Pickled Jalapenos

The Jalapenos have mostly ripened all at once. I can't use them all fresh and I do love pickled Jalapenos, so that's what I did, canning three pints. These should be nice bright spicy accents in a few weeks.

I tend to eat them right out of the jar, but they are good additions to other dishes as well.

Pickling peppers is easy - use equal amounts of vinegar and water, add a bit of salt, some pepper corns, bay leaf, sugar.

Makes 3 pints

Ingredients:
2 lbs of jalapenos, sliced about 1/3" thick
3 cups water
3 cups white vinegar
1 tablespoon pickling salt
1.5 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
3 bay leaves
3 garlic cloves





Directions:
Prepare jars according to manufacturers instructions.

Combine all ingredients except peppers in a big pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.

Pack pepper slices into hot jars leaving 1/4" head space.

Ladle pickling liquid over peppers leaving 1/4" head space, wipe rims, adjust 2 piece caps and process 10 minutes in hot water canner.

After canning, allow flavors to develop a few weeks before using.

Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging!


The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - @gastrogardener
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Pickled Gingered Carrots

Last week I was tucking into some bibimbap (a lovely light Korean dish heavy on vegetables) for lunch and the ingredient that struck me the most was the pickled ginger carrots. Crisp, cool, refreshing. I decided to see if I could recreate them. Some searching around led me to a few recipes.  This one is adapted from one that was 1/2 carrot 1/2 daikon radish. I used a bit more ginger and only carrots. I used a mandolin for part of it, but since these are cut lengthwise, I used a knife to finish them. Don't get me started on how I lost a big chunk of thumb to a mandolin some years back. 

Makes 5 pints.

Ingredients:

4 lbs. carrots peeled and julienned lengthwise in long strips
3 cups white vinegar
3 cups water
1 ½ cups sugar
2-3 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
6 jalapeno pepper (optional)

Directions:

Prep hot water canning bath and prepare your jars and lids.

Wash, peel and julienne carrots into long strips. 4 lbs may take a while, take your time and be careful!

In big sauce pan add water, vinegar, sugar and ginger.

Bring to a boil over medium heat and stir until sugar dissolves.

Add julienned carrots, stir and immediately turn the  heat off.

Place a pepper in each jar (if using).

Pack carrots into hot jars.

Ladle hot pickling liquid into jars, leaving ½ inch of headroom. Remove air bubbles and adjust head-space adding more liquid if needed.  

Wipe jar rims and add lids and bands.

Process for 20 minutes (timed from the boil). Let cool undisturbed for 24 hours.

I'm going to let these rest for a few weeks before using in my own bibimbap. I also foresee them being a great addition to any salad or adding a nice crunch to a sandwich. Stay Tuned!

Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging! 

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/gastrogardener
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener
email: thegastronomicgardener at gmail dot com

Dill pickles

The other day while I was smoking some pork butts for BBQ I had some time on my hands as well as about 5 lbs of cucumbers. I've made sweet pickles, I've made relish. Dill pickles would round out my pickle storage requirements. I used the recipe right out of the Ball Blue Book.

While I didn't have as many pickles as suggested for the recipe I figured if I had a little extra pickling liquid that would be OK. It's very inexpensive.

Ingredients:

8 lbs 4-6 inch cucumbers split

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup canning salt

1 quart each: vinegar, water

3 TBS mixed pickling spices

dill

garlic (1 clove per jar)

Jalapenos - 1/2 per jar

Directions:

Wash cucumbers, drain.

Split lengthwise and trim off a little the blossom end. (I ended up quartering them to fit the jars better)

Combine, sugar, salt, vinegar and water in a large sauce pot.

Tie spices in a spice bag (I used cheese cloth), add spice bag to vinegar mixture.

Bring to boil then simmer for 15 minutes.

Pack cucumbers into sterile jars, add jalapeno slice, dill and clove of garlic to each jar.

Ladle pickling liquid over cucumbers leaving 1/4" head space.

Adjust two piece caps. Process pints and quarts 15 minutes in boiling water canner.

I got 6 pints out of this and maybe a cup of left over pickling liquid. Incidentally, this was the first canning I've done where a jar didn't seal.  That's OK, it's in the fridge and I'll eat them up soon!

Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener

Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
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email: thegastronomicgardener at gmail dot com

Sweet Pickle Relish

As I mentioned I have a whole bunch of cucumbers to use up. And I just picked another 2.5 lbs!

This time I've made sweet relish.

