Tag: Garden to Table

Garden to Table, Kitchen Preserves, Weekend Projects

Processing Homegrown Oranges & Orange Jam Uses

Trish McGill

It’s been a bumper citrus season for all the citrus trees in my garden. I’ve been climbing Orange Everest trying to make the most of the organically grown fruit I’ve harvested so far, especially from my Washington Navel Orange tree.

This post is about the processing flow of a large orange harvest, and uses for the jam, rather than how to make orange jam.

Processing the Harvest

My family and I enjoy eating oranges fresh, so a very large amount are set aside for the fruit bowl in my strategy. With all four of us adults working from home while stay-at-home orders are in place here in Sydney, these are being enjoyed… fast. I usually have some grab-and-go peeled diced pieces and peeled full fruit in the fridge, as well as the ones in the fruit bowl.

This latest stage harvest meant I still had over thirty kilos to preserve in a way that helps us enjoy those oranges right through the year in different ways, until next flush.

My answer to this, was to make large amounts of what I call ‘Strong Orange’ and ‘Spicy Gourmet Orange’ jams, syrups, poached orange segments and flat freezer packs of juice, diced and segmented orange.

For those like myself with limited time for this, I recommend peeling all your oranges on a Friday night, and refrigerating them overnight. With that behind you, you then have the weekend days to do the more involved things like jam-making, with more focus and motivation. Remember to reserve some peel & seeds to include in your jam making if you’re not using pectin (most citrus jam recipes don’t).

I like to shave the best skins with a sharp peeler and either freeze or dehydrate them. When ever a recipe calls for zest or peel I have them to use.

I reserve all the skins and leftovers from processing, to produce a Jadam-style plant ferment for my garden. I’m still experimenting with citrus skins, they’re the hardest to get back into the garden in a plant-usable form. My goal is for all parts of the fruit I harvest to be used by us, or be returned to the garden.

Preserving the Harvest

Jam making doesn’t have to be hard, but it can get dangerous if you’re not totally focussed and always present. Be careful with your safety and keep small children out of the kitchen, because nasty scalds from hot sticky jam (that can’t be removed quickly from the usual cold water burn treatment) are possible, if you’re not on your game.

Know beforehand that you have enough storage jars and towels to handle hot transfers of jam. Then sterilise your jars and equipment. Always be wary that when preserving any food you are trying to eliminate and reduce the risk of dangerous bacteria and mould having any chance of invading that food. I refrigerate most of my preserves as an extra precaution. I also follow storage advice or seek it when using any recipe.

My ‘flow’ started with Vanilla Poached Orange segments using Martha Stewart’s Recipe. I had some left-over syrup after bottling them into jars, so I will be using the delicious syrup to pour over a tea-cake ‘citrus syrup cake’ style or flavour plain carbonated water from my Soda Stream.

I then moved onto juicing so I could reserve the pulp for the jam, because No Waste is my jam! I used a very efficient food processor to do this, making flat freezer packs of juice, diced & segmented fruit. You could do it by hand with a small serrated knife, which makes segmenting easier in my experience. The segments can be used for topping fancier desserts. All can be used as the orange component in future recipes, in fruit salads, or eaten alone as a frozen treat for summer days.

I then started making my jam by using whole fruits processed into smaller pieces, as we prefer smooth jam, without orange peel. I am experienced enough in jam making to eye-ball my amounts, but Sally Wise’s A Year in a Bottle Orange Marmalade, page 95 is a great guide. Keyword search Orange Marmalade or Orange Jam recipes online, and make sure you seek one with or without the peel included according to your preference. Vintage cookbooks are also great sources of recipes and hints when building your skills.

When I make orange jam I make two versions. Strong Orange, where I replace some of the water with orange juice and lime juice. That gives it a more concentrated orange taste. I also make Spicy Orange jam which is my gourmet version. I sprinkle ground cloves, cinnamon and a very small splash of brandy in the finished jam and stir, before bottling. These spices elevate the flavour and work so well with orange, adding an amazing taste to anything you add them to.

