Preservation Link Roundup 3/21/10

The March Can Jam entries came fast and furious as the deadline loomed.

Nina Corbett, of Puts Up, was looking for ramps with no success when she was inspired by a wide variety of farmers' market produce (Rhubarb Fennel Chutney).

I actually spoke with an award-winning home canner (Los Angeles County Fair, natch) today who was looking unsuccessfully for some ramps to pickle. I suggested he try some green garlic instead.

Inspired by pickling guru Linda Ziedrich, Food in Jars makes a "bread and butter"-like onion pickle (Can Jam: Sweet and Sour Pickled Red Onions).

Oh, Briggsy... makes a Salsa Criolla, a traditional Peruvian condiment (March Can Jam: Salsa Criolla). Read the whole post for the meandering path she took to the recipe she choose. She also makes the following point:

It’s kind of like a simple red onion in vinegar, which I almost made but thought would be anticlimactic, but the ante is really upped by the lime and cilantro, which makes these pickled onions different and what I was going for. There’s only so much veggies sitting in vinegar that one can eat, am I right?

Pickles anticlimactic? Perhaps, for some, but really there are so many options for vinegars, spices and base that pickles need never be anticlimactic.

Doris and Jilly Cook make classic pickled cocktail onions - and discover the secret to easily peeling the little buggers (Pickled Onions for Cocktails).

Yes! I was hoping someone would make cocktail onions for this Can Jam. I'm a huge fan of what I call "cocktail canning"; syrups, pickles and mixes can all be canned at home for some wonderful drinking options.

For example, Food GPS reviews a restaurant owned by the first family of caviar (Petrossian -- West Hollywood). The first item reviewed? A champagne cocktail featuring candied hibiscus flowers in rhubarb syrup. If you want rhubarb syrup this summer (wouldn't that be nice on a warm Sunday morning in August) ... you're going to have to can it.

And what about flavored vinegars in cocktails? Sounds strange, but the Paupered Chef would disagree (The Strange Appeal of Vinegar in a Cocktail). You can make flavored vinegars and can them ... break out that peach vinegar for a winter party. Why not?