Sweet Pickle Relish (from Balls Blue Book of Preserving)

Ingredients

1 quart cucumbers, peeled, seeded and chopped

2 cups onions, peeled and chopped

1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1/4 cup salt

3 1/2 cups sugar

2 cups cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. celery seed
1 Tbsp. mustard seed


Directions:

I used my food processor  to process the vegetables very small, but you could also chop your vegetables by hand

Place vegetables in a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and mix.

Cover with cold water and let stand 2 hours.

Drain, rinse and drain very well again.

Combine sugar, vinegar, celery seed and mustard seed in a non-reactive large pot. Bring to a boil, stir to dissolve sugar.

Add drained vegetables return to boil. Lower heat and simmer 10 minutes.

Pack hot relish into hot sterilized 1/2 pint jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Place caps on and tighten.

Place in hot water bath and process for 10 minutes.

Makes eight 1/2 pint jars.

I can't wait to try this on a burger!

Until next time, Eat well and Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
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First Pickles of the year

All the cucumbers I've been picking finally met their  destiny.

This isn't all of them, just the most recent pick. From the Ball Blue Book of Preserving, here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

4 lbs 4-6 inch cucumber cut into slices
2 lbs onions thinly sliced
1/3 cup pickling salt
2 cups sugar
1 tbs mustard seed
2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp celery seed ( I didn't have any so I left it out)
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
3 cups vinegar

Slice up the cucumbers and onions into 1/4" slices.

Combine in a large bowl layering with the salt.

Cover with ice and let sit 1.5 - 2 hours.

Drain, rinse and drain again.

Combine remaining ingredients in large pot, bring to a boil.

Add drained cucumbers and onions, return to a boil.

Pack hot pickles and hot liquid into hot jars, leaving 1/4" head space. Remove air bubbles.

Adjust 2 piece caps. Process 10 minutes in a boiling water canner. The new 60,000 btu burner works wonders!



















Remove from canner and place in cool spot away from drafts or temperature fluctuations. Here they are right out of the canner. The recipe indicates 7 pints but I never get what the recipe says, always 1 or 2 short. Doesn't matter if it's pickles or salsa; I'm always a few pints short of a full batch. ;)

When cool, check seal and label.

Allow 4 to 6 weeks for pickles to develop full flavor.

(DISCLAIMER: This is not step by step all inclusive instructions. If you choose to can produce or other foods, please get proper equipment and instructions and follow them to the letter. The risk of serious food borne illness is very real. Proceed at your own risk.) -

Until next time, Eat Well and Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener

Cowboy Candy - Sweet pickled Jalapenos

I saw this recipe over at http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/. The site over there is fantastic, please go check out her witty postings and fantastic food!  What a great idea, I have to try it!  It's been months since I broke out the canning equipment, but I have to for this...

These instructions come from  this page: http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/blog/2010/05/23/candied-jalapenos-cowboy-candy/.  Additional comments in Italics are mine

So lets make them!

Yield: About 9 half-pint jars of Candied Jalapenos plus additional jalapeno syrup. (I got 3 pints plus 1 pint of syrup)


Ingredients:
3 pounds fresh, firm, jalapeno peppers, washed
2 cups cider vinegar
6 cups white granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon celery seed  (I substituted mustard)
3 teaspoons granulated garlic
1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

Wearing gloves, slice the peppers into uniform 1/8-1/4 inch rounds (using a mandolin made this process much faster than a knife and all the slices are consistant). Set aside.

In a large pot, bring cider vinegar, white sugar, turmeric, mustard seed, granulated garlic and cayenne pepper to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the pepper slices and simmer for exactly 4 minutes.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer the peppers, loading into clean, sterile canning jars to within 1/4 inch of the upper rim of the jar.

Turn heat up under the pot with the syrup and bring to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for 6 minutes.

Use a ladle to pour the boiling syrup into the jars over the jalapeno slices. Insert a cooking chopstick or the canning tool to the bottom of the jar two or three times to release any trapped pockets of air. Adjust the level of the syrup if necessary. Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean, damp paper towel and fix on new, two-piece lids to finger-tip tightness.

*If you have leftover syrup, and it is likely that you will, you may can it in half-pint or pint jars, too. It’s wonderful brushed on meat on the grill or added to potato salad or, or, or… In short, don’t toss it out!

Place jars in a canner, cover with water by 2-inches. Bring the water to a full rolling boil. When it reaches a full rolling boil, set the timer for 10 minutes for half-pints or 15 minutes for pints. When timer goes off, use canning tongs to transfer the jars to a cooling rack. Leave them to cool, undisturbed, for 24 hours. When fully cooled, wipe them with a clean, damp washcloth then label.

Store for at least 2 weeks, preferably 4 before using.

Thanks again http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/ for this fabulous recipe.

