Preserving Update

Welcome to RitanRobinson via Bloglovin.  Make yourself comfortable there are lots of posts going back years so I think a cup of tea might help as well.

Well I have10 Jars of bottled strawberries not bad and everyone has sealed.  Yippee..  There is a lot of juice with them but don't waste it use it with some champagne or thickened up with some cornflour.  Make a home made flan sponge and drain the strawberries, place the strawberries in the flan base and then use some of the juice to make a sauce.  Using arrowroot (its gentler on the stomach as well) as a thickener is better with something like this if possible as it remains nice and clear whereas the cornflour makes the ingredient cloudy like blancmange

The cucumber is prepped ready for the vinegar to be added.  Will give the tally tomorrow evening.

Tomorrow night is Picalilli night  - I was going to do it yesterday but I had not got two of my ingredients - I always add some pepper and some carrot.  So the preparation and brining will be happening tomorrow evening with the finishing and bottling to happen on Tuesday night.

Spiced oranges tomorrow night  - I want to do a few of these jars which are basically slices of orange or clementine prepared in a spiced vinegar.  The vinegar is lovely in itself so do not waste it, it can be used on a toasted goat cheese salad as a dressing or on any other salad.  I want the orange slices to decorate the outside of  Christmas ham and studded with cloves as well.  OH does not like the clove but the clove does something very special to a Christmas ham.  So I will do three or four jars so that I have a ready supply and that will be another thing off the list that I can forget about.

Oh and I must not forget the mustard.  I have a new beer to try which I think will complement the mustard beautifully so I may start that tomorrow and leave it to soak overnight and then finish on Tuesday evening.  The Beer is called "Butty Bach" from the Wye Valley Brewery.

Description on the back of the bottle

"Butty Bach is a Welsh term for "little Friend"  and this malty moreish bottle conditioned brew certainly has made a few friends in its time.  Burnished gold in colour, smooth and satisfying it has a lovely malt and hop balance and is brilliant with honey and mustard glazed sausages or a rich risotto".

I might start the oven dried tomatoes tomorrow evening in the oven and then finish them off in the dehydrator and then preserve them in oil

If I can get some more preserving jars tomorrow I will do the pasta sauce.  We use a lot of this throughout the year.

This also applies to the cherry tomatoes.

If there are any tomatoes left over I will probably make some tomato chutney as well and if any tomatoes left after that bottle them in brine.

If I get chance when we walk Missy tomorrow I shall see if I can nab some elderberries as I want to make some more Pontack Sauce and also dry some. for addition in stews/casseroles.

I also have my eye on some peaches to make peach chutney and also Five Spice whole Peaches and some peach jam - will probably head to the market to see what they have on offer.  

And we must have plums for bottling  - they are needed for old fashioned Victorian Sugar Plums as well as for use in puddings but I also need some for jam and some Chinese Plum Sauce.  I use a lot of this especially on rack of ribs.

Oh yes there are two nets of pickling onions to prepare as well.

Now if only I can get my hands on some crab apples and some quince.   I would be in seventh heaven.

Catch you soon.

Pattypan

x

P.S. Well it looks as though its going to be busy in the kitchen again this week.