Preserving everything : how to can, culture, pickle, freeze, ferment, dehydrate, salt, smoke, and store fruits, vegetables, meat, milk, and more

345 Pages·2014·6.73 MB·English

by  Meredith

DEDICATION
To my sweetheart Richard Orbach, who understood (or at least smiled) when I
carried my canning gear across three continents to his home.
CONTENTS
Introduction
Gear
LACTO-FERMENTATION
BOILING WATER BATH CANNING
VINEGAR PICKLING
SWEET PRESERVES
PRESSURE CANNING
DEHYDRATING
SALTING AND SMOKING
FREEZING
COLD STORAGE
DAIRY CULTURES—YOGURT AND SIMPLE CHEESES
PRESERVING IN OIL, BUTTER, AND OTHER FATS
PRESERVING IN ALCOHOL
Troubleshooting
Appendix: Approximate pH Values of Various Foods
Useful Resources
Index
Acknowledgments
About the Author
INTRODUCTION
The 21st-Century Pantry
Preserving Everything is a pretty audacious title: How can I claim to write a book
that covers preserving every ingredient in existence? Here’s the deal: By the time you
finish reading this book, not only will you have read through and hopefully tried a few
recipes, but you’ll also understand the method behind the recipes and be able to apply
those methods, safely and deliciously, to other ingredients and recipes. I’m going to teach
you the different techniques of food preservation, what it is about them that safely
preserves food, and how to use them to preserve every type of food. So yes, this is a book
on preserving everything!
Even in this age of take-out dinners and miniature kitchens, people rely upon
food preservation whether they realize it or not. Those raisins you tuck into your
kid’s lunchbox are a dehydrated fruit, that jar of pasta sauce was pressure
canned, and—if it’s the real deal—the dill pickle that came with your deli
sandwich was lacto-fermented.
In the 21st century, food preservation is more than a way to stock up for the
winter, save on the grocery bill, or make some cute food gifts for the holidays.
Although it can certainly be all of those things, contemporary food preservation
is also a way to reduce your carbon footprint by having locally grown or raised
foods on hand year-round. Think about it: How much more fossil fuel gets
burned trucking commercial canned tomatoes to you across thousands of miles
versus canning your own using tomatoes from your garden or your local
farmers’ markets?
You will find delicious recipes in this book that demonstrate each of the
different food preservation techniques. There are must-have pantry basics like
canned tomatoes and strawberry jam, but also more playful inventions such as
fig jam with wine and balsamic vinegar. In other words, there’s something here
for novices and experienced food preservationists alike.
And at every step of the way you will understand exactly which component
of each recipe is safely preserving the food. Is it the acidity of vinegar, the
hotter-than-boiling-water heat of pressure canning, or some other factor? With
this book in hand, you won’t have to guess: You’ll know exactly why the recipe
this book in hand, you won’t have to guess: You’ll know exactly why the recipe
works, and you’ll even be able to invent your own food preservation recipes with
absolute confidence.
I know, I know, I’m not supposed to say that. Most food preservation advice
absolutely prohibits experimentation. I understand why: Food safety is a life-
and-death issue. But instead of scaring folks away and restricting access to
knowledge with a do-not-attempt approach, I’d rather teach you to be your own
expert.
And I do mean expert. Here’s the deal: There are some very straightforward
food safety necessities that accompany each method of food preservation. These
are essential to follow precisely. They are also very easy to follow and to learn.
Once you understand what it is about each food preservation method that enables
it to preserve food safely, you’ll know exactly what you can and cannot change
about a recipe (in this book or from any other source).
Understanding what makes each method work will also enable you to
traverse the wealth of online recipes safely and successfully. There are some
excellent recipes out there, but there are also some dubious ones that I would not
risk feeding to myself or family. With this book in hand, you’ll be able to tell at
a glance whether a food preservation recipe is trustworthy.
There is a primal satisfaction that comes from looking at a batch of food you
put up yourself. Anyone who has ever smiled when they heard a canning lid seal
with an unmistakable pop, or tried to look modest when an appreciative gift
recipient gasped, “You made this?” knows exactly what I am talking about. And
now it’s your turn.
GEAR
Generally Useful Gear
In addition to basic kitchen equipment like mixing bowls, colanders, pots, knives,
and stirring spoons, each food preservation method has a few pieces of special gear
that are either essential or that make the job much easier than it would be
otherwise. But first, here is some gear that you may want to get if you don’t already own
it. These items will be useful for many, many food preservation projects. None of them is
required to make the recipes in this book, but they will make your job easier.
Generally Useful Gear
CHERRY PITTER
If you want to make the Fermented Sour Cherries in the Preserving in Alcohol
chapter—or any other cherry preserve—a cherry pitter makes the job so much
easier. You can also use an olive pitter. Either one is an inexpensive handheld
tool that pops out each cherry (or olive) pit in a second.
tool that pops out each cherry (or olive) pit in a second.
A FOOD PROCESSOR
Not mandatory if you don’t mind a lot of knife work, but, really helpful for
recipes that require fairly large quantities of fresh ingredients to be chopped very
small (the Sweet Red Pepper and Cucumber Relish recipe in the Vinegar
Pickling chapter comes to mind).
KITCHEN SCALE
Top of the line is a digital scale that can handle large quantities (pounds/kilos)
and also accurately measure small amounts (ounces/grams). If you go with non-
digital, you may want to invest in two pieces of gear for weighing—one to
handle the heavier items and a smaller, postal-type scale for more delicate
measurements.
MANDOLINE