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Preserving Recipes/ Spring

Clear Out the Freezer Chutney

Chutney Recipe

It’s been a strange non-winter to be sure. I noticed my daffodils and hyacinths up by at least two inches! The only thing I can say is that this warm weather has got the spring-cleaning bug stirring in me. Last season, my rhubarb seemed to continue forever! I had frozen a lot of it. The spring-cleaning bug got me thinking about how to use the rhubarb now.

I searched my preserving books and found a Bernardin recipe for Orange-Rhubarb Chutney. I made the chutney yesterday. My husband exclaimed “that smells so good” and the taste test went equally well. It’s interesting how a culinary tradition, in this case chutney throughout east Asia, found it’s way to many cultures around the world, each customizing it to local flavours. The origin of the term chutney is attributed to the Hindi language to the word “chatni” meaning a complex mixture of spices and flavours. The Bernardin recipe delivers on complex flavours and a tang that is brought forward from the vinegar and citrus. It would be excellent with meat, but I paired it with goat cheese. The tangy condiment beside creamy got cheese was divine.

As spring approaches, it’s time to use up the fruits and vegetables you froze for winter. If you are like me, you still have rhubarb in the freezer, and this is an excellent way to use it.

For more information:

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Orange-Rhubarb Chutney

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Yield: 6 250ml Jars

Ingredients

  • Spice bag made with cheesecloth: 10 whole peppercorns, 1 TBSP mustard seed, 1 TBSP pickling spice. Set aside.
  • 4 TBSP orange zest and 2/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 6 cups rhubarb, fresh or frozen
  • 5 cups lightly packed brown sugar
  • 3.5 cups cider vinegar
  • 3 cups chopped onions
  • 1.5 cups raisins
  • 2 TBSP finely chopped or grated garlic
  • 2 TBSP grated ginger root
  • 1 TBSP curry powder
  • 1 tsp ground allspice

Instructions

1

In a large Dutch oven, combine orange zest, juice, rhubarb, brown sugar, vinegar, onions, raisins, garlic, and ginger. Bring to a boil over medium heat stirring regularly. Reduce heat and gently boil, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes. Add curry powder, allspice and spice bag to the mix and cook an additional 30 minutes. Note: I had to increase the cooking time by 40 minutes to evaporate the liquid enough to get a consistency that mounds on a spoon.

2

Remove spice bag. Ladle into hot jars. Remove air bubbles. Ensure a ½ inch headspace. Wipe the rims clean. Adhere lids and rings so that screw-bands are tightened to “finger-tip tight”.

3

Process in a water bath or atmospheric steam canner for 10 minutes adjusting for altitude. Rest jars for 5 additional minutes before removing to a heat-proof surface to cool.

4

This chutney will be enhanced by a couple of weeks to allow all the flavours to marry. But if you can’t wait, go for it. It is excellent straight out of the pot!

 

 

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Preserving Recipes/ Spring

Chili Sauce, Eh?!

Chili Sauce

The mere mention of chili sauce in the last article sparked a lively conversation about our favorite condiment. Last summer I was scouring my preserving cookbooks and noticed there were no chili sauce recipes in any of my American books. I took to the internet and again found no recipes. Turns out, chili sauce as we know it, is as Canadian as poutine, back bacon, and Caesars.

References to chili sauce often refer to sauce made with hot chilies, something we call hot sauce, which has been around for 9 thousand years and embraced by most cultures around the world. But the chili sauce we mean has a quiet almost illusive history. The Culinary Historians of Canada published an article in 2010 titled “Ode to Chili Sauce”. After reviewing many North American cookbooks, the author concluded that chili sauce is indeed a Canadian phenomenon. I did find one reference to chili sauce in Maryland during the mid 19th century, likely being exported from Canada. It was introduced to “jazz up the winter menus of Yankees” (Maryland Food History News). Still chili sauce never made its way into celebrated American cookbooks.

For we Canadians, chili sauce refers to a condiment made of chopped tomatoes with vegetables like onions, celery, and peppers, sweetened with brown or white sugar, given a tang with white or apple cider vinegar and slow-cooked and infused with spices. Whether you like it sweet, or hot, In the end, all chili sauce is amazing with meat or slathered on eggs.

