Save summer on your shelf
Toolbox
By MARIALISA CALTA - Published: June 23, 2009
f the current crop of cookbooks is any indication, food preservation is making a comeback. The spring harvest yielded a number of books on making pickles, jams, jellies and preserves, and preparing dried, smoked, salted and frozen foods.
This movement, if there actually is enough interest to be called a "movement," is fueled in large part by the growing interest in local and seasonal foods. Whether you grow your own or buy from a local farmer, one of the best ways to eat the foods you trust is to preserve them yourself.
But food preservation is a tricky business. Fears of spoilage, mold and worse — botulism — loom large. It is not for the uninformed.
The best way to inform yourself about safe food preservation is to take a course with your local extension service; or to immerse yourself in the U.S. Department of Agriculture food-preservation information online at the University of Georgia's National Center for Home Food Preservation (www.uga.edu/nchfp); or to buy a trusty book on the subject. I have long been a fan of the "Ball Blue Book of Preserving," published by the folks who make canning jars and equipment; it's available online at www.freshpreserving.com or call (800) 240-3340. Another excellent volume is the hot-off-the-presses "The Beginner's Guide to Preserving Food at Home" by Janet Chadwick (Storey Publishing, 2009). This is a no-nonsense, confidence-building approach to canning, freezing, drying, brining and root-cellaring almost any fruit or vegetable you can think of.
Preserving food can be a fun family project as well as a way to use seasonal, fresh produce and keep it for your own delectation for the rest of the year.
Since "fresh and seasonal" are bywords for preserving, and since cherries are in season, here are two ways to preserve these once-a-year treats. The first is from the elegant "Well-Preserved: Recipes and Techniques for Putting Up Small Batches of Seasonal Foods" by Eugenia Bone (Clarkson Potter, 2009). The second is from Chadwick's book.
Cherries in Wine
2 quarts red wine
2 cups sugar
2 cups orange juice
24 whole cloves
16 (3-inch) strips of orange zest
4 pounds cherries, stemmed and pitted
Cook's note: Before beginning, rinse and drain the fruit well and then stem and pit, using a cherry or olive pitter. You could also leave in the pits.
Place the wine, sugar, orange juice, cloves and orange zest in a medium pot. Bring to a low boil over medium heat, stirring all the while to dissolve the sugar and ensure that it does not burn. Wash four pint jars, and scald by dipping them into boiling water. Prepare the lids and rings according to the manufacturer's directions.
Add the cherries to the wine, and simmer for 10 minutes, until they are soft but not collapsed. Remove with a slotted spoon, and ladle into the scalded jars.
Reduce the wine mixture remaining in the pot to about half its volume, cooking it over medium-low heat. This will take about 10 minutes, and the resulting liquid will be rather viscous. Strain the wine mixture, and pour over the cherries in the jar, leaving a 1/2 to 3/4 inch of headspace.
Wipe the rims, set the lids and screw on the bands until they are finger tight (as tight as you can make them by hand). Place the jars in a big pot with a rack on the bottom, and add enough water to cover the jars by 3 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower the heat to medium and gently boil the jars for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat, and allow the jars to rest in the water for 5 minutes. Remove the jars, and allow to cool, untouched, for 4 to 6 hours. Check the seals. If not sealed, refrigerate the jar and use the contents as soon as possible. If well sealed, label and store in a cool, dry place for up to a year. Refrigerate after opening.
Serving suggestion: Serve a 1/2 cup of the cherries in a wineglass with a dollop of whipped cream.
Yield: 4 pints
Recipe from "Well-Preserved: Recipes and Techniques for Putting Up Small Batches of Seasonal Foods" by Eugenia Bone (Clarkson Potter, 2009)
Freezing Cherries in Sugar Syrup
7-3/4 cups water
5-1/4 cups sugar 17-1/2 pounds cherries, stemmed and pitted
Make the sugar syrup by boiling the water and sugar together, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar.
While the syrup is coming to a boil, pack the cherries into rigid, freezer-proof containers. Pour the syrup over the fruit, leaving a 1/2 inch of headspace. Seal and freeze for up to a year.
Yield: 7 quarts
Recipe from "The Beginner's Guide to Preserving Food at Home" by Janet Chadwick (Storey Publishing, 2009).
Marialisa Calta, who lives in Calais, is the food editor at Vermont Life. For more information, go to www.marialisacalta.com. Copyright 2009, Newspaper Enterprise Association.
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