www.sausagemaking.org

Has anyone got any well tried and tested recipes they are willing to share on the forum? I have just finished a piece of home cured ham and the apricot chutney that accompanied it was excellent.(the chutney was homemade and purchased at a farmers market ) I hope to make some myself with a couple of recipes that I have found, but I am sure there are some experts out there willing to share their knowledge in this art.


Roy

Hello royt! I have not tried this recipe out yet but it came to me highly recommended.Best wishes!

ROBB'S 14-DAY SWEET PICKLES
(I have renamed these pickles:)
"Dearies" Christmas Spice Sweet Pickles

Take a bite & let the flavor catch up.
"Dearie" was my grandmother who passed away many years ago.
(These pickles take 2 weeks to process but they are well worth it)

"DEARIE'S CHRISTMAS SPICE SWEET PICKLES (Beverly Michigan)

4 lbs pickling cucumbers, 3 to 4" long & no more than 1 1 /4" in diameter
1 C coarse pickling salt (I used Kosher salt)
2 qts boiling water
1/2 tsp powdered alum
5 C cider vinegar (brown vinegar)
3 1/2 C granulated sugar
1 Tab celery seeds
1 Tab mustard seeds
1 tsp oil of cinnamon*
1 tsp oil of cloves*
1 1/2 C granulated sugar
*You can buy these oils at any cake decorating store, they are in bottles that are about

2" tall & they are also used to flavor some candies.)

Wash cucumbers carefully. Cut 1/16" off both ends of the pickle. Place pickles in stone crock or in blue canning kettles. I used two kettles & then another pan to heat brine.
One to put pickles in & then another to transfer pickles to as you are processing them.

Prepare brine by dissolving salt in boiling water, pour over cucumbers. Weight down with a plate almost as large as the crock or pan & lay a weight on plate (I used to large cans of juice as my weights.) to keep cucumbers under the brine. Let stand 1 week.

On the 8th day, drain, slice cucumbers in 1/2" chunks & return to crock or pan, pour 2 quarts fresh boiling water over cucumbers. Let stand 24 hours.

On the 9th day, drain, pour 2 quarts fresh boiling water mixed with alum over cucumbers. Let stand 24 hours. (Handle the cucumbers carefully after soaking in alum water as they become quite brittle.)

On the 10th day, drain, pour 2 quarts fresh boiling water over cucumbers. Let stand 24 hours.

The next day, drain. Combine vinegar, 3 1/2 C sugar, celery seeds, mustard seeds, oil of cinnamon, oil of cloves, heat to boiling & pour over cucumbers. Let stand 24 hours.

For the next 3 days, drain, retaining liquid. Reheat this liquid each day adding 1/2 C sugar each time. After the last heating on the 14th day, pack pickles into hot, sterilized jars. Pour boiling hot liquid over pickles & seal at once.

Process in boiling water bath (212 degreese F.) 5 min. Makes 5 pints.

These pickles will be a dark, slightly bluish green, & are quite transparent.

I enjoyed these pickles so much, that next year I am going to double this recipe. I had made these pickles, to use for Christmas. Ha, they never lasted until Thanksgiving.

Nine Day Pickles

6 quart basket of cucumbers. Wash cukes, cut in half and remove seeds. Slice into chunks, 3/4 inch by 3 inches and put in pan or crock. Sprinkle 2 cups picking salt over them. Pour 4 quarts boiling water (16 cups). Leave 3 days

(Keep Brine)
On 3 rd day drain off and heat brine and pour back over. Let set 3 more days. Drain and throw away brine.

Rinse cucumbers in cold water. Pat dry on bath towel. Put back in container and dissolve:
1 tbls. Alum in 1 gallon boiling water. Let stand 6 hours on pickles. Drain. Make Syrup.

6 cups white vinegar to 8 cups sugar

2 tblsp celery seed } Put these in a couple of
2 tblsp whole all spice } thicknesses of cheesecloth
3 sticks cinnamon } and discard when finished.

Bring to a boil and add green food colouring. Pour syrup over cucumbers.
Let stand three days. EACH DAY drain off syrup, BOIL, and pour back over (add food colouring if desired).

