Preservation Link Roundup - Catching Up - 4/9/10

Since last week I discussed pickling leftover Easter Eggs, I decided to share a "before" shot of some of the four dozen eggs I pickled this week. In a couple of weeks, I'll share a photo of the finished eggs and even a dissection (to see the color gradation inside). I tried the pineapple pickled eggs and a soy sauce/pineapple brine.

Master Food Preserver (and co-author of this blog), Delilah Snell, has finalized her food preservation classes for the near future - check them out! I'll be doing one, wish I could do more, but my new job means my schedule is uncertain right now: Food Preservation Classes, Workshops and More - FINAL

She also is on the lookout for free fruit to preserve, especially loquats (Adventure in Loquats and Other Backyard Fruit - and a Special Request for Readers of this Blog!):

if you have any fruit trees that you want me to pick or you can pick and hand over-i will give you a few jars of whatever i make....viva Spring!

I was a participant in "loquat-a-palooza" last year, they are a great preserving fruit (though a little labor intensive).

Food in Jars takes a look at Ashley English's new book: Homemade Living: Canning & Preserving with Ashley English: All You Need to Know to Make Jams, Jellies, Pickles, Chutneys & More (A Good Book for the Can Jam or Anytime). She discovers that it is perfect for providing some ideas for April's Can Jam.

Not everybody has the room for a backyard smoker, or even a backyard. The Chicago Tribune runs a nice story on stovetop smoking (Smoke Signals). If you haven't tried smoking food at home yet, the stovetop method is a great place to start. You'll be surprised by the flavors you can achieve. I love smoked foods, and what you can do easily at home beats the heck out of what is available commercially. Smoke is another one of those techniques that can be used to transform routine dishes and take them to a new level. Mmmmm ... smoked roasted chicken salad.

Leda Meredith of her eponymous Urban Homestead did a radio interview on the Heritage Radio Network's Hot Grease in which she discusses lacto-fermentation as a preservation method among other topics (Hot Grease Interview).

If you are lucky enough to have access to ramps (foraged or in farmers' markets), then you might want to read a bit about using and preserving them. Local Kitchen provides some excellent ideas and information (Ramps):

The Spring ramp season is short; to preserve your bounty for the coming months, blanche & freeze the leaves as you would chard or kale, or make pesto or infused oil or vinegar as you would with fresh herbs. Dry chopped bulbs and leaves in a dehydrator or low oven, or use in pickles, chutneys, or confit. For a host of allium preserving recipe ideas, check out the March Can Jam round-up. I have a big pile o’ ramps to cook with, and I hope to score some more to preserve, so I’ll update this post as I experiment. Stay tuned!

The Canning Doctor roasts a chicken and then makes and cans stock from the carcass (Pressure Canning Again). This is an excellent practice whenever you roast a chicken (one of the greatest, most versatile meals there is). If you don't have time to make the stock that day or the next, freeze the carcass and make the stock when you do have the time.

The Practical Preserver provides instructions for properly freezing strawberries (Strawberry Season). Though I'm a huge fan of canning, in my book, it is always a good idea to have some frozen berries available in the pantry - then you are ready for all sorts of quick desserts and sweet/savory dishes.

One Perfect Bite makes a versatile pesto (aren't most pestos versatile?) from homemade sundried cherry tomatoes (Red Pesto Sauce + Home-Style Sun-Dried Tomatoes). It'll be awhile before tomato season is back, but I'm lucky enough to have a stock of homemade sundried (actually, dehydrator'd) cherry tomatoes from last August to give this pesto a try.

What Julia Ate is clearing out her freezer by canning the contents, in this case combining summer stone fruit with her homemade pectin (Apricot Plum Jam with Orange Pectin). Once again, she shares her valuable experience in working with homemade pectin.

After learning how easy it is to make buttermilk, What Julia Ate also learns how easy it is to make crème fraîche (Crème Fraîche). Crème fraîche is basically buttermilk made from cream, so it is richer and thicker. It is an excellent substitute for sour cream in most recipes, and is incredibly useful in its own right. It doesn't curdle and it is a great addition to hot dishes, such as soups and sauces. Or use it to make your own "ranch" dressing.

