Adventures in batching up a recipe

One of the reasons that everyone I know asks me questions like  “Do you ever sleep” is because I always seem to be doing something canning related when I get home from my full time job. But that very recently went into overdrive with an influx of store orders, Christmas gift basket requests and preparing my own Christmas gifts. And then it went into double overdrive when I took a sample of my cranberry sauce to my local butcher shop for them to try and they LOVED it and ordered 200 jars.

Now if you are at all familiar with preserving, you know that the average preserving recipe yields between 4-7 jars. So even if we leaned a little to the side of a higher yield and assumed we would get 6 jars per batch that would mean I needed to make 33 batches in a little over a week in order to meet this order. Suffering from the inability to clone myself, meant that I had to look at alternate solutions and that is when my butcher took me into the basement and introduced me to Jack, Jill and Sparky and a slow smile spread across my face and a small amount of fear entered my heart.

You see Jack, Jill and Sparky are tilting steam kettles and I have been dying to get my hands on one of these so I could begin to seriously start batching up my recipes.

This past Saturday, with 50lb of cranberries, over 20 bags of sugar, a carton of oranges and enough boxes of pectin that the cashier at Highland Farms looked at me with a curious expression on her face, I walked up to Jill and Sparky and began my first ever LARGE batch.

After consulting a preserver I met in Portland, I knew what had to be done and all that was left was doing it.

I am happy to report that this week I will delivering 180 jars to the Butcher Shop on Kingston Road. So if you are in the area – get them while they last!

Flavoured Vinegars

In previous years people used to give me incredulous looks at this time of year. Some of them even had an undertone of complete disgust. They would ask questions like “You are done already? How is that possible?” and make statements like “People like you drive me crazy”. My organizational skills, while viewed as an asset in most circumstances tended to make people angry at this time of year.

But oh how the times have changed.  This is the first year in at least a decade where I am not done my Christmas shopping. I am struggling on several fronts. Finding the time to shop, finding the desire to shop and finding the inspiration for gifts.

If you are experiencing any of the same issues as me, I may be able to help. This Thursday at The Depanneur I am hosting a class. Now this isn’t the same as my other classes earlier this year. We aren’t going to learn to make jam, jellies or pickles. You will not be constricted by the balance of fruit, sugar, acid and pectin. Oh no…in this class you can let your creativity roam free.

Garlic chive vinegar, raspberry vinegar, apple cinnamon spice vinegar just to name a few of the combinations we will be exploring. I will provide the different vinegars and ingredients as well as a few tried and true recipes but you let your creativity do the rest and see what other combinations you can come up with.

At the end of the class, you will have 2 jars of the vinegar of your choice to take home with you and the opportunity to buy other flavours as hostess gifts or stocking stuffers or just the bottles if you prefer to continue the creativity at home at another time.

Sign up here and see you soon.

https://www.facebook.com/events/487813881252161/

Fighting the Winter Blah's

It has been a foggy grey week in November. The leaves have all fallen off the trees, the grass is turning yellow and the air is damp and cold enough to give me a permanent chill. It is the start of my least favourite season – Winter. I know it is all downhill from here and there is nothing I can do to stop the slip, slip slide down into January and February.

At the moment I am still fighting the cold that slowly pulls my shoulders up closer to my ears. But by the time January rolls around the fight will be gone and I will be clinging to the glimmer of hope that is spring.

It is at this time of year that my commute to my job becomes a real drain. The monotony of the routine – alarm rings, shower, eat, dress, drive to the station, get on the train, shuffle off with all the other commuters, walk to the office, work, calls, meetings, emails, walk back to the train station in the DARK, get on the train, drive back home. Repeat.

So this week as I could feel the grip of fall/winter starting to tighten around my throat I decided I still had some fight left in me. There is only one way to rise above it all and that is to search for inspiration on my commute. Instead of completing the routine in an almost robotic trance, I am looking up, sideways and behind me and taking photos of what grabs my eye.

Crazy for Cranberry Sauce

It seems to be right around this time of year when people start to hang up their Christmas lights, the days get shorter and the wind gets colder and I start to think about cranberries.

There are a lot of great cranberry sauce recipes out there. Some of them add ginger or orange zest to the sauce to make the flavour more complex and interesting.

What do you do to your cranberry sauce to make it stand apart?

