Preserved in jar: 10 rules to make them perfect – Italian Cuisine

The homemade tomato puree is its queen, sovereign of a boundless kingdom whose subjects range from the delicious chutneys to the traditional fruit jams (the jams, however, are not all the same …). Preparing the preserves is a source of immediate and prolonged satisfactions. Of course, you have to keep an eye on the Botox risk, otherwise the door to the Conserve kingdom is open. Where is the entrance? From fruit or vegetables fresh and of quality, with few tools jars and some important foresight.

1) Choose the ingredient-base always in season and preferably bio (or better yet, biodynamic); if you use fruit, prefer it well ripe, when it is more juicy and sweet (in this month, plums, grapes, figs, but also peaches, apples and pears); discard the first fruits, less tasty and more expensive. Fruit and vegetables should always be washed, even if they are peeled.

2) The equipment necessary is limited and you probably have it: a wide and deep steel saucepan, a wooden spoon, a kitchen scale, a small ladle, a graduated carafe. You could also use a colander and a funnel.

3) I glass jars they must be new or in excellent condition, with a wide mouth and an airtight screw cap: they are cheap, easy to find and in various sizes. Better to use the medium ones (250 g) so that, once opened, they can be finished in a short time.

4) Jars e covers they must be very clean and dry: wash them yourself in the dishwasher at maximum temperature. If the filling is done with cold products, this is sufficient. Otherwise, better proceed to 'sterilization', or more correctly 'Sanitizing', of jars & lids: dip them in a pot of cold water and boil them for about 10 minutes. In order not to make the sanitation vain, after the treatment the containers must be left
immersed in the water until they are filled.

5) Cooking times jams and chutneys can vary by a few minutes compared to the recipe you have chosen, because ripe fruit is often more watery. In this case, to get the right consistency, you can add a peeled and diced apple: the apples, in fact, contain pectin, substance with the thickening effect.

6) Fill the jars leaving 1 cm of free space from the edge (used to form a vacuum during cooling). It is important not to leave residues on the edges, especially on the outside. If smudges remain, clean well with dampened kitchen paper and dry before screwing the capsule.

7) If the preserve that you are cooking is hot (as in the case of jams, compotes and chutneys), at this point turn the jars upside down and wait for them to cool completely. Then, turn them and controlled that the vacuum has formed: the capsule must be perfectly flat or curved inwards.

8) For jams with little sugar and some preserves, one is mandatory home pasteurization. After filling and closing the jars well, place them in a saucepan lined with a clean cloth, wrap them with other cloths to prevent them from breaking and cover them with warm water whose level must overcome them of a few centimeters. Calculate the time from boiling: iThe time required depends on the type of preserves, the type of container and its size (about 20 minutes for 250 g jars, however follow the times indicated by the recipe) and let them cool in the water. After 12-24 hours, inspect again that the lid is lowered to the center, pressing it lightly (you should hear a click-clak for the metal caps): it is the sign that it is formed the vacuum pack.

9) At this point the preserve is ready: all that remains is to attack youlabel to write the name of your creation, but above all useful to remember the preparation date and then check the deadline (usually 10-12 months). Store the jars in a dry and cool place. away from light and heat sources.

10) Check once in a while if it has formed on the surface mold or if the lid has swollen: in this case, do not hesitate to throw everything away. Once the jar is open, keep it in the refrigerator and consume it within a few days.

Paola Mancuso
September 2016
updated in September 2019
by Carola Traverso Saibante

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Recipes with mulberries – Italian Cuisine – Italian Cuisine

From the very Sicilian granita to the jam, the liqueur and a surprising risotto: all the dishes to delight the palate with the unusual taste of mulberries

Soft and juicy, with a sweetness tempered by a light and pleasant acidity that makes them perfect both enjoyed fresh and like ingredients for many delicious dishes. The mulberries, fruits with great nutritional qualities and beneficial for health, can be used in the kitchen for dishes and preserves that do not leave indifferent even the most demanding palates that will be even flattered by the taste of a fruit not so common. Here are some classic recipes with mulberries (always well washed, delicately dried and deprived of the stalk), to be used preferably in theirs black variant.

