cantaloupe jam

Cantaloupe Jam

Cantaloupe (very ripe)
3/4 pound granulated sugar per pound of cantaloupe
1/2 teaspoon each ginger, mace and cinnamon
    per each pound of cantaloupe

Peel cantaloupe and remove the seeds. Weigh and chop very fine. Put sugar and cantaloupe into a kettle with a little water. Cook slowly until fruit can be mashed. Add remaining ingredients. Cook until thick.

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pumpkin butter

Pumpkin Butter

3 1/2 cups fresh ground pumpkin or canned pumpkin pur?e
2 1/2 cups light brown sugar
1 lemon, juice and grated rind
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice

If using fresh pumpkin, mix with sugar, lemon, ginger, cinnamon and allspice in a large bowl. Let stand at room temperature 8 to 10 hours

Transfer to a heavy saucepan, add 1/2 cup water and bring to a boil. Simmer on low heat, stirring often, for 40 to 60 minutes, to desired consistency. (With canned pumpkin, mix ingredients in heavy saucepan; bring to a boil and simmer on low about 20 minutes, to thicken.)

Pour mixture into hot, sterile, 6-ounce canning jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Seal with sterile, 2-part lids and rings, as manufacturer directs, processing 10 minutes in boiling water bath. Cool; adjust seals.

Makes five 6-ounce jars.

The only questions worth asking today are whether humans are going to have any emotions tomorrow, and what the quality of life will be if the answer is no. — Lester Bangs

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grape leaves

Grape Leaves

120 whole grape leaves
Water
1/4 cup kosher salt
1 quart water

Pick grape leaves when young, tender and light green. Cut off stems and wash in cold water. Bring water to a boil in a 6-quart or larger pot. Drop in 10 to 12 grape leaves at a time for 30 seconds. Lift grapes leaves out and plunge into cold water. Pat leaves dry with paper towels. Stack leaves in piles of 6 and roll up loosely from the long side. Tie each roll with string. Continue this process until all leaves are cooked and rolled up. Pack rolls of leaves in clean, hot pint or quart jars. About 6 rolls will fit into a quart jar.

Bring salt and 1 quart water to a boil; boil 5 minutes. Pack rolls of leaves vertically into 3 quart jars, bending them gently to fit below the shoulders of the jars. Cover with hot brine, leaving 1/2-inch headspace; seal. Process in boiling water bath 15 minutes.

Yields 3 quarts.

To use, untie the rolls and rinse in cold water. Use in any recipe calling for grape leaves. Refrigerate after opening.

Sometimes I think Id be better off dead. No, wait. Not me, you. — Jack Handey Deep Thoughts

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sweet cherry jam

Sweet Cherry Jam

3 pounds fully ripe dark sweet cherries
1 (1 3/4 ounce) package regular powdered fruit pectin
1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel
1/4 cup lemon juice
5 cups granulated sugar

Sort, wash, stem, pit, and chop cherries. Measure 4 cups chopped cherries.

In a 6- or 8-quart Dutch oven or kettle combine cherries, pectin, lemon peel and lemon juice. Bring to boiling over high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar. Bring to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Quickly skim off foam with a metal spoon.

Immediately ladle jam into hot, sterilized half-pint canning jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Wipe jar rims and adjust lids. Process jars in  boiling-water canner* for 5 minutes (start timing when water begins to boil). Remove jars from canner; cool on racks.

Makes 6 half-pints.

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rhubarb ginger jam

Rhubarb Ginger Jam

2 pounds rhubarb (about 8 cups)
2 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup fresh ginger, minced or grated
1/2 vanilla bean, split with seeds scraped into pan

Place all ingredients into a large saucepan. Bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally for 20 to 25 minutes on medium heat until the mixture reaches 218 to 220 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. Skim any foam from the top and remove vanilla bean. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Jam, at this point, can be stored in sterilized canning jars in the refrigerator for a few weeks, or water-bath canned per the instructions, no less than 10 minutes, with the canning jars.

Makes 6 cups.

