Farmers'Market Friday ~ A Little Self-Preservation {Frozen Corn & Pickled Cucumbers}

We just marked the Summer solstice - the official start of Summer. However, in Central Texas Summer produce season has been in full force for a while now. This includes melons, peaches, cucumbers, squash, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, and, for a fleeting, five week period that is just about to wind up, sweet corn. So, while we're all in a state of euphoria over all of these choices that summer brings to the table, I'm thinking of ways to extend all of this deliciousness into Fall and Winter.  If you're like me, after a while of the relative repetitiveness of the Fall and Winter produce selections, you crave just a hint of what Spring and Summer have to offer. Just like the Ant in Aesop's tale of The Ant and the Grasshopper, with a few exercises in saving Summer in a jar (or bag, as the case may be), you'll have a few items at your disposal to help "preserve" your sanity during the bleakness that can sometimes happen in the kitchen during the colder months. There is a variety of ways to preserve foods: dehydrating, fermenting, jams and jellies, etc  In this post, we'll cover 2 methods (freezing & pickling) for 2 specific Summer vegetables(corn & cucumbers.) 

Freezing
Preparing and storing foods in the freezer is super simple to do. Most vegetables and some fruits will need to be blanched in advance of freezing.  Blanching is the scalding of vegetables (and sometimes fruits, if needed to preserve.) in boiling water for a short time. This process will stop or slow the enzymes found in the vegetables that can cause loss of flavor, color and tenderness when frozen. Also important is the type of container used for freezer storage. Appropriate freezer containers range from rigid plastic containers or plastic freezer bags/vacuum freezer bags (like a Food Saver type item) to certain glass containers (they must say on the box that they are suitable for freezing (typically, wide-mouth jars)). Finally, the temperature inside your freezer is also critical. In order to inactivate bacteria and other microbes, and to retain as much vitamin content and quality as possible, the temp inside your freezer should be at 0F or below. Many household freezers might be several degrees higher than this (especially if the door is opened and closed frequently). Check your appliance to make sure.

Freezing Corn

• 4-5 lbs of corn/quart you wish to preserve (Make sure that the corn is the highest quality and at its peak of maturity.)

• Large pot of boiling water for blanching

• Appropriate containers for freezing

1. Keep your produce in the fridge if you can't work on freezing it immediately.
2. Shuck and remove silk from all of your corn. Clean corn well with cold water.
3. Blanch the corn right on the cob.. For corn, drop ears into boiling water and allow water to return to a boil. Then, time for 4 minutes. 
4. Cold Shock to stop blanching process: Plunge corn cobs into ice water ( I fill one side of my clean kitchen sink with ice and water for this step.)
5. Cut corn from cobs using a sharp knife (special tools are sold for this that may (or may not) make it easier; I use a knife.) 
6. Fill Containers and leave about 1/2 in of head space on top. (Appropriate freezer containers range from rigid plastic containers or plastic freezer bags/vacuum freezer bags (like a Food Saver type item) Certain glass containers can be used but they must say on the box that they are suitable for freezing (typically, wide-mouth jars)).
7. Freeze and keep frozen until ready to use.
8. When ready to use the frozen corn, note that it is better cooked straight from the frozen state rather than thawing first.

If you want to prepare your own ready-to-go side dish, you can do that too.

Frozen Fiesta Corn

• 1/2 C butter, softened
• 4 Tbsp minced fresh herbs of your liking (chives and parsley are a good starter, but this is open to experimentation)
• 1/2 Tsp salt
• 1/2 Tsp ground black pepper
• 12-15 ears of corn, shucked & silks removed and prepared as above.
• 3/4 C red sweet pepper (finely chopped)
• 1/2 C sweet onion (finely chopped)

1. In a small bowl, combine the butter, herbs, salt and pepper. Shape into a log, wrap in waxed paper & freeze until firm (about 1 hr.) Slice into 8 even slices and return to freezer until later.
2. Line 2 large baking pans with foil or parchment paper. Spread blanched/prepared corn kernels, pepper & onion pieces evenly over the pans. Cover loosely and freeze about 2 hours. (This will allow the items to be bagged without freezing into a block.)
3. Evenly divide the vegetable mixture among 4 1-qt freezer bags. Add two slices of herbed butter to each bag. Squeeze air from bags; seal and label with date. Best used within 6 months.
4. When ready to use: Empty bag contents into a medium sized skillet. Over medium heat, cook, covered, for 10-12 minutes until butter is melted and vegetables are thoroughly heated (stirring occasionally).

Voila! You're very own homemade fresh, frozen side dish!

Of course, freezing is just one of several means to home-preserving of foods, and a newer method due to the relatively short history of freezers being in most households. An older traditional food preservation method is pickling. 


Pickling
Pickling is the process of preserving foods in a highly acidic brine. The brine provides an environment that is inhospitable to microorganisms and, therefore, prevents spoilage. There are two types of pickles: traditional water-bath canning in which foods can be stored at room temp in jars for up to one year, and quick-pickled foods which must be stored in the fridge to increase shelf-life, keep a crisp texture and are super fast and simple to make - Pretty much anything you can think of can be pickled, but you know what is especially good? what most of us mean when we say the word 'pickles' - cucumbers! Starting with my Grandma Mary's recipe as a guide, I adapted a few things for taste and general availability(ie, ix-nay on the grape leaves that she had access to via her mother's grape arbor, but the rest of us wouldn't commonly be able to get.)