I can tell you what I do. I add roasted walnuts and pecans. I take anywhere from 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of a combination or walnuts and pecans and I chop them roughly and place them in a pan on my stove top over medium-high heat and stir them occasionally. Keep an eye that they don't burn. You want the nice flavour of the roasted nuts to permeate your cranberry sauce - not a burnt flavour. In about 5 minutes the scent of roasted nuts will be evident and they will have turned a golden brown.

Prepare your sauce as per your normal instructions and add the nuts close to the end of the cooking time. Delicious!

When something simple makes it all worthwhile

I have what could be considered a bad habit. Every day while I eat my breakfast before work I check twitter, facebook and the news. Then I spend most of my day plastered to my computer at work, then I come home and write a blog post or do some research or head to the commercial kitchen to create something tasty.

There are a couple of potential bad habits hidden in the above paragraph:

1) checking facebook and twitter every day first thing in the morning

2) checking it while I am eating my breakfast really has to stand alone as a potential bad habit all on it's own

3) I seem to never stop and work almost all the time (with an episode of The Wire thrown in as relaxation ;)

At times, I question whether something needs to change. Then, this morning this was posted on my wall and made all those questions disappear. I do what I do because I love it and I believe that comes across in each and every jar of Manning Canning.

Pressure Canning vs Water bath

There are two ways to process preserved fruits and vegetables, but how do you know when you need to use one method over the other? When can you safely water bath something versus having to pressure can it?

There is a simple rule - fruits and HIGH acid foods can be safely preserved using the water bath whereas vegetables and LOW acid foods are what NEED to be pressure canned. Now don't go confusing pressure canners with pressure cookers or steamers, or it may result in some exploding jars, contaminated product or worse. Pressure cookers and steamers simply will not heat the contents of your jars to the correct temperature, so be sure you are using a pressure cooker and follow the operating instructions that you will find inside the box. Pressure canning increases the temperature of the product inside your jars to a hot enough temperature that it kills and bacteria present and will also deactivate any unwanted enzymes.

So what types of items are considered LOW acid?

• tomato sauce recipes that do not have lemon juice added to them
• vegetables that are not pickled using vinegar
• meats and seafood
• vegetables with a pH level higher than 4.6, lack the acidity to stop the growth of bacteria spores

The basic process of the water bath

- To calculate the size of the water bath canner, keep these measurements in mind. You need to allow for the following:

• height of your jar
• a minimum of 1 inch of water above the jar
• 1 inch of air space above the water level
• 1 inch for the rack you place on the inside of your pot
• the pot should be no more than 4 inches larger in diameter than your stovetop burner to allow for the water to achieve and maintain the proper temperature

Once you have chosen the correct sized water bath canner/pot for the job, follow these simple steps to complete the water bath process.

• Put your rack on the bottom of your canner and fill with water, leaving as much as 4 inches of clearance from the top of the canner. If you notice mineral deposits beginning to form on your processed jars, you can add vinegar to the mix to prevent this.
• Place the lid on the canner and place your canner on your stovetop and turn heat to high
• Using a jar lifter, place each of your sterilized and filled jars into the canner and ensure it is sitting flat on the rack within. Leave space between each of the jars to ensure water continues to circulate between the jars and heats jars evenly.
• Ensure that there is a minimum of 1 inch of water above the top of your filled jars and if necessary add more hot water to the pot
• Bring the temperature of the water up to the level required for your recipe and begin timing the water bath.
• Ensure the temperature maintains at a minimum the temperature outlined in your recipe and increase heat if required.
• Process for the full amount of time prescribed in the recipe. Do not shorten this time or you may not kill any harmful bacteria present inside your jars
• When the time is complete, remove the jars from the bath and place on a cooling rack or tea cloth. Never place your hot jars directly onto your countertop or they could shatter.
  
• Allow the jars to cool and then store in a cool, dark place.

