Food in Jars (18 page)
Authors: Marisa McClellan
I
THINK IT'S HIGH TIME TO LIBERATE THE CRANBERRY
from holiday sauces and juice drinks. This ketchup shows off the cranberry's sassy, savory side. Cranberries have a good deal of pectin, so be prepared for this ketchup to develop a firmer texture more quickly than the other ketchup recipes here. I often spread this condiment on sandwiches in place of mustard and it can be used as an easy, fruity marinade when thinned with some vinegar.
4 pounds/1.8 kg fresh cranberries
2½ cups/400 g chopped yellow onion (about 2 medium onions)
2 cups/480 apple cider vinegar
4 cups/800 g (packed) light brown sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks, crushed
1 tablespoon allspice berries
1 tablespoon celery seed
Prepare a boiling water bath and 6 half-pint/250 ml jars according to the process on page 10. Place the lids in a small saucepan, cover them with water, and simmer over very low heat.
Combine the cranberries, onions, and 4 cups/960 ml water in a large pot. Bring to a boil, reduce the temperature to medium and cook until the cranberries pop and the onions are soft, about 25 minutes.
Position a food mill or sieve over a large pot or bowl and press the cranberries and onions through. Discard the seeds and the skins in the food mill and return the pulp to the pot.
Add the cider vinegar, brown sugar, salt, and pepper to the pot. Combine the cloves, crushed cinnamon sticks, allspice berries, and celery seed in a spice bag or tea ball, or bundle them in a piece of cheesecloth and secure tightly with kitchen twine and add to the pot. Simmer over medium-low heat, stirring regularly, until the mixture is quite thick, about 30 minutes.
When the ketchup is finished cooking, remove the spice bundle and discard. Ladle the ketchup into the prepared jars, leaving
½
inch/12 mm of headspace. Wipe the rims, apply the lids and rings, and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes (see
page 11
).
I
USED TO BE A HOPELESS CHUMP IN THE CONDIMENT
section of gourmet markets. I could not resist the squat jars of fancy mustards, happily handing over $7 and $8 for the privilege of taking them home. That all ended when I encountered Kaela Porter, who writes the blog Local Kitchen. She has an innate gift for mustards and taught me just how easy it could be to make those fancy spreads at home. Here's hoping this recipe will be as liberating for you as Kaela's many mustards were for me!
½ cup/90 g yellow mustard seeds
¼ cup/45 g brown mustard seeds
1 cup/240 ml dry white wine
1 cup/240 ml apple cider vinegar
â
cup/65 g (packed) light brown sugar
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
Combine both mustard seeds and the wine in a medium pot and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat. Cover the pot and allow the seeds to sit 2 to 12 hours, until all the liquid has been absorbed.
Prepare a boiling water bath and 3 half-pint/250 ml jars according to the process on page 10. Place the lids in a small saucepan, cover them with water, and simmer over very low heat.
Transfer the seeds and any remaining liquid to a blender or food processor. Add 1 cup/240 ml water and blend or process until the seeds are fairly well broken down, though the amount of blending you do is entirely up to the texture you prefer.
Transfer processed seeds back to the pot in which they were soaked. Add the cider
vinegar, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, sea salt, and lemon zest and whisk to combine.
Bring the mustard to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until it reduces and thickens a bit, about 10 minutes.
Ladle the mustard into the prepared jars, leaving ½ inch/12 mm of headspace. Wipe the rims, apply the lids and rings, and process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes (see
page 11
).
T
HE FIRST TIME YOU MAKE MUSTARD AT HOME,
you'll look at it when it's all done and think, “That's it?” Yep, that's really it. It's one of the easiest things to do in your kitchen; once you get started, you won't be able to stop. This particular mustard is smooth and spicy and will remind you of the hot mustard served at Chinese restaurants. The heat will mellow with time, so if you prefer a highly spiced mustard, eat it sooner. I like this one with sausages that have a higher fat content, as all that good grease plays nicely with heat.
1 cup/90 g dry mustard
1 cup/240 ml cider vinegar
â
cup/75 ml honey
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Prepare a boiling water bath and 4 quarter-pint/125 ml jars according to the process on page 10. Place the lids in a small saucepan, cover them with water, and simmer over very low heat.
Combine all ingredients in a small pot. Whisk to blend and bring to a simmer over medium heat for 5-6 minutes. When the mustard is thoroughly heated through, ladle it into the prepared jars, leaving ½ inch/12 mm of headspace. Wipe the rims, apply the lids and rings, and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes (see
page 11
).
BASIC PICKLED JALAPEÃO PEPPERS
PICKLED CARROTS AND DAIKON RADISH COINS
SWEET-AND-SOUR PICKLED RED ONIONS
I
GREW UP IN A HOUSEHOLD THAT APPRECIATED ITS
pickles. As a kid, one of my favorite after-school snacks was a garlicky cucumber dill, fished from the jar using a fork and two fingers. I'd slowly nibble away at the pickle over my book of the moment, until all I had left was the stem end of the cucumber and wrinkly, vinegar-scented fingers.
As a child, I was taught by my parents that there are hard-and-fast rules regarding the construction of a quality sandwich. An essential tenet of this philosophy is that no good sandwich is complete without an interior layer of thinly sliced sour pickles, blotted almost dry. Thanks to this early conditioning, I cannot be satisfied by a sandwich that does not include a tart, crunchy component.
In recent years, I've spent time exploring the world beyond the cucumber pickle and have discovered that there are few vegetables that don't appreciate liberal applications of vinegar, salt, and spices. Of all the pickles I make, I think my very favorite is the rarely-found-in-grocery-stores dilly bean. Green beans have the internal fortitude to stand up to the heat of a boiling water bath and retain an amazing crispness even many months after they are made. I particularly like placing a few alongside a hot dog at summer cookouts.
Before you dig into the recipes in this section, there are a few things you should know. One is that the salt is included in these recipes because it helps with the preservation of the vegetable. I know it may seem like a lot, but it's vital to the integrity of the recipe. Please don't reduce it.
You'll notice that some of these recipes call for just five minutes of time in the boiling water bath. This shorter processing time helps maintain the crisp texture of the finished pickle. However, when you process for less than ten minutes, you have to make sure you're working with sterilized jars. To do this, boil the jars in your canner for at least ten minutes prior to packing and filling.
Remove the jars from the canner just before you're ready to fill them to help preserve their state of hyper cleanliness.
You'll find that a large part of your pickle success will depend on the jars you choose. I've found that regular-mouth jars work better for pickles than wide-mouth jars. This is because the shoulders of regular-mouth jars help keep the pickles submerged in the brine. A wide-mouth jar has no narrowing sides that prevent your vegetables from floating. While there isn't anything essentially wrong with a floating pickle (it happens to the best of us), fully submerged pickles are more immune to discoloration and reduction in quality. Plus, they just look better.
To make the brine, all of these recipes work with a ratio of one part vinegar to one part water. To ensure a safe product, you must start with vinegar that has been diluted so that its acidity is 5 percent. Most commercial vinegars will say this on the package, but it's important to check to be safe. This does mean that using homemade or artisanal vinegars is not recommended for pickles that you plan on canning for shelf stability.