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Today was taste test day for my jury-rigged recipe. With 2 caveats it was quite good. Those were:
Too Spicy-next time decrease the Gochagaru to 1/4 cup from 1/2
Too Salty- next time the same with the salt used to drain the moisture from the cabbage from 1/2 to 1/4 cup

While I rinsed the latter 3 times, I think there t=was too much salt uptake into the cabbage itself. The culture was quite active even with low Temps this last week(and still going;>), enough that brine burbled out the airlocks of both jars. Anyone whose eaten Kimchee knows the smell well....
What I usually do with it is freeze about 1/3 of a batch(usually it's bought, not made) in 1/4 cup portions which is perfect to add to Ramen and other soups.
Cheers,
Pat

Current Mood: bouncy
Current Location: Niceville
Current Music: Sophie Tucker Radio

mdehners

So, today was a dbl; my 1st batch of Sauerkraut was ready and I made my 1st batch of Kimchee. The former was more of a test of technique since i don't like Sauerkraut. It wasn't bad to me so someone who liked it would have loved it. The latter.....
One thing about Kimchee is that unless someone teaches you, you're going to be confused because now recipe agrees....not even how much salt to use on the cabbage;>! You quickly notice something. not only do none of them agree, most are designed to feed a family for weeks if not MONTHS. So, I went through recipes hardcopy and on line as well as Youtube. I finally came down with the following:
Nappa Cabbage 1 medium
Carrot 1
Sea Salt 1/2 cup
Korean Radish 1/3
Yellow Onion 1/2 small
Green Onions 1 bunch
Garlic 5 cloves
Ginger 2" piece
Asian Pear(or Bartlett) 1/2
Rice Flour(Mochicko is the most available) 1 1/2 Tablespoon
Water 1/2 cup
Sugar 1Tablespoon
Fish Sauce 3 Tablespoons
Salted Shrimp(hard to find. Optional but better if you can find at Korean Grocers) 3 Tablespoons
Gochagaru(Korean Red Pepper Flakes. NO SUBS!!!!)1/2 Cup

Wash Cabbage, core and chop into 2" pieces. Julienne Carrot. Mix together with salt. Let sit 1 1/2 hrs or until white rib bits snap only at last minute.
While Veg is sitting mix 1/2 Water and Rice flour. Bring to boil and cook on medium until honey-like. 3-5 min. Set aside to cool.
Mince Ginger, Garlic,Onion and Pear. Mix into cooled Rice "glue" with Fish Sauce and Gochagaru. Mince the salted shrimp and mix in as well. Julienne the Radish and chop Green Onion into 2' pieces and add it .
When the cabbage ribs can almost be bent in half before snapping rinse 3 times in clear water. Strain.
Squeeze extra water than add to paste. Mix well.
Pack tightly into qt Mason jars(actually, this batch took 1 qt and 1 1/2 qt) making sure no air bubbles. Stop 2'' from top of jar. Put lid on ring engaged but so air pressure will leak out. Set aside 3 Days. Then taste. If not sour enough for you, try another day!
Cheers,
Pat

Current Mood: accomplished
Current Location: Niceville
Current Music: Arrogant Worms Radio

delladea

My husband scored a rather large All-American pressure sterilizer at an estate sale for cheap and we ordered the parts to convert it into a pressure canner (the difference is the steam-release valve, the sterilizer has a switch and the canner has a weighted gauge). After it sat in our garage for nearly three years I finally got the guts to give it a shot.

With the Ball Blue Book as my guide, I've successfully canned chicken stock, sweet corn, tomato sauce, chicken soup, and chili. I have to say I'm addicted to the notion of homemade, healthy convenience food! I can't wait until I have something from the garden again to try out.

Does anyone else here can low-acid foods?

peaceful_sands

So blueberries were on offer at the store, so I've made blueberry jam this time with fair success and it's a pretty simple recipe to follow.

Only two ingredients - blueberries and sugar in equal quantities (I did 600g of each and got three pots of jam out of it) If the blueberries are very solid, a tablespoon or two of water may be added when you're at the 'softening the fruit' stage. I didn't add any to mine just heated gently until the blueberries began to soften and burst.

( Actual details of what to do under the cut )

Current Mood: creative

mdehners

This Tsukemono from the back of the Kitazawa Seed Company's 2012 catalogue is a wonderful intro to Asian Pickles, esp for those with "mundane" palates. It's pretty much a Radish "Bread & Butter";>!

