Behind the Seals

The final installment of the stories behind the preserved items from the summer of 2010. Summer of 2011 will be here before we realize it!

Mixed-Berry Currant Jam was a late edition to the recipe roster and fun to make. I couldn't resist the array of currants at the farmer's market so I got some black currants and some white currants. Every recipe I had called for a significant amount more of currants that just wasn't feasible so I sought a way to mix other fruits. At the next farmer's market I bought 1 of every berry they had. I learned the difference between black raspberries and blackberries - but guess what, both of them are in this jam! All I need to say about this jam is that it is classy.

White Currants

Black Currants

Raspberries

Blackberries

Black Raspberries

Summer Solstice Preserves turned out better than anticipated and make one of the THE BEST peanut butter and jelly sandwiches around. It took a little time to pit the cherries but the blueberries required no prep so it came together fast. Cherries and blueberries happen to be my favorite fruits so I definitely kept a jar of this for myself.

Summer Solstice Preserves

Cherry-Berry Fruit spread was an experiment in using apple as the thickener. It was kind of the one I came to hate and wanted nothing to do with. It probably started when I decided to start making it at 8pm on a night I needed to be in bed at 10pm. It required apples to be peeled and cored and chopped and pounds upon pounds of cherries to be pitted. Once that was finally done it had to cook for 40 minutes before adding the rest of the fruit! Since apples contain natural pectin the spread is supposed to thicken as they cook down. This was taking way longer than anticipated and I great quite impatient and in hindsight, removed it from the stove before it was done. A fruit spread is made with less sugar than conventional jams, etc. and people who prefer things not too sweet really liked this one.

Cherry-Berry Fruit Spread

I blogged earlier in the season about making relish with the limited time red corn. Sadly, I missed my window; however, I will not miss the opportunity next year! This recipe is actually a "throw-back" to my Missouri heritage. It came from the Kitchen Klatter cookbook that my grandmother bought for her husband more than 30 years ago. Kitchen Klatter is a household name where I come from but haven't found a single person outside of Missouri who's familiar with the brand. http://crackediceandchrome.com/?p=1029 Here's someone else's blog about that cookbook. Since all of the books I own are currently packed away for the move I cannot reference the book as detailed as I'd like.

The first time I made corn relish using this recipe I was missing some ingredients so I made a couple substitutions. It came out great. The second time I made it I followed the recipe exactly with all the proper ingredients and found it didn't pack as much flavor.

Watch out for the red corn relish next summer!

Corn Relish

This is not my first time at the mustard rodeo, and it certainly won't be my last. Mustard is so incredibly easy to make and is the what makes me want to make all ready-made foods from scratch. It starts with mustard but before long I know I'll be making my own cheese.

Spicy German Mustard

It was interesting to pickle cherries this summer and I'll definitely do it again with a little bit of tweaking. The recipe said to keep the stems on, so I inferred that I should also keep the pits in. I regret doing this and in the next attempt I will carefully pit the cherries while trying to keep the stems attached. Their flavor is not expected, thanks to the cloves and allspice, and they make a great compliment alongside a smoky, grilled meat.

Pickled Cherries

The Jars Are in the Mail

This morning I went to the post office with a dozen packages packed in my collapsible shopping cart. Some may have also heard me refer to this as my "Old Lady Shopping Cart". It was quite the sight to see me get this down 3 flights of stairs but I did it none-the-less. As I was walking down Southport, known for its sidewalks laden with women pushing strollers, I passed a women with a stroller then spotted across the street another woman with a baby on her torso. I laughed as I looked down at my "stroller" filled my summer of pickling and preserving.

All of my jars have left the nest.

Not-So-Urban

This week I'm on a break from my urban preserving with a much more rural setting surrounding me. Every morning I sit outside drinking my coffee and eating breakfast while a menagerie of geese, ducks, chickens, cats and dogs co-mingle around me. It is quite relaxing and quite picturesque; hopefully one day I can shift gears and be the Rural Preserver.

