Home Sweet Home Magazine - October 2021

pieces. Be sure to compost your scraps for next year’s garden. Slice veggies in the shape you prefer. Thenmake a brine with water, acidic vinegar and salt. Combine in the crock and let them sit for a few weeks. Once fermented, pack into jars following the technique outlined above. Unlike the refrigerated option, you will need to process traditionally-made pickled items for shelf storage. Different foods call for different processing times, but typically range from 15-30 minutes. Proper Storage Even if you don’t plan to process your food, you canmake it last longer with proper storage. Hearty onions can be stored for 10 months or more in a cellar or shed that maintains a temperature of around 40 degrees F. Garlic and potatoes will store for several months in a cool, dark spot.

experiment with different flavors. You can add herbs, spices, garlic, or ginger to create unique flavor profiles. For each one-cup water and one-cup vinegar combination, add one tablespoon of kosher salt or two teaspoons of pickling salt, and an optional one tablespoon of table sugar. Then, boil the mixture until the dry ingredients dissolve. Stuff your prepared vegetables into clean canning jars, and top with the boiling liquid, filling within ½ inch of the top. Seal with a lid and refrigerate. Wait a minimum of 48 hours before opening. The longer they sit, the fuller the flavor will be. To ferment the traditional way, use a large crock or other container you can live without for a few weeks. There are many, many recipes for different foods and flavors, but the basic process is again to prep foods by cleaning and disposing of end

When your tomatoes go crazy at the end of summer, you canmake salsa, tomato sauce, tomato paste, marinara sauce, ketchup, barbeque sauce, etc. After cooking your sauce, simply fill hot jars with the hot liquid, wipe the rim of the jar and add a lid and ring. Then, submerge into a water bath for the recommended amount of time. The process is similar for fruits like peaches and pears, as well as jams and applesauce. You can also use apples to make pie filling or a sweet, chunky applesauce that’s amazing served over ice cream. Pickling Pickling is a fermentation process that has been around for thousands of years. It’s simple to do, and there are myriad options for flavor combinations. Some processes are relatively quick, while others require patience for proper fermentation. Prepare zucchini, carrots, cauliflower, red and yellow onion, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes and other favorite veggies by first cleaning and cutting them into slices or spears. One technique is called quick pickling. Although this option gives results in a matter of days, the pickled goods won’t be as deeply flavored as those that sit in a crock for weeks. To make, simply combine equal parts water and vinegar. Any type of vinegar will work, so

HOME SWEET HOME 08 | 6

Powered by