We love the brininess of olives or pickled pearl onions in our martinis and Gibsons, but pickled cranberries deliver the same salty kick plus a puckery tartness, satisfying crunch, and pretty crimson hue to holiday cocktails. Though fresh cranberries take several days to tenderize and absorb flavor, defrosted frozen ones have slightly softer skins, which speeds up the pickling process. Get a batch started at least two days before you plan to serve. Cinnamon leaves can be ordered online from Burlap & Barrel.

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Preserving is for everyone: for gardeners and for supermarket shoppers, for health-conscious parents and comfort-food-craving college kids. While store-bought brands are convenient for a quick PB&J fix, nothing beats a big pot of fruit and spice bubbling away on the stove and filling your home with sweet, heady aromas. 

For the purest jams, jellies, and preserves, skip commercial gelling additives and aim for a mix of ripe and slightly underripe fruit, which is naturally high in pectin. To ward against nasty bacteria, always follow recipe instructions for processing as described in our how-tos on safe preserving and water-bath canning. 

So, get jamming! Tackle these eight spreadable delights from our archives, and you’ll be off to a running start.  

Plum and Raspberry Jam

Berries add acid to this deep purple, plummy jam. Get the recipe > 

Rock ‘N Rye Peach Jam

Cardamom adds a floral basenote to sweet peaches, but the finish packs a punch, thanks to a healthy slug of whiskey. Get the recipe >

Rhubarb Angelica Jam

This recipe from London’s Violet Bakery mixes tart rhubarb with stalks of angelica and honey-scented yellow Chartreuse liqueur in this complex, herbal spread. Get the recipe >

Four Pepper Jelly

Southerners spread pepper jelly on sandwiches or crackers at cocktail hour. This bell pepper version gets its subtle heat from jalapeño, poblano, and serrano chiles. Get the recipe >

Rhubarb Rose Oven Jam

Vanilla bean and rosewater lend a delicate overtone to this zesty rhubarb compote that comes together in the oven. Get the recipe >

Garlic Jelly

An intensely savory jelly of fresh garlic cloves and Fuji apples makes a potent sidekick to hearty dishes like grilled lamb. Get the recipe >

Sherry Apple Chutney

Dry amontillado sherry is the secret ingredient in this chunky apple chutney we love slathering on pork roast and other braised meats. It also shines as a sweet counterpoint to salty Spanish cheeses like manchego, Idiazabal, and Cabrales. Get the recipe >

Persimmon Chutney

Fuyu persimmons and Anjou pears soak up a hot and spicy blend of garam masala, curry, mustard, and coriander seeds in this zippy chutney studded with raisins. Get the recipe >

The post These 8 Easy Jam and Jelly Recipes Let You Savor the Season’s Bounty All Year Long appeared first on Saveur.

Welcome to SAVEUR’s column on how to cook local produce according to our test kitchen manager, Fatima Khawaja. This is where you’ll find creative, unfussy meal ideas plus plenty of cooking advice—like what to do with that bumper crop of zucchini or how to store delicate heirloom tomatoes. Every other week, Fatima hits the farmers market and chooses a peak-season ingredient to explore in depth. Follow along, and you’ll learn how to turn the season’s bounty into easy plant-based meals that’ll be on the table in under an hour.

When cherries arrive, they come in abundance. Cardboard boxes overflow with the deep red stone fruit, all plump and juicy with their bendy stems attached. Whether I’m at the farmers market or the grocery, I often secretly taste one to gauge whether they’re ripe enough to buy. Those that pass muster often wind up in a galette, a freeform tart made with pie crust. Cherries are perfect for galettes because they don’t burst or make a mess during baking. Instead they bubble and thicken. What’s not to like about jammy fruit surrounded by sweet, salty, buttery crust?

Cherries come in many colors and types. Sour cherries, which are best for baking, are lighter red than their sweet counterparts, which can be almost black (though some are pinkish yellow).  Sweet cherries are more widely available than sour and are sublime in desserts as well—simply lower the sugar accordingly. 

