg peeler.  Cut up your rind into bite size pieces.  In a bowl, dissolve the salt in 2cups of water.  Add the rind and let it soak for 6 to 12 hours.  I let it soak overnight.

Drain and rinse the rind a few times.  Then, in a non-reactive pot, cover the rind with cold water.  Bring the water to a boil, then let it simmer for 5 min.  Drain the rind and set it aside.

Make a goody pouch from cheesecloth.  Tie up the spices, ginger and lemon.  Add it, along with the water, vinegar and sugar to the pot.  Bring it to a boil, then lower the temp to let the syrup simmer for 5 minutes.  Now, don’t forget to stir, stir, stir.  When the syrup is ready, take it off the heat and add the rind.  Let it sit in the syrup for 12 to 24 hours at room temp.

Prep and sterilize 3 .25L or 1/2 pint jars.  Bring the rind and syrup to a boil.  Then, turn down the heat and simmer until the rind is translucent.  Remove the goody pouch.  Fill jars and water bath process for 10 minutes.

NikkiBits: Linda’s recipe calls for a whole lot more watermelon than I’ve got space for or will carry.  So I’ve tweaked it with my old math skills, but kept it a little heavy on the lemon.

What’s Next: I’m in love. That’s good, right?  Okay, I’m always in love, but whatever.  Next, I need to make Bryant’s Citrus & Spice Pickled Watermelon Rind.

So.  Right.  This weekend.  Let’s maybe revisit this thing.

Nikki♥

I'm Hungry! / The Politics of Being Me — 2 Comments
25
Jun 10

Tigress’ Can Jam | Whole Churry Preserves (June)

ummm, that’s the way it’s supposed to be spelled.

Okay.  So I’ve been missing the Mid-Atlantic States a bit lately.  With Pressure Cooker out on dvd  and the new season of Top Chef in DC,  I was thinking about what makes the whole area from VA to PA feel like home.

In many ways, it’s just hearing people speak.  It amazes me how happy I get when I hear people with the super regional accents or the ones where the smallest thing will give them away.  I kind of even watch old episodes of Homicide and The Wire just to get a little taste of a place not far from where I grew up.

One of the mainstays of Go-Go, Little Benny, passed away recently.  Along with hip-hop, it was the music I heard in the halls and lunch rooms during school.  My eyes may have rolled a bit growing up, now it just makes me smile.

Watching old interviews and a Go-Go doc from the 80s made me cringe and wistful at the same time.  All these really super specific DC things come to the fore.  There is a way of saying words that end in -ry that is SOoooo home to me.  Really, it’s r and vowels, but whatever.   It’s like very becomes vuurry like in snow flurry, with a heavy emphasis on the urr.

So in honor of the DC Metro area (urrreeeuhhh), I made Whole Churry Preserves.

Whole Churry Preserves

Adapted  from Georgeanne Brennan’s The Glass Pantry

2 lbs of ripe sweet cherries

3/12 c of sugar

2 c water

Clean cherries.  Remove stems.  Pit by gently squeezing each cherry until the pit pops out.  {My fingers were stained such a lovely color last night.  Ahhh, but the red tint was all gone by morning.}  Add the sugar and water to a heavy bottomed non-reactive pot.   Stir occasionally for 5 or so minutes to allow sugar to dissolve.

Add cherries and bring to a boil.  Then, reduce to low heat and let simmer for 1 ¾ hours.  After 1 ½ hours, raise the temp to med-low.

Since cherries are low low low on the natural pectin totem pole, Georgeanne suggests a long slow cooking time to get them to the jell point.  She suggests starting to test after 45minutes.

Wash and sterilize jars.  When cherries are ready, remove from heat.  Skim and discard any foamy bits from the surface.  Ladle into jar.  Process for 10 minutes.

The NikkiBits: The recipe yields 4 pints.  I got ummm 2.  But that probably has more to do with my nibbling tendencies.  Mmmm, churries.  If I had any of that Amarretto from last month left, I’d have used a little of that, too.

What’sNext: You know I’ve been avoiding the pectin purchase.  That’s going to have to stop.  Hello.  What were my preserves like this morning?  Can you say loosey-goosey still sloshy?  Seriously, I’m heading to the store and we’ll tighten things up tonight.

It’s interesting to see my appreciation for fresh fruits and vegetables develop even more as our canning challenge continues.   It also makes me think more about growing up on the east coast and the obvious nature of eating seasonally.  I’ve got a fridge full of berries that I want to enjoy fresh and that I want to enjoy in different ways come fall.

