Tag: preserves

Preserves and jams: what you need – Italian Cuisine

It's time to prepare the preserves for the winter. Are you sure you have it all?

Do you have lots of beautiful fruit and vegetables and are you thinking of making jars ready to use for all the months to come?
Very well, first of all though, check if you have the necessary equipment.
The preparation of jams, preserves and jams requires a lot of patience, a lot of care and above all the right equipment.

Here, then, is what you cannot do without if you are about to make preserves.

First quality ingredients

Obviously, to prepare a good product you have to use the best raw material. Fruit and vegetables must be carefully selected and in season. Wash everything well and if you can choose untreated products.

Glass jars

Unmissable since they will be the containers of all your delicacies. We recommend the classic ones with the lid. Those with the hook and the gasket on the edge, on the other hand, are to be avoided because they can deteriorate over time.
Remember that the jars must be boiled in a pot full of water for an hour, allowed to dry very well and then used.

Dishcloths

You must have some clean and possibly white tea towels available as you will need some to separate the glass jars in the pot while they are sterilized and others to dry them upside down before filling.

Two large pots with high sides

One pot will be used for sterilization first of the empty and then the filled jars, while the other will be the one you will use to prepare preserves and jams.

A wooden spoon

If you are about to prepare a jam or marmalade, remember that you will have to mix it for a long time. The best tool is the classic long and wide wooden spoon. Many prefer silicone straps, but we prefer the old grandma method. Absolutely avoid metal equipment that can damage the pot.

Knives & Co.

Each knife has its own function and therefore do not use one at random. Choose the right ones for peeling and cutting fruit and vegetables. For this kind of work, the ideal is a not too long knife with a smooth and sharp blade. Even a potato peeler could come in handy if you need to prepare zucchini or carrots in oil or vinegar and you need to get long and thin slices. A large-hole grater, on the other hand, could be useful for praying julienne vegetables.

Potholders

You must always have some on hand. You will need them to better handle the boiling jars just sterilized.

Labels

Once the preserves are prepared, remember to label them. Write on each label what is in the jar and when it was prepared. Typically the expiry date of these products is 12 months.

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Autumn preserves: how to make pumpkin in oil – Italian Cuisine

Pumpkin in oil is the perfect preserve to prepare this season, so you can enjoy it all year round, serving it as an accompaniment to meat and fish or as a base for an appetizer

Pumpkin in oil it is a perfect preserve to prepare in this period of the year in which pumpkins they are full of their taste and flavor. Grilled slices of soft pumpkin sprinkled with extra virgin olive oil and aromatic herbs, to accompany a second course of meat, a fish fillet, or still to be served on a toast spread with goat cheese like finger food: there are so many ways to treat yourself to the pleasure of this vegetable all year long!

Pumpkin cooking

There pumpkin in oil can be made in different versions, choosing from time to time different herbs and spices, or simply varying the cooking mode of the pumpkin, which can be boiled, baked or scalded on a plate. In case you prefer to do it to boil, the result you will get will be a soft and more tender consistency. If you decide to cook it in the oven, you will have a harder product, if instead you will opt for the plate, your pumpkin will have a compact consistency and a slight smoky hint. To you the choice!

How to clean the pumpkin

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There is not just one pumpkin

They are part of the Cucurbitaceae family and exist beyond it 500 varieties. Among the most known, available and edible (yes, because not all of them can be eaten!) There are the Neapolitan pumpkin, with a dark green skin and an orange, sweet and fragrant pulp. It has few seeds and is long-lasting. Then there is the Marina di Chioggia, with lumpy and dark green rind. It has a yellow-orange flesh and is used mostly for velvety. Hokkaido, of Japanese origin, has a bright orange peel and flesh, a very firm consistency and a flavor that vaguely resembles a chestnut. It is used for risottos. Finally the Mantovana, which has sweet and very firm pulp and is used for the preparation of tortelli, for cooking in the oven and for risottos.

The recipe of pumpkin in oil

Ingredients: 600 g already dehulled Mantua pumpkin, extra virgin olive oil, fresh mint, garlic cloves, coarse salt, fresh chilli.

Method: cut the pumpkin into slices as homogeneous as possible. Meanwhile heat up a plate and once it is very hot, burn the pumpkin slices on both sides until they are dry and golden. Leave them aside as they are ready. Then take the jars for the preserves that you will have previously sterilized, and arrange on the bottom of each one slices of pumpkin, alternating them with small pieces of garlic, leaves of fresh washed and dried mint, chilli peppers, a few grains of coarse salt and extra virgin olive oil. Continue to finish the ingredients and then close the filled jars up to 1 cm from the edge. Put them in a pot with water and boil them for 30 minutes. Once past this time, drain and place them upside down to cool. Check that the vacuum has formed and then place your jars in a cool, dry place.

In the tutorial some more indication to make a perfect preserve!

The good from the vegetable garden jar: the preserves of August – Italian Cuisine

Peppers, aubergines, courgettes and then all the fruit like melons, figs, plums. In short, there are many preserves in August that can be prepared at home to enjoy the best of summer all year round

These last days of August are the time to make you a precious gift: fruit and vegetable preserves, which will make you savor the taste of summer even when temperatures do not reach 15 °. Everything is now at its best: the aromas, the textures, the colors of peaches, plums, melons, figs, aubergines, and then again peppers, courgettes, tomatoes. Whatever the preserve you want to prepare, you are sure that the raw material is the best that you can find.