When cherries are in season—or on sale!—I buy them in bulk and preserve or freeze (pitted and sealed in a plastic bag) what I don’t use. Thawed and simmered cherries are wonderful for topping ice cream and cakes, and in savory dishes such as this pork belly with buttered corn and cherry-jalapeño relish or this sweet and sour sauce served alongside barbecue chicken. 
Galettes are great to bring to a picnic or to a friend’s house. They keep well in the fridge and require minimal baking skills. Once you’ve mastered this recipe, I encourage you to venture into savory galettes, like this one filled with pancetta and gruyere.

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Panzanella is a salad of ripe tomatoes tossed with stale bread that soaks up the sweet juices. It’s a staple of the Italian summer table, but those who can tomatoes at home (or have access to canned tomatoes of similar quality) can enjoy a nearly-as-good version year round. The addition of arugula, mozzarella, radicchio and roasted fennel in this recipe from master preserver Camilla Wynne turns the salad into a full meal, but feel free to experiment with other ingredients as well such as cooked squash, mushrooms, shredded kale, or burrata. 

Featured in “Learn How to Can Tomatoes the Easy Way.”

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A summer tomato, warmed by the sun and bursting with juice, is a singular delight. To hold onto that sublime flavor as the temperatures drop, many turn to canned tomatoes. Canning tomatoes at the end of summer is a family tradition across cultures: This is when the fruit (yes, fruit!) is most abundant and affordable. Who could help but envision their future with a pantry filled with the flavor of sunnier times? 

Unfortunately, some popular canning methods aren’t safe or reliable. While tomatoes used to be fine for canning straight up, we’ve bred them to be sweeter. They now require additional acid to ward against botulism. It’s also critical that the jars be correctly processed in a hot water bath once filled; otherwise, you could end up with jars that mold, fizz, or explode! Fear not: My method results in safe, delicious canned tomatoes every time. They’ll shepherd you through the depths of winter in sauces, soups, and stews—and you can even show off their quality in an off-season panzanella. 

Before you begin

Start with good tomatoes. Choose meaty varieties, such as Roma or plum, and avoid excessively juicy types. They should be ripe, which will make for optimum flavor as well as easy peeling. If you can’t process your tomatoes immediately, or if they need time to ripen, spread them in a single layer on a baking sheet or in a cardboard box and leave them somewhere cool and away from direct sunlight. Never use tomatoes that have been subjected to frost, as they are too low in acid for canning. Allot one pint jar per pound of tomatoes. Either pint or quart jars may be used; they should be clean with new snap lids.

Step 1: Prepare your canning station.

Line the bottom of a large pot with something that will protect the jars from the hot metal such as a perforated silicone mat or pizza pan, round cake rack, or folded tea towel. Place the lids and empty jars in the empty pot and fill with enough water to cover by 2 inches. 

Step 2: Sterilize the jars.

Bring the pot to a boil, then turn off the heat. Later, when you place the filled jars in the pot, the water will be hot so that it will return to a boil quickly (yet not so hot that there’s a risk of thermal shock, which could crack the jars). 

Step 3: Peel the tomatoes.

Halve the tomatoes lengthwise and place them cut-side down on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Broil (or grill if desired), rotating the pan halfway through cooking, until the skins are loose and slightly charred, about 7 minutes. (Blanching, a popular alternative, is messier and less efficient.) The skins should slide right off; if you own a dehydrator, dry the skins and use them as garnishes, or grind them into powder to make tomato salt. Note: Halve the tomatoes just before boiling; cut tomatoes release an enzyme that breaks down pectin, which can affect the texture of the final product.

Step 4: Season and pack the jars.

