- Author: Dayna Ravalin, UCCE Master Food Preserver Program Coordinator
- Editor: Katherine Soule, Youth, Families, and Communities Advisor
Are you in lemon overload right now? We are so fortunate to live on the Central Coast of California where citrus trees are abundant and well suited to our climate. Lemons are often seen carpeting neighborhood yards while the trees hang heavy with fruit. Juicing the lemons and freezing for other uses is one way to use them, but I have another suggestion. Try preserving them! These lemons are not canned in the modern sense of preserving, but they are preserved in salt instead. Preserved lemons are used as a flavoring in so many dishes. They are traditionally found in Moroccan and Middle Eastern cuisines but can be used in something as simple as steamed rice or oven baked chicken to add a bit of brightness to an otherwise common dish.
Photo credit: Dayna Ravalin
Start by washing your lemons well in warm water and your hands too! I would use a vegetable brush to make sure and remove all dirt and debris from the peel. If you are purchasing lemons instead of using them from your backyard tree, make sure and find some that have not been waxed if possible.
I use a quart mason jar to hold my preserved lemons. You could make half the recipe and use a pint jar instead. Either size will require you to sterilize your container. Submerge it in a pot of water and boil for 10 minutes. Keep the jar in the hot water until you are ready to use it.
After washing the lemons, remove about 1/8-¼ inch from the stem end of half the lemons. Cut the lemons into quarter sections, but don't cut all the way through the ends. You will be creating a “lemon flower”.
Photo credit: Dayna Ravalin
Squeeze the remaining lemons for their juice only.
Photo credit: Dayna Ravalin
I like to strain my juice to remove the extra seeds and pulp, but this step isn't mandatory.
Photo credit: Dayna Ravalin
For a quart size jar, you will need about 1-1 ½ c. of fresh squeezed juice.
Photo credit: Dayna Ravalin
Add about 1 Tbsp. of canning or pickling salt into the bottom of your sterilized jar.
Photo credit: Dayna Ravalin
Sprinkle about a tablespoon of salt inside each of your “lemon flowers”. I would recommend doing this over a bowl to catch the excess. Pack about half of your “lemon flowers” into the jar.
Photo credit: Dayna Ravalin
Some recipes call for adding a variety of dried spices. You don't have to use any spices. You can just use the lemons and salt allowing the flavor to be just lemon. I enjoy adding a few bay leaves, some peppercorns (about a teaspoon), and cinnamon sticks. These spices lend themselves to a more traditional flavor. Add your spices when you have packed about half of your lemons into the jar.
Photo credit: Dayna Ravalin
Continue to add the remaining “lemon flowers” which you have packed with salt. You may need to use a wooden pestle or a wooden spoon to tamp down the lemons as you go. Add the remaining salt spilled into your bowl when packing the lemons. Add the lemon juice slowly allowing for the juice to permeate and trickle down and around your lemons. Leave ½ headspace at the top of your jar.
Photo credit: Dayna Ravalin
Lid your jar and turn it carefully rotate it up and down a few times. (Do this over a bowl or sinks just in case it leaks a little.) Store at room temperature in a dark cool cupboard for several days up to 2 weeks. After this time, move your jar into the refrigerator. The preserved lemons will keep for up to 6 months in the refrigerator.
To use in your recipes, remove the amount of lemon you would like and rinse well under running water removing the pulp. You will only use the rind in your dishes. Simply slice the rinsed rind in thin slivers and add as desired. Here is a recipe for basic preserved lemons. https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_make_preserved_lemons/#recipe1815
In place of making “lemon flowers” you can cut your lemons into quarters and pack alternating layers with the salt and then add the lemon juice as usual.
Once you have made and used preserved lemons, you will always want to have a jar of them in the refrigerator!
- Author: Dayna Ravalin, UCCE Master Food Preserver Program Coordinator
- Editor: Katherine Soule, Youth, Families, and Communities Advisor
Is your freezer full of your summer fruit bounty? Are you wondering how to use some of that stashed produce? My freezer was experiencing an overload of plums. The last couple of summers, my Santa Rosa plum tree has provided a large crop each season. I had made jam, and so many cobblers and tarts, my family started to back away when they saw the bags of frozen plums being unloaded!