The best vegetables and fruit

To prepare preserves of August As a rule of art you will have to get perfect fruits and vegetables, which have reached full maturity, without any dents and from the skin and from the firm and compact pulp. For vegetables, follow some suggestions, to get the most delicious result possible. If you want to use aubergines, remember to lose them the water leaving them sliced in a colander with coarse salt for at least 30 minutes. If you prefer zucchini, cut them in half lengthwise and remove the part where there are seeds: you will avoid the risk of a tending taste bitterish. Do the same thing if you use cucumbers. If you are lovers of pepperoni, remember to do them toast in the grill of the oven for 40 minutes so that they can be peeled effortlessly. In this way they will be more digestible for everyone.

Aubergine, courgette and pepper pickles

What's better than a mix of vegetables in oil to accompany meat dishes, delicate cheeses or to prepare an intriguing appetizer with croutons covered with vegetables and garnished with an anchovy fillet? To achieve this preserve get yourself a courgette, an aubergine, a yellow pepper. Wash and clean the vegetables, removing the internal seeds of the courgette, the white filaments and the skin of the pepper. Slice the aubergine and put it in a colander with coarse salt and leave it for an hour, so that it loses water. Then rinse it and cut it into cubes, together with the pepper and courgette. In a large pot, boil water with half a liter of white wine vinegar and a teaspoon of coarse salt. Blanch all the vegetables for 5 minutes and then drain with the help of a slotted spoon. Fill the sterilized jars with vegetables, add some basil leaves and two cloves of garlic, mash well e filled up to 1 cm from the edge with extra virgin olive oil. Close with the caps, place the jars in a pan full of water, bring to the boil and sterilize for 30 minutes. Check that the vacuum has formed and then place the preserves in a cool, dry place. Let it sit for a month before tasting.

summer preserves

Dried tomatoes in oil

Prepare this preserve and you will become addicted to it for the rest of your days! Dried cherry tomatoes in oil are a real treat, to eat at any time of the day, alone, with crunchy bread or as a sauce for a delicious pasta. What you have to do is get some cherry tomatoes or datterini tomatoes, as you prefer, wash them and cut them in half. You then dispose each half with the side cut upwards on a covered baking sheet, sprinkle each tomato with a pinch of salt and one of sugar, add a few leaves of oregano, garlic cloves and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Bake for three hours at 100 ° and when they are dry, place them in already sterilized jars, cover them with raw oil up to 1 cm from the edge, add a few basil leaves and close the jars with the caps. Put them in a large pot full of water, cook for about 30 minutes from the boil and then check that the vacuum has formed. Let the tomatoes season for a month before consuming them. Once opened, they are kept in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Red onion chutney

This preserve is perfect to accompany aged cheeses, white meats or simply to prepare delicious croutons to serve as finger food. Take a pound of red tropea onions, peel them and slice them thinly. Put them to fry a little at a time in a pan with extra virgin olive oil and when they are golden, add 100 g of cane sugar. Mix well and then add 200 ml of apple vinegar and two bay leaves. Blend the vinegar and then add two tablespoons of mustard to the ancienne. Mix well and cook over low heat for about 20 minutes. A few minutes before turning off, add to the onions 50 g of raisins soaked and squeezed. Turn off, let stand a few minutes and then pour the compote into previously sterilized glass jars. Close each can and turn it upside down. Let it all cool down and then check that the vacuum has formed. Once opened, it should be consumed in three or four days.

Melon and ginger jam

Excellent spread on toasted bread for breakfast in the morning, this jam is also perfect on the table to accompany semi-seasoned or fresh cheeses. It is prepared with the white-fleshed melon, with a taste so sweet to remember honey. First, slice and clean a 1 kg melon from the seeds, cut it into small pieces and place it in a large bowl. Squeeze the juice of a lemon and pour it over the melon. Meanwhile grate a teaspoon of fresh ginger and add it to the bowl. Add 150 g of brown sugar, stir and leave rest a night in the fridge. The next day, pour the melon into a large pot and bring to the fire, cooking over a low heat until the melon pulp has melted. Mix well and then pour the contents into already sterilized glass jars. Fill them up to 1 cm from the edge and then close them. Turn them upside down and leave them until they have cooled. At this point, verify that it is formed the vacuum pack, otherwise put the jars in a pot full of water and boil them, separated by a cloth, for 30 minutes. Then place them in a cool place and let them rest for a month before eating them.

Fig, walnut and pine nut jam

Figs are among the most anticipated fruits of the summer. Why not prepare a jam so you can enjoy the sweetness of this fruit the rest of the year? Choose a kg of figs, both black and white, as you prefer. Rest assured that they are ripe to the right point, wash them, peel them and leave them to rest for an hour in a bowl with 100 g of brown sugar and the juice of a lemon. Then put the figs in a large saucepan, cook them for about two hours, or in any case until they have reached the consistency you prefer. Then turn off, add 500 g including shelled walnuts and pine nuts, mix and pour the contents into the already sterilized jars. Fill them up to 1 cm from the edge and then close with the caps. Turn the jars over and wait for the vacuum to form. Once ready, the preserves should be left to rest for a month before consuming them. Once opened, they are kept in the fridge for three or four days. The fig, walnut and pine nut jam is perfect to accompany aged cheeses, to fill bread slices for breakfast, or to garnish hand-made tarts.

Mulberry jam

Have you ever tasted them? mulberries? They have a very special taste, which will remain imprinted on every taste bud. To make a jam with this fruit, get yourself a pound and a half. Rinse them, remove the stalk, place them with 300 g of cane sugar in a large bowl and sprinkle them with the juice of a lemon. Stir and let stand in the fridge for an hour. After pour everything into a saucepan, add one cinnamon stick, a few leaves of mint and cook for about an hour. Then decant the jam into the already sterilized jars, close them with the caps and turn them upside down to create the vacuum. Let them rest a month before opening them.