Category Archives: preserves

Preserving By The Pint: Caramelized Shallot Jam + A Winner!

27 April 2014 by local kitchen

You all know that Marisa has published a new book, right? Preserving By The Pint: Quick Seasonal Canning for Small Spaces, was published by Running Press last month. I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy for review and I’ve been paging through it ever since. There was still snow, and lots of it, on the ground when I got my copy. Paging through the “Spring” section, with a steaming cup of coffee and a warm woolen blanket, such gems as […]

Categories: condiments, preserves, spreads • Tags: canning, cooking, food, local, preserving, quick & easy, recipes

Kumquat Habanero Marmalade

11 February 2014 by local kitchen

It appears that it is Kumquat Preserve Week on ye olde interwebs: not only my own modest contribution, but a straight-up kumquat marmalade from David Lebovitz, slow-cooked and with less sugar, and this rhubarb(!) and kumquat jam from Yossy via Blue Chair Fruit (who are teaching marmalade classes this month as well, if you live in the Bay Area and want to learn). Well, I have one more to add to the pile of kumquat love: kumquat habanero marmalade, originally made & […]

Categories: canning, citrus, preserves, preserving, winter • Tags: canning, cooking, food, marmalade, preserving

Kumquat & Meyer Lemon Marmalade with Chile & Kaffir Lime

7 February 2014 by local kitchen

It’s been all marm, all the time around here for the last week or two, what with Meyer lemons, Rio Red grapefruit, and blood oranges, kumquats and Kaffir limes all rolling around my counter tops. And trust me, there are worse things than having 40 lbs of California and Texas citrus perfuming the kitchen in the midst of a snowy, snowy Polar Vortex New York winter. I’ve been enjoying a lot of citrus fresh: grapefruit for breakfast, blood orange as an afternoon […]

Categories: canning, citrus, preserves, preserving • Tags: canning, cooking, food, preserving, winter

Plum Pie Filling

21 September 2013 by local kitchen

Pie filling: some of the easiest preserving you’ll do, and my go-to when I have a lot of fruit that I need to put up in a hurry. Pie fillings are great because you don’t have to achieve a gel, so there are no limits on how much (or little) sugar you can add, how long you cook it for, whether you want to toss in some booze or juice or a bit of fancy flavored vinegar. You can simply […]

Categories: canning, fall, plums, preserves, preserving, summer • Tags: canning, cooking, food, local, pie, preserving, recipes

Cherry Key Lime Marmalade

7 August 2013 by local kitchen

Does anyone still have cherries? No? Me neither. Maybe Newfoundland? Or wait: my homies in Saskatchewan, this one’s for you! I’m late with cherries this year: as usual. Seems to be a recurring theme. (Another recurring theme? I think I’m going to miss blueberries this year. AGAIN. Sigh.) In happy news, Fishkill Farms finally had a productive cherry season: we’ve only been waiting four years. In unhappy news, they were charging $7/lb: for pick-your-own. And while I had lots of […]

Categories: canning, cherries, citrus, preserves, preserving, summer, year round • Tags: canning, cooking, food, local, preserving, recipes, summer

Rangpur Lime Preserves with Honey & Chile

16 March 2013 by local kitchen

Y’all know my friend, Shae, right? She of the fabulous jamz and the pigeon love? If you do, you may have heard that Shae was recently diagnosed with some form of IBD, a blanket term that describes inflammation and/or irritation of the GI tract, typically of autoimmune origin. While this diagnosis has sadly put the kibosh on Shae’s fledgling jam business, she has responded in typically optimistic fashion, telling me that she sees it as both a challenge and an […]

Categories: 100% local, citrus, jams, preserves, winter • Tags: canning, cooking, food, GAPS, local, preserving, recipes, SCD

Salted Cranberry Grapefruit Jam

13 February 2013 by local kitchen

Cranberries. Rio red grapefruit. Salt. Booze. If I could somehow cram bacon and popcorn in there, I may just spend the rest of my life hiding in a closet with this jam. And a spoon. I almost forgot this year about my standing order of organic cranberries from Cranberry Hill Farm in Plymouth, MA; which seems crazy, considering how much I love them. But between work, the holidays, being in Maine with Grandma, and a few other curveballs that life […]

Categories: canning, citrus, cranberries, jams, preserves, preserving, wine, beer & liquor • Tags: berries, canning, citrus, cooking, food, local, preserving, recipes

Rio Red Grapefruit & Meyer Lemon Marmalade

21 January 2013 by local kitchen

It’s been all-marmalade all-the-time in my kitchen for the last week. Between my standing winter splurge of red grapefruit from Texas and 7 lbs of California sunshine from the Lemon Ladies Orchard, I’ve had no trouble keeping up my Vitamin C levels and had citrus to spare to make marmalade for the rest of the year. While I put aside a few pounds to make a favorite or two, I always like to try out something new. Last year I […]

