sprinklefingers

did you survive yesterday’s strawberry preserves post? i seriously can’t wait for you to get some strawberries and try the recipe. because after you do that then you’ll realize why i’ve really only eaten preserves since sunday. okay, sure, yesterday i ate quinoa, but most of my other meals have involved preserves.

here are some photos of the ways i’ve been enjoying the sweet strawberry deliciousness:

tried-and-true pb & j sandwich. delicious!

whole milk yogurt. with preserves. and a little thing i call double crunch granola (a recipe i developed for our new store.)

banana bread. with peanut butter. and strawberry preserves. oh, yum.

and right now it’s breakfast time. i’m heading to wake the kid up and have some toast…with jam!

things are can-tastic around here right now. my pantry is overflowing with all sorts of canned delights. beans, jam, apple butter, onions - you name it and i’m figuring out a way to preserve it. but the one item i’m most proud of? meyer lemon and raspberry balsamic peach preserves. delicious by the spoonful. tasty on a slice of crusty bread with sharp cheddar. yummy stirred into yogurt. savory or sweet - these preserves are perfect.

wait. what’s that you say? peaches are delicious on their own…why add lemon and whatever else you said? look. i get it. peaches are perfect on their own. but these preserves - there’s just something special about them. and you know how you can find out for yourself? two ways:

1. invite yourself over to my house for a snack.
or
2. make the peach preserves yourself.

while #1 sounds fun, i must admit that i’m not very much fun right now. first of all i have a horrific burn on my forehead that is slathered in antibiotic ointment around-the-clock. so, not only is there a giant burn front and center - but it’s a giant SHINY burn. awesome.
additionally i just spent several hours simply mulling over the idea of alphabetizing my food-related books. i start to think it’s a good idea and then i get stuck here: do i implement a self-imposed checkout system to ensure the books are returned to the correct place when i’m finished with them? even if i’m the only person ‘checking’ them out? should i hire a part time librarian? or maybe just a book assistant? ahhh!

i’m telling you right now, you’ll be much safer if you make the preserves yourself.

meyer lemon & raspberry balsamic peach preserves

notes:

this recipe yields approximately 14 cups of preserves. that may seem like a lot, but if you’re going to do the work i’d suggest you stick with the amounts listed in the recipe and make this whole ‘making preserves’ thing worth your while. you won’t be sorry once you taste it!

to peel peaches: boil a pot of water. wash peaches then cut a small X in the bottom of each. submerge peaches, 4 at a time, and let blanch for 1 minute or so. pull the peaches out of the water (let cool a bit) and peel them, starting at the X you made.

to remove pits: since you’re not turning these peaches into pie, it’s perfectly acceptable to take the slimy peach in your hand and squeeze out the pit. you basically crush the peach, but you’ll still have big bits left for your lovely preserves.

the pectin: it isn’t entirely necessary - your preserves will be a bit thicker with the addition of it and a bit runnier with the elimination of it. having made preserves both ways, i have to say i sometimes like the pectin. but i understand those who don’t. so i’m leaving it up to you.

you need:

• 12 lbs peaches - peeled & pitted (see above.)
• 2 meyer lemons - use the juice of BOTH and the zest of ONE
• 4 T raspberry balsamic vinegar
• 7 cups sugar
• 1 package low-sugar pectin (see above.)

to make the preserves:

1. put your peeled and pitted peaches into a large pot. add the lemon juice, zest and vinegar.
2. if using pectin, mix it with 1 cup of the sugar. stir this into the peaches. (if you are not using pectin, simply add 1 cup of the sugar to the peaches.)
3. gently heat the peach mixture so that it comes to a full boil. because you are doing this gently (gently!) it make take a good while. just give it time and stir often to prevent burning.
4. once the peaches are boiling, add the remaining 6 cups of sugar and return to a boil. allow to boil for 1 or 2 minutes then remove from the heat.

while the preserves are heating you’ll have time to prepare your jars and water bath for canning. because this recipe yields at least 14 cups you’ll want to have 14 half-pint or 7 pint jars sterilized and kept hot while waiting to be filled.

ladle the preserves into the prepared jars leaving 1/2 an inch of headspace. add the lids and screw bands then carefully place in your canner.

process these preserves for 10 minutes. remember to start your timer after the water has returned to a full boil.