What I Use the "Fancy" Jars For

Everything I preserve is done in the jar best suited for it. I already tested a few batches of both pickled green beans and pickled asparagus and when I found extra tall jars I just KNEW what they had to be used for.

I'm particularly pleased with the results of the pickled asparagus. The biggest revelation with this batch was packing the spears in the jars with the tips pointing downward. In previous batches I found that the tips poke up to the top and donn't stay submerged in the brine. An interesting note about when I made these is that while they were cooling the vinegar caused a reaction and all of the petals turned a bright red.

Here are my 'lemon spiced bean pickles'; I used both green and yellow wax beans and there is lemon rind tucked in. I kept the pigeon-deterring spikes in the shot because I felt they reinforced the URBAN in Urban Preserver. I'm also proud to say that these were a huge success with children. Well, OK, one child.

I think the shape and size of a jar adds character to what's inside and ultimately what gives something that extra personal touch. Consider the Jar.

The Making of... The 2nd Installment

To balance out the 2 sweet items we started with I'm going to keep it fair by writing about 2 of the sour items.

Mixed Vegetable Mustard Pickles. I'd been reading about 'mustard pickles' and was intrigued by the use of flour. They also typically call for a fair amount of sugar. At first I wondered if they were another name for 'bread and butter pickles' but recipes for those had slight omissions. In doing my research I discovered that mustard pickles were actually the first form of chow-chow. I was determined to make something with cauliflower and consequently found that the flour-thickened, sweet-but-still-tangy syrup was delicious right off a spoon.

Dilled Baby Carrots. These puppies are simplicity at it's best. The most difficult part about making these was picking the most perfect heads of dill to pack into the jars.

A Corny Idea!

So I'm trimming my corn off the cob, just making my dinner. This isn't just any corn on the cob though, this is RED sweet corn. It's pretty special stuff. I only needed 1 tonight but bought 3 and didn't know how I was going to use the other 2. Then it dawned on me like the biggest idea ever. EVER. I'll make corn relish with RED corn. Won't that just be the CRAZIEST thing anyone has ever seen in the world of canning?

The Making of...

I decided that every recipe I've canned this summer deserves a little story behind it. I'm going to kick off the first installment with 2 items on the sweet side.

Bumbleberry Jam. The name says it all, right? Actually, the name is not much help, if you can get past pronouncing it. It's quite a pleasant mixture of blueberries, raspberries and strawberries. I was looking for a fail-proof "mixed berry" type recipe and this was it. I even managed to deceive my friend who does not [consciously] eat strawberries with it.

Peach Lavender Jam. Who knew? I have made this recipe twice now and it came out perfect both times. It's a lovely combination of flavors and aromas, casts a beautiful color and sounds luxurious every time you say it. I think this jam has the power to bring a person to eat an entire package (yes, 6) English muffins. Toasted. With butter. In one sitting.

Look Out, Martha!

It's rewarding when a plan comes together, especially when so freakin' adorably! I let the craft store dictate my path for the project of creating labels/tags for all these jars. So it turns out that a mason jar rubber stamp, blank gifts tags, my home printer and a knack for placing clip art makes a pretty cute hand-crafted tag.

It's Important to Rest

I'm taking a break from canning - for at least a week. I'm torn because there are so many things I want to accomplish but I also need a day off from the real job, in a kitchen, that doesn't require hours upon hours spent in my home kitchen. I want to move on to work on labels and other packaging but am forcing myself to take it easy on my next day off. I do have to wait for UPS after all.

I am down to only 12 empty jars and quite frankly, it makes me feel just ever-so-slightly nervous.