Nikki♥

I'm Hungry! — 4 Comments
21
May 10

Tigress’ Can Jam | Ashley’s Outstanding Rhubarb Chutney (May)

april & may tcj are fighting for my heart

What can I say, but thank you.  Ashley, thank you.  Loving this recipe.  Loving my Rhubarb & Amaretto Chutney.  I didn’t even do anything to it. (♥:Do I know you????)

I get all giddy when I learn a thing or five.  This month in canning has been really cool.  Hello, this is so not a late Friday night post.  Again.  Yay!  I planned, experimented and didn’t rush.  I might have to apply that to the rest of my…

Okay.  So, I still haven’t found a locally grown source for the barb.  I kinda stopped looking for it after I found it at the downtown Ralphs.  *Bad Nikki Shrug*  I’m keeping an eye out, though.

I wanted to try something different from last week’s tasty jam.  Since most of the other canning titles on the shelf went sweet, I was excitedly hoping that Canning & Preserving with Ashley English would surprise me with something I couldn’t pass up.  HELLOOOOOO, Rhubarb and Amaretto Chutney.  I mean, really.  HELLOOOO.

As I looked over the ingredients, I saw a long overdue trip in the making.  Coriander and cumin were already on my list to get from the South Asian grocery in the neighborhood.  I’d scouted out the place before, but hadn’t put the card on the counter to pay.

It’s like spice nirvana in there.  Freakish price and quantity difference from conventional stores.  I picked up a few other things that just might find their way into a new take on Market.Watch.

Can we talk about the big bottle of amaretto I’ve got in the cabinet now?  See, that’s what I get for not reading the entire recipe.  I was way too excited to grab the straw shopping basket Mom got me and go all euro with my multiple stops that I didn’t see that I could have just replaced the alcohol with orange juice.

It’s not that I don’t drink.  A bottle of wine usually won’t make it ’til morning.  I just don’t know what to do with the makings of a little bar.  Cute, I guess.  But it means I’ll need to get some friends to hang out with the soju and amaretto.  Right?

Rhubarb and Amaretto Chutney
barely, yet adoringly adapted from Canning & Preserving with Ashley English

cheesecloth or a muslin tea bag
3 cardamom pods
1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seed
1/2 teaspoon whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon whole yellow mustard seed
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon whole coriander seed
1/2 cinnamon stick
2 1/2 c rhubarb, chopped
2 c brown sugar
1 1/4 c sweet onions, chopped
1/2 c seedless raisins
2 cloves garlic, mince
1 1/2 teaspoons ginger, minced
1 1/2 c apple cider vinegar
1/4 c amaretto
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons yellow mustard seed
3/4 teaspoon pickling or kosher salt

Make a spice pouch from a small the cheesecloth or muslin square.  Add the cardamom pods, whole cumin, coriander, cloves, mustard seeds, black peppercorns and cinnamon to the cheesecloth.  Secure the bundle with kitchen twine.

Add the spices, brown sugar, rhubarb, onions, raisins, garlic, ginger, and vinegar to sauce pan.  Bring to a gentle boil.  Cook over medium heat, uncovered for 30 min.  Add amaretto, lemon zest, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, mustard seeds and salt.  Simmer for 30 more minutes.  Stir, stir, stir.  Ashley suggests adding a bit more water to the chutney if it begins to stick to the pot.  1/8 cup to start.

Prep and sterilize jars and lids.  Fill jars and water bath process for 10 minutes.

NikkiBits: While this is pretty much halved, where it isn’t I chose over in the over/under debate in my head.  This yields 2 .25L or 1/2 pint jars with some extra for the fridge.   I had a bit with some fish and cous cous I threw together with a bit of curry, broccoli, coconut milk and Matouk’s.  OMFrigginG.

What’s Next: Awww, man.  I can’t wait to get more/better priced rhubarb.  This really kicks.  I so want to make it to give to friends and my fave librarian. (♥:Save LAPL!)

I think I might be glad that I didn’t really like the rhubarb pie I had that summer in Canada forever ago.  I wonder if I’d appreciate the journey to the savory and sweet.
Nikki♥

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12
May 10

TCJ | Oh, My! It’s May

getting back into the swing of things. putting spoon to mouth.

I’ve been last minuting things a lot lately.  I didn’t want to do it for May’s edition of Tigress’ Can Jam.  I wanted to be able to take my time.  Experiment a little.  You know, breathe.