The basic process for pressure canning using a weighted gauge canner (be sure to read any manufacturer instructions that come with your pressure canner)

• Place the metal rack that comes with your canner on the bottom of the canner and fill with 2-5 inches of water
• Place the pressure canner on your stovetop over low heat and bring the temperature to 180F.
• Using a jar lifter, place each of your sterilized and filled jars into the canner and ensure it is sitting flat on the rack within. Leave space between each of the jars to ensure water continues to circulate between the jars and heats jars evenly.
• Put the lid on top of your canner and twist into place leaving the weighted gauge off the canner to start
• Increase your heat to medium-high until steam begins to escape. At this point, set your timer for 10 minutes.
• After it has steamed for 10 minutes, place your weighted gauge on the steam vent. The gauge you use will be outlined in your recipe. Do not change the weight used
• After about 4-5 minutes your gauge should show that you have reached the desired pressure. Set your timer for the amount of time outlined in your recipe. Ensure the pressure does not drop throughout the entire process. If it begins to drop, increase your heat.
• Once the time is complete, turn off the heat. Let the canner cool until the gauge reads zero. DO NOT OPEN BEFORE IT REACHES ZERO AS THERE WILL STILL BE A BUILD UP OF PRESSURE INSIDE THE CANNER AND YOUR LID COULD SHOOT UP
• Once you have reached zero pressure remove the weighted gauge and allow the steam to escape before opening the lid. Give your jars a few minutes to cool before removing them from the canner
• remove the jars from the canner and place on a cooling rack or tea cloth. Never place your hot jars directly onto your countertop or they could shatter.

Couple of tips to remember:

- if the pressure drops during the process for less than 5 minutes, increase your heat until pressure has returned to the desired level. Add 10 extra minutes to the time remaining in the process.

- if the pressure drops during the process time for more than 5 minutes, increase your heat until the pressure has returned to the desired level and re-process for the entire time outlined in the recipe.

What Can a Farmer's Market do for your small business?

I knew I would get a lot out of being part of the Withrow Farmer’s Market this summer, but I suppose there is still a small part of me that is amazed by how just HOW MUCH valuable information came out of being at the market every 2^nd Saturday this summer.

For anyone considering becoming a part of a farmer’s market or weighing the pro’s and con’s to determine if it is a commitment they would be interested in, here are some of the benefits the market had for me and my small business.

•  On my very first market day a lovely lady by the name of Cheryl came by my booth and sampled some of my jams and pickles. Turns out she is a chef and was just about to start a new job at a local Butcher Shop. She signed up to be on my mailing list and asked me to reach out in 4-6 weeks so we could talk. I am happy to say that The Meat Dept on the Danforth has been carrying Manning Canning products for several months now and that my local market customers can find my products there during the winter months.

•  It gave me direct access to customers. People that did not know me and would provide me with true reactions to my product. I know what each customer liked, didn’t like, bought repeatedly. Based on these learnings I even tweaked a couple of my products to make them better and appeal to a wider audience

•  I used the market as a testing ground for new seasonal products and got customers input on price point, how they would use the product and it’s selling features

•  I made great connections with local farmers also selling at the market. Bought direct and was able to show my market customers exactly where the product in my jars came from. Very powerful selling feature

•  Was able to test my packaging with new faces on a bi-weekly basis. The perfect focus group to put the design to the test

• Formed a great relationship with the market itself and have partnered with them to provide canning and preserving lessons. Next up Caramel Apple Jam on Monday, November 19^th.  See here for details. http://www.eventbrite.ca/org/2611193294

•  Met wonderful people who shared with me family preserving recipes, spices, herbs and vegetables from their gardens. I even had people bringing me mason jars from home so that I could put them to good use

•  Market visitors signed up to be on my mailing list and now I have the ability to communicate with them on an on-going basis which would have been impossible otherwise
  

• Really got a much better understanding of the demands of replenishing supplies for each market. How much produce did I need to purchase, how much time did I need in the commercial kitchen. It prepared me to venture to store sales and understand how much I could take on at a time

• Met people like me who have a small food business that they are either trying to grow or even start up. Bounced ideas off of them and shared experiences

• Allowed me to practice different techniques to describe my product, which has helped me feel more confident doing in-store sampling days like the one I just completed at The Meat Dept this past Saturday

• Gained an understanding over the 6 months of the market as to my average daily sales and how often customers returned to purchase

•  And this final point is still in the works, but I may have met Manning Canning’s very first employee at the market ;).

So if you are wondering if participating in a Farmer’s Market is worth the work that goes into it, re-read the list above and think about whether any of those items would help you build your business. I am sure you will find yourself nodding your head and saying yes at least a few times.

Tips for the perfect batch of Jam

There is nothing more disappointing than when a jelly doesn’t set or your jam separates or pickles or preserves float or change colour. Don’t take it as a personal failure! There is a lesson hidden in the jar and once you learn what caused this particular batch not to turn out the way you liked, you are one step closer to making the perfect batch the next time.