I have made many recipes for chili sauce but last summer I used Bernardin’s recipe. It is bright in taste and not too sweet with just the right heat. It is possible to use tinned tomatoes, fresh and blanched tomatoes or frozen (no blanching required as the skins pop off after freezing). These options mean you can make chili sauce the whole year through!

Thanks for sharing your chili sauce stories!

preservingwithmartha@gmail.com

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Chili Sauce Yield 7 x 250ml jars

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Ingredients

  • 12 cups chopped, seeded, cored tomatoes (2.7 kg); drain away excess liquid and then measure
  • 2 cups each chopped onions and green peppers
  • 1 cup chopped red peppers
  • 2 TBSP jalapeno peppers minced
  • 1.5 cups white vinegar
  • 1.5 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp pickling salt
  • Spice bag made of: 4 inch piece cinnamon, one bay leaf, 2 tsp mustard seed, 1 tsp celery seed, ½ tsp each of whole cloves, black peppercorns
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • ½ tsp ground ginger and ground nutmeg

Instructions

1

Combine tomatoes, peppers, onions, vinegar, sugar, and salt in large pan. Prepare spice bag using cheesecloth and tied with string. Place in tomato mixture securing the string to the side of the pan. Bring to a boil, stirring regularly. Boil for about 2 hours until reduced by about half. Stir in garlic, ginger, and nutmeg during last 15 minutes of cooking.

2

Ladle into hot jars, removing air bubbles and leaving a ½ inch headspace. Wipe jar rim clean and affix lids and rings tightening to “finger-tip” tight. Process in boiling water bath or atmospheric steam canner for 15 minutes adjusting for altitude. Let rest 5 minutes in canner. Remove jars to heat proof surface and allow them to cool for 24 hours.

 

 

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Preserving Recipes/ Winter

A Pantry-Inspired Valentine

Be My Valentine

Valentine’s Day approaches and scores of people are writing cards, buying candy and flowers, or even preparing marriage proposals! It has become the second largest “giving day” after Christmas. For the historians among us, it is thought that this tradition began in 6th century BC with Lupercalia, the ancient Roman fertility festival. Centuries later, a man named Valentine was imprisoned by the Roman Emperor for insolence. During his imprisonment he and a blind girl named Julia, the jailor’s daughter, prayed together. Her sight was restored, but Valentine was nevertheless executed on February 14th. For his martyrdom, he became St. Valentine. And it is he who is responsible for our heart-felt traditions.

Valentine’s Day always involves something delicious for dessert especially involving chocolate. So, looking to the pantry and freezer with a Valentine’s theme in mind, I selected some strawberry preserves and vanilla ice cream imagining the strawberry chunks and jelly swirling through the ice cream. And to top it off, a rich luscious hot chocolate fudge sauce. This chocolate fudge sauce recipe is the most reliable and delicious sauce I have made. It comes from the iconic Silver Palate Cookbook. This fudge sauce when poured hot over ice cream, will firm up like fudge! It freezes and reheats well if the reheating is done slowly. Imagine your Valentine’s dinner ending with strawberry swirl ice cream and chocolate sauce. Sounds perfect for both adults and children.

In 1415 Charles, Duke of Orleans, wrote to his wife, referring to her as “my gentle Valentine” which is said to be the first reference to a Valentine note. And by 1913 Hallmark printed the first commercial Valentine’s Day cards. Bring out your pens, construction paper and loving words, and raid the pantry for a Valentine’s Day inspired dessert!

preservingwithmartha@gmail.com

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Pantry-Inspired Valentine Ice Cream & Silver Palate Chocolate Fudge Sauce

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Soften 4 cups of good quality vanilla ice cream. Place a 250ml jar of strawberry preserves in a small saucepan. Lighten with 1 TBSP water or Grand Marnier. Warm slightly to liquify and then bring to room temperature. Mix preserves into ice cream in a swirling fashion. Refreeze the blended ice cream. This method also works well with lemon curd if that is your preference.

Ingredients

  • 4 oz unsweetened chocolate
  • 3 TBSP unsalted butter
  • 2/3 cup boiling water
  • 1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
  • 6 TBSP corn syrup
  • 1 TBSP rum (optional)

Instructions

1

Melt chocolate and butter slowly in a saucepan. When melted, pour in boiling water, and stir. Add sugar and corn syrup and stir until mixture comes to a boil. Adjust heat so that the sauce gently boils. Boil without stirring for exactly 9 minutes. Remove sauce from heat and rest for 15 minutes. Stir in rum if using. If you are freezing the sauce, let it cool completely. Pour into 250 ml jars leaving a 1-inch headspace. To use, thaw in a warm water bath.