Glad I did.  The Barb was all I could see when I read Sarah’s post announcing May’s special guest star(s). Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Asparagus and Rhubarb.

I thought this would be the best opportunity to rewrite a childhood memory.  It was summer.  Montréal.  Someone offered/forced Rhubarb pie.  I didn’t understand.  It looked like red celery.  Celery + Pie = Nah, not really.  It never had the chance to be good, let alone great.

Off I went on my red stalk adventure.  Why did it take a week and numerous attempts to get my hands on freaking Rhubarb?!!!!?  See, I don’t even know how local it is.  I got it from Ralphs.  The Ralphs that kinda wants to be a Whole Foods.

Yes, it’s early.  I’m still not sure which is going to star in the R&C: TCJ Show next week.  I do know that I like the barb in my berry barb jam.  Really, I like it lots.

This was just one of those throw it in the pot things.  Based loosely on Anne V. Nelson, again.  Strawberry Rhubarb Jam with a bit of my new obsession to Nikki-fy it. (♥:Nothing compares to you, Blackberries.)

Back to work.  What should I do now, more barb or a bit of the gus?  Have you decided which will get your full attention?  Will you be ambitious and do both?

Nikki♥

I'm Hungry! — 7 Comments
23
Apr 10

Tigress’ Can Jam | Mighty BerryMinty Jelly (April)

yummm… i think i’ve fallen in love again.

You know I’ve been kind of freakish for months over tangelos.  That really hasn’t changed, but blackberries have come a little tardy to the party and taken over. (♥: Did you just say tardy for the party? *sigh*) I love that they’re tart and dark and just IT!

Ummm, hello.  This is about TCJ.  Okay, right.  Sorry.  So this month is all about Herbs for Tigress’ Can Jam.  My herbs of choice seem to be cilantro, mint and tarragon.  Mint was the first thing to pop into my head.  Well, after tarragon, but I used tarragon last month in my, now gone, Pretty Pickled Pearls.  (♥:They were GOOD!)

Initially, I was going to do something with mint, ginger and lemon.  That whole herbs = no pectin thing kinda shut that down.  I’m wary of using commercial pectin right now because I want to learn as much as I can about natural occurring pectin.  Like which fruits are high and which are low.  This wasn’t the week to experiment with a recipe and making my own apple pectin.  Especially, since I seem to be stuck in last day post mode.

I happened upon some lonely blackberries that had just been saving themselves for yesterday in the back of the freezer.  Lightbulbs and stars started flickering in my head.  Hello, Mighty BerryMinty Jelly.

I didn’t really adapt the recipe from anywhere, but Anne V. Nelson’s The New Preserves and the 2006 edition of Irma Rombauer’s Joy of Cooking get “chock full of info” honorable mentions.

Mighty BerryMinty Jelly

2 c blackberries
1 c mint
1 c water
1 1/2 c – 2 c of sugar
1 tablespoon commercial lemon juice

Wash/clean blackberries and mint.  Steep mint in one cup of boiling water overnight.  Strain mint and discard solids.  Add blackberries and minty water to saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Cook for 5-10 minutes smashing berries to get all that juice.  Strain berryminty juice using jelly bag/lined colander.  For clearer jelly, don’t force the straining.  Just give it time.  Lots of time.

When done, measure liquid.  Add lemon juice.  For every cup of liquid add 3/4 cups of sugar.  Bring to a boil.  Stir.  Stir.  Stir.  When it reaches the jell point, add to 2 sterilized .25L or 1/2 pint jars.  Process for 5 minutes.

The NikkiBits: This is minty.  Not overly so, for me, but minty nonetheless.  It’s the most beautiful purple.  I’m in love.  Seriously.  Marmalade, see you next year.  Strawberry Jam, eh.  It’s BerryMinty Jelly For Ever.  If I had an ice cream maker, all would be lost.

What’s Next: I’m making this again.  Like tonight.  I picked up more berries at the farmers’ market and I’m off to the get mint.  The batch above was a little loose, I’m going to steep with less water.  The Joy adds no water at all.  Anne adds less water for many more berries.  We’ll see.  I love that Carter made a simple syrup with her mint.  I might try that, too.

I just realized my TCJ selections seem to be color coordinated with my apt.  January, Blood Orange Marm.  Feb, Baby Carrots.  March, Pearl Onions.  April, Blackberry Mint.  Really, the colors in my apt are red, orange, purple, green, and white.  Add blue, pink and yellow/gold and it’s officially matchy-matchy.