To each pint jar, add ¼ teaspoon of citric acid or one tablespoon of bottled lemon juice (double these measurements if using quart jars). The lemon juice must be bottled as packaged versions have a more reliable pH than fresh. Salt is optional, but recommended: ½ teaspoon of kosher salt per jar. Now, gently pack in the tomato halves and their juices, leaving a ½-inch space below the rim. Top with boiling water to within ½ inch of the rim, then use an air bubble remover (or something similar, like a chopstick) to swish out any bubbles trapped in the jar. Check the headspace again and add more boiling water to hit the ½-inch mark if necessary. If there’s any tomato residue on the rim, wipe it away with a damp paper towel. Seal the jars by twisting the lids just until you feel resistance.

Step 5: Process the jars. 

Bring a kettle of water to boil. Use a jar lifter or sieve to lower the filled jars into the pot of hot water, ensuring they are covered by at least two inches of water once the pot is full. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat, then turn the heat to medium and simmer for 40 minutes (or 45 minutes for quart jars). Check the pot occasionally to ensure that the water is always covering the jars; add more boiling water from the kettle if necessary. Uncover the pot and let the jars settle for 10 minutes before transferring them to a tea towel or cooling rack. Allow them to sit undisturbed for 24 hours. 

Step 6: Store your canned tomatoes.

Check the seal of each jar—the lids should be concave. Label them if desired, then move the jars to a cool, dark, and dry storage space, where they’ll keep for at least one year.

Recipes

Canned Tomato Panzanella

Get the recipe >

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Anko, Japanese for azuki bean jam, is the crux of simple treats like oshiruko (azuki bean soup) and more complex recipes like wagashi. For an easy breakfast, anko is delicious (and trendy) on toast, with or without a slick of butter. It’s also a classic topping for toasted mochi and a popular filling for cakes and sweetened breads.

Classic recipes for anko can be complicated, and often include cooking the beans multiple times on the stove. However, contemporary Japanese cooks look no further than their rice cookers for a quick and easy hack. One cycle in a simple rice cooker turns the red beans tender. (In more complicated cookers, the most basic white rice setting works just fine.) After that, all that’s left to do is sweeten to taste. This process creates tsubuan (chunky anko) as opposed to koshian (smooth, strained anko). Once the beans are cooked, make sure there is enough water in the pot for the sugar to dissolve, adding a little more as needed; keep in mind that the warm jam should be slightly runnier than you would like to eat it as it will thicken significantly as it cools.

Do note that the quality of your beans is very important here. Azuki beans that have been sitting on the shelf for too long might not cook as quickly or evenly. Order them directly from a trusted purveyor or buy them from your local Asian grocery store and for the best results, don’t cut the soak-time short. While ordinary white sugar works just fine, a deep muscovado sugar results in an even more delicious adzuki bean jam.

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These gorgeous holiday cookies from baker and master preserver Camilla Wynne temper spicy candied ginger with earthy rye flour and deep, dark molasses. A rye whisky glaze accentuates the crackled tops, and a dainty piece of ginger adorns each one. If you’re feeling fancy, get creative by cutting the ginger into festive shapes. Avoiding alcohol? Swap out the whisky for milk, lemon juice, ginger syrup, or even water.

Featured in: “Forget the Bulk Bins: Master Preserver Camilla Wynne Teaches Us How to Make Candied Ginger at Home.”

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Forget the bulk section: Candying ginger from scratch is an affordable, satisfying project that yields a product far superior to the desiccated, underwhelming stuff available on store shelves. Once you have homemade candied ginger on hand, it will quickly show its versatility. Use it to add zip to baked goods, nestle it into holiday candy boxes for gifting, or even nibble it after a big meal as a no-ABV digestif. 

While fresh young ginger is the nicest to work with (there’s no need to even peel it!), those juicy spring rhizomes can be difficult to find out-of-season. Look for them in your local Asian grocery store or farmers market, but know that regular old supermarket ginger works beautifully as well, becoming something shiny and new after a little sugar bath.  

How To Make Candied Ginger

1. Peel as much ginger as you want to candy—one pound is a reasonable amount and will yield about two cups of candied ginger. If you haven’t been using the edge of a metal spoon to peel ginger, start now. It easily scrapes off the peel as it follows the contours of the root. 