2

Putting it All Together

3

Scoop the ice cream into a dish. Drizzle over hot chocolate fudge sauce. If you like, add crumbled shortbread or amaretti cookies. Nothing wrong with a cinnamon heart on top!

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Preserving Recipes/ Winter

Here We Come a Wassailing!

January 5th marks the 12th day of Christmas, the eve of the Epiphany, and a time to prepare a Wassail and partake in the ancient traditions associated with that time. The Wassail is a mulled apple cider drink seasoned with spices and sometimes spiked with brandy or sherry. It is often made with roasted apples that pop in the hot drink producing a woolly topping that is known lamb’s wool. The Wassail, according to Old Norse, means ‘ves heill’, to be in good health. It dates to the 1300s and some argue even to Roman times. The night of wassailing is profiled in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night!

According to British Food History, the Wassail was made in a large wooden bowl shared by those who participated in Wassailing which meant gathering in the apple orchards to thank the trees for their gifts. People would sing and dance around the trees, spear the branches with Wassail-soaked bread and bang pots and pans to scare away any evil spirits that might impede the apple production for the following year. The clanging of pots and pans is why, in the famous song “The Twelve Days of Christmas”, there are 12 drummers drumming on the 12th day of Christmas. There are old practices of Wassailing, but many people continue those traditions in some form often going door to door, singing, and sharing the Wassail.  Whether you do or don’t celebrate the 12th night, the Wassail is a wonderful warm drink for winter very much akin to mulled wine or ale.

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Mulling Spice Mix

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The Wassail There are many recipes for Wassail which always begin with apple cider. It is really a matter of taste and preference as to what spices you add or whether you choose to add alcohol. It is possible to substitute wine or ale for the apple cider as an alternate mulled drink. Dried citrus peel is often added which is why I never waste citrus peel. The peels can be dried in the over or dehydrator, left whole or chopped finely as additions to drinks including cocktails.

Ingredients

  • 1 stick cinnamon
  • 1 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 star anise or 3 allspice berries
  • 2 cardamon pods (optional)
  • Pinch of cloves
  • 1/3 cup dried orange and lemon peel

Instructions

1

Place spices (without peel) in a double layer square of cheese cloth and tie securely.

2

The fruit peel can be added directly to the pot.

3

Simmer in 1 gallon apple cider.

4

The longer the simmer, the stronger the spice taste.

5

If using red wine, a small amount of honey is often added.

Notes

If you are Wassailing, having an outdoor bonfire, or sitting around a fire during winter, the mulled drink fills the house with a glorious aroma and provides a comforting drink for a long winter’s night. Happy New Year!

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Preserving Recipes/ Winter

Comfort Food: The Meatloaf

Winter is finally here and there’s nothing like raiding the pantry to create a cozy meal for a chilly evening. And nothing says comfort more than meatloaf. This recipe produces an incredibly moist, flavourful loaf. I adapted it from one in the New Ball Preserving Book. What makes this loaf is the use of herbed tomato jam in and on it! If you didn’t make herb tomato jam last summer do give it a try. It is fantastic. You can substitute ketchup in this recipe, but it won’t be as good.

Meatloaf
1 lb each of lean ground beef and pork
¾ cup diced dense bread (I use gluten free)
¼ cup milk
½ cup each of minced onion, celery, and carrots
1 clove garlic minced
1 TBSP olive or other oil
½ tsp each of dried thyme, rosemary, and oregano
If you have parsley, add 1 TBSP chopped
1 egg beaten
¾ of a 250 ml jar of herbed tomato jam (or ¾ cup ketchup)

Mix together bread and milk. Let rest for at least 10 minutes.
Sauté vegetables in oil until soft. Cool completely.
Mix meat, egg, herbs and ¾ cup herbed tomato jam. Add cooled vegetables.
Put mixture into one large or two smaller loaf pans. Smooth the top. Brush the top of the loaf with the remaining ¼ cup herbed tomato jam (or ketchup).
Bake in a 375 oven for 45 minutes or until temperature reaches 165F.
Serve with greens, mashed potatoes (optional) and your own home-made chili sauce.
A Winter dinner complete thanks to a full and delicious pantry.
Note: The meatloaf freezes well.