Gotta go.  Must buy mint.

Nikki

I'm Hungry! — 3 Comments
19
Mar 10

Tigress’ Can Jam (March) | Pretty Pickled Pearls

ummm, another low acid veg.  i had to do more.  i just did.

Well, I did more.  And I did less.  I thought it was time to do a tinybatch of a recipe I kinda liked to see if I could tweak it a bit. (♥:a bit?) Fine, a lot.  I wanted a recipe where I could manipulate the flavors, but leave the math.

Georgeanne Brennan’s The Glass Pantry was the first book on preserving that I bought a year or so ago.  Sure, Amazon had it for the right price.  It was, also, the first book I was able to get my hands on from the library.  You know I need to live with cook/craft books before I buy them, right?

I’ve flipped through all of the preserving and canning books in the arsenal and found that there were a couple of different versions of these pickled pearls.  It was Georgeanne’s math that made it easier for me to convert.

I’ve been really into cornichon for a while.  It probably is my favorite type of pickle.  I, only recently, found out that it’s the tarragon that gets me all excited.  So, I just had to see what it would do to those pretty pearls.

Pickled Whole Onions
adapted from Georgeanne Brennan’s The Glass Pantry

1 c pearl onions
1/4 c water
3/4 c white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon kosher/pickling salt
2 garlic cloves
1 sprig of fresh tarragon
2 dried red peppers
6 black peppercorns

The Nikki Bits: I kept the vinegar/water ratio, but I changed the entire flavor profile.

The Making: Simple enough.  Wash and sterilize 1 half pint/1 quarter liter Weck jar in the water bath.  Uggghhh, peel the onions.  (♥: Blanching them makes it easier.) Add onions and spices into the jar.  Bring vinegar, salt, and water to a boil.  Cover the onions with the liquid, leaving head space.  Wipe rim.  Place seal and top.  Screw closed or add clamps.  Using jar lifter, place jars into water bath.  Return the water to a boil.  Process for 10 minutes.

What’s Next: I’m getting good at waiting.  Kinda proud of myself.  And, HELLO, getting better at documenting the process.  And must order Ashley‘s book.  Wow, I’ve got to right everything down.

Okay, I’m off to make a bit of roasted leek & garlic confit.  Mmmmm.

Nikki♥

I'm Hungry! — 3 Comments
12
Mar 10

Market.Watch | 12Mar10 & The Slam Reax

leeks, onions, meyer lemons, blood oranges


Ummm, I still don’t know what I want to do for Tigress’ Can Jam.  So, it looks like I’m just going to have to find some more allium options and hit the books.  I’ll be fine.

It’s been an odd week.  I read Slate’s ‘Canning is Trendy‘ article.  I read the The Atlantic’s ‘CSAs: A ripoff?’ article, too.  I don’t have a problem saying that I think some of the questions they ask are valid.  I think the tone in which both articles are framed is dismissive and patronizing, though.  I just think it fosters a discussion where everyone is defensive.

The thing is neither article annoyed me.  I just thought they both missed the point.  When it comes to CSAs, farmers’ market produce, or dairy products from small farms, I don’t expect the prices to compete with conventional grocery stores.  That’s not why I seek them out.  That’s not why I come back every week or still shop at the superchains.  Does an article bemoaning the price help me define why and where I choose to spend my money?  Yep.  Non-issue.

The Slate article got under my skin, primarily, because it hurt the feelings of people I’ve come to respect, who felt attacked for practicing the traditions they hold dear.  I had less of a problem because I kind of knew who she was talking to and about.  It didn’t bother me, personally, because I’ve come to really enjoy doing it.  Period. Whatever.

She can condescend, if she chooses.  That’s her.  I know how it felt to make that first jar of strawberry jam last spring.  I know what its been like to be a part of TCJ.  I ask myself about salt and sugar intake.  I pay attention to what’s local and abundant.  I don’t find it tedious.  I’m learning a little patience.  I’ll be standing with my basket ready when my gardening friends start to harvest the fruits of their labor.

I think what’s starting to rub me the wrong way is this push back on those of us not in rural areas or who haven’t been canning for time.  Yes, there are new fresh books with their take on tradition.  I’m not rushing out to buy them just because the cover rocks.  Yes, there’s more attention on the practice.  Yes, I like those cute jars.  So what.  If I’m canning for the next week or the rest of my life, it shouldn’t have any bearing on what anyone else is doing.

