Food: Deliciously preserved  | Daily Mail Online

Food: Deliciously preserved


Harvest time? Reap the rewards for months with these recipes for pickles and jams

Kimchi fried rice with a fried egg

PRESERVING KNOW-HOW 

STERILISING JARS 

Wash jars and lids in hot soapy water, then rinse in hot water and drip-dry upside down. Next, place them right-side up in a 100C/80C fan/gas ¼ oven for at least 20 minutes before you start cooking. For jam and chutneys, fill hot jars straight from the oven. For pickling, cool sterilised jars before filling. You can also put your jars and lids in a dishwasher; however, they will need to be rinsed with hot water afterwards as dishwasher rinse aid can leave a residue that can act as a possible contaminant.

Roast butternut, pickled beetroot, feta and Puy lentil salad

Pickled cherry and matcha friands

Roast butternut, pickled beetroot, feta and Puy lentil salad; Pickled cherry and matcha friands

THE WRINKLE TEST 

Timings for jam differ, depending on the fruit pectin levels, the pan you are using, the heat source and even the room temperature – so use your eyes and instinct to make a judgment. I find the wrinkle test the most reliable way to tell if jam is at the desired set. Before cooking place several small saucers in the freezer. When ready to test, remove the pan from the heat, take one of the saucers from the freezer, drop a quarter teaspoon of jam on to it and place in the fridge for 1 minute (this mimics the cooling process). Remove the saucer and gently push the jam. There should be a hard or soft wrinkle on the surface for a hard or soft set. Not all fruits will ever make it to a hard set, creating an obvious wrinkle. So with a soft set, scoop it up with the forefinger and allow it to drip off – you want a slow drip. If not at the desired set, return to the heat and test again until it is.

 

  

Now buy the book

Our recipes are from The Modern Preserver’s Kitchen by Kylee Newton, which will be published on 30 September by Quadrille, price £22. To preorder a copy for £18.70 until 3 October, go to mailshop.co.uk/books or call 020 3308 9193. Free UK delivery on orders over £20.

 

 

 

 

 

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