 

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Herbed Tomato Jam (Ball)

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Ingredients

  • 6 ½ lb plum tomatoes washed, cored, and chopped
  • 1 tsp pickling salt
  • ½ tsp pepper
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1.5 cups sugar
  • ½ cup balsamic vinegar
  • ¼ cup white wine
  • 2 tsp Herbes de Provence (or equal amounts dried thyme, rosemary, oregano)

Instructions

1

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large pot.

2

Cook uncovered over medium high for about 1 hour until reduced.

3

Stir in Sugar and next 3 ingredients.

4

Cook for 45 minutes.

5

Ladle into 4 jars (250ml). Apply lids and rings. Process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes adjusting for altitude. Let rest in the canner for 5 minutes. Remove jars to a heat proof surface.

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Preserving Recipes/ Summer

Elderberry Flowers

The common Elderberry bush is in blossom, so what better time to harvest the flowers. Elderberry bushes are found in home gardens but also grow wild along streams and in ditches. The blossoms taste like honey, but the stems, roots and leaves are poisonous so be careful to harvest only the blossoms.

Historically, Elderberry blossom cordials have been recorded back to Roman times, but the cordial became a very popular drink in western Europe during the Victorian period. As a medicinal plant, the blossoms have been used as a tea, tincture, or salve both in fresh and dried form. For centuries they have been used to treat inflammation, stave off colds and flues, and to support immune system function. But the blossoms have also been used for culinary purposes like Elderberry blossom fritters, wine, and cordials.

Elderberry flower cordials, sometimes called a squash, are essentially an infused syrup combining blossoms, sugar, lots of lemon and a touch of citric acid which sharpens tartness and helps preserve the mix. It is beautifully flavoured with sweet-honey taste and is potent, so you only need a couple of tablespoons in a drink. It is often mixed with sparkling or still water, tonic or is used in cocktails with gin or vodka. The cordial can also be added to recipes like pancakes, crisps, jams, drizzled over pound cakes, or added to a fruit salad.

I hadn’t made Elderflower cordial before, but I truly believe we need to connect with and use the bounty of Mother Nature, so I tried it. It is good! I had four children and parents here today to learn how to make freezer jam. I offered the cordial and they accepted. Not every child was inclined, but the parents gave it a big thumbs-up. I am looking forward to using the cordial as a summer drink, cocktail, and in my baking.

preservingwithmartha@gmail.com

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Elderflower Cordial (BBC Good Food)

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Ingredients

  • 2.5 kg sugar
  • 1.5 litres water
  • 2 unwaxed lemons, scrubbed
  • 20 Elderflower heads, stalks trimmed, swished in cold water to remove bugs or debris
  • 85 gm citric acid (I bought mine at Misty Meadows in Conn)

Instructions

1

Mix together sugar and water in a very large pot. Gently heat until sugar has dissolved. Stir occasionally. Using a vegetable peeler, pare off the zest of the lemons and then cut the lemons into rounds.

2

Once the sugar is dissolved, bring the sugar-water mixture to a boil, and turn off heat. Add cleaned blossoms, lemon slices, zest and citric acid to the pot and give it a stir. Cover the pan and leave it to infuse for 24 hours.

3

Strain syrup through a dampened cheesecloth lined sieve.

4

Ladle the syrup into sterilized jars or food-grade plastic containers. The cordial can be kept in the refrigerator for 6 weeks or frozen for long-term storage. It is possible to pasteurize the cordial, but pasteurization is a topic for another day!

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Preserving Recipes/ Summer

A Gift of Nanking Cherries

Recently, someone got in touch with me offering some of her Nanking cherries. I jumped at the chance even though I knew nothing about them. It turns out she has many bushes which were a gift to her husband who remembered them fondly from his time growing up in Calgary. Now, they were a gift to me.

Nanking cherries are a bush cherry indigenous to Asia including China, Japan, and the Himalayas. These cold hardy bushes were introduced to North America in 1882. They set fruit within two years and grow to heights of 15 feet but can be trimmed back. They bloom early in spring with prolific qualities of small red cherries that are only a half inch in diameter and do not have a long shelf life. So, they are best planted at home for delicious fruit used in preserves, wine, liqueur, and syrup. These wonderful bushes will live up to 50 years providing an annual source of heavenly cherries that have powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

I decided to go in search of a jelly recipe as the cherries are small and pitting them would be very labour intensive. As I only use recipes developed in test kitchens, it took quite a while to find one. Eventually I did on the Bernardin website (not in the book).

