Preserving Projects

The rush to preserve is on, and thankfully it's cool, damp and grey, so it's really the perfect thing to do.  My house is steamy and smells like grapes.  Among other projects this morning, we (my almost-three-year-old helper and I) are making Concord grape juice.  It's the easiest thing in the world and sooo yummy.  I got 7.5 lbs. of Concords this weekend, and am steaming the juice out using a Mehu Maija (look at the Lehmans catalog online to see one).  It looks like I'll get about a gallon and a half of juice.

It works like this: Water goes in the bottom, grapes, stems, leaves, seeds, busted grapes and all go in the colander part, and a little while later, ta-da, just like that, you open the hose clamp and out pours hot delicious grape juice, as healthy as ever a thing ever was.
I put it in clean half gallon mason jars.  It's so hot when it comes out, that if you put the lid on right away and leave it on the counter it'll seal itself.  Store it on a cool dark shelf for later.  Of course, we drink an insane amount of juice when we're making it.

   

I salted and packed in a crock 4 lbs. of six-inch tat soi.  It's the first time I've tried pickling them, so we'll see how it goes (my culinary luck often runs out just shy of a successful lacto-ferment).  I followed a recipe for Japanese salt-pickled cabbage from the Joy of Pickling (you must get this book, and quick).  I'll report back in a week or so.

I also set to pickle a gallon jar of small green Cortland apples, following a recipe from the Joy of Pickling again, for a Russian style pickled apple.  The recipe calls for them to be packed into a gallon jar layered with sour cherry leaves.  I used grape leaves from my back fence, because I had them, and figured it was tannins that were called for - I'm guessing to help keep the apples crisp.  The recipe suggests using some fresh tarragon as well, which I would have loved to use if I had it, but used a little dried lavender instead.  Hopefully it's either good, or too subtle to notice.

The brine is a mix of salt and honey, and they are left at room temp for 5 days, 'until fermentation slows', which means I'm going to get to watch them bubble, always a good time.  Then they are moved to a cool place for a few weeks.  They should be done by the end of the month, and I plan on using them in an appetizer with pate at 42north76west's first secret dinner if they turn out ok.

The recipe says they will be fizzy.  I am not sure I'll like that, but they sure do look pretty in the mean time.