Can Jam October: Corn Relish

I love sweet corn!  My family, however,  is officially sick of eating corn on the cob this season.   While I never tire of it, it happens every year...this time it was my son announced at dinner the other night that he would not eat any more.  "We have it, like, every night, Mom", he announced, and my husband nodded his head in agreement.  "You'll miss it come winter!" I warned them, but they would not be convinced.    What to do with it all?  Corn can be pressure canned, but it's far better blanched and removed from the cob and frozen.    However, this year, I am going to try something a little different - corn relish.   Linda Ziedrich, in her wonderful book Joy of Pickling describes it as an old fashioned stand in for salad when served chilled, or it can be mixed with cooked rice for a side dish.  I've tasted corn relish before - it's sweet and tangy... it's one of those things everyone's grandma used to put by.   I can't wait to crack into a jar come January!   
Linda's recipe omits the usual turmeric and powdered mustard typically found in corn relish recipes, like this one from the National Center for Home Food Preservation or this one  from Ball.   It usually makes the brine cloudy.  My suggested tweaks to her recipe is to use hot peppers instead of the mild peppers for something a little different, and use honey instead of the brown sugar if you like.   


Corn Relish - Sweet or Spicy
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2 qts. (18 ears) fresh corn kernels
2 c. diced green bell peppers (3 large) or a mix of mild and hot
2 c. diced red bell peppers (3 large) or a mix of mild and hot
2 cups chopped onions (4 medium)
1/4 c. chopped garlic (1 head)
1 T. pickling salt
2 T. whole yellow mustard seeds
1 qt. cider vinegar
2/3 c. firmly packed light brown sugar or honey

Bring all ingredients to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.  Pack relish in jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.  Process for 15 minutes in a boiling water bath.    I think it is time for corn relish to make a comeback, along with another old timey relish called piccalilli (or chow chow).   I am going to give those a try in the coming weeks.

Preserving Food Best of....

• Best place to buy canning supplies locally: Meijer, Downtown Home and Garden, garage and estate sales!
• Best place to buy pickling crocks locally: Barnes Hardware, Downtown Home and Garden
• Best price on canning lids: Buschs
• Best website to learn about canning: National Center for Home Food Preservation at University of Georgia
• Best place to get a pressure canner checked yearly: Washtenaw County MSU extension. It's free!
• Best canning book: Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving by Judi Kingry and Lauren Devine
• Best way to test a jar seal: Store without the band and tap the lid with a spoon
• Best way to keep canning cost down: grow your own fruits and vegetables or visit U-Pick farms directory:
• Best local contests for canning: Downtown Home and Garden Jam and Pickle contests, Chelsea Fair
• Best item to try for first time canners: pickled green beans
• Best kitchen gadget for a home canner: food processor
• Best way to keep jar bands in good shape: don't store jars with bands on them and use plastic caps on opened jars
• Best way to chat with other local home canners: A2 Home Canning yahoo group
• Best foraged item to can at home: crab apple butter
• Best stove for home canning: Gas, but you can do it on an electric or a glass cooktop too. It's easier, faster and more energy efficient to can on a gas stove.

Cabbage, and lots of it!

This year, I find myself drawn to cabbage at the farmer's market. A few weeks ago, I came across a head of cabbage that was easily 18" in diameter, so I had to buy it! The other day, a favorite farmer at the Dexter Farmer's Market was selling some of his cabbage and I thought I would make coleslaw for a picnic, so I got another head. Then the picnic was rained out. What to do with all the cabbage? That's a tough one, since no one in my family likes cabbage but me! For the first giant head, I decided to make sauerkraut, which has to be the easiest pickle ever to make. All you need is cabbage and pickling salt, and it's a great first pickling venture for the pickling neophyte.

Sauerkraut

5 lbs. cabbage
3 T. pickling salt

That's it! My giant head of cabbage weighed 5 lbs, (weigh it after you've cored it and removed any tough or damaged leaves). If you have a 3 gallon crock, you could fit 15 lbs of cabbage in there. That would be more than I need for my family for sure. No crock? No problem! Five lbs. of cabbage (probably about 2 normal sized heads) would fit in a gallon gar. Or, do what my blogging friend Emily suggests in her interesting blog Eat Close to Home, and use the ceramic liner of your crock pot. If you live in Ann Arbor, Kilwin's ice cream shop will sell you a food grade plastic ice cream bucket 3 for $1, and that will work, too. That's what my friend Patti at A Good Life did when she made pickles earlier this year.

You'll need to shred your cabbage. I used a mandoline, but a knife will work just fine. The Germans have a special tool called a krauthobel made of hardwood and big enough to hold an entire head of cabbage. (note to self: Krauthobel would make a great name for a punk band) Anyway, since no one in my household will eat kraut, I best stick with the mandoline. I'll never be making enough kraut to justify a krauthobel. Once the cabbage is shredded, put it in a large bowl and add the salt and mix it with your hands. Put it in your pickling vessel. P.S....on the day you make kraut, you should make some extra shredded cabbage for cabbage onion salad. which Even cabbage haters love it!