Auntie betty's Takuan Tsukemono

Daikon 6 large
Salt 6 Tbl
Sugar 3 Cups
Rice Wine Vinegar(unseasoned)1/2 Cup
Tumeric 1/2 tsp
Chile Peppers(optional)

Wash, Peel and cut Daikon into "matchsticks" 1/2"square X 1 1/2"long(a frenchfry cutter makes this a snap!). Place into non-reactive pan.
Bring Salt, Sugar, Vinegar and Tumeric to a Boil(I had to add a little Water to make the mix stirable. Rememeber, you're basically making a syrup). Pour immediately over Daikon sticks. Let stand 2-3 hrs, stirring ocassionally.
Pack nto sterile jars, cover with liquid and refrigerate. Good the next day and for the next 2 weeks(not that they last that long;>!).
After the failure of my Fermented Pickle batch using the Chinese Daikon 'Green Meat', it was nice to have a real success!
Cheers,
Pat

Current Mood: accomplished
Current Location: home

mrs_tribble

peaceful_sands

So, after a bit of a disaster and a minor mishap, I achieved a modicum of success.

I tried making a plum jam and although on the day all seemed fine, by the following day, I couldn't even get it out of the jar *head desk*. Then I tried strawberry jam . . . didn't set enough, although it has made rather a sweet topping for desserts (spooned over a portion of fruit, ice cream and meringue worked well) or on french toast. Actual toast however becomes a gymnastic event as I try to keep it on the toast and not all over whatever I'm wearing *sigh*.

This got me thinking - one too hard, one too runny - there has to be a happy medium somewhere.

The answer came by combining the two recipes (more or less - I left out the lemon juice) and so the next effort was Strawberry and Plum Jam and it's edible (on toast even!), a little too sweet, although maybe that's a good thing as I use less of it at a time. I would appreciate any advice on whether I could reduce the sugar content and still get a decent jam.

Therefore, I shall share with you my recipe.

( Strawberry and Plum Jam )

Current Mood: amused

mdehners

This Summer I've had the lesson of how "room temperature" can affect the results of your Ferments. White Incubated ones such as Yogurts weren't Affected,the LA Veg Ferments WERE. I get enough complaints about the ones that work out right from my Partner but thsoe that go Bad?!?! Let's just put it this way, I'm durn lucky my projects haven't been banished to the shed;>!
From now on, the ROT is that anytime the ambient temp indoors is over 78F at night, WAIT. You may get tired of a particular veg that's producing so well but better that than making your pickles while sitting on the lawnmower;>....
Cheers,
Pat

Current Mood: contemplative
Current Location: home
Current Music: 'Fractile' Theme

mrs_tribble

I have plans for many different pickling projects over the summer, and one of the first that I'll be able to harvest the ingredients for from my own garden is redcurrants; I ordered four beautiful bushes in January and all are doing fabulously. I'll probably end up with more berries than I need for one batch, but that's okay - they can be frozen!

Anyway, here's a simple recipe for redcurrant jelly. You can use it for many different things, but I personally favour making a lovely rich redcurrant sauce to go with a nice piece of venison.

Redcurrant Jelly

1kg redcurrants

Granulated sugar

Method:

Place whole redcurrants in a large pan with 400ml water. Simmer for about 45 minutes until berries are soft and have released all their juices. Strain through a jelly bag - preferably overnight. Do not squeeze, poke or force the pulp through though, as your jelly will end up cloudy.

The next day measure the amount of juice and pour in to a clean large pan. Bring to the boil, and add 450g sugar for every 600ml juice. Stir until all sugar is dissolved, then boil rapidly for eight minutes or until setting point is reached.

Remove from heat and stir to disperse any scum. Pour in to warm sterilised jars and seal. Tap jars to disperse any air.

As a variation, you can add a couple of tablespoons of fresh, chopped mint for the last 2-3 moments of cooking.

biting_moopie

I surprised myself at having the patience to make Italian Onion and Rosemary Confiturra more than once. But it's incredibly easy and the results are worth it. The confiturra tastes unbelievably good and goes with everything. A few things:

* Use a food processor to chop up the onions. It's faster, there's less strain on your wrist and you'll get consistently-sliced onion pieces. The problem with my first batch was that the onion pieces were far too large (although it still tasted good);

* Just turn up the heat in step five. At least, I did. It took forever for the liquid to reduce, so I turned up the heat to full blast and kept stirring. It was done in no time and still tasted good;

* I used mostly white onions for the first batch, and two-thirds red onions and one third shallots for the second batch. Both were delicious, although my personal preference is for the red onions. I found they combined well with the honey and sugar and gave the confiturra a more delicate flavour - however, this is purely personal. My friends loved both and didn't feel there was much of a difference, so maybe I'm just trying to sound like Nigella here;

* This stuff disappears like it's laced with some magical drug. Be prepared to start on your next batch as soon as you're done with the current one. I'll probably make more this weekend as I'm down to the last two jars already;

* I took photos but the lighting was bad. The pictures look like jars with...something in them. So you'll have to take my word for it that using red onions gave the confiturra a lovely purple colour that looked really pretty.

mrs_tribble

This proved to be so delicious that I am currently wet-brining more courgettes and shallots to make more! It tastes lovely cooked as an ingredient, or in pasta or as part of a side salad - and if it's cooked the smell is heavenly!