I needed a different plan. I discovered a recipe for Plum Sauce that I thought would be ideal for using up some of my excess produce. I decided to give the recipe a try.
Photo credit: Dayna Ravalin
After washing my hands and cleaning my work surfaces, I gathered my ingredients. My plums are still frozen. I premeasure my fruit prior to freezing and make a note on the container as to the volume inside. By doing this step, I'm able to better gauge how much I need to take out of the freezer for the recipe I'll be preparing whether it's jam, cobbler, or plum sauce!
Photo credit: Dayna Ravalin
Once I have my ingredients ready, I move onto getting my jars, lids, and rings prepared by washing them in hot soapy water, rinsing well, and putting the jars into a pot of simmering water to heat up. Follow manufacturers' directions for preparing your lids. These 2-part lids only require washing and rinsing. You do not need to heat these lids before use.
Photo credit: Dayna Ravalin
I allow the fruit to only partially thaw before chopping and remeasuring according to the recipe to keep the volume as close to that of fresh fruit as possible.
Photo credit: Dayna Ravalin
You can see I was able to finely chop my plums since I didn't fully thaw them.
Photo credit: Dayna Ravalin
This recipe calls for finely chopping all your produce ingredients. This fine chop will enable them to break down and release their flavor and juice while minimizing chunkiness to produce a smoother sauce. I used jalapenos for the peppers in my batch, but you can use whatever variety of pepper you enjoy. This gives you control of the “heat”. NEVER alter the volume of peppers called for in a recipe you will be canning. This could make the recipe unsafe.
Photo credit: Dayna Ravalin
All the ingredients except for the plums are added into a large stainless-steel saucepan and combined.
Photo credit: Dayna Ravalin
These ingredients are brought to a boil over high heat stirring constantly. Don't turn your back on this step since there is a lot of sugar and it will burn easily.
Photo credit: Dayna Ravalin
Now is the time to add your plums. Bring this mixture back to a boil. Reduce your heat and continue to boil gently until the mixture thickens and becomes syrupy. This will take about an hour and a half to two hours.
Photo credit: Dayna Ravalin
Once your product is thick enough, ladle into your prepared jars leaving ½ inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust the headspace if needed. It is important to wipe the jar rims with a damp towel to remove any spills of your sauce on the top of the jar. It is quite sticky like jam, so a clean jar rim is important to help assure you will have a good seal after processing.
Photo credit: Dayna Ravalin
Here are my completed jars that I processed for 20 minutes in my steam canner. You may use a boiling water canning instead. I prefer my steam canner since it uses less water, is easier to move, and takes less time and energy to get to temperature to start my process. Either one is acceptable for this recipe.
I use this plum sauce as a baste on salmon fillets, its great on chicken and pork too. We have also used it to enhance the flavor of a vegetable stir fry served with steamed brown rice. Find the recipe using this link: https://www.bernardin.ca/recipes/en/oriental-plum-sauce.htm?Lang=EN-US
Using some of the fruit out of my freezer felt like a great way to start the new year. It won't be long until my plum tree is loaded again!
- Author: Dayna Ravalin, UCCE Master Food Preserver Program Coordinator
- Editor: Katherine Soule, Youth, Families, and Communities Advisor
Have you thought about making sauerkraut? Do you already make sauerkraut? Or, have you made sauerkraut, and something went terribly wrong and you don't want to make it again? These are questions many of us have asked and continue to ask ourselves. By following a few key steps to keep your workspace orderly and very clean, you too can be successful in your production of this crunchy tangy goodness in just a few weeks.
You can use green or red cabbage. Fermenting red cabbage may result in a duller color but it will taste delicious all the same. So, let's get started…
Before you begin, wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds. Make sure your equipment, utensils, and countertops are clean and sanitized. These cleaning steps help prevent unwanted visitors invading your sauerkraut! Next, you need to gather your ingredients and supplies. Your cabbage should be fresh, free of bruises, mold, or any rot. Use a pure salt such as canning salt without additives or other impurities, and fresh drinkable room temperature water. Rinse your cabbage using cool tap water. Do not use any soap, vegetable washes, or bleach to clean your cabbage! This will interfere with the lovely fermentation you will be encouraging to happen, not to mention it might make you SICK!!!