The Nanking cherries are stunningly deep pink with a sweet-tart taste akin to a sour cherry but sweeter. Imagine having a bounty of cherries each spring and never having to climb a ladder to reach them! I passed on seeds to fellow growers and preservers with hopes we will see more cherry bushes in our area in future.

preservingwithmartha@gmail.com

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Nanking Cherry Jelly

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Serves: Yield: 9 x 250ml

Ingredients

  • 16 cups Nanking cherries
  • 1 ¼ cup water
  • 4 TBSP lemon juice
  • 7 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 package fruit ‘original’ fruit pectin crystals (powder)

Instructions

Extract Juice:

1

Wash cherries. Combine with water in large saucepan. Bring to a boil crushing with a potato masher. Reduce heat and let cook about 35 minutes. Pour into a dampened jelly bag or cheesecloth lined sieve. Let the juice drip for 2 hours or overnight without squeezing which will cause a cloudy jelly.

Prepare Jelly:

2

Measure 6 cups of extracted juice. Put in a large Dutch oven. Add lemon Juice. Whisk in pectin to dissolve. Bring this mixture to a full rolling boil that can’t be stirred down. Add sugar stirring constantly. Bring back to a boil and boil hard for one minute. Remove from heat and skim.

3

Ladle into prepared hot jars leaving a ¼ inch headspace. Wipe the top of the jar clean and place on lids and rings tightening to ‘finger-tip tight’. Process in a boiling water or atmospheric steam canner for 10 minutes adjusting for altitude. Let rest 5 minutes. Remove from canner and let rest for 24 hours. (refer to the Bernardin website or book for details about canning)

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Preserving Recipes/ Summer

Strawberry-Rhubarb Galette

 

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Strawberry-Rhubarb Galette

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Ingredients

  • Sour Cream Pastry
  • 2 and ¼ cups all purpose flour
  • ¼ cup cake flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • ½ cup cold unsalted butter cubed
  • ½ cup cold shortening cubed
  • ¼ cup plus 2 TSBP sour cream
  • 2 TBSP ice water
  • Strawberry-Rhubarb Galette Filling
  • 5 cups rhubarb chopped, 2 cups strawberries quartered
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup flour
  • 1/3 cup store-bought or home-made amaretti crumbled

Instructions

1

In a food processor, blend dry ingredients. Then add butter and shortening and process until the mixture looks like course meal. Mix sour cream and water together and add to the bowl and blend together until pastry starts to come together in a ball. Bring together into a ball, divide in two, flatten and wrap in plastic wrap to cool in the fridge or to freeze.

2

For the galette, use one half of the pastry. Roll out in a circle at a thickness of ¼ inch. Remember to leave 2 ½ inches that will fold over the strawberry-rhubarb mixture. Place the pastry on a parchment line rimless baking pan.

3

Strawberry-Rhubarb Galette Filling

4

5 cups rhubarb chopped, 2 cups strawberries quartered

5

¾ cup sugar

6

1/3 cup flour

7

1/3 cup store-bought or home-made amaretti crumbled

8

Sprinkle the amaretti on top of the rolled-out pastry. Mix remaining ingredients and pile in the middle of the pastry. Spread around leaving 2 ½ inch edge. Fold the pastry over the filling, pleating it to create the edge. Bruch the pastry with an egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.

9

The filling will look nicer if you brush the fruit with a glaze such as melted apple or rhubarb jelly.

10

Bake in the lower rack of a 425-degree oven for 10 minutes. Then reduce heat to 375 and bake for another 50 – 55 minutes.

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Preserving Recipes/ Summer

Rhubarb Ice Cream

 

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Rhubarb Ice Cream

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Ingredients

  • 4 cups chopped rhubarb
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 1 TBSP lemon juice
  • 2 lg egg yolks and 1 large egg
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla (instead of vanilla, 1 tsp grated orange rind

Instructions

1

Prepare ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.