In My Element

Happy hot Saturday off! The farmer's market was wonderful this morning and my produce is all laid out. I had to run back out to get lemons and more vinegar and sugar but we're back on track. Here's what's on deck for today:

• Cucumber Sandwich Pickles
• Dilled Baby Carrots
• Mixed Berry-Currant Jam (includes red and black raspberries, black currants, white currants and blackberries)
• Peach Lavender Jam (round 2 by popular demand)

I Can Quit Anytime

I'm obsessed with canning almost at an unnatural level. It comes as no surprise really, as any new project I take on becomes everything I eat, sleep, drink and breathe. I spent so many hours shopping online for jars that I dreamed about them that night. Last weekend I spent my day off in my kitchen for 9 straight hours over a stock pot of boiling water and ended with having produced 43 jars of assorted sweets and sours. After putting in full days of work on both Sunday and Monday I promptly jumped into the kitchen afterwards and by Monday's end had yielded 86 jars total. I could finally rest, as everything on my list had been completed.

But I couldn't rest. I had to do more with them. I had to move them, I had to group them, I had to photograph them, I even wondered, "what else could I make?" As I was thumbing through and bookmarking recipes I had to stop myself. I remembered that I didn't have to attempt all the recipes that caught my eye this summer. Sure, Apple Cider Cinnamon Jelly sounds interesting and quick to make but what's the harm in waiting 'til fall when fresh cider is plentiful and in season?

I find myself justifying my jar purchases like an addict justifying a fix. I told a friend I was planning a trip to the hardware store on my day off and she said, "more jars?" Without thinking I said, "just 1 or 2 cases this time." What is happening to me?!

The Elusive Mr. Mason

Every successful canning project starts with having empty jars. Seems simple enough. Right? Unfortunately for me, there isn't a high demand for mason jars in the immediate proximity of Wrigley Field. This story goes back a little to a year ago when I first started to dabble in the art of preservation. I thought for sure the local hardware store just 2 blocks north of me would carry all things canning. Wrong. So, I ended up at one of the larger super markets and was happy to find what I was looking for, though my disillusioned mind thought I could just buy jars on an individual basis and was not prepared to purchase 12. How on earth would I EVER use all 12 of these jars?! But I bought them and awkwardly carried them home.

So we're back to this summer and in need of more jars. Turns out 12 were quite useful after all! This time I'm prepared with my 'old lady' fold-up shopping cart to buy as many jars as my heart desires. There are no jars to be found. Sure, they had lids and bands and 2, yes 2, types of pectin but no jars. I confronted a manager who said they needed to be ordered and that they'd arrive by the end of the week. Who could wait that long? This farm fresh produce needed to be preserved and stat. I began to shop online and found loads of wonderful shapes and sizes and accessories on Amazon.com and along with that came shipping costs that were the same if not more than the price of the jars. This was turning into a very expensive hobby. Lucky for me I stumbled upon Ace Hardware's website and found they had quite the jar selection and the option to have them shipped to my local store, free of charge. There are 3 of these locations within walking distance of me, including the one that I first tried last summer. It was a win-win situation.

Last Saturday I was on my way to the farmer's market, 'old lady' cart in tow, and decided to pop into the super market to pick up some more jars since they would have arrived by then. I mean, I did feel obligated to at least purchase a case after asking about them before. I would sure feel bad if no one was buying them. To my surprise there were still no jars! But of course they still had the other supplies. I head on to the farmer's market and at the last minute decide to pop into the European super market to hunt for jars. Just as I'm giving up I spot 1 case of quart size jars sitting next to some boxes of pectin. Sure enough the price tags on the front of the shelf indicate there were once the jars I am seeking. I again find a manager to ask about the availability and was told they had been having trouble with orders being fulfilled. I settled on the lone individual quart jar for the price of $1; surely I'd make something to put inside it. All this hunting lead me to the conclusion that I better buy up more jars from Ace before I really needed them.

In a grand twist of irony, when I picked up my second order of jars I discovered my local hardware store now carries them. An employee of the store said he "meant to tell me the last time I was in." Figures.