[don’t forget: full water bath canner instructions are available here.]

so, no. you can’t come over. i’m too huge of a mess for you to see me right now. you’d better go buy some peaches…

a few posts ago, we talked about preserved blueberries.

thanks to river cottage preserves, the whole fruit-in-syrup world has just gotten a bit smaller. the book contains an entire chart explaining how to create light, medium & heavy syrups for fruit - and explains the best way to process your jars for storing in the pantry. amazing. and exciting.

now, when I think ‘heavy syrup,’ i think about the nasty, thick goo in which old school fruit cocktail is suspended. so, I was a bit suspect when I embarked on my own ‘fruit in syrup’ experiment. but, I’m happy to tell you that homemade canning syrup is about 1 million times less gross than manufactured syrup. so much so that when my canned fruit is eaten, it’s likely that I’ll save the syrup for sweetening tea. or for just pouring in my mouth.

medium canning syrup

• 2 cups water
• 2/3 cup plain sugar or vanilla sugar
• 1/4 cup local honey

1. put the water, sugar and honey in a small saucepan.
2. bring to a boil.
3. after it reaches the boil, boil for exactly one minute then immediately take off the heat and pour into your jars over the prepared fruit.
4. process jars either using a water bath canner or the oven method.

white nectarines in medium syrup
after i made my first batch of medium syrup, it was time to experiment.
here’s how i preserved white nectarines:

1. i peeled, halved & pitted my nectarines (any amount you want!)
2. i prepared the medium syrup and poured it over the fruit in prepared (1 liter) jars.
3. i processed the nectarines for 25 minutes in a boiling water bath, and after 25 minutes I turned off the heat and let the nectarines sit in the water for five minutes. [the sitting part only happened because that’s how long it took me to locate the tutu for which my three year old was SCREAMING at me to find. you can probably skip this part. unless you too have a three year old boy who likes to wear a pink tutu and dance around the house to edith piaf. in which case, where have you been all my life? and, do you do playdates?]

these nectarines were my very first experiment in canning syrup…and they are deeelicious. you can tell from this photo:

nearly every single one of my best summer memories as a kid involves swimming pools and watermelon. i loved both things so much then - and I’d love them both right now if the swimming pool part didn’t involve me donning a bathing suit.

anyways, i still really love watermelon. i ate nearly an entire watermelon almost every day of my pregnancy. that’s a lot of melon. i don’t know how that kind of stuff transfers from mother to baby in real, actual hard science, but i can tell you that my kid now also LOVES watermelon. coincidence? i’m not sure. but he really does love it and would most definitely eat one in its entirety if i would let him could deal with the aftermath.

to put it plainly, we go through a ton of watermelon. and, wouldn’t you know it, two weekends ago as i was carving a watermelon, i decided to save the rind and turn it into something. that something? preserves.

i’m not going to tell you that turning watermelon rind into preserves was a waste of time, but i will tell you that a 14 lb watermelon + about 12 hours of work equaled only 2 measly pints of preserves. i will also tell you that i put the preserves on a turkey & sharp cheddar sandwich (thinking it would serve as a sort of ‘chutney,’) and had to eat it with my eyes closed. and i’m serious about that. the rind turns perfectly translucent when cooked - not the kind of thing you want to be staring at when you bite into a sandwich you’re unsure about in the first place.

in the end, i’m glad i did it. you know, preserved the rind, (and ate the rind,) because now i know.

my thinking is that preserved watermelon rind is one of the ultimate acquired tastes. i put it on the same level as pickled okra. pickled okra has weird hair. preserved rind is clear and makes your teeth feel funny.

i really can’t share the recipe with you. first because i’d never ask you to make it. second because i’d never ask you to eat it.

storing food away for the winter…

…and i’m just getting started!

[uh, yes. that’s a cabinet specifically designed to hold canned goods. it’s pretty much amazing. and, if you look closely you’ll see that the previous (and only other) lady of the house lined it with linoleum flooring samples…most of which contain specks of glitter. awesome - and - thanks, mrs. bushey!]