Uses of Orange Jam/Marmalade

So my latest harvest has led to 18 large jars of orange jam. That seems like a lot for one family until you think about the ways it can be used. These are some of the ways I use them constantly through the year, apart from the obvious on toast and in sandwiches. It’s a fridge-fixer extraordinaire.

Glazes: home made breads, pastries, donuts, lollies, syrup cakes, tarts and pies

Toppers: pancakes, ice-cream, yoghurt, custard, trifle, waffles, muesli, oats, toast, sandwiches

Flavourings: pan sauces, marinades, cocktails, BBQ sauces, batters, salad dressings, popsicles

Dipping Sauce: cheese platters, canapes, home-made dips

Fillers: crepes, thumbprint cookies, tarts, pastries, grilled cheese sandwiches, stuffed meats/fish

I hope this post has given you some ideas and hints on how to process, preserve and use the products you produce from your wonderful orange tree. I’d love to hear your ideas on this topic too, so please leave a comment if you have anything to add. Most importantly, enjoy Nature’s bounty.

Disclaimer… Please do your own research for your own needs and context. The author assumes no responsibility for any outcomes of anyone using this well researched and documented blog post. Enjoy processing and using your oranges and orange jam 🌸

Garden to Table, Kitchen, Kitchen Preserves

Bread & Butter Cucumber Pickles..A Fridge Staple

Trish McGill

I know Bread & Butter Cucumber pickles aren’t exciting when you’re in the middle of a cucumber glut in summer.

But imagine how exciting they’ll be for that sandwich or salad you’re making in winter. The satisfaction of having grown and preserved a fridge ingredient, yourself.

Today’s recipe is one I’ve been developing for years. I’ve been developing it for taste, ease and simplicity… not complexity. You’ll see it has very few ingredients, but it’s flavourful and reliable. That’s how I like it when I’m in a preserving glut in my kitchen.

This process is not hard after your first time. If you’re not a confident cook, this process can be a little challenging on the first go. So be willing to make mistakes or have someone who you can call or be there to help. Never leave this process unattended and keep all children safely out of the kitchen – it’s hot work!

Important Reminders:

Jar sterilisation, jar sealing and refrigeration of your pickles are all vital steps to avoid serious illness, (especially botulism) with any preserves.

When you’ve cooked these pickles, make sure you reduce only so far that there is still enough boiled pickle liquid to cover the contents in the jar. This is what submerges the pickle in the jar, hopefully locking out air and the vinegar preventing bacteria and/or mould forming.

The jar sealing pop is what you need to hear for the air lock. That’s why you seal and cap in the hot mixture, rather than leaving it to cool.

Only glass jars should be used to store these pickles, because of the vinegar content.

If you’re repurposing glass jars, ensure you have new lids which can reliably do the safety pop seal. If you don’t hear the pop you can’t be sure.

I leave these in the fridge for a week to let flavours develop, before opening the first jar.

Always refrigerate these pickles from the day they are bottled, till consumed, and finished.

If it looks and/or smells wrong when you open a preserve, or you know/ don’t know if it has been stored properly-don’t eat it!

Educate yourself on food safety.

I’m not sure how long these preserves will last in your home and in your fridge – so that, and your safety, are up to you.

This is a delicious pickle. But if it’s not for you, Google a recipe that suits.

If this recipe is for you, and you’d like to share it great…but an attribution to Trish McGill  @vintagetrishgarden on IG, or this website link for other platforms, would be kind, and good manners.

Hope you enjoy these as much as my family and I do. I’ve just heard the first jar lid pop. One down, two to go 💚 Trish

Recipe Ingredients:

Makes approximately 3 medium sized jars

  • 5-6 large cucumbers sliced
  • 2 large onions sliced
  • 1TB Salt (for salt rub/ overnight soak)
  • 1 Cup white vinegar
  • 1/2 Cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1 Cup raw sugar
  • 2 tsp mustard seeds
  • Large pinch ground turmeric

Method: Follow the method steps outlined below.