Preservation Link Roundup 3/23/10

Regrettably, marmalade canning season is past its peak. Though there is still great citrus in the markets, many of my favorite citruses are on the wane. The LA Times' Market Watch report by fruit detective David Karp can help you figure out which fruit is still good and which is not quite what it was just a couple of weeks ago (Market Watch: When Citrus is Past its Prime).

Of course, just because a fruit is a bit overmature doesn't mean it won't still make a great preserve. In fact, such fruit may be better in a preserve than for eating out of hand. Ideally, you want perfectly ripe fruit for preserving, but if the choice is whether an overmature fruit should be eaten out of hand or preserved, preserving might be the answer.

Be assured though, that while some citrus is making its exit from the farmers markets, some citrus is just hitting its own peak. The Kitchn notes the wonderful (grapefruit or pomelo)/tangerine hybrid tangelos that are in markets right now (Farmers' Market Report: Tangelos).

Master Food Preserver candidate Kevin West and artisan preserve maker Valerie Gordon of Valerie Confections will be doing a series of preserving classes starting in April (Sign Up for Private Preserving Lessons!). Space is limited, so sign up now.

Can't get to the class? Try some self-instruction as Kevin also shares his favorite recipe for Seville Orange Marmalade (Recipe: Seville Orange Marmalade).

If you're looking for a more difficult marmalade recipe Leite's Culinaria has a recipe for blood orange marmalade from Mes Confitures (Blood Orange Marmalade). Blood oranges are reaching their peak of color about now, so they are a good choice for a spectacularly colored marmalade.

My friend Rachael Narins of the sustainable, private supper club Chicks with Knives is also holding some classes, one on pickling and the other on basic knife skills on April 17th (Cooking Classes).

If you have ever attended a CWK dinner, you know we love anything pickled. Join us for this event and learn to make your own! We will start with a brief lecture on the different types of preserving methods, equipment and safety. We will learn to make quick, brined and fermented pickles using seasonal, farmers market ingredients to create several treats for you to try. At the end of the class you will have samples to take home, along with some basic tools, ingredients and equipment.

Yummy Supper makes dandelion jelly (Dandelion Jelly). If a flower is edible, you can make jelly from it and capture that floral essence in a jar. Just be careful, however, since even if a flower is edible, the rest of the plant may not be.

Chickens in the Road is giving away a copy of the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving (Ball Blue Book Giveaway). Post a comment for the chance to win.

Rurally Screwed was having some difficulty getting good flavor from pickled eggplant (What is Up with Pickling Eggplant???).

The other day I made eight different versions of pickled eggplant, trying to find one worthy of the canning cookbook I’m writing with Brooklyn chef Kelly Geary. And the consensus was that all eight versions more or less sucked. That’s right, I’m touting myself as a canning pro and my pickled eggplant was no good. You won’t find any of these recipes in the cookbook, that’s for sure.

But pickle and all-around preserving guru Linda Ziedrich stepped in to comment on the difficulties of pickling eggplant. The result? A delicious garnish or addition to salads (Pickled Eggplant Postscript).

The National Center for Home Food Preservation has only one recommendation for canning pumpkin: cubed in a pressure canner (Resources for Home Preserving Pumpkins). Local Kitchen set out to prove to herself that at least some canning recipes featuring pumpkins are safe (Pumpkin Cascabel Marmalade).

Obviously, I can't say that this recipe is safe, but I do think that LK's analysis is interesting, informative and well worth reading. There are some tests that can be done with the resulting marmalade, for example, puréeing the canned marmalade in a couple of weeks and checking the pH level. Of course, I would be interested in seeing what data the NCHFP based their analysis on as well; to see if LK is missing anything in her analysis.

Smoking cheese isn't really about food preservation. But, if you already have a smoker for preservation, smoking cheese is a great way to add flavor to all sorts of things. Savory TV demonstrates this with a recipe for (Smoked Cheddar Grits). I smoke a lot of cheese: pepper jack, cheddar, gouda, mozzarella, etc. Anywhere you would normally use cheese, substitute in some smoked cheese and you've got some amazing flavor.