You should also sterilize your fermentation crock or jar to reduce the risk of any unwanted microbes causing your sauerkraut to become contaminated.
Just in case you can't extract enough juice from your cabbage, it's good to have some brine made before you begin and cooled to room temperature just in case you need more liquid to cover the cabbage. (Recipe for the extra brine will be included at the end of this post.) It is important to use the exact amount of salt called for in your recipe. Cutting back on the salt will inhibit the balance of microbes you are encouraging to flourish and could cause unwanted and dangerous bacteria to grow instead!
After you have washed your cabbage heads under running water and allowed to drain, you will need to remove the tough outer leaves. Depending on your cabbage, it may just be a couple of leaves per head.
Then take the core out of the cabbage. I find it easiest to cut my cabbage head into quarters and then slice down from the top to the base of the core. Do this for each head of cabbage you are planning to use for your sauerkraut.
Slice the quartered heads about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. You want the slices to be thin enough to crush as you massage them with the added salt to begin extracting the juice from you cabbage. I use a knife for this job, but you could use a mandolin or large capacity food processor instead.
Place your cabbage into a large stainless-steel bowl.
Add the exact amount of salt specified in the recipe. Sprinkle it all over the top of the sliced cabbage.
Massage the salt into the cabbage crushing the slices with your hands while mixing. This step is extracting the juice from the cabbage and thoroughly mixing the salt throughout.
You can see how the briny cabbage juice is beginning to flow after massaging for several minutes.
Once you feel like you have massaged enough liquid from the cabbage, you can begin to pack your crock or container. Use any food safe storage container that will adequately hold the amount of sauerkraut you want to make and is deep enough to allow at least 4-5 inches from the rim of the container. A one-gallon container will handle 5 pounds of prepared cabbage adequately.
Continue packing the cabbage into your container pushing down to extrude the juice. Once you have finished packing the container, you should have at least 1-2 inches of brine covering your cabbage. If there is not enough liquid, add some of the prepared brine you made ahead to your container until you have adequate coverage. It is critical your cabbage is fully submerged under your brine. This will help prevent spoilage from mold and other microbes from invading your product.
Use a plate to keep the cabbage submerged. I don't have a plate that fits my crock, so I like to use a piece of sterilized cheesecloth to help keep my cabbage in place and prevent “floaties”. You can use a double layer of cheesecloth that you've trimmed to allow for “tucking in” around the edges of your cabbage.
Next you need to add a weight to keep the cabbage submerged under the brine. I use a food grade plastic bag filled with brine that covers the top of my cabbage to keep everything in place. It is important to fill the bag with brine just in case a leak occurs. You don't want freshwater seeping into your crock diluting your brine making it unsafe. You may also use a brine filled mason jar (size depends on your crock) with a lid used as a weight. Or use special crock weights designed specifically for fermentation. Cover your container with a loose-fitting lid or clean dish towel to keep out unwanted pests and debris from falling into your container.
Set in a dark space to ferment. Time to ferment may take as few as a couple of weeks or up to a month or more. The time depends on the temperature of the space where it is kept (70-75 degrees is ideal) and the tartness you prefer.
When you are happy with tartness of your sauerkraut (taste it every few days) if using crock weights or jars, remove the weights and the cheesecloth. If you weighed the cabbage down using a brine-filled bag, do not disturb the crock until normal fermentation is complete (bubbling stops). It is now ready for the refrigerator, or you may process it using a boiling water canner to make shelf stable.
I chose to can this batch. Once canned using a tested recipe (see end of blog post), it may be kept on your pantry shelf up to 1 year. You may keep it refrigerated for several months if it is not processed. If refrigerating is your choice, I would suggest transferring the sauerkraut to several smaller jars or containers from the original fermentation container. This will help reduce the potential for cross contamination and spoilage as you use it.
I processed my sauerkraut using my steam canner, but you may also use a boiling water canner.