**

Stage 1 Salting the Cucumber and Onions Overnight (Allow 8-12 hours)

This is as important as any of the other stages in the recipe. Slice the cucumbers and onions as coarse or fine as you prefer. Rub the 1TB of salt from the recipe ingredients through the cucumbers and onions until all is thoroughly mixed. Store in a covered glass dish overnight in the fridge.

In the morning, drain the liquid that has formed from the salt cucumber and onion mix. You don’t need that liquid any more. Rinse the cucumber/onion mix quickly. Set the mix aside.

Stage 2:

Bring mustard seeds, vinegars, sugar and turmeric to the boil in a pot on the stovetop, stirring till combined well. Reduce heat to medium and add cucumber and onion mix. Stir thoroughly.

Stage 3:

Add the rinsed cucumber/onion mix and simmer on medium heat until the cucumber and onion goes completely soft and the pickle juice goes a little syrupy.

Stage 4:

Simmer till the pickle juice just covers the mixture

Stage 5:

Use tongs and kitchen gloves to transfer the still hot finished mixture, into the sterilised jars

                      

Stage 6:

Cap with sterilised jar lids (still using kitchen gloves) while still hot. Listen for ‘pop’ seal…that could take a while. Let cool, then refrigerate. Enjoy!

© Trish McGill 2020

Disclaimer… Please do your own research for your own needs and context. The author assumes no responsibility for any outcomes of anyone using this well researched and documented blog post. Enjoy making your Bread & Butter Cucumber Pickles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Garden Update, Kitchen, VintageTrish Kitchen

Preserving My Turmeric Harvest – Powder & Paste

Trish McGill

One of the most exciting parts of growing the beautiful ‘Golden Goddess’ Turmeric, is harvesting it!

Because turmeric root is the useful part, seeing your eventual rhizome harvest after 12 months of waiting, is very much like an ‘unboxing’.

Then of course, you need to process and preserve your turmeric.

My guess is, you already know about the amazing benefits of turmeric.

So what I’m focussing on in today’s blog is processing and preserving the rhizomes in two ways. These are not the only ways.

Pregnant or nursing mothers, children, diabetics or anyone with existing health conditions or allergies, should consult their health professional’s advice before consuming fresh or preserved turmeric.

Growing, harvesting, preserving and using your turmeric harvest is so satisfying. I highly recommend it. I hope you enjoy using your powder and paste for the many recipes and drinks these lovely turmeric products make possible 🌸

Quick Background: Followers of my Instagram Vintagetrishgarden know that I started my little turmeric ‘plantation’ in November 2017 with one 3cm rhizome bought from an organic providore. Since then, I replanted my entire harvest of rhizomes in June 2018, to overwinter, in-situ. The turmeric broke ground in November 2018, and this May 2019, I harvested 621 gram of turmeric. If I were to buy fresh turmeric at current prices in my area it would cost $24.69 per kilo, and that is not organic–mine is. I’ve returned 300g of rhizomes to the little 1 metre x 40cm strip ‘plantation’ for this growing season, and am processing 321gram in the following ways. Next harvest – May 2020.

How I decided to preserve this turmeric harvest

  1. Turmeric Powder for pantry storage
  2. Fresh Turmeric Paste divided into refrigerated and frozen portions

Uses: Curry pastes, Soups, Smoothies, Teas, Golden milk and much more

Preparation after Harvest

All the turmeric rhizomes were well washed and then set to dry out a little for 1 week after harvest. Use a covered basket, which prevents dust but allows air circulation (prevents mould.) This makes the rhizomes more easily handled and retains more of the rhizome when peeled, in my experience. They shrink a little from their plumped up, ‘just harvested look’, at this stage.

Advice: Fresh turmeric stains anything it contacts, yellow. Wear disposable gloves, protect benches and wash plates and utensils soon after using them when working with it.