2. Cut the ginger against the grain into quarter-inch-thick coins. This thickness will produce toothsome pieces that hold their shape while allowing the syrup to fully penetrate. Transfer to a medium pot and cover with an inch of water. Add a pinch of cream of tartar to help preserve color and tenderize.

3. Bring the pot to a boil over high heat, then lower the heat to simmer and cook until the ginger is tender, about 45 minutes. Keep in mind that it will never become totally soft (unless you’re using young ginger, which will only take 20 to 30 minutes to cook). 

4. Set a strainer over a large, heatproof bowl and drain the ginger, reserving its cooking liquid. Next, measure the drained ginger and make a syrup: For every cup of ginger, you’ll need one cup of sugar, three quarters of a cup of water, and one tablespoon of light corn syrup (which prevents the sugar from crystallizing). If you like your ginger spicy as can be, use the reserved cooking liquid for the water—any leftovers can be sipped as ginger tea—or for a milder candy, use fresh water. Combine these three ingredients in the pot and bring to a boil over high heat. 

5. Add the ginger, then turn the heat down to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally and moderating the heat as needed to hold the liquid at a low simmer. The ginger is done when it’s shiny and translucent, about 1 hour. Remove from the heat, cover, and set aside, to cool overnight at room temperature in the syrup. The next day, transfer the candied ginger and its syrup to an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to six months. Or, for a dryer version, drain and air out the pieces, either in a dehydrator at 130℉ or at room temperature on a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet; after a few hours, roll the pieces in granulated sugar then leave them to dry completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 month. And don’t toss the syrup—it’s liquid gold! Shake it into a Penicillin cocktail, add it to mulled wine or lemonade, soak a pound cake, or glaze a ham—just about anything!

Recipe

Double-Rye Ginger Cookies

Get the recipe >

The post Forget the Bulk Bins: Master Preserver Camilla Wynne Teaches Us How to Make Candied Ginger at Home appeared first on Saveur.

The pickling brine for this recipe from Mirella of Il Bettolino Di Foce, is a simple one:three ratio of water to white wine vinegar; adjust the volume as needed to ensure that your eel is fully submerged. Serve this delicious fish pickle alongside fresh salad or simple boiled potatoes.

Featured in: “Fatty, Moist, and Perfectly Crisp When Grilled, No Wonder Eel Is a Big Deal In This Adriatic Town.”

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Preserving food in jars—otherwise known as “canning”—is one of the most rewarding cooking projects you can undertake. It helps you support farms and eat locally year-round, stock the pantry with delicious concoctions that act as shortcuts to super delicious meals, and ensure you always have a homemade gift to give on hand. In short, canning is an investment in your future. 

I’m a cookbook author and master preserver, and I’ve been teaching classes on canning and preserving for a decade now. I’m passionate about changing people’s misconceptions about the process: You don’t need a bunch of specialized equipment; you don’t need to process a whole bushel of produce at a time; and canning certainly doesn’t have to take all day. 

Classic water-bath canning is a simple process, and the best way to ensure preserved foods are safely sterilized. My easy method for canning jams, jellies and marmalades makes it possible to skip this process when putting up foods that reach high temperatures during cooking, but other naturally high-acid foods, like fruit in syrup, or acidified foods, such as pickles and relishes* require a dip in a hot water bath to properly preserve. That said, some of the traditional steps—pre-sterilizing the jars and simmering the snap lids—are unnecessary. Just fill clean jars, seal with new lids, and heat-process!

The whole point of water bath canning is to get the very center of your filled jars to 212 degrees Fahrenheit. Botulism—a potentially deadly toxin that can develop in improperly canned food— can’t survive in a high-acid environment, but it is still important to destroy or halt the propagation of any bacteria, yeasts, molds, and enzymes that can cause spoilage. For this reason, different foods require different processing times, which vary based on jar size, acidity, starting temperature, and viscosity. Always follow a recipe from a trusted source exactly to ensure that the food being canned is safely acidified and has a sufficient processing time. You can, however, customize recipes to some extent—either by swapping out different vinegars, as long as the percentage of acetic acid remains the same or higher; or replacing spices with others, as long as the total quantity isn’t increased.

