Monday, April 5, 2010

Martha Stewart joins the canning party

("Now remember to color coordinate your preserves!")

Sometimes i partake in a little Martha Stewart Living Magazine. I like the Good Things section and i love how she takes something i have collected (from yard sales and thrift stores) 10x's more expensive because she did an article about them :)
In last month's magazine, i noticed that there was a section about canning/preserves. i would have posted about it earlier, but i was trying to find links/images to post as well-couldn't find any, and got busy-hence a little late.
But late is better than never-and the Martha article has a beautifully photographed spread on making your own canned goods. While pressure-canning, diagrams of actually preparing/processing goods and tidbits that one would get from a Ball Canning Book are not really covered (heck, it's only a few pages!)...i liked the article for 2 reasons:
-new recipes like lemons with artichokes-have to try it!
-creative applications of the recipes beyond the cheese and bread.

below is one of the recipes from the article-if you end up making it, let us know!

OLD BACHELOR'S JAM (from Martha Stewart Living)
  • 2 lbs blackberries (7c)
  • 3 1/2 c sugar
  • 2 lemons halved
  • 2 lbs raspberries (7c)
  • 4 oz kirsh or other cheery-flavored liquor (1/2c)
bring blackberries, 1 3/4c sugar and the juice of 1 lemon in a large pot over medium heat. Cook until sugar dissolves and berries are soft. Press parchment on the jam and put in the fridge overnight. Do the same with the raspberries and same amount of sugar.
remove parchment, bring each pot to a boil-thicken (about 12-17 min). do jell-test to make sure it will set.
fill each jar, half with one jam, half with the other and top with 1/2 oz kirsch. Process in a water bath for 10 min.


NOTE: if you are interested in preserving classes, both Ernie and i have a few classes coming up in the next few months-again, let us know if there is something that you would like to see.
happy preserving!

7 comments:

  1. Thanks for the information; I never read Ms. Stewart's magazine, but I was able to find that Artichokes packed in oil with lemon recipe and will give it a try soon!

    BTW, I am working my way through Christine Ferber's book, Mes Confitures, and I notice a few recipes that call for elderflower. I don't know what kinds of elder trees grow in Europe, but the elders in the Lower Arroyo Seco in Pasadena are about to burst into flower. Do you have any idea whether they could be used for these recipes?

    ReplyDelete
  2. i dont see why not-let me look into it. i know you can make a wine from then and possibly a jelly as well. let me know if you find any info as well...i might go up to Pasadena to grab some-thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  3. OOOhh...lemons and artichokes! Count me in. Sounds absolutely wonderful. I like the approach of being creative with one's canning. We regularly update our methods, why not our uses of the products of those methods, as well?

    ReplyDelete
  4. thank you, Delilah! A little Googling on this subject is just confusing. One source says that both the European Elder and the Mexican Elder are both Sambucus nigra; most sources call the Mexican elderberry Sambucus mexicana Tapiro. One source that talks about mexicana Tapiro says the fruits make good jam. This site, http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/edible/msg0707492621859.html, has a post that says all elderberries are toxic to some extent, Mexicana being the worst, but I'm talking about the flowers, not the berries. I also can't find the information he cites on either California agriculture site. In contrast, this site, http://www.pshm.org/recipe_elderflower_sorbet.shtml, gives a recipe for elderflower sorbet and mentions that the flowers need to be separated from the stems before using.

    I've emailed the Theodore Payne Society to see if they know and will post here if I get an answer.

    ReplyDelete
  5. There is a very delicous recipe from the UK for Elderflower cordiale. That would be sambucus nigra. Sambucus nigra has a high chill requirement. So I find myself looking longingly at the Mexican elderflower blossoms in my front yard. I will be very interested to hear what the Theodore Payne Society has to say. Please keep us posted.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Darn you, Delilah; there were beautiful baby artichokes at the farmers' market this morning, so I had no choice but to make Martha's recipe for artichokes with lemons! It's all your fault that I'm indoors on this glorious day...

    ReplyDelete
  7. No response from the Theodore Payne folks, so I'll try to find somebody at the Arboretum who might know...

    ReplyDelete