Sauerkraut has just a couple of ingredients, and it is a good first recipe to try when learning how to ferment foods. It's a fun project and the taste is nothing like what you purchase commercially! Many folks who say they don't like sauerkraut change their minds when they try a batch made at home. Pair this delicious tart and salty food with your favorite sausage, use it in soups, or just eat it alone!
Here is the recipe for a 5lb. batch of sauerkraut:
Yield: about 7 cups
5 lbs. cabbage
3 Tbsp. canning or pickling salt
Procedure: Discard outer leaves. Rinse heads under cold running water and drain. Cut heads in quarters and remove cores. Shred or slice to a thickness of a quarter. Put cabbage in a suitable fermentation container and add the salt. Mix thoroughly, using clean hands. Pack firmly until salt draws juices from cabbage. The container should be deep enough so that its rim is at least 4 or 5 inches above the cabbage. If juice does not cover cabbage, add boiled and cooled brine (1 ½ tablespoons of salt per quart of water). Add plate (or cheesecloth) and weights, cover container with a clean dish towel.
Sauerkraut fermentation can take place under variable temperature and time combinations. For obtaining a good quality sauerkraut at home, the USDA recommendation is to store at 70º to 75ºF while fermenting. At temperatures between 70º and 75ºF, kraut will be fully fermented in about 3 to 4 weeks; at 60º to 65ºF, fermentation may take 5 to 6 weeks. At temperatures lower than 60ºF, kraut may not ferment. Above 75ºF, kraut may become soft.
If you weigh the cabbage down with a brine-filled bag, do not disturb the crock until normal fermentation is completed (when bubbling ceases). If you use jars as weight, you will have to check the kraut 2 to 3 times each week and remove scum if it forms. Fully fermented kraut may be kept tightly covered in the refrigerator for several months or it may be canned as follows:
Hot pack – Bring kraut and liquid slowly to a boil in a large kettle, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and fill jars rather firmly with kraut and juices, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.
Raw pack – Fill jars firmly with kraut and cover with juices, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.
Adjust lids and process according to the recommendations in Table 1.
Table 1. Recommended process time for Sauerkraut in a boiling-water canner. |
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Process Time at Altitudes of |
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Style of Pack |
Jar Size |
0 - 1,000 ft |
1,001 - 3,000 ft |
3,001 - 6,000 ft |
Above 6,000 ft |
Hot |
Pints |
10 min |
15 |
15 |
20 |
Quarts |
15 |
20 |
20 |
25 |
|
Raw |
Pints |
20 |
25 |
30 |
35 |
Quarts |
25 |
30 |
35 |
40 |
This recipe and process was adapted from the "Complete Guide to Home Canning," Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 539, USDA, revised 2015.
- Author: Sharon Lovejoy, UC Master Food Preserver San Luis Obispo/Santa Barbara Counties
- Editor: Dayna Ravalin, UCCE Master Food Preserver Program Coordinator
I stood by our courtyard wall and worked my spade into the hard, clay soil. I'd always wanted to grow pomegranates, but my shaded half acre of Monterey pines and oaks in Cambria ruled out that possibility. Here I stood at my new/old 1930's home in sunny San Luis Obispo, and I saw pomegranates in my future.
Gardeners are patient optimists. It took about 12 years before my trees began to produce, but when they did, we were buried under their cargo of hand-sized, rosy fruits. Their fleshy, garnet arils were better than any I'd ever bought in a grocery store, but frustration became the byword of the harvest. How to break into the leathery skins? How to preserve them once I finally pried the gem-like morsels from their pithy, white beds?
This year, after graduating from the UC Master Food Preserver volunteer training program, I felt hopeful that I could process and preserve baskets of the ripening autumn fruit, but I was overwhelmed. It took about two hours and a dozen tries before I finally figured out how to extricate the arils without damaging them.
I washed the pomegranates, and with a sharp paring knife made a 1/2-inch-deep incision circling the fruit from bud to stem. I placed it on a cutting board covered with parchment paper (to prevent staining) and thumped it gently with a big, wooden spoon. With one quick twist (hands on each side of the cut fruit), I was able to separate them and expose the arils.
