Preserve
Latest stories
More stories
-
Melon en Surprise
Melon en Surprise was Auguste Escoffier’s title for a five line description of a tasty combination of melons and other fresh fruits in his 1903 masterpiece Le Guide Culinaire. Of course, Escoffier was working from the notes and techniques of Antoine Carême, an earlier codifier of French Haute cuisine. But as you will see here, […] More
-
Storing Vegetables for Winter Use
When harvest time comes for each crop in your vegetable garden, the best specimens are best used right away–send them straight to the table. Good specimens that you can’t use fresh, store for later use. Crops that are damaged should still be picked and sent to the compost pile. Harvest varies from crop to crop […] More
-
in Preserve
How to Home Can Tomatoes for Beginners
Canning is the best way to enjoy fresh, flavorful garden-grown tomatoes long after harvest time. Canned tomatoes are ideal for use in soups, stews, and casseroles. You will need 22 pounds of fresh tomatoes for a canner load of 7 quarts and 14 pounds of fresh tomatoes for a canner load of 9 pints. That’s […] More
-
How to Sun-Dry and Oven-Dry Tomatoes
Sun-dry tomatoes or oven-dry tomatoes to use for seasoning in salads, soups, stews, casseroles, mixed vegetables, and snacks. You can also rehydrate dried tomatoes for use in cooking. Dried tomatoes are fresh, ripe tomatoes that have been placed in the sun, in an oven, or in a food dryer to dry out the water content. […] More
-
How to Freeze Ripe Tomatoes
Freeze the bounty of tomatoes you don’t eat fresh this summer for use in cooking next winter. How to freeze a tomato Freeze tomatoes whole or cut them into wedges. Wash and dry tomatoes for freezing and cut out any bad spots or bruises. Place whole or sliced tomatoes on a baking sheet and put […] More
-
in Preserve
Ways to Serve Maple Syrup
Use maple syrup as a replacement for sugar or as a flavoring for desserts such as pies, soufflés, mousses, and cakes. When you use maple syrup to replace sugar, reduce the amount of liquid in the recipe by approximately half a cup for every cup of syrup used. You know maple syrup as a topping […] More
-
in Preserve
How to Make Plum Jam for Beginners
Plums jam is easy to make; all you need is fresh, ripe plums, sugar and a bit of lemon juice. From start to finish, you will have plum jam in less than an hour. Plums are a diverse lot; they range in color from green to yellow to red to purple to blue to black […] More
-
in Preserve
How to Can Green Snap Beans for Beginners
Snap beans, also known as green beans or string beans, are a versatile and nutritious vegetable that can be preserved through canning to enjoy year-round. If you’re new to canning, this guide will walk you through the basics of safely and effectively canning snap beans at home. Let’s get started! Why Can Snap Beans? Canning […] More
-
in Preserve
How to Can Pasta Sauce for Beginners
A tomato-rich sauce for pasta is a variation on a theme. You know your favorite pasta sauce and when the tomato harvest comes in summer, you have the opportunity to can your favorite tomato-based sauces for the year to come and capture the flavors of summer. There are quick ways to put up pasta sauce […] More
-
in Preserve
Canning Peaches for Beginners
Canning peaches is simple. You will need just ripe peaches that are not soft or mushy, and you will need about 45 minutes of preparation time and about 25 minutes of processing time. Peaches are easily prepared for canning in a hot-water bath canner. You will need about 17½ pounds of peaches for each canner […] More
-
in Preserve
How to Make Dill Pickles for Beginners
You can turn cucumbers into pickles in about 40 minutes. It’s not difficult. My favorite pickling cucumbers are County Fair, National Pickling, Pickle Bush, Regal, and Saladin. Pickling cucumbers are short–4 inches is about the right length–and compact with tender skins. Longer, larger cucumbers such as Marketmore and Bush Champion are best for fresh eating, […] More
-
in Preserve
Canning Sweet Pickle Relish
Sweet pickle relish combines cucumbers, green or red bell peppers, and onions from the summer garden. This is the classic relish to enjoy on hot dogs and hamburgers. Half-pint jars are probably the right size for canning sweet pickle relish. Once opened you’ll want to keep this relish refrigerated and use it up within two […] More