I believe it’s high time we normalize making a few jars of pickles after work! When you’re making a sandwich months from now, you’ll be so glad you did.

*Safety note: Low-acid foods like soups, fish, and meats must be processed in a pressure cooker, which reaches temperatures higher than that of boiling water, to fully eliminate the risk of botulism. 

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then turn off the heat. There should be enough water in the pot that once the filled jars are placed inside they will be covered by at least one inch of water. Cover the pot so the water stays hot but not too hot (you don’t want to put jars straight into rapidly boiling water, as this can cause thermal shock, breaking the glass). There should also be something on the bottom of the pot to protect your jars from the hot metal—a tea towel, a silicone mat, or even a perforated pizza pan that fits perfectly in the pot all work well.

2. Wash your jars with soap and hot water and have ring bands and new (unused) snap lids at the ready. 

3. For hot foods, such as chutney, salsa, or hot pack pickles, use the “hot packing” method. When your recipe is ready to pack, fill the jars to within half an inch of the rim; use a bubble remover to release any air pockets, then, if the ingredients have dropped below half an inch from the rim of the jar, add a bit more. Use a clean paper towel to wipe down the rims as needed. Place the snap lids and rings on the jars and seal them “fingertip-tight” (just until you feel resistance; do not firmly tighten). This is necessary to achieve a good seal. 

For raw pickles and some canned fruits, use the “raw packing” method: Fill jars to within a generous half an inch of the rim with the raw ingredients, then cover with hot brine or syrup to within half an inch of the rim. Remove any air bubbles, readjust headspace to ensure that the jars are still filled within half an inch of the rim, and wipe down as needed. Place the snap lids and rings on jars and seal them, fingertip-tight. 

4. Place the jars in the pot. They must be covered by at least one inch of water. Replace the pot lid, bring to a boil over high heat, then set a timer for the heat processing time indicated in the recipe. (You will need to adjust for altitude if you live on high ground—conversion charts abound online). Turn the heat down to cook at a strong simmer. 

5. When the timer goes off, turn off the heat and remove the pot lid. Wait just a few minutes, then use a jar lifter to transfer the jars to a tea towel, wooden board, or wire rack (not a marble or stainless steel countertop, once again to avoid thermal shock). Set aside at room temperature, undisturbed, for 24 hours.

7. Whether or not you hear the jars make that satisfying popping sound, check that they are sealed. The best way to check is to remove the ring band and then pick the jar up by the snap lid. Gravity doesn’t lie! If you’re feeling confident, you might also turn the jar upside down, which I call the Dairy Queen Blizzard Test. The vacuum is real. I carry jars around near and far with no ring bands and have yet to be sorry about it. In fact, leave that ring band off when you store the jar—it will prolong the ring band’s life by preventing rust, and on the off chance that something goes wrong it will be all the more apparent if the snap lid isn’t being held on. Just remember to put it back on when you give away a jar as a gift. 

8. Put any unsealed jars in the refrigerator (it happens sometimes in spite of our best efforts). Label then store your sealed jars in a cool, dark, dry place like a cupboard, pantry, or cellar.

Camilla Wynne is a Toronto-based cookbook author, writer and recipe developer, and preserving teacher. Her new book, Jam Bake: Inspired Recipes for Creating and Baking with Preserves, teaches readers how to make incredible jams, jellies, marmalades and fruit butters, and how to use them in delectable pastries. This text is adapted from the book.

Sherried Apple Chutney

Get the recipe Sherried Apple Chutney »

Master Preserver Camilla Wynne Wants You to Stop Worrying and Just Can Your Jam

Learn how to can without boiling jars »

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