Classic Pickled Cucumbers

• 3-3.5 lbs of pickling cucumbers (3-4"long) 

• 4 C water

• 4 C apple cider vinegar

• 1/2 C sugar

• 1/3 C pickling salt 

• 6 Tbsp dried dill seeds

• 6 pint jars - sterilized in a pot of boiling water

1. Clean cucumbers thoroughly. Scrub with a vegetable brush under cold, running water. Remove stems and blossoms (if attached) Slice off blossom end as it contains enzymes that will impact the texture of your pickles (causes softness). Cut cucumbers into quarters to make spears.
2. In a 5 qt stainless or enamel (non-reactive, non-aluminum) pot, combine water, vinegar, sugar and pickling salt. Bring mixture to boil, stir to dissolve sugar and salt.
3. Pack cucumber spears loosely into the still hot, sterilized jars, leave about 1/2 in of head space. Add 1 tbsp of dill seeds to each jar. Using a funnel, pour hot pickling liquid (vinegar brine) into jars. Be sure to maintain the 1/2 in head space. Wipe jar rims; adjust lids and finger tighten bands. 
4. If you want to make these shelf stable and are familiar with water bath canning, processing time is 10 minutes; Otherwise, cap and store in the fridge - waiting one week before you enjoy the fruits of your labor. Quick-pickles will last about 1 month.

Note: If pickling cucumbers are not available, use regular garden cucumbers. However, do not attempt with the standard, waxed grocery-store cucumbers (they are grown for slicing and salads and will not provide a good pickle result.) Also, I tested this recipe using white pickling vinegar (higher acidity) as it was what I had on hand. If you like a really sharp, vinegary taste, then I would suggest using it. However, next time I make a batch for our home, I'm going to stick with apple cider vinegar like my Grandma Mary used in her various pickle recipes.
I hope you enjoy your summer produce fresh, in the present, but I also hope that you'll endeavor to be "the ant" and prepare for some future uses as well.


Happy Cooking!
sld

When the world hands you strawberries...{Simple Strawberry Jam}

Strawberries were on sale at the store the other day. Gorgeous, deep-red berries that were just bursting with flavor. So, I bought 2 (2lb) packages of them. In addition to enjoying them fresh, I had this grand plan of making some sort of strawberry dessert with them. I took about 1.5 lbs of them and cut them up and mixed them with 1 C of sugar in a bowl to use as a filling or topping to shortcakes or maybe sponge cakes - I just wasn't quite sure what. As chance would have it, I didn't quite get around to the dessert making, but I still had these strawberries in sugar hanging out in the fridge.

What had happened to those strawberries & sugar in the 2 days since I stashed them was what is known as the process of maceration in which raw, dried or preserved foods are soaked in liquid in order to soften the food and to infuse the food with the flavor of the soaking liquid. In the case of soft berries (especially strawberries and raspberries) the typical method is to sprinkle the fruit with sugar (adding no other liquid). The sugar has natural desiccant properties and thus, pulls the natural juices out of the fruit. What results is a very liquid mixture and the nature of the strawberries changes considerably - from a natural fresh state to an almost translucent sugary softness which just happens to be one step closer to jam.

Simple Strawberry Jam

• About 1.5 lbs of strawberries 
• 2 C sugar (added in 2 additions)
• 1 lemon, juiced 
• vanilla (optional)

1. Wash and cut up berries. Toss them with 1 C of sugar & a splash of vanilla(if desired). Place in a large bowl and cover. Place in fridge and allow to sit at least 2-3 hours but for as much as 3 days.
2. Prepare 3 half-pint jars for canning when you're ready to make your jam. (see here for directions.)Pour macerated strawberries into a large open skillet and add the 2nd cup of sugar.
3. Bring mixture to a boil and cook until the mixture reaches 220F (a candy thermometer is very useful here) Stir mixture very regularly. As mixture cooks it will begin to foam and bubble; stirring is essential to keep the foam down.
4. Add lemon juice toward the end of the cooking (last 5 minutes)
5. Once your jam has reached 220F it has reached the temp needed to get a good set (see here for info on testing set)
6. Pour jam into prepared jars; wipe rims; apply lids and rings and process in waterbath canner for 10 minutes.
7. After 10 minutes of processing, remove jars from canner and let them cool on a towel on the counter (you should hear the tell-tale "ping"or "pop" of the seal happening)
8. Once the jars are cool enough to handle, remove the rings and check to see that the seals are good. (if jar(s) did not seal, store in fridge and use first.)
9. Store sealed jars (w/o rings) in a cool, dark place.

I was pleased with this small-batch preserving effort. It was pretty simple to do and doesn't really require any special equipment other than jars with new, fresh lids. Also, this small batch style means that you end up with 3 half pint jars of jam - just enough for your family to enjoy without having to store an enormous amount of giant jars that you might just never use.  While I hope you'll try your hand at canning some jam and would be happy to answer any questions you might have before you give it a whirl, you can also follow the entire process and, as in the case of bad seals, just store them in the fridge w/o processing the jars. Also, using freezer safe containers, you can store the jam for longer term in the freezer. 

Happy Canning!

sld