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Recipes from the garden

Pickled peppers

Dear TEAM: I love your columns in The Western Producer (never too late to learn.) I was wondering if you could re-publish or send me the recipe for Pickled Garlic. It was in the March 28 paper.

Also, do you have a recipe for pickled peppers?

Do peppers have to be blanched when pickling and does the difference in water used make pickles go soft? Our water has chlorine added so I use spring water for my dills and it seems to help. Thank you. – I.L., Kelowna, B.C.

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Dear I.L.: I’m mailing to you the recipe for Pickled Garlic that was in the March 28 paper.

Peppers do not need to be blanched when pickling. Peppers are heated in the pickling process, so blanching would be an unnecessary step. It is necessary before freezing foods to destroy the enzymes that would otherwise continue to mature the food and cause a loss in quality.

Soft water is best for pickling. Minerals in hard water can darken and soften pickles. To soften hard water, boil for 15 minutes, then let stand covered for 24 hours. Skim off surface scum, if necessary. Carefully pour or ladle water from container without disturbing the sediment on the bottom. Distilled water, although expensive, can also be used. Water from a spring may or may not be soft water. Perhaps your spring water is soft if you have good luck using it in dills.

The following pickled peppers recipes use the same method to prepare but have differing ingredients.

Marinated pickled peppers

Yield: Seven pint (500 mL) jars.

Use sweet green, red or orange bell peppers, banana peppers, Hungarian peppers or Italian peppers in this recipe. Jalapeno peppers give a distinctive accent. For mild pickled peppers omit jalapenos; for hotter pickles increase the number of jalapenos to four per jar.

4 pounds peppers, 2 kg

(about 16 sweet large)

16 jalapeno peppers 16

Pickling liquid:

4 cups white vinegar 1 L

2 cups bottled 500 mL

lemon juice

2 cups olive oil 500 mL

1 cup coarsely 250 mL

chopped onion

2 tablespoons dried 25 mL

oregano leaves

4 teaspoons pickling 20 mL

salt

2 cloves garlic, 2

optional

4 tablespoons 60 mL

prepared horseradish, optional

Pickled hot peppers

Yield: Eight pint (500 mL) jars.

The most common hot peppers available in today’s markets include Hungarian, hot banana, chile and jalapeno peppers. Sweet bell peppers provide flavor balance. Alter the proportion of hot peppers to sweet peppers to suit your taste.

3 pounds hot peppers 1.4 kg

2 red sweet bell 2

peppers, cut into strips

2 green sweet bell 2

peppers, cut into strips

Pickling liquid:

5 cups white 1.25 L

vinegar

5 cups water 1.25 L

21Ú2 tablespoons 35 mL

pickling salt

1 tablespoon 15 mL

granulated sugar

Fill boiling water canner with water. Place clean jars in canner over high heat.

Make pickling liquid by combining the ingredients in a large stainless steel or enamel saucepan. Bring to a boil; boil gently while packing jars.

Wash peppers. Leave small peppers whole but cut two to four slits in each large pepper and flatten with the heel of your hand. Remove stem, core and seeds from large peppers; cut into quarters or slice into rings. Pack peppers snugly into a hot jar to within 3Ú4 inch (2 cm) of top rim.

Add the hot pickling liquid to cover peppers to within 1Ú2 inch (1 cm) of top rim. Remove air bubbles by sliding a rubber spatula between glass and food; readjust headspace to 1Ú2 inch (1 cm). Wipe jar rim, removing any stickiness. Apply screw band until fingertip tight. Place jars in canner.

Cover canner; return water to a boil; process 15 minutes. Remove jars. Cool 24 hours. Check jar seals. Store in a cool, dark place.

The volatile oils in all peppers can cause a burning sensation on your skin or in your eyes. To avoid irritation, wear rubber gloves when handling peppers, especially the hotter varieties such as jalapenos.

Source: Bernardin Guide to Home Preserving.

