Spicey-Sweet Pickle Relish

Ingredients

• 1 cup grated Green Bell Pepper Pepper
• 1 cup graded Red Bell Pepper 
• 1/2 cup graded Yellow Bell Pepper
• 1/2 cup graded Orange Bell Pepper
• 3 cups grated pickling cucumber (6 to 8 pickles)
• 1 cup minced or grated sweet onion (about 1 medium)
• 2 cups apple cider vinegar, divided
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon mustard seed
• 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
• 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes (use more if you want more spice then sweet) 

 

1. Combine graded bell peppers, cucumbers, and onion in a large, non-reactive (stainless steel or enamel-coated) pot. Stir in one cup of apple cider vinegar and bring to a simmer. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have cooked down and the liquid is reduced by about 1/3, about 30 minutes. Drain the vegetables, discard liquid.
2. Add remaining one cup vinegar, sugar and the spices and give  a good stir, desolving the  sugar before  returning the vegetables to the pot. Mix together and bring back to to a simmer and cook for five minutes. Remove pot from heat.
   
3. Fill jars, wipe rims, apply lids and rings. Process as normal;  in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes (starting time when pot returns to a boil). Remove jars from pot and let cool on a towel-lined countertop.
   

 

Adentures in Preserving Peaches: Summer 2013

Rained all day today. Got a lot of canning done, but absolutely no work done on the Sleepy Goat Inn. The Goats have been, for the most part, in the house all day with ventures out under the carport. Poor Kidlets. I hope there is much less rain tomorrow so they can do some foraging.

 Crystallized Ginger Peach Preserves Recipe (Pictured on the Right)

Ingredients:
4-1/2 cups finely diced peaches
1/4 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
1 box SURE-JELL Fruit Pectin
1/2 tsp. Unsalted butter
5-1/2 cups sugar

Peel and pit peaches; finely chop or grind fruit. Measure exactly 4-1/2 cups prepared fruit into 6- or 8-qt. pot. Stir in ginger.

Stir pectin into prepared fruit in pot. Add butter to reduce foaming. Bring mixture to full rolling boil (a boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 min., stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with metal spoon.

Ladle immediately into prepared sterilized jars, filling to within 1/8 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with two-piece lids. Screw bands tightly. Place jars on elevated rack in canner. Lower rack into canner. (Water must cover jars by 1 to 2 inches. Add boiling water, if necessary.) Cover; bring water to gentle boil. Process 10 min. Remove jars and place upright on towel to cool completely. After jars cool, check seals by pressing middles of lids with finger. (If lids spring back, lids are not sealed and refrigeration is necessary.)

Note: For stronger ginger flavor, increase crystallized ginger to 1/2 cup. That's what we did!

Servings Total: About 8 (1-cup) jars

Honey-Lavender Peaches (Obviously the one on the left)

Ingredients:

14 to 15 fresh ripe peaches
4 cups filtered water
1 3/4 cups organic raw honey
2/3 cup Riesling or other sweet white wine
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp dried lavender

1 fresh lemon 

Fill a large pot to about 2/3 full of water and bring it to a rapid, rolling boil over high heat. With a light hand, score an “X” into the fuzzy bottom of each peach and continue running your knife up the side of the fruit until the peach is scored (but not cut) into quarters. Carefully drop about 6-8 peaches, depending on size, into the water and boil for 60 – 90 seconds. Do the peaches in batches and keep the heat steady and high to prevent the water temperature from dropping. As soon as the peaches are blanched, remove them immediately from the boiling water and place into an ice water bath to stop the cooking and further loosen the skins.
When the peaches are fully cooled, slide the edge of a spoon or a dull butter knife (not serrated) under the skin at one of the edges and gently pull it away. The skin should just slip right off. Use a short and sharp paring knife to split the peach in half and remove the pit. Slice each fruit into 8-10 wedges. 

Using a vegetable peeler, cut 2 to 3 inches strips of peel from the  lemon. Be careful not to get any of the white portions.

Pack the peach slices and even portions of your lemon peel into your jars fairly tightly, but without pushing the fruit down and crushing it, until it comes up to 1/2″ from the top lip of the jar.

For syrup, in a large pot combine water, honey, wine, lavender, and salt.  Set the pot over medium heat and stir until the sugar and honey are dissolved.

Ladle hot syrup over the peaches, in the prepared sterilized jars, filling to within 1/8 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with two-piece lids. Screw bands tightly. Place jars on elevated rack in canner. Lower rack into canner. (Water must cover jars by 1 to 2 inches. Add boiling water, if necessary.) Cover; bring water to gentle boil. Process 20  min. Remove jars and place upright on towel to cool completely. After jars cool, check seals by pressing middles of lids with finger. (If lids spring back, lids are not sealed and refrigeration is necessary.)

Servings Total: About 8 quart jars

Adentures in Preserving Foods

Frozen Sliced Squash, Lemon Zest Bits, Frozen Lemon Juice, 

 Frozen Sweet Potato Pie Filling, Frozen Peach Pie Filling,  
Frozen Diced Carrots, Frozen Diced Onions, 

 Canned Candied Carrots, and Canned Peach Preserves.

Spicy Pear Ginger Chutney

A dear friend of mine brought this over for a dinner gathering we had, serving it over cream cheese with crackers. It was AMAZING! I finally got the recipe from her and am cooking up my own batch to can today! My house at least smells like FALL even though it's 98 outside still!

Ingredients:

3 pounds (about 6 cups) hard, under-ripe pears, cored, seeded, and chopped. I did not peel them.
3 cups light or dark brown sugar
3 cups apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1/4 pound crystallized ginger, chopped (about 2/3 cup)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Quatre-Epices (Recipe below)
1 cup dark raisins
1 cup light raisins
2 cups chopped onion
1 lemon, peeled and thinly sliced

Directions:
Cook the pears in water to cover until they are medium-soft. Drain, saving the water, then make a syrup of the water in which the pears were cooked and the brown sugar by boiling in a large nonreactive pot until thick, about 20 to 30 minutes. While the syrup is boiling, add the remaining ingredients to the pears, then mix everything together and cook for about 30 minutes or until the raisins are softened, the onions are transparent, and the chutney has a good thick consistency. Transfer to sterilized jars and seal; process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

QUATRE-EPICES - "Four-spices" usually include four of five spices. I used all five. Vary the amounts to suit your own palate. 2 tablespoons (1/8 cup) ground white peppercorns 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves, 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger. Store in a cool, and dry place.

Makes 5-6 pints.