Nearing the last of the March Can Jam:

• Rufus and Clementine uses tarragon (a great idea) to flavor pickled pearl onions (Tigress’ Can Jam (March) | Pretty Pickled Pearls).
• Small Measure, who picked alliums for the can jam, makes an interesting seasonal relish, though she subs out tarragon in favor of thyme (Onion, Orange and Thyme Relish).
• The Cosmic Cowgirl makes cocktail onions, though not for their beverage prowess - she plans to use them when grilling season is in full swing (Pickled Pearls of Wisdom).
• Backyard Farms makes a red onion jelly - imagine how good that would be in all sorts of savory applications (It Must Be Jelly Because Alliums Don't Shake Like That! CanJam Episode 3).

Preservation Supplement to LA Times Food Section 3/4/10

This week's LA Times Food Section is a veritable food preservation special issue.

First off, the cover story is dedicated to smoking food indoors (Slow-Smoking Ribs in the Great Indoors). Smoking is a very old method of food preservation. Although smoking alone will not preserve food (you need to use another method of preservation for that, such as dehydration), it does assist in preservation. More importantly, however, it adds flavor and color.

A little smoke flavor goes a long way towards supercharging flavor and taking standard recipes into a whole new realm. Add some smoked meat to a chili or stew and ... wow. Other ingredients can be smoked ... instead of regular baked potatoes ... why not try smoke roasted potatoes? Or smoke roasted potatoes in a potato salad.

Anyway, if you haven't tried smoking, then read this article. It demystifies smoking and shows how you can do it with very little equipment right inside your kitchen. The article is focused on stove top smoking, but you can also use similar equipment and methods to smoke in your oven. As for me, I'm going to give the Maple-Bourbon Hot-Smoked Pork Belly a try. Mmmmm ... bacon. I've made maple-cured bacon before ... bourbon sounds like a great addition.

Hmmm ... makes me think that some smoky Scotch would be another way to add smoke flavor in different recipes...

Anyway, moving my mind off the island of Islay, Russ Parsons discusses the increasingly popular trend of nose-to-tail cooking and eating. In this case, learning how to butcher and cook whole pigs (In SoCal Restaurants, a New Passion for the Whole Pig).

Learning how to cook nose-to-tail will inevitably lead to food preservation techniques, which were traditional ways of using the whole animal. Curing, drying, smoking, and pickling are all methods commonly used on the less commonly eaten (nowadays) parts of the animal. What's great about this is that not only are we rediscovering flavors and textures that have fallen by the wayside, but reconnecting with where our food comes from and gaining new respect for those who raise the animals and the animals themselves.

This is why I am passionate about food preservation.

In any case, Parsons references that modern classic Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing and provides a slightly modified version of Pork Belly Confited in Olive Oil. It must be confit week on this blog.

Aging beer gets some respect (Store Beer in a Wine-Like Cave? Southern California Gives it a Try). Although the article is focused on commercial bottles from smaller breweries, some of the most interesting aging that I know is taking place by home brewers who are aging their own brews. Heck, I've got a nice spiced stout (lots of clove and orange peel) I expect will be quite nice come the holidays nine or ten months from now (and almost a year-and-a-half after it was brewed).

"The Find" reviews a place I've been dying to try ever since I heard the words "kumquat chutney dogs" (The Slaw Dogs in Pasadena). I've got to go check them out ...

Preservation Supplement to LA Times Food Section 2/18/10

This week's LA Times Food Section's cover story this week is on a very important issue: local food politics (Food Politics in L.A.: Hungry for Change).

One of the most interesting things about food politics is that so much of what is important and what can be done, can be done and should be done at the local level. Although there are national policies that are important (*cough*more federal funds for school food*cough*), much more can be done on the local level, taking into account the local foodshed. Many of the issues involve access to better food, whether through better markets in poor neighborhoods, more support for food banks, farmers' markets and community gardens, or restricting access to edible-food-like products such as fast food moratoriums and banning soda machines in schools.

Most of these issues are best dealt with at the local level. Much more can be said, and should be ... I'll touch on these topics as I blog.

Of course, I have a pet project of mine: a community canning center. Such a canning center would support local food banks, community gardens and farmers' markets. It could be used by entrepreneurs and local restaurants. I want local restaurants to rely more on the local foodshed, and one way they can do this is to do some food preservation themselves. A community canning center would have the space and specialized equipment that might not be feasible for a restaurant. It would also be an education space, for adults and school children and a base of operations for a Master Food Preserver program.

