To easily peel garlic, separate the cloves, put them in a pot then shake it.

This month we pickled up a storm!

Pickled Asparagus
makes 5 -12oz jars

5 large garlic cloves, sliced
15 whole allspice berries
30 whole peppercorns
20 whole coriander seeds
5 small pieces of mace or nutmeg
1/2 tsp hot pepper flakes

3 pounds of asparagus trimmed to fit jars

2 1/2 C white wine vinegar
2 1/2 cups water
2 1/2 teaspoons pickling salt
2 T sugar

Divide garlic and spices among 5 12 oz jars
Pack asparagus vertically in the jars, tips up or down.

In a non-reactive saucepan combine vinegar, water, salt and sugar.  Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve salt and sugar.
Pour hot liquid over asparagus, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.  Wipe rims and cap.
Process 10 minutes in boiling water bath.
Store in cool, dry, dark place for at least 3 weeks before opening.  Store open jars in refrigerator.

Asparagus ready for brine.

Spicy Pickled Garlic
makes 3 half pints

2 quarts water

1 1/2 C white wine or distilled vinegar – must use full strength vinegar, do not cut with water
1 T sugar
1 1/2 t pickling salt

3 whole allspice berries
6 whole black peppercorns
12 whole coriander seeds
1 bay leaf, torn in thirds
3 small dried hot peppers, such as de arbol or japones, slit lengthwise
3 C garlic cloves

Bring water to a boil

In saucepan bring vinegar, sugar and salt to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar and salt.

Divide spices, bay leaf and hot peppers among 3 half pint jars.

Immerse the garlic cloves in the boiling water and boil for 1 minute.

Drain cloves and divide them among the jars.  Pour the vinegar over the garlic, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.  Cap the jars and process for 10 minutes in boiling water bath.

Store jars in cool, dry, dark place for at least 2 weeks before using.  Store open jars in the refrigerator.

Our March get together had us experimenting with low sugar pectins. It is always rather shocking to see the recommended sugar in jam recipes. Often it exceeds the amount of fruit in order to jell correctly. We knew of two pectins that allow for reduced sugar options and pulled on our aprons to get to the bottom of this. 

We chose to process boysenberries. These deep purple fruits are a cross between a raspberry, blackberry and a loganberry. We bought bulk frozen berries–they were huge! For less than $3 per pound we had the Garden House kitchen smelling like summer. Thank you Rudolph Boysen! 

One batch was processed using MCP Low Sugar pectin. Each box makes one recipe. Five cups of berries were combined with the recommended 4 cups of sugar. Figure 44% sugar in the berry/sugar mixture before cooking. 

The next batch was done using Pomona Universal Pectin. Each box makes 2-4 recipes. Direction sheet and recipes included in the box. Four cups of berries were combined with one cup of sugar for a 20% sugar figure. Pomona allows you to vary the sugar amount–we could have gone down even more, but if you go too low the set of the jam may be undesirable. This is a two step process consisting of mixing calcium powder with water (this is what activates the pectin) that is added to the fruit and cooked a bit prior to adding the pectin/sugar mixture. In 5 short minutes we were ready to jar up our jam. 

We kept some of each batch out for a taste comparison. The Low Sugar jam seems awfully sweet in comparison to the Pomona. Most of us agreed the Pomona version let the flavor of the berries shine through–slightly tart but bright. If you like a sweeter jam, you could certainly add more sugar. Options for using sugar substitutes, honey or agave are also included in the directions. 

Had we made a batch using regular pectin, our figure would have climbed to 57% sugar. Some recipes out there even exceed that high number. 

Next month we are pickling! Asparagus for sure and maybe garlic. We’ll see. Rhubarb is coming on too.

Next Tuesday, March 26th, we will be trying out different types of pectin to see what tastes the best!  Will it be Pomona or maybe Sure Jell?  Come find out!

We will be making a mixed berry jam.