Sauerkraut recipe

Thanks to F.G. of Edmonton for requesting a recipe for sauerkraut. What a great idea for using the abundance of cabbage, ready all at once, in our gardens. My first attempt at making sauerkraut is now in the works!

Sauerkraut is a traditional method of preserving cabbage that depends on a natural process. The lactic acid bacteria on the cabbage decomposes the natural sugar of the cabbage, forming lactic acid and gas (carbon dioxide.) These bacteria prevent the growth of other types which would cause spoilage. When the frothing ceases the acid has reached the maximum concentration and bacteria will cease to grow.

Sauerkraut

5-10 cabbages 4 kg

1Ú2 cup pickling salt 125 mL

Trim off the outer leaves and any blemishes from firm heads of cabbage. Wash, quarter and core.

Measure salt.

Shred finely into a bowl, sprinkling each layer with salt and tossing lightly together. Leave until moisture begins to collect.

Pack into a crock or plastic tub, using firm, even pressure to eliminate air pockets. Repeat until all the cabbage and salt are used. Take care not to bruise the cabbage and thus discolor it.

Push a clean wood stick (the handle of a wooden spoon) into the center to make a well which will allow the gas to escape.

Cover the cabbage with trimmed and washed outer leaves, then with a piece of clean sheeting somewhat larger than the crock. Tuck cloth inside crock so no cabbage is exposed to the air.

Put a weight on the cabbage to ensure that the cabbage will remain under the liquid. The weight was traditionally a heavy plate or round oak board held down with a stone. The stone was supposed to bring special qualities to the sauerkraut and was carefully cared for between seasons. A plastic bag filled with water is a modern substitute. Let the crock stand in a light place at a temperature of 20 to 24 C (room temperature).

Each day remove the cloth and replace it with a clean cloth. Wash the weight. Wash and boil the cloth removed and use it the next day.

When fermentation is finished in three to six weeks, frothing will cease and the sauerkraut will be ready. Remove the cabbage to a preserving kettle and heat to simmering. Do not boil. Pack hot into jars and cover with the hot juice, leaving an air space. Remove any air bubbles. Screw on the lid. Place on a rack in boiling water and process for 15 minutes for pints (500 mL) and 20 minutes for quarts (1 L).

Yield: 4 to 5 L.

Source: Canadian Cook Book, by Nellie Lyle Pattinson, published by McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd., SI Metric Edition.

Canning tomatoes

Dear TEAM: I am reminded of a method of processing tomatoes that I tried last year. Making a jar or two at a time is much easier. I found the jars sealed very well and thought the tomatoes were more tasty than those done in a hot water bath.I would appreciate your opinion on the safety of this method of “canning in the oven.”

The method I used was to fill sealers with blanched, peeled tomatoes, add 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon sugar per quart jar. Tighten lid on, place on cookie sheet in oven at 225 F and heat until contents boiled for 35 minutes. -L.D., Swift Current, Sask.

Dear L.D.: Canning in the oven is not recommended because the dry heat of the oven may cause jars to break. There is also concern that all ovens may not heat evenly and have accurate thermostats. Therefore, the boiling water canner is recommended.

Your recipe, using 2 tablespoons lemon juice per quart jar, makes the tomatoes safe to can by the boiling water canner. Without lemon juice, most varieties of tomatoes would not be acidic enough to safely can this way. A pressure canner is required for all low acid foods to destroy clostridium botulinum spores. Botulism is very poisonous, resulting in death in about 50 percent of the cases.

Low acid foods which must be processed in a pressure canner are vegetables, meats, poultry, seafood, soups, stews and tomatoes without added acid.

High acid foods which may be safely processed in a boiling water canner are fruits, pickles and relish, jams and jellies, tomatoes with added acid such as lemon juice or citric acid. Bottled lemon juice is preferred because its acidity is known and consistent.

For tomatoes add: