A jarring experience

Farm to freezer is one way to save the bounty of our farmers' markets right now. Stashing it away in sterilized jars is another. I'm talking jam, chutney, pickles--great sources of vitamins, minerals and ferment in the bleak of winter. Also fabulous gifts! I've already told you about blueberry apple chutney and rhubarb date chutney, superb partner for hard cheese, fig jam and more. So here are more ideas for putting up, as they used to say.

Tomato jam

still cooking: chunks will disappear

This is a new one for me. Decades ago i preserved tomatoes with citric acid in huge canning jars. Then I got over that and preserved them in spaghetti sauce and soup. Last year I managed to hold onto them by roasting and soaking in olive oil and putting jarred in the fridge: they made it a month and were sensational atop goat or soft sheep cheese. This year, hunting through a trove of stashed recipes, I found this simple version of Greek tomato jam--Greek because it contains cinnamon! It's a cinch to make, mighty tasty atop goat or sheep cheese or cream cheese on a bagel. 

Makes five 4 oz. jars. 

2 lbs ripe tomatoes
1 cinnamon stick (a fat one)
1/2 c cider vinegar (use good quality)
1 3/4 c turbinado, raw or granulated sugar
pinch of red pepper flakes

The slightly annoying part of this process is getting the skins off the tomatoes. To slip them easily, cut a cross in the bottom or each tomato, then submerge them in boiling water 1 minute. Remove and plunge into ice water or ice cubes or a combination. The skins should now slide right off. 
   Once that's done, remove lids from canning jars and submerge the jars in boiling water. Reduce heat to simmer while you make jam.

Quarter the tomatoes and combine with cinnamon stick in a deep pot. Cook over medium heat about 10 minutes until the tomatoes start to dissolve. Slowly add the sugar, vinegar and pinch of pepper flakes. Bring to a boil. and continue to boil and stir until the mixture thickens--15-20 minutes. You will know it's good to jar when the spoon goes through the bottom and exposes the pot. Ladle into hot sterilized jars, seal and submerge the jars in boiling water 12 minutes. (Raise the heat to med/high from simmer once you put the jars in.)

Roasted peach and pecan chutney

I posted a slightly different peach chutney recipe a few weeks ago. Then my favorite fruit farmer gifted me a box of peaches so I had to start all over. For something different, I roasted the peaches first: easy enough. You half them, remove the stone if you can, and lightly sprinkle sugar on them. Roast at 350º for 40 minutes or until they are soft. This is a great cure for hard rock peaches. At this point, you can make roasted peach jam and/or peach and pecan chutney loaded with fresh ginger, a lip smacking accompaniment to the Thanksgiving turkey.

peaches roasted without sugar

10 peaches, halved, stoned and roasted
1 c whole pecans, lightly roasted
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger root
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 c raisins
3 cloves
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp chipotle chili powder (this is smokey)
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
3/4 c raw, turbinado or light brown sugar
1/2 c raspberry or balsamic vinegar

 Put five 4 oz canning jars, lids off, in a pot deep and wide enough to hold them. Cover with water and bring to a boil to sterilize the jars. While this is happening, make the chutney.
When the peaches are cool, slip off skins and cut into chunks. Combine in a deep metal or stainless steel pot with everything else. Bring to a boil, stir and continue to cook on high heat, stirring until the mixture thickens. Spoon into hot jars, seal and boil under water 12 minutes. Remove and listen for the lid popping sign that indicates the jar is sealed. Label and shelve.

Pickled Plums
These are especially excellent with roasted pork or black-eyed pea dhal. Supposedly the recipe is traditional in Poland. The method is unusual but very convenient: while you're doing chores you can go back and forth to tend to this without time stress.

1 lb plums. cleaned and dry
2 c cider vinegar
2 c white vinegar
4 c water
2 1/4 c sugar (i like to include 1/2 light brown for the flavor)
4 whole cloves
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp grated fresh ginger root

Put the plums in a glass or ceramic bowl where they can spread out a bit.
In a medium stainless steel or metal saucepan (not aluminum is the point) bring 2 c white vinegar and 2 c water to a rolling boil. Pour over the plums. Soak 1 hour. Pour liquid back into the pot, bring to a boil, pour over the plums and soak another hour.

In the same saucepan, combine cider vinegar, 2 c water, sugar and spices. Bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar is thoroughly dissolved. Pour this over the plums and let them soak another hour.
Using a slotted spoon, pack the plums into sterilized canning jars (1/2 pint probably best to get the most). Bring the liquid in the pot to a rolling boil again and pour it over the plums filling the jars to 1/4" from the top. Seal. Submerge in boiling water 15 minutes. Remove. Check after 30 minutes to be sure the jars are tightly sealed. If not put them back under boiling water.
  The original instructions for this say: don't open for two weeks. And note: these plums will have pits.

Basic Spaghetti Sauce
This will make 3 pints so have 3 pint canning jars at hand. You can always double up for more.
A lot of ingredients but most are spices so no worries.

2 oz slab bacon or pancetta or similar
1/2 c olive oil
 4 lg garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1 lg onion, peeled and diced
1 med green bell pepper, diced
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried sage
pinch red pepper flakes*
1 tbsp dried basil or 1/3 c basil leaves chopped
2 bay leaves
6 lbs paste tomatoes (Roma), peeled and chopped
2 sm/med carrots. finely chopped or grated
1/2 c flat leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to your taste (more is good)
1/4 c red wine
4 oz. tomato paste
*for spicier sauce, add 1 med hot chili like Serrano finely diced

To peel the tomatoes, either try with a peeler or plunge them into boiling water for 1 minute, then into ice water and slip off the skins.
In a large heavy soup pot, render the bacon. (This means cook over medium heat to get all the juice/fat out of it onto the pan.) Remove the bacon. Heat olive oil. Add onion and green pepper. Sauté on medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Add oregano, pepper flakes, thyme, sage, basil, bay leaves and salt. Add carrots, tomatoes and garlic. Stir to blend. Cook over med/low heat until tomatoes start to soften,  5 minutes.  Add parsley, black pepper, red wine and tomato paste. Cover, reduce heat to simmer and cook 2 hours. Check from time to time that it is not drying out. If it is, stir in 1/4 water.  Remove bay leaves.
Ladle into hot sterilized jars, seal and submerge jars in boiling water 20 minutes. Alternately you can freeze this in plastic containers.                                     

Dilly Beans
This is the all time pickle favorite, especially for kids. It's terrific cocktail fare, great with roasted chicken and perfect for picnics.  Plus it makes the best gift. Kids can do this, so let them. This recipe comes from Nana Chef, me in a different incarnation.

4 1-quart canning jars with new lids

2+ lbs. green beans

8 lg garlic cloves, halved and smashed

2 tsp red pepper flakes

4 tbsp dill seeds

2½ cups white vinegar

2½ cups water

¼ cup kosher salt (not regular salt)

Sterilize jars in boiling water.

Pull the “twiggy” ends off the beans and wash them. Dry carefully. Put one into the jar to measure how long it can be to be slightly shorter than the jar and cut it. Use this to cut all the beans into that same length. Put 4 garlic halves, 1/2 tsp chili pepper flakes and 1 tbsp dill seeds in each jar. Fill each jar tightly with the green beans, trying to keep them all standing up in the same direction.

In a large saucepan, combine the water, vinegar and salt. Stir to dissolve salt and bring to a full boil. Ladle the hot liquid into jars, filling to ¼” of the top. Shake jars to remove air bubbles. Seal jars. Put back in boiling water 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Listen for the lids to “pop” so you know the jars are securely sealed