Categories: citrus, preserves • Tags: canning, citrus, cooking, food, marmalade, preserving, recipes, winter

100% Local: Plums in Wine & Honey

18 September 2012 by local kitchen

As the nippy Fall air makes its way into New York, I heave a sigh of relief as I sense the urgency of the preserving season winding down. While I truly enjoy putting by the best of each season’s produce, even the most dedicated preserver can get a bit burnt out by the onslaught of summer produce, and I am feeling just a wee bit crispy at the edges. My back is sore, my fingernails are permanently stained red, and […]

Categories: 100% local, canning, fall, plums, preserves, preserving, summer, wine, beer & liquor • Tags: canning, cooking, food, local, plums, preserving, quick & easy, recipes

Nectarine Preserves with Watermelon & Mint

6 August 2012 by local kitchen

I love nectarines. I like them much better than peaches, for eating out of hand: I prefer the smooth skin to a peach’s fuzz; I like them firm, almost under-ripe, so that they crunch like an apple rather than smoosh like a peach; I love the gradations in color, of both the skin and the pinky-maroon flecks around the pit. Most of all, I love the taste: bright & tart, where the peach can sometimes be unctuously sweet, and with […]

Categories: canning, melon, mint, peaches, preserves, preserving, summer • Tags: canning, cooking, food, local, preserving, recipes

Mint Chocolate Cupcakes with Red Currant Preserves

24 July 2012 by local kitchen

Today is my friend Nadine’s birthday. In addition to a yearly tradition of my suffering through an early-morning yoga class with her (this year at the Bedford Post Inn Yoga Loft, which I will admit is a lovely space), I usually make her a birthday cake. It’s always chocolate, since she is a certified chocoholic, and often incorporates a seasonal berry, because what’s a July birthday without wineberries or blackberries or currants? This spring and summer have been so busy for me […]

Categories: chocolate, currants, dessert, mint, preserves, summer, year round • Tags: chocolate, cooking, dessert, food, gluten free, local, quick & easy, recipes

Smoky Chipotle Cherries

26 June 2012 by local kitchen

Cherry season is upon us, coming and going fast & furious like nearly every other fruit in the short Northeast summer. And while cherries did not fare well in the Hudson Valley this year (again!), due to a warmer-than-seasonal March, followed by freezing temps and lots of rain in April, there are some out there to be found. Belltown Orchards in Glastonbury, CT is open for you-pick of both sweet & sour cherries (assuming they still have some left); I’ve […]

Categories: canning, cherries, hot chile peppers, preserves, preserving, summer, wine, beer & liquor • Tags: canning, cherries, cooking, food, local, preserving, recipes

Spicy Candied Kumquats

22 February 2012 by local kitchen

A simple little preserve, for that last pound or so of organic California kumquats: candied kumquats with a pequin chile kick! I had big plans for my little kumquats: some of them went into Tigress’ pickle-tastic salt and pepper ‘quats, some others became Cakewalk’s wonderful habañero marmalade, a handful here & there were eaten fresh, and a handful more remain for recipe inspiration (I’ve been finding all sorts of great kumquat ideas on Ye Olde Interwebs; if I have time […]

Categories: citrus, hot chile peppers, preserves • Tags: canning, citrus, cooking, food, preserving, recipes

Bubbly Meyer Marmalade

19 February 2012 by local kitchen

Tonight is the last episode of Season 2 of Downton Abbey. I know: I’m sad too. It went by so fast! Alas, the war, and the season, is over my friends, and we have nothing to do but contemplate the long, dreary, Downton-less months until Season 3 (with Shirley MacLaine! Shirley and Maggie, throwing down 1920’s style. I can hardly wait.) So what do I, a lowly food blogger with neither manor house, liveried servants, nor fabulous peacock-feathered hats, have to offer you as […]

Categories: canning, citrus, preserves, preserving, wine, beer & liquor, winter • Tags: canning, champagne, citrus, cooking, food, Meyer lemon, preserving, recipes

Meyer Mandarin Marmalade

6 February 2012 by local kitchen

Ah, New England: I’m so sorry. That one was a heartbreaker. In those last, crucial seconds, being one of those who remember it well, I kept saying, “Flutie did it!,” while Tai looked on pityingly, saying, “game over.” Ah, well. Until next year. New York: congratulations. It was a brilliant win. Time to do what you do best: celebrate! Whether you are mourning or celebrating today, or just trying to get on with your Monday after last night’s commercial viewing, it’s […]

Categories: canning, citrus, preserves, preserving, winter • Tags: canning, citrus, cooking, food, local, preserving, recipes, winter