Let’s pass the knowledge amongst ourselves.  Share with whomever may be interested.  I’m here soaking up your advice and wisdom.  Please, share in my excitement.

Nikki♥

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1
Mar 10

Market.Watch | 26feb10 + March TCJ Selection

a little late and lacking in market posts. sorry about that.

I have a confession.  I think I’ve got a tangelo problem.  I mean, really.  I’m having a hard time going a day without one.  You wouldn’t even know that I bought, umm, 3 from the photo, but I did.  And I ate them.  Not slowly.

They’ve kinda bumped the blood oranges out of the sweet spot in my citrus loving heart.  They’ve been making me forget about the Meyer lemons I buy every week.  I’ve even let a few go bad.  (♥: Wasteful much?)

Thankfully, I decided to experiment with a new marm, instead of letting everything else rot.  It was filled with aging limes, meyer lemons, blood oranges and a tangelo that I wouldn’t allow myself to eat.  I spiked it with a bit of Korean Black Raspberry wine.

It was one of those ‘let’s just do it’ kind of things.  No pen, paper or keyboard in sight.  I think I was trying to trust my memory.  It was spec-freakin-tacular.  And I still can’t remember what I did.  Great.

So, I’m trying again.  This time I’ve written everything down.  Okay, I just wrote everything down.  Time for the overnight soak.

Small Measure‘s Ashley English announced the March produce selection for Tigress’ Can Jam.  It’s the Allium family.  There’s lots to choose from.  I can play with garlic, scallions, shallots, onions, leeks and more.  Low acid, again.  That’s cool.  Much less anxiety than last month’s carrots.

I love that the green onions from the Farmers’ Market were super dirty.  I’ve already used some in a bit of soup.  I was hungry and they were good.  Mild.  Liked them.  The others are about to join some carrots in a good sweet peppery brine.

Not sure what I’m doing for TCJ, yet.  So, I guess it’s off to the books, again.

Nikki♥

I'm Hungry! — 6 Comments
19
Feb 10

tigress’ can jam | sweet pickled baby carrots

i heed warnings. i really do.

I’m cutting it close I know, but I’ve been feeling my special brand of melancholy that comes with following the rules.  I want to not, but alas, I must.  I’ve got to live to see another month of canning.  Blasted low acid carrots!  They are the Feb Produce star of the Tigress’ Can Jam.

I just had to bring home lots of carrots.  What’s a girl to do without options?  I couldn’t decide.  For a minute there, it was so going to be a 3 way.  Carrots, 3 ways.  I was going to get fancy.  I guess I’ll have to leave that to Tigress.

This month in particular,  I wanted to use my inexperience as a tool to really learn.  I went looking for recipes.  The ones in books.  They felt a little more vetted and I wanted to be safe.  I’m may not be sure if I’m going to want to inject botulism in my face, but I am sure I don’t want to ingest it.

Because I need to stick as close to the letter as possible,  I went back to what is becoming my favorite little book, The New Preserves.  I decided the Sweet Pickled Baby Carrots below were the easiest for me to do without having to take too many risks.

Sweet Pickled Baby Carrots
adapted from Anne V. Nelson’s The New Preserves: Pickles, Jams and Jellies

1 – 1 1/4 pound baby carrots
3/4 c water
3/4 c cider vinegar
1/2 c sugar
1 tablespoon kosher/pickling salt
3/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
3/4 teaspoon celery seeds
6 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
3 dried red peppers
1 sm knob of ginger

The Nikki Bits: I had to do something.  I brought the heat.  I added a little spicy with the red pepper and a little depth with the ginger.

The Making: Super simple.  Wash and sterilize 3 half pint/3 quarter liter Weck jars in the water bath.  Divide the carrots and spices between the jars, breaking the cinnamon lengthwise.  Bring vinegar, salt, sugar and water to a boil.  Cover the carrots with the liquid, leaving 1/2 in head space.  Wipe rim.  Place seal and top.  Screw closed or add clamps.  Using jar lifter, place jars into water bath.  Return the water to a boil.  Process for 30minutes.

What’s Next: While I happily will wait the two weeks needed for time to bring the sweet pickled heat, I’m going to get to those other carrots.  Sans water bath processing, this could get interesting.

Savoring India did just come in from the library.  I could make a pickle to go with the Aloo Gobhi that’s been on my mind since the cauliflower called my name at the Farmers’ Market today.  And I’ve got to do something fresh tarragon in the fridge.  Options, gotta love ‘em.

This is fun.

Nikki♥

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