Enjoy the great tastes of summer year-round with these quick methods for picking, freezing, and roasting.
PICKLING:
It’s easy to turn your favorite garden veggies into a crunchy condiment, without the hassles of tradtional canning and preserving. Forget about brining produce for days and sealing sterilized jars in vats of boiling water. Quick pickling can be done in small batches, in half an hour, with any type of glass jar that has a tight-fitting lid.
How to pickle produce: You can pickle anything from carrot sticks, small cherry peppers, cucumbers, small whole or large quartered green tomatoes, string beans, and thickly sliced fennel. Firm, dense vegetables, such as cauliflower, turnips, kohlrabi, and onions, should be cooked al dente before you place them in a jar. Other vegetables usually eaten raw can be picked uncooked.
Quick refrigerator Pickles:
If you have fresh dill, place a head in each jar before adding liquid.
Prep time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Makes: for 1-pint jars (about 16 servings)
1 1/2 cups rice wine vinegar
1 cup white wine vinigar
1 cup water
2 tbs. kosher salt
2 tbs. granulated sugar
6 black peppercorns
1 tsp. fennel seed, mustard seeds, whole allspice, or dill seed, or a combination
6 cloves garlic, coarsley chopped
4 pounds Kirby or other small pickling cucumbers, sliced into 1/4-inch pieces
Use 1 or 2 of the following dill sprigs or heads, basil or parsley sprigs, sliced onions, small hot chile peppers, pepper rings, whole cloves of garlic, bay leaves, or 2 tbs. coarsley chopped fresh gingerroot.
Four 1-pint jars with lids.
1. Combine the rice wine and white wine vinegars, water, salt, sugar, peppercorns, and fennel seed or other seasoning in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and the vinegar mixture just begins to boil.
2. Divide garlic among four 1-pint size canning jars. Pack jars with cucumbers and 1 or 2 of the herbs or vegetables listed in the beginning of this recipe. Leave a 1/2 inch space at the top of the jar.
3. Pour hot viegar mixture over vegetables and herbs. Screw on lids and let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate 24 hours before serving. Once opened, pickles are best used within 1 month.
FREEZING:
The simplest and longest-lasting way to preserve produce is to freeze it. Start with just-picked farm-stand vegetables and fruits; try to prepare them on the day you buy them, following the tips below. Berries can be frozen whole or turned into a quick, no-cook freezer jam. Keep in mind that although frozen vegetables and fruits may taste like summer, they do lose their crunch; plan on using them within six months in cooked dishes.
How to freeze produce:
• Wash and trim. Prepare produce as though you were about to cook it. Remove stems, core tomatoes, trim string beans, core tomatoes, trim string beans and peas, and shuck and remove the silk from corn.
• Blanch vegetables: (except for corn and tomatoes). Boil vegetables for a few minutes in unslated water (about half the usual cooking time), until crisp-tender. This preserves their color and keeps them firm in the freezer. Plunge into ice water. Drain and pat dry before placing in freezer containers. Corn should be frozen uncooked, either on the cob or as cut kernels. Tomatoes should also go in the freezer whole and uncooked. Vegetables will last six months in the freezer; corn for three. Note: Freezing renders tomatoes slightly mushy, so they are best used in soups and stews.
• Pack tightly: Flimsy containers and bags can let in air, allowing food to oxidize and suffer freezer burn. Use only wraps, bags and containers designed for freezer use. Fill the containers, leaving a 1/2-inch space at the top for expansion. Push out any remaining air from bags before sealing, “burp” plastic containers to remove air.
• Thaw safely: Freezing stops the growth of bacteria but doesn’t kill it, so don’t leave food to thaw at room temperature. Cook frozen food directly from the freezer, or thaw in the refrigerator and them use it right away.
• Freeze berries and sliced fruits on a tray. To avoid crushing delicate fruits, such as raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries, spread them out on a lined baking sheet and place in the freezer for two to three hours. Until frozen solid. Transfer fruit to freezer bags or plastic freezer containers. It will keep frozen for six months.
Blackberry Freezer Jam
If you get no-cook fruit pectins, such as Ball® or Sure-Jell®, you can make jam without heating the fruit, so you lock in fresh flavor, vitamins, and cancer-fighting antioxidants. Berries, peaches, plums, apricots, and nectarines work best with this recipe.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Makes: Four half-pint jars
4 cups blackberries (2 pints)
1 to 1 1/2 cups sugar
1 (1.59-ounces) package no-cook reduced-sugar, freezer jam pectin
Four half-pint jars or freezer containers
1. Place berries and 1 cup sugar in a large bowl. Use a potato masher to gently crush the berries (don’t puree), leaving some whole. Stir to dissolve sugar. Taste the jam; add 1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar, if desired. Let stand 15 minutes.
2. Stire in pectin to incorporate. Stir 3 minutes, until mixture thickens. Let stand 5 minutes. Transfer to jars or freezer containers, leaving a 1/2 inch space at the top. Place in freezer, or, if using immediately, refrigerate. Jam will keep 1 year in freezer (thaw in refrigerator before using; use within 3 weeks).
ROASTING:
Because of the acidity in tomatoes the ones of the late-season harvest are the best to use when oven roasting. The method in the recipe below concentrates and heightens flavors while requiring very little effort. Layered with fresh, clean basil leaves in a good-quality olive oil, roasted tomatoes will last about three weeks in the refrigerator.
Roasted Tomates
Once they’re cooked, serve these intensely flavored tomatoes in pasta dishes, on top of garlic toast, or as a side dish for meat, chicken, or fish.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Makes: about 2 quarts
4 pounds plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
1 1/2 tsp. sea or kosher salt
Extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh basil
One 2-quart jar with lid (or two 1-quart jars)
1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Arrange tomato halves, with cut sides up, and a baking tray lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Sprinkle tomator halves with sea or kosher salt ad drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil, Roast tomatoes, uncovered, until very tender, 60 to 70 minutes. Let cool on a pan.
2. Transfer roasted tomatoes, pan juices, and fresh basil leaves to a 2-quart jar ( or two-1-quart jars) with a tight fitting lid. Pour in enough olive oil to cover tomatoes (make sure tomatoes and basil leaves are submerged). Keep in the refrigerator. Roasted tomatores are best used within 3 weeks. To prevent spoilage, as you remove tomatoes, add more oil to keep remaining ones completely covered.
(Personalize your jars of preserves and pickles with colorful lables. For the freshest flavors, remember to include the date you fill your jars in addition to contents.)
