kitchen adventures
You don’t have to make a huge batch when you make jam. Take this example: in a small batch, Strawberry-Vanilla Butter uses only 1½ quarts of berries, and yields 3 half-pint jars (plus a bit extra for toast or snacking.) You may double the recipe, if you wish a larger batch: the
When you need to freeze berries, do it quickly! Acting on a hint from Alton Brown on how to freeze strawberries with dry ice, I started with my berries and (of course) dry ice. You’ll need the ice (a local grocery store will often stock this), a big pot or clean
Recipes get passed around, and change as they go. Chocolate pear butter is a case in point: it is my own version of a splendid recipe from Marisa McClellan’s second book, Preserving by the Pint, which is itself inspired by a British book, Notes from the Jam Cupboard, by Mary Tregellas. I keep up
In the fall, as soon as I have made applesauce, I start thinking about making apple butter: thick, silky, and fragrant with spices. It’s an old-fashioned preserve, and the old-fashioned way to make it involves a big kettle and hours of stirring. I prefer a modern method, which still take time,
Canning tomato sauce: it’s my end of summer ritual. I’ll do anything to prolong tomato season! Fortunately, I have a lot of friends who agree with me, and we get together each year for a Big Tomato Crush work party – a ton of fun, and satisfyingly productive. It’s not a difficult
Make a small-batch ginger pear butter: this smooth pear preserve with a tang of ginger is excellent with toast or scones, would be perfect with gingerbread, and delightful with shards of chocolate in an autumn crostata. The only word that properly describes it is a ‘butter’ – it has the mouthfeel of apple butter, but the
Canning alert: changes for lids!! I first learned about this by reading Theresa Loe’s blog at livinghomegrown.com: the Jarden Company, who make lids for Ball canning jars, advise new procedures for using canning lids. It has to do with the red gasket on the inside of the lid. As of 2013, lids are made without BPA and are labeled
Tangy and sweet, bread & butter pickles are an old-fashioned favorite best made with largish (4 inches or so) pickling (Kirby) cucumbers. If these are not available, use regular cucumbers of the smallest size you can find: you want a cucumber with the fewest seeds possible. It’s been a cool
Apricots are one of my favorite fruits, and they’re hard to come by here in SE Michigan. I haunt farmers markets, looking for a grower, and when I find one, I tend to grab some apricots. I always make a little jam: begin with just a bit of fruit, get
When you have just a bit of fruit that you can’t use right away, don’t let it spoil: make it into a little batch of jam. This small-batch cherry apricot jam took me less than an hour from start to finish. Cherries and apricots just go together; this jam is a
I am often asked how to make jam, and is making jam hard? People tend to assume it takes a lot of time; that every batch is unmanageably huge; that it’s scary and uses weird equipment. All this is so, so wrong. You can make jam in a skillet or saucepan
In the summer, freeze fresh herbs in oil for use all winter long. This technique works well with rosemary, thyme, parsley, cilantro, or any of the tender leafy herbs. Don’t bother to use your best extra-virgin olive oil here: plain, mild olive oil works best. Basil cubes are shown in the photo,
I’m Maurita Plouff, and I write about cooking and preserving the local harvest in Southeast Michigan. Any recipe you find here is something I have cooked myself, and enjoyed, and think you might like too. I invite you to try the recipes, and leave comments.