food preservation – notes

March 27, 2017 at 11:08 am (Uncategorized)

I  took  a  class on  pickles and other food  preservation class- these are  my  notes :

Fermentation:   easy   just  Salt and veg or  Salt water  and veg.   sauerkraut, kimchi , ad preserved  lemons are  on my list.  ( by the way – I  Hate commercial  kimchi- but the stuff I  tried  yesterday  was amazing – eyeopening .   And  not  to  hot) Start at about 70 degrees — move to  cooler  areas to  stop fermentation.   Can last  a very  long  time.

 

refrigerator pickles:   If  you  want them to  last a long time – stick  with tried and true ratios of vinegar, sugar,  and salt. Cook the veggies in  the hot  brine to  soften and get it into  the veg- but raw  works too.

Pickles – that  go  through the canning thing will last for ever.  low acid  vegetables like beets  and tomatoes need a long time in  the processing,  but  that  means less sterilization ( clean  yes, but sterilizing  is different).   Stick with  tested recipes.

Note: Once processed – lots of  canners leave the ring part off  the lid.  If the seal  is bad  the lid will come off – so  you  know where  you  are.

all this got me  thinking about pickled  limes form Little Women.   Turns out it was a craze – so I  might have to make them just to see