It's important to weigh down your kraut with something. In recent years, while pickling, I had started to use a large plastic bag filled with brine, But I've stopped doing it. However, it is a good choice if you are pickling in a jar. To make your own brine, mix 1 1/2 T. pickling salt for each quart of water to fill your plastic bag. That way, if it springs a leak, it won't mess up your fermentation like regular water would. Instead of a bag, I use a dinner plate with a couple quart jars filled with water sitting on top in my 3 gallon crock. You can cover the top with some muslin or an old pillow case. (note to self: Start doing this! I keep my pickles in the laundry room and have almost dropped dirty sweat socks and lint balls in the brine).

The next day, check on your kraut,. It should have emitted enough juice to submerge itself. If not, add some brine (see the recipe above for brine). Every day, check for scum. If there is some, be not afraid. Check my post about kosher dill pickles to see what scum looks like. Take your weights and plate (or bags of brine) off and skim the scum off the top with a ladle or spoon, and wash off the plate and weights and replace them. I find it's easier to wash a plate and quart jars, so that's why I've gone back to using them instead of bags of brine.

In my laundry room, the temperature is around 65 degrees...it takes about 4 weeks for the kraut to be done in that environment. A warmer spot ferments faster (2-4 weeks for 70 - 75 F) cooler slower (5-6 weeks for 60F). Start tasting your kraut at around 2 weeks. It should be a pale, slightly golden color and taste sour. Tap the side of your container and look for bubbles. If it is still bubbling, it is still fermenting. When it stops, you'll need to either can it, freeze it or refrigerate it. I read Sandor Katz' Wild Fermentation, and he has had AIDS for 20 years and considers fermented foods and important part of his healing. The food industry certainly has noted the health benefits of what they call "probiotics" and keep adding them into all sorts of factory food. So, I decided not to can or freeze my kraut, because it would kill the "probiotics". I stored it in the fridge and then made kapusta, a traditional Polish dish that is so tasty that my non Polish carpool partner Alison makes it too! I've got a small jar left in there for sandwich and bratwurst topping. It will keep well in the fridge for months.

Here's something else I learned about kraut and pickle brine. In eastern Europe, women use on their hands and faces to make them soft and smooth. It supposedly eliminates wrinkles. I haven't tried it on my face, but whenever I take my pickles out of the brine with my hands, it does make them soft and smooth for days afterwards. When my next batch of pickles are done, I am going to save a jar of brine to rub on my face for a while! I think there might be something to this old country practice.

Pickled Green Beans - do it for Elvis

I am doing a canning demo tomorrow (Saturday, July 11) at the Ann Arbor Farmer's Market from 8 - 10 am. I'll be making pickled green beans - if you are new to canning, pickled green beans are ridiculously easy and a great way to learn how to can. If you can boil water, you can make 'em! They go great on an antipasto tray or in a martini or Bloody Mary. You can make them slightly spiced or smokin' hot (I like mine really spicy).

If you are on a budget, green beans are cheap at the farmer's market, even cheaper when you pick them yourself. Green beans are probably the easiest U pick item on the planet to pick for yourself. I can still remember the date Elvis died when I was a kid, because I was picking green beans on that day. I did it when I was in 6th grade! Whenever I pickle green beans now, I think of "the King". Actually, in 6th grade, I have to admit that I much preferred the Bay City Rollers to Elvis the Pelvis. I have never canned anything in their honor, though.

Imagine yourself at your favorite December celebration (Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Yule, Festivus, etc.) and you opening up a jar of these beauties that you made yourself! Your friends and family will be amazed! When you open that jar, you will be transported back to that day in July when you put them up. Or maybe you will just think of Elvis Presley, and that's okay too.
You don't need any special equipment except for 4 pint canning jars and some lids and lid rings.

Hope to see you there!

Kosher Dill Pickles

At last, my pickles are done! Frequent readers of this blog will remember my foibles of a few weeks ago, when I attempted to do too much canning in one day. Pickles aren't difficult to make, but it is a slow process. You have to start thinking about pickles a month before you want to eat them. Pickles are a wonderful value for the money, and well worth the effort of making them - this whole batch cost me less than $10, not counting the jars. That's $1.66 a quart.


Here's how I made them - based off a recipe in the Ball Blue Book


10 pounds pickling cucumbers, 4 to 6 inches long
3/4 cup whole mixed pickling spice
2 to 3 bunches fresh dill - big stalks with flowers on them, and roots, not the "frou frou" dill sprigs in a plastic container you find at the fancy grocery store produce section.
2 cups white vinegar
1 1/2 cups canning salt
2 gallons water - make sure to use filtered or distilled water. Hard water will make your pickles cloudy
6 cloves garlic

Wash cukes and remove blossoms. If you leave the blossoms on, you might end up with mushy pickles. Cut the roots off the dill stalks. Place half the pickling spice and a layer of dill that you've rolled into a ring like a wreath in a 5-gallon crock or glass container. Fill the crock with cucumbers to within no more than 4 inches of the top. Mix the vinegar, salt and water and pour it over the top. Place a layer of dill and the remaining pickling spice and garlic over the top of the cucumbers.