Until next time, Eat Well & Keep digging!
The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener

Not quite a peck of pickled peppers, of course I'm not "Peter"

We had picked a bunch of the cherry peppers, concerned they would not ripen in time. To that add my trip to the Carniceria tonight to pick up some supplies and the gorgeous red Jalapenos. Let's pickle them. I expect to break a sweat when I have them.

Ingredients:
2.75 lbs of hot peppers
6 cups vinegar
2 cups water
3 garlic cloves crushed

Directions:
Prepare jars and lids according to instructions.
Leave peppers whole or cut into 1 inch pieces (I cut them).

Combine vinegar, water and garlic in a big pot. Bring mixture to boil, reduce heat  and simmer 5 minutes. Remove garlic.

Pack peppers into hot jars leaving 1/4" headspace.

Ladle hot liquid over peppers leaving 1/4" headspace.

Remove air bubbles.

Adjust 2 piece caps.

Process 10 minutes in boiling water canner.

After 10 minutes, lift rack, wait 5 minutes then remove jars (why is it called canning?)

5 jars of garden jewels.

I think these will be HOT!

Until next time Eat Well & Keep Digging!


The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener

Bread and Butter Pickles

I went to the French Market yesterday in Wheaton, Illinois to see what I could see.  Two rows of vendors plying their wares. I did find a farm stand that did not have outrageous prices. So I purchased some pickling cucumbers. When I made the early in the  year the flavor was fine but the texture was a bit disappointing. Reader Brian said to ice the cukes before pickling them I hope it turns out better this time.

Ingredients:
 4 lbs 4-6 inch cucumber cut into slices
2 lbs onions thinly sliced
1/3 cup pickling salt
2 cups sugar
1 tbs mustard seed
2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp celery seed ( I substituted fennel)
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
3 cups vinegar

Wash cucumbers.

Slice the cucumbers and combine with onion slices in a large bowl layering with salt.

Cover with ice and let sit 1.5 - 2 hours.

Drain, rinse and drain again.

Combine remaining ingredients in large pot, bring to a boil.

Add drained cucumbers and oinions, return to a boil.

Pack hot pickles and hot liquid into hot jars, leaving 1/4" headspace. remove air bubbles.

Adjust 2 piece caps. Process 10 minutes in a boiling water canner.
Remove from canner and place in cool spot away from drafts or temperature fluctuations.

When cool, check seal and label.

Allow 4 to 6 weeks  for pickles to develop full flavor.


Can't Wait!

Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener

Spicy Pickled Green Beans

With the 4lbs of green beans we picked last night, we need to do something to put them up for later.

I've already frozen some http://bit.ly/dAR9BX, and having done one canning exercise http://bit.ly/9qvUku I decided to do another.

I won't bore you with the complete step by step, but let's make some spicy pickled green beens.

Here we are all prepped and ready to go. Beans, garlic, dill, peppercorns, jalapeno. A brine of water, vinegar and salt.

Canning station outside so as not to steam up the inside.

Boiling away!

Cooling in a "cool dry place". They should be ready to try in about a month.

My garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
My cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt

Sweet Pickles and First Canning attempt

I really like sweet pickles, and we are growing some cucumbers at the veggie plot so I of course am impatient. I reasoned that it would be good practice to try to jar some pickles. Additionally, I hope to have an enormous amount of tomatoes to can so I wanted to put myself through the paces once or twice before we have 50 lbs of tomatoes on our hands!

This first attempt was in the kitchen, in the future and at the peak of harvest I intend to set up a canning station outdoors using some turkey fryer stands. This hopefully will make it more comfortable.

My intent for this has been ongoing; early this spring I picked up some used canning equipment and jars for a song off  Craigslist.

Let's see how it all turned out. (DISCLAIMER: This is not step by step all inclusive instructions. If you choose to can produce or other foods, please get proper equipment and instructions and follow them to the letter. The risk of serious food borne illness is very real. Proceed at your own risk.)

I went to the market and bought 5 lbs of small mexican cucumbers. Brought them home and washed them well.

The recipe calls for 7lbs of cucumumber and 8 pint jars so I will likey have too many jars - better too many than not enough.

Wash the canning equipment and dry.

Crinkle cut the cucumbers. I could have just used a knife but I like the crinkle cuts.

 

Mix the pickling spices with 5 cups sugar and 5 cups vinegar. Bring to a boil.

 

Pour over the cucumbers and let steep for about 30 minutes as it cools.

 

All jarred and put into water bath canner. Bring to a boil and let process 15 minutes.

 

Remove from bath and let cool. The lids all pinged and are sucked down appropriately. I'll let these rest for a month or two before trying them out.

The finished product.

 

Happy Eating!