So quick and easy to make, but will last a couple of month's worth of noms.

mdehners

Since I'm at the salted and pressing stage, I figured I'd post the recipe;>...

Kabu Senmai-zuke

5 large Turnips
2 tsp Salt
8" Dried Kombu
2Tbl Mirin
1 Dried Chili
Peel and slice Turnips 1/4" (Mandoline makes it easy)
Sprinkle with Salt and press for 1-2 hrs. If you don't have a Pickle Press, use a ziploc Freezer bag, "burp" and place heavy cookbook on('Joy of Cooking' or one of Martha Stewart's is just right;>).
After 1-2 hrs, squeeze moisture out and place one layer on bottom of press or bag and cover with 1/2 of Kombu and Chili. Add next layer and repeat.
Press for 24hrs at room temp, then refrigerate.
These are best eaten within the 1st week...
Cheers,
Pat

Current Mood: accomplished
Current Location: home

mdehners

I'm Pat, a Retired Nurse living on the Florida Panhandle with Partner and dog on a lot and a half of slowly recovered Permaculture(when we moved in it looked like a Jeff Foxworthy joke). My Mom raised my two oldest brothers in Japan during MacArthur's Occupation and so grew up eating Tsukemono. Later, when Dad Retired from the Army we moved to my Mom's hometown, a small S Utah village where "putting up" is a Religious Duty!
Right now my focus is on Fermented Foods;Sour Pickles(when we get either a decent price on Cukes OR Harvest;>), Kimchii, as well as Yogurt and Kefir.
Right now I'm finishing up the Winter Garden(I'll be making some Turnip Pickles next week)and starting Summer seeds indoors so they'll be ready to be put out the last week of March-1st week of April....weather willing.
Cheers,
Pat

Current Mood: accomplished
Current Location: home

mrs_tribble

Today I made Crunchy Courgette Pickle:

Here is how I did it:

500g courgettes (zucchini)
3 shallots, finely chopped
2tbsp table salt

For the pickling liquid:

500ml cider vinegar
140g golden caster sugar
1tsp mustard powder
1tsp mustard seeds
Half a dried chilli, crumbled
1tsp ground turmeric

Method:

1: Thinly slice the courgettes, place in bowl with shallots and add the salt. Cover with ice-cold water, stir to dissolve the salt and cover and leave to brine for an hour.

2: After an hour, drain well in a colander, then wrap in a tea towel to absorb as much water as possible.

3: Place all pickling ingredients in a pan. Bring to simmer and bubble for three minutes, ensuring that the sugar is properly dissolved (it will crystallise again on chilling, but will be much finer). Leave to cool until warm but not hot. Add courgettes and shallots and stir.

4: Scoop mixture into 2x500ml or 4x250ml jars (sterilised in oven at 170C/gas mark 3 for at least 10 minutes). Seal and leave in fridge for a few days. If kept chilled, this will last for several months.

mrs_tribble

A friend sent me this recipe. I made it, and it's so delicious that I have to make more now! It's ideal with cold meats and salads and sandwiches and just about anything else you can think of!

( The Recipe )

mrs_tribble

Welcome to all who love to dabble in the business of pickling and preserving! I used to help my grandmother with this when I was a child (most of my most treasured memories involve my grandmother and myself preparing enormous amounts of vegetables from the allotment prior to storing - or a mixing bowl, a wooden spoon and lots of lovely cake ingredients).

Now that I have a permanent base with my partner of four years I have picked up this craft again. I began with cabbage and eggs, but have also successfully made chutney, onion and rosemary confiturra and piccalilli from scratch.

( Pictures )

I'm more than happy to share recipes of all of these goodies - just ask!

Firstly though, I'd like you all to pull up a chair around the kitchen table and use this post to get to know each other.

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The Self-Preservation Society

Recent Entries

Kimchee!

Adventures in Fermentation!

Pressure Canning

I've tried another jam

Auntie Betty's Takuan Tsukemono

World Exclusive: Husband Finds Mongo In Pickle Jar!

Jam! (or is it Jelly?)

Ambient Temps....

Redcurrant Jelly

I made the confiturra! Twice!

Crunchy Pickled Courgette

Thousand Slices Turnips(Kabu Senmai-zuke)

Intro!

Today's Project

Italian Onion And Rosemary Confiturra

Welcome!

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January 2019

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