I tried various methods of preserving my harvest and turned to So Easy to Preserve, my dog-eared Co-operative Extension book from the University of Georgia. This year's crop is one big experiment, and I won't know for another couple of months what worked best for me.
About a third of my arils were packed into mason jars and covered with a cold, 30 percent syrup, 1 3/4 cups of sugar mixed with 4 cups of water. I sealed them tightly and tucked them into my freezer.
Another third were done in the tray pack method, spread onto a layer of parchment paper on a cookie sheet, and put into the freezer for two hours, then poured into labeled, quart bags and returned to the freezer.
The final third was simply dry packed into containers and frozen. I've used a few bags of them for salads, rice dishes, desserts, syrups, and snacks. They taste good, but the texture is slightly different from that of the fresh arils.
All of my unprocessed pomegranates are stored whole in the refrigerator, but not in the produce drawer, which is too humid and causes molding.
Next year, if my crop is as bountiful as this one, I hope to make some jelly, and I'll use this recipe suggested by the University of Florida Extension.
Pomegranate Jelly |
|
Yield about 6 half-pints |
|
3 ½ cups pomegranate juice (about 5 pounds) |
1 package powdered pectin |
5 cups sugar |
|
To prepare juice: Cut pomegranates in half. Extract juice from red seeds with a juice reamer. Strain juice through a damp jelly bag or several layers of cheesecloth. Measure 3 ½ cups juice. |
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To make jell: Combine juice and powdered pectin in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Add sugar, stirring until dissolved. Return to a rolling boil. Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary. Ladle hot jelly into hot jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace. Adjust two-piece caps. Process 10 minutes in a boiling-water bath canner. Source: Ball Blue Book of preserving 2008. |
One last word of wisdom. Cover all your work surfaces with wax, parchment, or freezer paper and wear a dark apron! The juice from the pomegranate will stain everything. I found splotches of red from my floor to my ceiling!
- Author: Katie Brenna, UC Master Food Preserver, San Luis Obispo/Santa Barbara Counties
- Editor: Dayna Ravalin, UCCE Master Food Preserver Program Coordinator
- Editor: Katherine Soule, Youth, Families, and Communities Advisor
Thanksgiving is upon us. This recipe has layers of flavor and texture and has become a family favorite – at least among the family members who aren't die-hard canned jellied cranberry sauce fans. The recipe below is as-printed and was clipped from the Florida Today newspaper many years ago. I follow it with some of the modifications I've made over the years.
12 oz. raw cranberries
1 ½ cups granulated sugar*
1 orange, peeled, seeded, coarsely chopped
1 medium onion, minced
4 dried figs, coarsely chopped
1 T. fresh ginger, minced or 1 t. dried ginger
½ t. salt
½ t. ground cinnamon
½ t. dried mustard
¼ t. ground black pepper
1 T. apple cider vinegar
¼ c. water
Put all the ingredients into a stainless-steel saucepot, bring to a boil and cook until cranberries pop. Lower the heat and simmer 4-5 minutes. Cool and serve with turkey, chicken, pork, or lamb.
*I usually cut the sugar by about half and have also made it using stevia (the granular type that replaces sugar at a 1:1 ratio). There is some change in texture, but the recipe has enough going on flavor-wise to mask the change in taste. When I reduce the sweetener, I also add additional figs and some raisins (not in the original recipe) which contribute sweetness as well as texture. I've taken to using the zest from the orange (why waste it?) and waiting to add the orange pieces until after the cooking period to preserve its texture.
This recipe can be easily doubled for a large group and also freezes well if you want to get a jump on holiday cooking. Canning jars with a plastic lid closure, food grade plastic freezer containers, or zipper-top freezer bags can be used. Be sure to leave sufficient headspace in the containers to allow for expansion during freezing (containers with a wide top opening – pint ½ inch, quart 1 inch; containers with a narrow top opening – pint ¾ inch, quart 1 ½ inch). Use within 8-12 months for best quality.
I always welcome leftovers and love to use it for a topping on pancakes with Greek yogurt.
Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!!