I could go on, but that is my pet project for local food politics. If you're interested in helping, let me know.

Yesterday, at the Wednesday Santa Monica Farmers' Market, I met David Karp, aka the fruit detective. His "Market Watch" column highlights what's best in the farmers markets (Fennel Showing Up at Farmers Markets). This week he highlights fennel (preserve it pickled or pressure canned in a soup), mandarins (preserve it in marmalade, segments canned in syrup, or dried), and wild chanterelles (preserve through drying).

Wow, this week both reviews feature restaurants that make and use preserved foods.

"The Find" heads to San Gabriel for the cuisine of Liuzhou at Happy Kitchen (A Happy Union of Chinese Flavors). Liuzhou cuisine not only includes pickles and smoked goods, but the signature dish of Happy Kitchen is luosifen, a snail-broth soup that includes preserved cabbage. Preserved cabbage and soup ... a classic combination in many cuisines.

S. Irene Virbila is 3-star impressed with the Lazy Ox Canteen near Little Tokyo and, after reading her review, I'm impressed too (Magic in the Air at Lazy Ox). According to the review, Chef Josef Centeno is putting out incredible small plates, with many specialties - many featuring preserved foods. "He pickles...He cures. And God knows what else....He even makes his own stoneground mustard." There is housemade sriracha and quince mostarda.

I can't wait to try it ... sounds like a perfect place to stop before heading to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

Preservation Link Roundup 2/18/10

Slashfood passes on the news that the European Food Safety Authority is concerned that one or more of the flavorings in artificial smoke flavor may be toxic to humans (Smoke-Flavoring in Some Foods May Be Toxic).

The European Food Safety Authority examined 11 smoke flavorings used in the European Union and found that several of the flavorings had chemicals in them that could cause cell damage in high quantities.

Time to go back to real smoke flavor.

One way to add real smoke flavor, without actually smoking something, is to use actually smoked salt. Coincidentally, smoked salt is the flavor of the week for Anarchy in a Jar (Flavor of the Week: Smoked Salt). Just be sure your salt is actually smoked. Also, note that there are various flavors of smoke. Alder and applewood are quite different.

Stick a Fork in It, the OC Weekly's food blog, promotes making preserved lemons (Cliché-Killing Preserved Lemons).

A tagine is a good trial dish for a first batch, to taste the lemons in what may be thought of as their natural environment, but if they become a standard flavor in your kitchen, you'll find yourself chopping them up to add into just about any dish.

Hmm, that sounds familiar.

The SF Gate reports on the seed trends for gardening this year (Seed Trends - Food Gardening, Pickling). What's hot? Food, particularly food that can be preserved.

Since last year, Josh Kirschenbaum, product development director for Oregon's Territorial Seed Co., has seen a jump in sales of vegetables for home preserving, including pickling cucumbers and saucing tomatoes.

In other trend news, Jarden Home Brands, owners of Ball and Kerr, report that they beat expectations and saw increased profits, according to Reuters (Jarden Profit Beats View, Sees Sales Growth).

With an average price of $30 for its products, Jarden has managed to appeal to consumers looking to entertain in their homes or cook their own food while saving money. Products geared to home canning and fishing, for example, had strong sales, [Chief Executive Martin] Franklin said.

If you do a lot of canning, Two Frog Home has a good tip to save money: buy canning lids by the case (Bulk Canning Lids). Other ways are to save money is to buy on sale (usually late fall), or special order through an ACE Hardware (but see if you can negotiate a discount on a full case). If you don't plan on using a full case, why not split a case with a canning friend?

Chef Talk has a nice primer on canning meat using the raw pack method (Hot to Can Meat AKA Jar Meat).

Carrot Can Jam update:

Breadexperience.com provides a great description of her pickling process for baby carrots (Pickled Baby Carrots: Tigress Can Jam #2).

Local Kitchen (local, that is, if you're from New York's Hudson Valley) struggled with the can jam because she didn't want to make more marmalade and doesn't like carrot pickles. So, after some searching, she modified (safely, I might add since she used more acidic ingredients than the original tested recipe) a recipe for carrot pepper salsa (Can Jam: Apple Carrot Chilé Chutney). Looks and sounds great!