Preparing For Winter!

Many of you may say that summer just arrived, but it is never too early to start thinking about canning and pickling as much fresh produce as you can before the cold months hit. Sometimes it's hard to consume as much produce as you grow during the season and knowing how to preserve a lot of it makes all the hard work even more worth while. Some of my earliest and fondest memories are of making tomato sauce with my mom in the kitchen, despite the many steamy and sweaty August hours it required!

One of Bev's shelves of preserved food

This season between the Rieses and Petronis we have made currant jelly, raspberry jam, a variety of dill pickles, pickled peppers, tomato sauce, peaches in syrup, and salsa. Some of the past season's mason jars have contained pickled beets, fruit compote, pears, pickled green beans, pickled green tomatoes, sauerkraut, ketchup, and more. My favorite continues to be the pickled green beans and now it's impossible to have a sandwich without them!

Dill Pickles

If you've never pickled or canned anything it may sound intimidating. The whole process definitely takes practice and you might break a few jars in the hot water or fail to get a proper seal. Luckily there are great books out there that give you recipes and you can try them yourself. Two books we highly recommend are "The Joy of Pickling" and "Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving". The equipment is pretty simple too: a large canning pot, special tongs for getting the jars out of the hot water, lids, and jars. The 'pop' of the lid letting you know that your jar has properly sealed is one of the most wonderful sounds because you know you can safely store your work on the pantry shelf for the months to come.

Raspberry Jam

There are all types of recipes for pickles and they vary in the length of time it takes for them to brine. We made some delicious pickles that were ready in a week and some that require a 2 week fermentation before canning. Also, if you're itching to pickle after reading this but don't have the equipment, do not fear! We love to "quick pickle" and my favorite recipe makes pickled red onions. They turn a beautiful bright pink and work great on sandwiches or salads because they don't have the lingering bite of raw onions. Good luck!

Pickled Red Onions

1 red onion (sliced thin)

1/2 cup white vinegar

1/2 cup water

1 tsp sugar

Bring the white vinegar and water and sugar to a simmer and add onions. Let them simmer for about 5 minutes (or less if you like them crunchier) and then turn off the heat and leave covered. The longer you let them sit, the more they will pickle. I usually leave the lid on for about 30 minutes and then let them cool. You can store the onions in the brine in the refrigerator and even recycle the brine after you eat all of the onions. You can do any amount of onions-just use the same ratio for your brine to cover the onions.

Pickled Red Onions