The best an American can look forward to is the lonely pleasure of one who stands at long last on a chilly and inhospitable mountaintop where few have been before, where few can follow and where few will consent to believe he has been. — George Frost Kennan

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candied cucumber pickles

Candied Cucumber Pickles

7 pounds large, yellow cucumbers
1 cup pickling lime
1 gallon water
3 cups vinegar, divided
1 small bottle red food coloring
1 tablespoon alum
10 cups granulated sugar
8 cinnamon sticks
1 (10 ounce) package red hot candies

Peel, then de-seed the cucumbers. Using a small spoon, scoop out the seeds and discard. If necessary, cut the cucumber in half so you can reach and readily remove all the seeds. Slice the hollowed-out cucumbers into about 1/2-inch wide rings. Soak the cucumber rings in the pickling lime and water for at least 24 hours. Make sure to use a nonporous, ceramic stock pot or a 1-gallon glass jar, as the liquid will pit non-coated aluminum stockpots.

Discard the pickling lime and water mixture and soak the cucumber rings in ice water for about 3 hours.

In a small bowl, mix 1 cup of the vinegar with food coloring and alum, and add some water. Pour this mixture over the top of the cucumbers and add more water to cover. Set on the range over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer, then reduce heat and continue to simmer for about 2 hours. Pour off the liquid when cool enough to handle easily, then discard.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the remaining 2 cups vinegar, 2 cups water, sugar, cinnamon sticks and red hot candies. Bring the mixture to a hard, rolling boil for about 1 minute, making sure to stir constantly. Pour the mixture over the cooked cucumbers and let stand for 24 hours.

Pour off the liquid, but reserve and reheat it in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring the liquid to the boil again. Place cucumber rings in 6 to 8 sterilized pint jars and pour the hot pickling liquid over the top of the cucumbers. Make sure to use self-sealing lids that have also been sterilized with the rings. Leave on the counter overnight to seal, then store in a dry, dark pantry. Serve straight from the pint jar.

Sometimes when learning comes before experience It doesn make sense right away. — Richard Bach

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Green Tomato Relish

Green Tomato Relish

This is good served with fried fish and hush puppies.

5 pounds (10 to 12 medium) green tomatoes
1 pound onions
1 cup chopped fresh jalape?os
2 cups unrefined cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup pickling salt

Prepare 6 (1 pint) canning jars according to manufacturers directions. Coarsely chop tomatoes, onions and jalape?os in batches in a food processor, and reserve them. Combine vinegar, sugar and salt in a stockpot, and bring to a boil over high heat. Add vegetables and boil the mixture vigorously for 2 to 3 minutes. Spoon the relish into the prepared jars, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace. Process the jars in a water bath for 10 minutes.

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• Vegetables & Lentils with Ground Spices | eCurry - The Recipe Blog

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seasoned tomato sauce

Seasoned Tomato Sauce

2 large onions, chopped
4 medium carrots, sliced
2 cups chopped celery
2 green bell peppers, chopped
18 to 20 large tomatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons salt, or to taste

Saut? onion, carrots, celery and green peppers in olive oil until onions are limp and transparent. Peel, core and chop tomatoes (you should have 4 quarts). Add to vegetables and cook about 15 minutes.

Pur?e vegetables in a food processor, press through a fine sieve, or put through a food mill. Add salt and cook sauce, uncovered, until thick (about 1 hour), stirring frequently to prevent sticking. The final consistency should fall halfway between juice and paste.

Quickly ladle into clean, hot jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace; seal. Process in boiling water bath 45 minutes.

Yields about 4 to 5 pints.

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homemade sauerkraut

Homemade Sauerkraut

To make a smaller quantity of sauerkraut, reduce the recipe ingredients proportionately. Allow 2 ounces salt to each 6 pounds of cabbage.

48 pounds cabbage
1 pound salt

Let cabbage heads stand at room temperature for about 24 hours to wilt. This causes the leaves to soften slightly and become less likely to break when cut. Wash the head and remove outer leaves. Cut heads into quarters and remove the cores. With a sharp knife, shred 5 pounds of cabbage 1/8 to 1/4-inch thick. Place the shredded cabbage in a large mixing bowl and sprinkle with about 3 tablespoons of the salt. Mix the salted cabbage with your hands or with a stainless steel spoon and let it stand 3 to 5 minutes.