2

Step 1:

3

4 cups chopped rhubarb

4

¼ cup sugar

5

1 TBSP lemon juice

6

Mix in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring regularly, for 12-15 minutes until the fruit is soft and liquid is absorbed. Cool. Puree the mixture in a food processor or blender.

7

Step 2:

8

2 lg egg yolks and 1 large egg

9

2/3 cup sugar

10

1 cup whole milk

11

2 cups heavy cream

12

1 tsp vanilla (instead of vanilla, 1 tsp grated orange rind

13

Whisk together eggs, sugar and milk. In a saucepan, heat the cream until it starts to bubble at the edges. Don’t boil. Temper the egg mixture by gradually adding drizzling the hot cream into the egg mixture. Blend and return to the saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until the mixture coats a spoon and appears to be custard-like. Make sure it doesn’t boil. Pour the custard through a sieve to remove any bits. Allow it to cool in a bowl covered with plastic wrap and then refrigerate until very cold. I let the custard chill for 24 hrs.

14

Step 3:

15

Mix the rhubarb puree into the custard. Pour into the frozen bowl of the ice cream maker and churn using manufacturer’s instructions. Put into freezer containers leaving at least a 1.5 inch headspace. To prevent crystallization, put a piece of parchment paper on top of the ice cream and then add the lid.

16

To serve, bring the ice cream out of the freezer for at least 10 minutes to soften and make it scoopable.

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Preserving Know-how/ Preserving Recipes/ Summer

Chive Blossom Vinegar

The blossoms of chives are bountiful at this time of year. While blossoms can be used to adorn salads, soups, or meats, they can also be used to create a flavourful shelf-stable vinegar to please the pallet the whole year through.

I make many herb vinegars, but I love the chive blossom vinegar for its gorgeous rosy colour and delightful taste. Once it is ready, it will make a super vinaigrette or an addition to a sauce to brighten the taste. Because vinegar is acidic (at least 5%), it is an environment unconducive to most bacteria. It is possible for some yeasts and molds to grow in this environment so if you notice mold or see bubbles indicating yeast fermentation, don’t use it. But overall, herb vinegars are safe. I’ll note that herb infused oils are another story. Oils with herbs and/or garlic create an environment highly conducive to the worst bacterium clostridium botulinum (you got it – the botulism bacteria). It is possible to safely produce herb-garlic infused oils by acidifying the herbs and garlic, but please refer to the National Centre for Home Food Preservation for specific instructions about how to do it safely.

Making chive blossom vinegar, like all herb vinegars, is a two-step process. First, the sanitized herbs are placed in a sterilized Mason jar (warm) and hot vinegar is poured over. The mixture is left to steep for 2 weeks although you can decide to use a shorter time if you wish. At the end of the steeping period, the blossoms or herbs are strained out. I use two steps: First, strain using a sieve reserving the liquid. Second, pour the liquid through a dampened coffee filter to remove small sediment. The second phase of the process involves sterilizing the glass jars you will use to store the vinegar and heating the herb-infused vinegar to just below boiling point. Then de-cant the vinegar into the warm jars or bottles leaving a ½ inch headspace. Cool, put on lids, caps or corks, label and store in a cool, preferably dark location.

The particulars:

For chive blossom vinegar I use white wine vinegar and about ½ cup of blossoms for 500 ml. It’s really a matter of how many blossoms I can get my hands on.

Sanitizing solution: Blossoms or herbs should be knocked gently to remove insects or debris. It is recommended that they be quickly submerged in a solution of ½ tsp household bleach to 3 cups water, then thoroughly rinsed and patted dry.

Jar sterilization: Use the dishwasher cycle if you have it or submerge the jars or bottles in boiling water for 10 minutes. Invert on a towel and fill with the hot vinegar while warm. If you are using bottles with corks, use only new corks and sanitize them by dipping them in boiling water 3 or 4 times.

Getting creative: As the herbs begin to produce, it’s possible to create various infused vinegars. Strong herbs blend well with apple cider vinegar or even white vinegar. Milder herbs like chives, basil, tarragon blend well with white wine or champagne vinegars. Fruits also make super vinegars. You can experiment to determine what you enjoy.

The chive blossoms are here and ready to be used as culinary accents or to be infused into vinegar for a gloriously tinted vinegar with a gentle chive background ready to elevate your vinaigrette to new heights!

preservingwithmartha@gmail.com

 

 

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