PRESERVING THE BOUNTY

PRESERVING THE BOUNTY

As Bartlett pear season begins, it may get you thinking of ways to keep them around for late fall and winter entertaining. After all, these beauties only last so long and they can make a quick yet elegant dessert or salad accompaniment when you are short on time and the holidays roll around. Have you ever thought about pickling pears? Why not? Folks have been pickling forever and it is not as hard as you might think. Check out this recipe from Washington State University.
Pickled Pears
8 cups sugar
4 cups white vinegar
2 cups water
8 cinnamon sticks (2-inch pieces)
2 tablespoons cloves, whole
2 tablespoons allspice, whole
8 pounds pears
Combine sugar, vinegar, water and cinnamon; add cloves and allspice that are tied in a clean, thin, white cloth. Bring to a boil and simmer, covered about 30 minutes. Wash pears, remove skins, and the entire blossom end; the stems may be left on if desired. To prevent peeled pears from darkening during preparation, immediately put them into cold water containing 2 tablespoons each of salt and vinegar per gallon. Drain just before using. Add pears to the boiling syrup and continue simmering for 20-25 minutes. Pack hot pears into clean, hot pint jars; add one 2-inch piece cinnamon stick per jar and cover with boiling syrup to 1⁄2 inch from top of jar. Adjust jar lids. Process in boiling water bath canner for 20 minutes. Yield 7-8 pints
These may get your culinary juices flowing to try some new salad ideas, or give them as a gift for special friends.
If not pears, what about putting up some tomatoes? There is nothing like that summer tomato taste to cure the wintertime blues. Still a little hesitant to can or pickle? Why not freeze some tomatoes for sauce? Try this technique from http://lancaster.unl.edu/food/ciqtomatoes.shtml. It’s easy and yields great results.
Washing Tomatoes
Wash tomatoes before cutting. To wash, wet each tomato with water, rub its surface, rinse it with running water, and dry with a paper towel. Then cut away the stem scar and surrounding area. Discard it before slicing or chopping the tomato.
Soap or detergent is neither recommended nor approved for washing fruits and vegetables because they can absorb detergent residues.
Freezing Tomatoes
Tomatoes may be frozen whole, sliced, chopped or puréed. Additionally, you can freeze them raw or cooked, as juice or sauce, or prepared in a recipe. Thawed raw tomatoes may be used in any cooked-tomato recipe. Don’t try to substitute them for fresh tomatoes, however, as freezing causes their texture to become mushy. Tomatoes should be seasoned just before serving rather than before freezing.
Preparation:
Select firm, ripe tomatoes for freezing. Sort the tomatoes, discarding any that are spoiled. Wash them in clean water as recommended above. Dry them by blotting with a clean cloth or paper towels.
Freezing whole tomatoes with peels:
Prepare tomatoes as described above. Cut away the stem scar. Place tomatoes on cookie sheets and freeze. Tomatoes don’t need to be blanched before freezing. Once frozen, transfer the tomatoes from the cookie sheets into freezer bags or other containers. Seal tightly. To use the frozen tomatoes, remove them from the freezer a few at a time or all at once. To peel, just run a frozen tomato under warm water in the kitchen sink. Its skin will slip off easily.
Storage time
To extend the time frozen foods maintain good quality, package foods in material intended for freezing and keep the temperature of the freezer at 0 degrees F or below. It is generally recommended frozen vegetables be eaten within about eight months for best quality.
Come January you’ll be glad you took the time to preserve a little bit of summer.