Wash a 10-gallon crock with soapy water, rinse and scale it with boiling water. Pack salted cabbage into the crock. A brine will form as you press the cabbage down. Repeat the shredding and salting in 5-pound lots until the crock is filled to within no more than 5 inches of the top. The brine should cover the cabbage. If it does not, add additional brine by heating 1 1/2 tablespoons of salt with 1 quart of water. Cool the brine to room temperature before adding it to the crock.

To cover the cabbage and weight it down to keep it submerged in the brine, fill a clean, large, heavy plastic bag, such as heavy-duty trash bag, with water and lay it over the cabbage. Fit the bag snugly against the inside walls of the crock to prevent the surface of the cabbage from being exposed to air. This will prevent the growth of a yeast film or mold. Add more water to the plastic bag, if necessary, to keep the cabbage submerged. Seal the bag with a twist tie. Cover the crock with plastic wrap.

Fermentation will take place from 3 to 6 weeks depending on the room temperature. The ideal temperature is 75 degrees F. At 75 degrees F fermentation will take about 3 weeks; at 70 degrees F, 4 weeks; at 65 degrees F, 5 weeks; and at 60 degrees F allow about 6 weeks.

Tightly packed in covered containers, the kraut can be safely kept in the refrigerator for several months. If you don have space, can the sauerkraut.

Canning the Sauerkraut
Bring the kraut to a simmer; do not boil. Pack it into clean, hot jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace; seal. Process in a water bath canner for 20 minutes for quarts or 15 minutes for pints. Start counting the processing time when the water in canner starts to boil.

Yields 16 to 18 quarts.

Old-Time Sauerkraut Method
After packing the crock with salted cabbage, place a piece of thin, white cloth (such as muslin) directly over the cabbage and tuck the edges down against the inside of the container. Cover the cabbage with a heavy plate that fits snugly inside the container so that the cabbage is not exposed to air. Put a weight on top of the plate so that the cabbage is fully immersed in the brine. A glass jar filled with water makes a good weight. The brine should come up 2 inches above the plate, making daily skimming easier.

Cover the crock with a clean terrycloth towel and top with plastic wrap to prevent evaporation. Tie string around the crock to hold the towel and plastic wrap in place. Remove the scum daily from the surface with a scalded stainless steel spoon. Replace the cloth and plate with a clean one. Cover the crock again with the towel and plastic wrap. This method takes about the same length of time as the previous one.

The sauerkraut is done when bubbles stop rising to the surface. Taste the kraut. When it suits your taste, remove it from the crock. Refrigerate the kraut in covered containers or pack it into jars and process as described above.

Yields 16 to 18 quarts.

He who does not attempt to make peace When small discords arise, Is like the bees hive which leaks drops of honey Soon, the whole hive collapses. — Siddha Nagarjuna

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Apricot and Almond Chutney

Apricot and Almond Chutney

1 cup cider vinegar
1 cup granulated sugar
12 apricots
2 red bell peppers
2 onions
1 garlic clove
1 orange
1 lemon
1/2 cup sliced candied ginger
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup whole blanched almonds
1 teaspoon ground ginger

Pour 3/4 cup of the vinegar into a preserving pan. Add sugar. Stir over low heat until the sugar has completely dissolved. Increase the heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Halve, pit and chop apricots. Core, seed and chop bell peppers. Peel and chop onions and garlic. Finely chop the whole orange and lemon, including the peel and pitch. Finely chop the candied ginger.

Add prepared fruits and vegetables to the vinegar mixture together with the candied ginger, salt and raisins. Simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently, for 30 minutes.

Add almonds, ground ginger and remaining vinegar. Simmer for 30 minutes longer, stirring frequently, or until the chutney has reduced and thickened.

Spoon the chutney into warmed sterilized jars and seal.

Makes about 1 quart.

Chutney generally keeps for up to 1 year if stored in a cool, dry, and dark place.

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