Mulberry granita, Sicilian tradition

Ok, we know, the idea of starting the day by eating something cold upsets the habits of many parts of Italy. But since summer is now running out, it's better to take advantage of the last few weeks to try at breakfast (or as a snack during the day) a specialty that delights every year many tourists who decide to visit Sicily: the mulberry granita. Preparing it at home, once you buy quality fresh mulberries, is not difficult. It is sufficient, to begin with, to cook over low heat in a saucepan without boiling them with water and sugar until the latter is completely melted. Then let the resulting syrup cool and add it to a puree made by blending the mulberries with a mixer and combining them with lemon juice. Mix well and place everything in the freezer for 2-3 hours, stirring every 30-40 minutes. The goal is to derive a compound of a compact consistency but soft enough to be enjoyed with a covering of whipped cream, some whole mulberry topping and pairing a warm brioche.

Mulberry jam

If, once the warm season is over, you want to bring the flavor of the mulberry trees even in winter, an easy solution to prepare is jam of these fruits. To prepare it put in a pan the mulberries cut in half, the sugar (possibly cane, if you prefer), the lemon juice and grated apple. Cook stirring until the sugar has completely dissolved and then let the mixture rest for a whole night. The next day, let it simmer again for about half an hour and then place the jam in jars that you have previously sterilized and that you will have to boil in water for about 10 minutes. This sweet-tasting jam it can be used to enrich the classic yogurt cake, for ricotta tarts and fresh cheesecake.

Mulberries by the glass

The flavor of the mulberries can also be given a more pungent accent by using them for packaging a liqueur. It is enough to put the fruit in infusion in the alcohol inside a well-closed container for 10 days. Then add it all to a syrup made by cooking the sugar with water and stir well. At this point you have two possible choices: either filter everything to get a "smooth" and homogeneous liquid or let the mulberries float inside the bottle where you will mix everything. Keep the liqueur in the refrigerator so that it reaches the table very cold.

Sweet surprise in the risotto

Mulberries are perhaps not the ideal fruit for raids even in savory dishes, but if you want to dare you can try using them in a dried version (soaked in water for about half an hour) to give color and an unexpected taste to the classic risotto: a gourmet recipe in which this creamy first is whipped adding to the grated Parmigiano Reggiano the aroma of almond or hazelnut butter.

Seafood, not just mussels and clams – Italian Cuisine

on clams We have already told you how to choose them and buy them. The oysters, even the ecological and low-cost ones, we consider them a world apart. on mussels it is certainly worthwhile to say something more. And above all it is worth to know also the other local shells, exquisite fruits of our sea to be received and enjoyed with honor.

Let's start with the mussels, or muscles what to say. Of course there are only books to write about them. The recipes? Infinite (here the top ten). Here are just a few ideas: there are several breeding systems, but above all there are several 'Terroir'. For the mussels, really as for wine. Every land, or rather every sea, has its own nutrients and characteristic aromas, and all the mussels absorb them – even if, unlike the common belief, the "filters" of the sea are actually clams.

And speaking of clams: with le clams – or telline if you prefer – there are very few, even two different families! (with the exception of the Sardinian ones, which one type of clams actually are). The clam is larger and more rounded, with concentric grooves on the shell (unfortunately the prized and very tasty local clam has been almost completely supplanted by the Philippine one…). The cocklesinstead, they have shells more smooth and colorful and taste more delicate. That of the Roman coast, an exquisite ancient tradition, is protected by Slow Food, still harvested by raking the sandy beaches by hand on calm days.

The fasolari they have a shell that is a cross between that of the clam and that of the arsella. Their meat is very soft and the tasty taste. From the same family as the clams, unlike the latter, they are unable to completely purge the sand in water and salt, so it is necessary to open the shells by hand and rinse the mollusc (for how to clean them, see here). Excellent steamed or sautéed, they season pasta and risotto and are the protagonists of delicious recipes like the one that sees them seasoned with almond butter.

The razor clams they are those long cones, as its name implies. They live in the sand, they taste strong sea and are excellent for pasta, or au gratin or cooked on the grill. Rich in minerals and low in fat, here's a tip to prepare them: avoid prolonging too much cooking, they become hard and chewy.

The snails they are rare and are delicious bread for real sea wolves. After having purged them, the cap that closes them should be blown up the pan and the broth then filtered. They are eaten in sauce, fitted with toothpicks with which to draw the little snails out of their shell.

The sea truffle, from the meats lean, nutrients (proteins ad high biological value) and prized, has a taste intense and particular – especially when eaten raw, as is often preferred. In the first it goes well with pesto or a sauce based on aromatic herbs and white wine.

The scallops, also known as shells of St. James are the exquisite medallions locked up in spectacular shell fan-shaped. In addition to meat, the 'coral' is also delicious, as are their gonads. The adults in nature can also reach 15 cm in diameter; they move fast and see us very well! They do not stand out for their nutritional supply, but they are low-calorie and golosisime.

Aurora Quinto
September 2019

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