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Yum's September Must Haves

partysugar — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 09:15:07 -0700

As much as I hate to see the Summer go, I always enjoy September. San Francisco's weather finally warms up and it's my birthday! The month also marks the start of Fall, which means heading back to school and a new season of fruits and vegetables. Here are seven items that you must have to make the most of the next 30 days.

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Do You Like Canning at Home?

YumSugar — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 08:30:16 -0700

Summer, with its bounty of exquisite produce, couldn't be a more fitting time to preserve fruits and vegetables for less-than-abundant months to come. Last year, I was obsessed with making quick pickles; this year, I'd love to pick up some professional canning equipment so I can save jams, jellies, preserves, and pickles for the Winter. Have you dabbled in home preserving?

Must-Read: Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It

YumSugar — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 09:00:20 -0700

Given that some say we're in the middle of a food revolution, and local, sustainable, home-grown produce is popping up everywhere, it's only logical that an uptick in home preserving will happen, too. Enter Karen Solomon's Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It, a new book that's focused on making your own artisanal food products, either to keep or to give as gifts. The tome isn't simply limited to fruit jellies and quick pickles - it also includes instructions on making everything from flatbread to watermelon Popsicles to chai tea. But did it live up to its high expectations? Find out when you read more.

Pros:

The cookbook covers a wide range of basic preserving techniques that run the gamut from dairy products to cured meats.
Each recipe provides a general overview of the dish, estimated time required, and suggestions for storing.
Book size and binding make it easy for the tome to stay on the desired page.

Cons:

This do-it-yourself book could benefit from having more instructional pictures.
Recipe directions are written in paragraph form, which can be hard to navigate.

Recipes: I'm excited to create homemade versions of many different comestibles using the book's artisanal techniques and tips. Intriguing projects include:

Baked potato chips
Kimchee
Gravlax
Smoked trout
Ricotta salata
Lemon curd
Jamaican ginger beer

Imagery: While only a quarter of the book contains images, all of them are vivid, visually appealing color photographs.

Overall Rating: If you're looking to be a resourceful kitchen do-it-yourselfer, then this book would seal the deal.

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Simple Tip: Save Old Glass Jars

partysugar — Mon, 04 May 2009 10:30:16 -0700

Instead of recycling glass jars, go eco chic and place them in the dishwasher. Once they're clean, hold onto them. I started doing this last year and have come to rely on the glass jars for a variety of uses. They're incredibly convenient for mixing salad vinaigrettes and can hold simple syrups, homemade marinated artichokes, or quick pickles. They also make a great substitute for tupperware when filled with leftover sauce or gravy. If cooking isn't your forte, employ the glass jars as whimsical candle holders!

Is anyone else addicted to saving glass jars?

12 Days of Edible Gifts: Pomegranate Jelly

YumSugar — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 15:30:56 -0800

Our 12 Days of Edible Gifts continues with a juicy homemade jelly. I used to think that jams and jellies took hours to can, but I'm glad I realized was wrong. This recipe for pomegranate jelly takes only 15 minutes of active time, and costs under $10 to make. Most importantly, it's a heartfelt gift. Turn the jelly into a pretty package by using a festive ribbon to tie the container together with a few baguettes and a cloth napkin. To make your own pomegranate jelly this holiday, read more.

Pomegranate Jelly
Adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients

4 cups store-bought pomegranate juice
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
6 cups sugar
1 1/2 pouches liquid pectin (3 ounces each; 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon)

Directions

Put pomegranate juice, lemon juice, and sugar into a large stockpot. Bring to a rolling boil.
Add liquid pectin; return to a rolling boil, and cook 1 minute.
Immediately transfer jelly to jars.
Set jars over an ice-water bath to cool, then transfer to refrigerator.

Makes 7 cups. Jelly will keep refrigerated for up to a month.

Print recipe with images | without images

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Trend Alert: Pickling

YumSugar — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:15:52 -0700

Pickling has been a craft for the past 5,000 years, but its biggest moment may be right now.

With supermarket prices on the rise, the home consumer products industry has seen a spike in canning and pickling at home. The Martha Stewart Show recently featured Momofuku minimogul David Chang giving a pickling demonstration. Prominent restaurants chefs from Los Angeles to New Orleans have been showcasing house-made pickles in menu items.

Even I jumped on the bandwagon, extolling the virtues of rapid preserving in a three-hour pickling recipe. Quick pickles are especially appealing, as they don't require any special canning equipment and the techniques can be used on everything from grapes to watermelon rinds. Because pickles are one of my favorite foods, I'm excited to try all the new ideas I've been reading about. What about you? Have you caught on to the pickling bug?

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Yummy Links: From Expensive Sandwiches to Soaked Skewers

YumSugar — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 07:29:11 -0700

Are you ready to spend nearly $200 on a sandwich? - Serious Eats
There's still some great produce out there, so take advantage of these recipes for a late summer harvest. - iVillage Food

This is one of the neatest things I've read all week: When it's hot outside, you can bake cookies in a car. - Baking Bites
Are convenient foods really convenient? - Slashfood
When someone sends you an invite, do you remember to RSVP? - Chow
Got a wedding coming up? Learn how to plan a wedding reception menu. - Apartment Therapy: The Kitchen

Is the diet fork a good idea, or just a horrible joke? - FitSugar
Don't fret, the taste of summer can be preserved in a glass. - Culinate
Here's a quick tip: Use clean shower caps as bowl covers. - CasaSugar
Are those 100 calorie snack packs really worth it? - Will Work For Food
Do you really have to soak your skewers, or is that just a myth? - Epi Blog

Making Preserves at a Public Fruit Jam

YumSugar — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 05:50:57 -0800

Last weekend, I attended a collective canning event. Sponsored by Fallen Fruit, an activist group that promotes the planting of public fruit trees, the public fruit jam was a free, communal jam-making session where participants shared fruit and jam-making tips. I arrived with empty jars and lots of plums, and left with new friends, half a dozen jars of different kinds of jam, and the know-how to make fruit preserves. To see how it went down, read on.

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What's Cooking at Slashfood

partysugar — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 04:00:27 -0700

We love Slashfood so much that every Thursday we round up their most delicious stories. Here are this week's finds:

Meet Tracy Porter, tabletop's new hero.
Beef terroir: the grassfed difference.
Canning of craft beers is becoming more popular.
The Food Network has launched a new line of kitchenware.
What makes you feel like a real cook?
Tuck an edible note into your kid's lunches with FoodWriters.
The new cocktail shakers are antique pitchers.

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Trend Alert: Food-Swapping Groups

YumSugar — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 08:00:08 -0700

A while back, we talked about the rise of pickling and canning at home. But what happens once you've filled your pantry with homemade pickled watermelon rinds and apricot jam? Our friends across the pond have come up with a smart solution: organizing food exchanges.

London social enterprise group Growing Communities started the Good Food Swap, a popular event in which people bring items they've grown, foraged, or produced, and barter it for something else. Another unlikely participant in the food swaps are the local pubs. Sometimes it's even feasible to barter Sunday's catch at the lake for pints of beer.

The trend hasn't yet proliferated stateside, although certain food bloggers have also organized exchanges of local products such as preserves and honey. The concept definitely has appeal, given the rising prices of food. Everyone comes into the swap with a surplus of something, and leaves the exchange with a variety of edibles at no extra cost. I personally love the idea and think it's a win-win scenario. What do you think of the trend, and could you see it making headway in the US? Would you ever organize a food swap?

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