Turmeric Powder

Equipment I used:

Disposable gloves, Hand peeler, Mandolin slicer, Food Dryer, Food Processor, Spatula

**Adapt your own equipment**

Method: After putting on my gloves:

  1. All small knobbly parts of the rhizomes were broken off and kept in a seperate bowl.
  2. The now more easily peeled large sections were peeled with a hand peeler.
  3. All unpeeled ‘small knobbles,’ and peels, were put aside for the paste recipe.
  4. The large peeled turmeric rhizomes were sliced into 3mm width slices using a mandolin slicer with a thickness dial. (I opted for using the mandolin slicer because it keeps slices a consistent width which means drying in the dryer is more uniform, if all are the same width–which means the turmeric will powder easily.)
  5. The turmeric slices were arranged in a single layer on two trays of my food dryer, with one empty tray on the bottom to prevent over-drying.
  6. My food dryer has one setting–so I let the turmeric slices dry for 1.5 hours. I decided after checking at the 1.5hr mark that 30 mins more would get it to the optimal dried state for processing into powder-slices should be dry not ‘bendy’. I did swap the bottom slice tray to the top at this stage, as they tend to dry more quickly than the top trays in my dryer model. You will need to use your own judgement on this depending on what drying method you use. Since I have never used an oven to dry turmeric I am not going to give advice on it, except to say that you are trying to dry (not bake) the turmeric– so the oven would have to be set very low, and would presumably take longer than mine did in the food dryer.
  7. The dried turmeric slices were removed from the dryer trays and put into my food processor to process into powder, on High for 3 mins, then another burst on High for 2 mins. Yes, it takes that long if you want fine powder. It would take longer again if you are grinding the dried slices using mortar and pestle.
  8. The powder was removed from the processor and put into a glass jar for storage in my pantry.  * Storage times vary for differing conditions and climates. Use your own judgement and research*
  9. Store turmeric powder away from heat and light in the pantry.

Fresh Turmeric Paste

Ingredients:

Fresh turmeric processed (fine or grated), black pepper, organic coconut oil, water

Equipment: Grater or food processor, stovetop, pot, whisk/spoon, spatula

Method:

  1. The kept aside large fresh rhizome peels and unpeeled fresh ‘small knobbles’ were pulverised in my food processor. Alternatively you could grate them.
  2. For every 3 inches of rhizome, you use 2 tablespoons of coconut oil, 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper and 1/3cup water divided. Just do your best to estimate the amount of rhizomes you have–since it’s a paste it’s a fairly ‘forgiving’ recipe, but take care with the amount of water you add, do that ‘by eye’ especially with the other half of the water in step 6.
  3. In my case I was using the peelings and small rhizome knobbles which amounted to 7 inches of rhizome (so…the recipe amounts multiplied by 2.5). This meant I used 5 tablespoons coconut oil 2.5 tsp fresh ground black pepper and 3/4 cup water, divided.
  4. Put all solid ingredients into a pot on the stove over medium heat–with only half the amount of water you need to add.
  5. Using a whisk or spoon, stir all ingredients till combined over medium heat till bubbles form around the side. It may take a little time for the coconut oil to melt if your weather is cool.
  6. Reduce heat to medium low and cook, slowly adding the remaining water until the mixture forms a paste. The coconut oil tends to slide and glide away from the side of the pot once it reaches this held-together paste.
  7. Transfer the paste using a spatula or spoon into a glass jar or container.
  8. Leave to cool, put lid on and refrigerate. Alternatively, put paste into ice cube trays, freeze, pop ice cube portions into a container for easy access when needed.
  9. As a guide only, this paste can usually be stored for 2 weeks in the fridge–use your own judgement. Frozen paste portions store longer.

 

Disclaimer… Please do your own research for your own needs and context. The author assumes no responsibility for any outcomes of anyone using this well researched and documented blog post. Enjoy making and using your turmeric powder and paste.