Making your produce last longer

12/1/09
crabtree's kittle house
By Lucy Blatter

Making your produce last longer

Brad McDonald of Crabtree's Kittle House makes jam to extend fruits past their season.

By pickling and making jams out of fruits and vegetables, you can extend the lives of produce well past their peak seasons.

And unlike store-bought frozen and canned fruits and vegetables, you can control the salt, sugar and spices, making just what you want.

We spoke with chef Brad McDonald of Crabtree’s Kittle House in Chappaqua, N.Y., for tips.

Pickling
For this time of year, McDonald suggested pickling root vegetables, such as carrots and beets. “Mushrooms can be good too. I pickling chanterelles,” he said.

The process of pickling should take about five to 10 minutes and the product should last about six to eight weeks.

STEP 1: Sanitizing
McDonald boils mason jars and lids before starting, in order to kill any germs at all. This should be done when making jams and applesauce too.

STEP 2: Cooking
If you choose to blanch the vegetables first, make sure not to overcook them. They should be al dente at most. Then peel them and slice them down (McDonald recommends quarter-inch discs).

STEP 3: Make a pickling solution
Combine one part water, one part sugar and one part vinegar in a pot. You can also add peppercorns, thyme, or whatever other herbs you want to infuse (you’ll strain out herbs out later). One thing you want to steer clear of is garlic, as its strong flavors can mask the main ingredient.
You want to bring the solution to a boil so that the sugar is dissolved.

STEP 4: Combine
Pour the solution over the vegetables and seal the jar tightly. Be sure to screw the top on tight. In order to pasteurize the food, cover the jar by at least 2 inches of boiling water (You’ll want the jar to rest on a rack on the bottom of the pot so it’s not on direct heat, which can cause it to break). Let it simmer for about five minutes.

STEP 5: Cool down
Let the jar cool in an ice bath before putting it in the fridge. This is another technique you’ll keep using.

Making Applesauce
This easy applesauce recipe will allow you to enjoy autumn’s bounty all winter.

STEP 1: Peel and chop apples
Chop two or three Golden Delicious apples (or other good cooking apples) into a 1-inch dice.

STEP 2: Cook the apples
Sweat the apples in a pot with a tiny bit of water (so that the apples don’t stick to the pot). Cook them slowly until “soft and mushy,” about an hour.

STEP 3: Grab a food mill
Pass all ingredients through a food mill or strainer

STEP 4: Add more flavor
Add cinnamon, a pinch of salt, granulated white sugar and a few drops of lemon juice. Put it all in a jar.

STEP 5: Repeat boiling, cooling steps.

Making Jam
McDonald suggested using concord grapes to make jam. His method involves Pomona’s Pectin. Each one-ounce box of Pomona’s contains a packet of pectin and a packet of calcium powder, which make jams jell. Here’s McDonald’s routine:

STEP 1: Get the juice
Mash the fruits and strain the juice out. Add sugar, honey or sweetener to taste.

STEP 2: Calcium
Mix water and calcium powder.

STEP 3: Mix in pectin
Mix pectin with the juice and sugar.

STEP 4: Bring it all to a boil
Mix everything together and bring it to a boil until sugar is dissolved. Then pour it into a jar and repeat the process of boiling and cooling that you used for pickling.
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