Pickled Blueberries & Mandarins
I've been having a walking anxiety attack for the last several days over getting things started for the County Fair/Queen of the Kitchen competition. I made a couple of jams last week, but I've been stalling on the actual *planning*. Today I broke free from it and finally started. I went through this last year's fair handbook for which categories and subcategories I think I've got the best chance with and highlighted them.
Next is working out which recipes to use, and what order to do it all in - some of it is very season-dependent. For instance, I very much want to use ripe fresh cherries instead of frozen, if I can help it. Citrus season is over till winter or so, though there are some mandarins and lemons that are pretty good - no kumquats or really good oranges for several months though. I also can't do any of the baked goods until the last 2-3 days before the contest weekend, except for practicing. And I will definitely need to practice most of the baked goods. I also need to practice with pickles and pressure canning (but not alliteration!), as I'm not terribly strong there.
Other things I have to keep in mind:
-I have to have all the canned goods in 1/2 pint or full-pint jars - no other sizes allowed, no other kinds of containers allowed (for home use or trading, I occasionally do freezer jam and other kinds of canned goods in other sizes of jars)
-I have to have the labels done a certain way to include the fair's specified information, and NOT include my name. I'd like to do them in a way that's uniform across all of my entries to make it easier for me to spot my stuff when it's on display.
-I need to really learn how to use my pressure canner. I've had it long enough - it's about danged time!
-Stuff will come up, batches will need to be remade (I already know I need to remake the raspberry-almond jam from last week), so I'll be making far more than 50 items - I'll be making several more than that, and some of them multiple times!
Right. Onto today's accomplishments!
Pickled Blueberries and Pickled Mandarins. I posted in March about doing these as well - it's one of Marisa McClellan's recipes from her Food In Jars blog. I could make these about once a month, and my husband would be thrilled.
The Pickled Mandarins are an adaptation from Linda Ziedrich's book The Joy of Pickling. I use peeled mandarin sections instead of navel orange slices with the rind still on. Also, some cardamom seeds.
And I had two pints each leftover of the shrubs. If I'd had more room in each pot, I probably would have doubled again the amount of brine, just to have all that shrub!
Next is working out which recipes to use, and what order to do it all in - some of it is very season-dependent. For instance, I very much want to use ripe fresh cherries instead of frozen, if I can help it. Citrus season is over till winter or so, though there are some mandarins and lemons that are pretty good - no kumquats or really good oranges for several months though. I also can't do any of the baked goods until the last 2-3 days before the contest weekend, except for practicing. And I will definitely need to practice most of the baked goods. I also need to practice with pickles and pressure canning (but not alliteration!), as I'm not terribly strong there.
Other things I have to keep in mind:
-I have to have all the canned goods in 1/2 pint or full-pint jars - no other sizes allowed, no other kinds of containers allowed (for home use or trading, I occasionally do freezer jam and other kinds of canned goods in other sizes of jars)
-I have to have the labels done a certain way to include the fair's specified information, and NOT include my name. I'd like to do them in a way that's uniform across all of my entries to make it easier for me to spot my stuff when it's on display.
-I need to really learn how to use my pressure canner. I've had it long enough - it's about danged time!
-Stuff will come up, batches will need to be remade (I already know I need to remake the raspberry-almond jam from last week), so I'll be making far more than 50 items - I'll be making several more than that, and some of them multiple times!
Right. Onto today's accomplishments!
Pickled Blueberries and Pickled Mandarins. I posted in March about doing these as well - it's one of Marisa McClellan's recipes from her Food In Jars blog. I could make these about once a month, and my husband would be thrilled.
The Pickled Mandarins are an adaptation from Linda Ziedrich's book The Joy of Pickling. I use peeled mandarin sections instead of navel orange slices with the rind still on. Also, some cardamom seeds.
And I had two pints each leftover of the shrubs. If I'd had more room in each pot, I probably would have doubled again the amount of brine, just to have all that shrub!