I went to the Atlanta Greek Festival this past Friday. It was a culinary experience in and of itself. But what I will tell you about today is what I did with some stuff I purchased after I left the Atlanta Greek Festival.
After leaving the Atlanta Greek Festival, Mom and I headed over to the Buford Highway Farmers Market to browse around a bit. I'd heard a lot about the market, mainly that it was a more upscale version of Dekalb Farmers Market. That's exactly what it was. A conglomeration of produce, meats, dry goods, spices, household products--and everything else a grocery store has--with global representation in each department. These markets are a welcome change from the run-of-the-mill chain stores in that they offer so many more varieties of things, produce in particular. Dozens of types of leafy green things used primarily in Asian dishes, exotic tropical fruits from central and South America, varieties of canned fish from northern European countries...a little bit of everything and then some. It's such a treat to go! Every time you visit these markets you notice something different that you didn't see the last time.
We didn't browse for too long because we had another commitment after leaving there. (If we'd had our druthers, both Mom and I could've easily spent hours in there browsing each aisle!) I did leave with eight pounds of strawberries for $9.99 and about five pounds of pickling cucumbers for $.99/lb. The price for the strawberries is rare even in season. I was tickled to find them for $1.25/box in October in north Georgia! My plan for the berries was to can another batch of the wonderful strawberry jam I had made about a month ago. The cukes were destined to become pickles; just wasn't sure which type of pickles when I bought them.
This morning when I came home from work I washed, capped and cut out the bruised parts of the berries. Unfortunately I lost about two pounds of them. They had developed several bruised and fuzzy spots, I suspect because of the temperature change from the market's refrigerators to the back seat of my car. Too, they had to hang around longer than they should have on the kitchen table than in the fridge because I had to unexpectedly go in to work. Still, with six pounds left I had enough to make 14 half-pints of jam!
I browsed online for pickle recipes. I quickly learned that dill pickle recipes require heads of fresh dill weed. I didn't realize this while in the market so plan #2 for bread and butter sweet pickles became plan #1. Why not go buy dill weed, you ask? Well, I do my cooking when I'm awake and I'm awake mainly during overnight hours because I work 12 hour night shifts. My body is just used to sleeping during the day, even when I'm off work. I think I would be hard-pressed to find fresh dill weed at 10:30 P.M. on Sunday night in Dalton, Georgia. It just ain't happening, y'all!
Now onto the business of sharing the recipes. I took a few pictures as I went along but it's not exactly a step-by-step illustration. Both recipes courtesy of allrecipes.com.
Classic Crisp Bread and Butter Pickles
- 4 lbs 4- to 6-inch cucumbers, cut into 1/4-inch slices
- 2 lbs onions, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup canning salt
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 Tablespoons mustard seed
- 2 teaspoons turmeric
- 2 teaspoons celery seed
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1 teaspoon peppercorns
- 3 cups white vinegar
- Ball Pickle Crisp granules
- 6 pint jars with lids and bands
Sterilize jars, lids and bands by running them through a cycle in the dishwasher or washing by hand in very hot soapy water. Allow to dry while prepping the ingredients.
Combine cucumbers, onion and pickling salt in a large bowl. Toss to coat. *Tip: While it won't make a difference in the flavor of your pickles to use regular table salt, it will make the brine cloudy. Canning salt does not have anti-caking ingredients which means it will result in making a clear brine.
Cover with ice and allow to sit for an hour and a half. This will draw out excess moisture which would otherwise result in soggy pickles. Allow mixture to sit for 1.5 hours. Drain, rinse, drain again. No, you can't skip this step. Nobody likes limp pickles!
Pack pickles and onions tightly into six pint jars.
Combine vinegar, sugar, mustard seed, turmeric, celery seed, ginger and peppercorns into a sauce pot. Bring to a boil.
Pour liquid mixture over pickles and onions, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Add 1/8 rounded teaspoon Pickle Crisp to each jar. Using a plastic or wooden spoon, remove air bubbles from jars. Top off with vinegar mixture. Wipe mouth of jar clean and dry with a dishcloth or paper towel. (Please don't skip this step! Moisture and food on the mouth of the jar will result in a bad seal. You don't want your work to be for nothing with a jar that won't seal, do ya?! Not only can it ruin your food, it can make the people who eat it very sick with a nasty bug called botulism. It has a potential to be fatal and you can't always tell if the food is contaminated.) Put lids on jars and secure with bands. Don't over tighten the bands. "Finger tight" is what canning recipes suggest. Basically, don't screw em on so tight that you can't get them off unless you're using a wrench!
Add to boiling water bath. Once water has reached a rolling boil again after adding jars, process for ten minutes. The end product should look something like this:
You'll know the seals are good if the lids aren't flexible in the middle. If they "pop" back when you press down on them, put a fresh sterilized lid on the jar and process again.
Allow to sit for eight weeks before enjoying. This gives the vinegar sufficient time to do its pickling. Yes, it's hard to wait! It will be worth it though. Use a Sharpie marker to write the open date on the lid.
On to the berries...
- 2 lbs fresh strawberries, hulled
- 4 cups white sugar
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (About three lemons' worth. Yes, fresh. It makes a difference!)
- Six half pint jars with lids and bands
Sterilize jars, lids and bands by running them through a cycle in the dishwasher or washing with very hot, soapy water.
Puree strawberries in a food processor or crush with your hands or a potato masher.
Combine crushed berries, juice and sugar in a heavy bottom sauce pot. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until mixture reaches 220 degrees.
Pour into jars, leaving 1/4-1/2 inch headspace. Wipe mouths of jars clean with a dishcloth or paper towel. Add lids and bands, "finger tight."
Process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes.
The end result:
The jam is ready to eat as soon as it is cooled. It has a loose consistency and is more of a very thick sauce than jam because it is not made with pectin. This makes it a bit more versatile. I enjoy it with nothing more than a spoon or a slice of bread. It would be excellent on ice cream or in the bottom of a champagne flute and topped with a nice cold bubbly too!
I've enjoyed all the canning recipes I've tried. I've gotta admit that this one is my favorite so far. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