On 9th day drain syrup from cucumbers. Heat syrup again. Discard cheesecloth bag. Put cukes in Mason jars and pour in the hot syrup, seal the jars.

I make all kinds of chutneys and pickles (and find good old piccalilli hard to beat) but if you want something to accompany the piece of home cured ham you have ready, try the following pepper relish which is very simple; there is no cooking whatsoever and it can be eaten virtually immediately.

1 cucumber
2 large onions
2 cooking apples
10 chillies
1 tablespoon salt
7 oz sugar
1/2 pint white vinegar

Peel the cucumber and onions, peel and core the apples, mince and drain if necessary. Chop the (whole) chillies finely and mix these ingredients together in bowl. Mix the salt and sugar with the vinegar add to the bowl and stir until sugar is disolved. Pot in sterilised jars and seal.

It keeps well enough but because of the nature of the ingredients, it is inclined to become 'juicy' so I usually only make a couple of jars at a time.

I believe the 'secret' to a really good chutney is a very long slow cooking process and a fair while maturing so if you're starting on your chutney any time soon, you will have to get some more ham curing I think.

Royt: I've just noticed that the Food Programme on Radio 4 on Sunday is all about relishes, pickles and chutney if you're still looking for ideas.

Thanks for the info Patty I'll check that out




Roy

Piccalilli - For approximately 6lbs of prepared mixed vegetables.

Ingredients for a sharp, hot pickle:

8 teaspoons of mustard powder
8 teaspoons of ground ginger
3 teaspoons of turmeric
6 ozs sugar
1oz cornflour
2 pints distilled vinegar

or, for a milder and sweeter pickle:

4 teaspoons of mustard powder
4 teaspoons of ground ginger
3 teaspoons of termeric
10 ozs sugar
2oz cornflour
3 pints distilled vinegar


You can use any crisp vegetables available. I'm limited to those my husband grows or readily available here in the summer: Runner and broad beans, cauliflour, cucumbers, shallots or small pickling onions, peppers and celery.

Cut the vegetable into fairly uniform small pieces and spread them over a large dish (I use plastic trays) and sprinkle with 1lb of coarse salt. Leave overnight and then rinse and drain thoroughly. Some recipes call for immersion in a brine solution of 1lb salt to 8 pints of water but I prefer the dry salt method.

Blend mustard, turmeric, sugar and ginger with most of the vinegar, leaving about 2 or 3 tablespoons for blending with the cornflour. Put this into a pan with the vegtables, bring to the boil and simmer for about 20 minutes depending on how crisp or tender you prefer. Lift out vegtables with slotted spoon and pot into hot jars at once. Blend the cornflour with the remaining vinegar and stir in to the hot syrup. Boil for 2 - 3 minutes stirring constantly then pour over vegetables to cover. Seal at once and store for about 4 to 6 weeks before using.

Best of luck Oddley: Vegetables are a bit thin on the ground at this time of the year over here and soon the only fresh choice will be potatoes (often poor quality) or leeks (usually good).

That said, a new supermarket has opened recently which has celery (imported from the UK) and quite a choice of exotic fruits including one called Devil's Fruit (which I've never heard of). Perhaps they will have imported vegetables this year because I'm hoping for some parsnips for Christmas!

Sad to hear you are limited with the veggie's Patty!Can you buy parsnip seeds there to grow them yourself?If not I could send you some to plant next spring?I sure hope that you come across some parsnips for your Christmas supper! Best wishes!

Thanks for the offer Georgie but they seem to be a vegetable that doesn't grow well here. I don't know if it is to do with the extremes of weather, the soil, or the many types of unusual (for us) insects that abound.

Allan did try to grow them himself a couple of years ago but had no luck, though he's just back from a trip to the UK and earlier this evening I noticed he'd got another packet of seeds, so is obviously going to try again. Perhaps I've just discover what was going to be next year's Christmas present?

How much would it cost to send an emergency ration of parsnips in the post to Bulgaria just before Christmas?
Dave

She deserve some parsnips for the NY Times bread recipe!!

I agree with you Vinner!