Cover the cucumbers with a gallon plastic ziplock bag filled with water - double bag it. Fill a quart size canning jar with water and put a lid on it, and put that on top of the bag to keep the cucumbers submerged and completely covered with brine. Keep the pickles at room temperature, ideally at 75 degrees F or cooler. The basement is a good place. In about 3 to 5 days scum will tart to form on the brine. Remove it daily with a metal spoon. Do not stir pickles. Always keep them completely submerged in brine.

I am showing you what the scum looks like in this picture, so you don't panic. It looks gray and moldy. Also, you can see I've got some reddish brown looking stuff growing on the outside of the crock - don't worry about that, either.

After 3 weeks of fermentation, the dills will be ready to be put up in jars. You can tell when they are done fermenting when they are evenly and consistently colored all the way through when you bite into one. There should be no ring or white spots, they should be a khaki green color. You can also tap the side of the crock with your hand and see if it bubbles. When it stops bubbling, it's done.








At this point, the brine will be cloudy due to the development of yeast during the fermentation period. Strain the brine, and bring the a boil. Meanwhile, rinse off the pickles and pack them in clean hot quart jars. To each jar, add a clove of garlic, 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds, a bay leaf and a piece of hot pepper. Do not pack too tightly. Cover the pickles with hot brine, leaving 1/4 inch headspace; seal. Process in boiling water bath 15 minutes. Yields 6 quarts.

Pickled Eggs

In the upper peninsula of Michigan, the locals are called Yoopers. In order for a troll (that's Yooper slang for someone that hails from south of Mackinaw City, i.e. "under the bridge") to claim official Yooperdom, it is the local legend that you have to live in the U.P. for at least 7 years. Thanks to my dual major as an undergrad, and then graduate school at Michigan Tech, which is located in the Keeweenaw Peninsula, I can declare myself a Yooper.

A favorite Yooper bar snack is pickled eggs - but not those sweet, beet colored ones you sometimes see in foodie magazines. It's a spicy pickled egg, that goes really well with cheap cold beer. If you can find it, some Wisconsin local brewery beer is best, like Point Beer or maybe some Rhinelander. Long before there were microbreweries, each little town in Wisconsin had their own brewery, like Steven's Point and their Point Beer, which is one of my favorites. Anyway, if you should find yourself in Wisconsin or have the good fortune of having a cheesehead friend that can bring you some back, that is good. If not, any cheap beer like Old Milwaukee or maybe Blatz would be good, make sure it is very cold. Leinenkugel used to be one of those kind of beers, too, but now it is more widely distributed since they were bought out by Miller, and it's got some boutique beers now and cost lots more. I had made the pilgrimage to Chippewa Falls a couple times as a college student (and even as a grown up) to tour the brewery. When I lived in the U.P. in the 80s, you could get a case of Leinenkugel Original in longneck bottles in one of those hard cardboard returnable boxes for $3.12, plus deposit. Ah, those were the days...

In Houghton, where MTU is located. there is a bar called the B&B which is arguably the most famous pickled egg place in the U.P. It's located on M26 on the way to Ontonagon, but it is still in town. The bar features a sticky floor, an unleveled pool table with crooked cues, and is frequented by locals. Most of them will be kind to you if you care to visit, but some do not like "appleknockers" (another yooper term for downstaters). The B&B used to serve a Wisconsin beer called "Gilt Edge", but it no longer exists. I think they serve Old Milwaukee in it's place. Back in the day, you could get a beer in a small pilsner glass (called a "shell" in Yooper speak) and a pickled egg for 80 cents. This was called a "boneless chicken dinner" by the locals. I know people that regularly make a pilgrimage to the B&B from downstate just for the pickled eggs, but I will save you the 500 miles each way by sharing their recipe that someone once gave me when I was a student.

Check out my method for how to make easy to peel hard boiled eggs,

Interested in other U.P. recipes?  How about a U.P. Style Pasty?


Yooper Style Pickled Eggs
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Ingredients:
2 dozen hard boiled eggs (peeled)
4 cups vinegar
1 jar sliced jalapenos, including the juice
1 onion, chopped finely
1 cup water
1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce
1 tablespoon salt

Directions:
Put peeled eggs in a large glass jar with a lid. Put remaining ingredients in a large saucepan and boil for 10 minutes. Pour over eggs and let steep in the refrigerator for a minimum of 3 days. Serve eggs in a paper cupcake liner with Frank's Red Hot Sauce, black pepper and plenty of the jalapenos.