With that in mind, here are some tips to help you make the perfect batch of jam every time.

Jams, jellies and marmalades are all made from a balanced combination of four ingredients and the correct proportion of each of these in relation to the other is required to achieve the right set.

•      Fruit
•      Sugar
•      Pectin
•      Acid

Too little sugar, acid or pectin in proportion to the fruit and your jam will remain liquidy

Too much sugar, acid or pectin and your jam will be stiff

Thinking of speeding up the preparation time for your batch of jam? Put that food processor or blender back in the cupboard! Using one of these handy kitchen tools to chop or crush your fruit could lead to some rather disappointing results:

• The pureed fruit will be filled with air bubbles and this will lead to additional foam during cooking
• There will be a higher risk to having the fruit float in the jar
• You will release way more liquid from the fruit this way than if you were to cut or chop by hand.
• This can upset the balance of the recipe and you can end up with too liquidy a jam
  • To cook off this extra liquid will require extra cooking time and can lead to burning your jar

Always remember not to double recipes to increase yield. They may fail to set and potentially separate as they cool.

Want to make jam with a sugar substitute or with less sugar, purchase a pectin designed specifically for this purpose and follow the directions on the box carefully

Always check the expiration date on the pectin and follow the instructions for its use carefully.

What tips or tricks do you have for the perfect batch of jam every time?

Quick and Delicious Cream Puffs

I blame my mom. There is not a doubt in my mind that my mom is 100%, completely to blame for my current predicamant. You see, she has been visiting for the past few weeks and while she has been here there has been a lot of baking taking place in my kitchen. I came home from work last week and my entire house smelled like chocolate chip cookies. Then last weekend we made butterhorns and yesterday we decided to make cream puffs. And this morning when I went to put my jeans on - they felt a little bit tighter than usual. Way to go mom! :)

WARNING: You will only want to make these if you are having friends of family over. This recipe yields between 12-16 cream puffs and if you decide to make them you WILL end up eating them all yourself. Now don't say I didn't warn you.

Quick and Delicious Cream Puffs

Cream Puff Ingredients

1/2 cup butter

1 cup water

1 cup flour

1/8 tsp salt

4 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla

Filling ingredients

2 cups Whipping cream

2 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

Bring 1 cup of water to a boil in a medium sized sauce pot and then add butter and salt. Stir over heat until butter melts and then bring the mixture to a vigorous boil. Add the cup of flour and continue to stir until dough forms a soft ball and leaves the sides of the pan clean. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Be careful not to overcook.

Fold in eggs one at a time and stir them into the mixture briskly until the mixture thickens and becomes quite stiff. Repeat this process with the remaining 3 eggs. Using a spoon,  place the mixture on an ungreased baking sheet.

Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

While the puffs cool on the counter, you can make the filling. Place the 2 cups of whipping cream into a medium sized bowl and using an egg beater, whip the cream until it begins to thicken. Add the sugar and the vanilla. You can also choose to add chocolate or raspberry jam or a combination of other tasty ingredients should you choose.

Slice the cooled cream puffs in half and spoon in your filling of choice. We kept it traditional and true to the recipe and didn't add anything else to the filling and it was as delicious as I remember.

Perfect Fall Preserving

The view to my neighbours house across the street has been blocked from view for the last 6 months because the leaves of the maple tree that grows on the boulevard provide a nice cover. Well in the last few weeks as the leaves began to fall, their house started to appear almost as if the pieces of a puzzle were being put together.

In the last 48 hours as the winds pick up with the expected arrival of Hurricane Sandy the last remaining leaves that were hanging on for dear life fell and my lawn is a blanket of yellow and orange.

These blustery winds and cooler temperatures have me craving comfort food and I want to fill my house with the smell of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. If you are having similar feelings, you may want to check out these great posts that have provided me with some inspiration for these fall days ahead of us.

Nectarine Butter - now nectarines might not be in season where you are but there are certainly a lot of great pears available and this recipe sounds like it would work with them as well.

Pear Slices Preserved in Whiskey - if the sound of that recipe alone doesn't start making you feel warmer all on it's own, read it again ;)

Cranberry, Orange and Port Sauce - a nice twist on Cranberry Sauce. This would make a great gift for the upcoming holiday season

Banana Jam - the addition of Vanilla made this jam for me

Pickled Grapes with Cinnamon and Black Pepper - I could just picture these on my next cheese plate

What are your fall favourites?