Food

Let’s Get Pickled

Spicy Pear Chutney

Ingredients

1kg pears, cored and chopped 3 onions, chopped 100g cranberries or raisins 1 tbs grated ginger 1 tbs mustard seeds 1 tbs ground cumin 1 tbs paprika 1 tsp red chilli flakes 400ml cider vinegar 500g light brown sugar 2 tsp salt

Method

1. Put all the ingredients, except for the sugar and salt, in large saucepan or preserving pan and stir well.

2. Bring slowly to the boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes until the pear chunks are tender.

3. Stir in the sugar and salt and dissolve. Boil gently, stirring from time to time, for 20-30 minutes until reduced and thickened.

4.

Ladle into sterilised jars and seal. Leave at least 2 weeks before eating to allow the flavours to develop. The chutney is best eaten within 6 months.

Mustard Pickle

Ingredients

2kg mixed vegetables e.g. green tomatoes, pickling onions, marrow, cauliflower, courgettes, carrots 2 ltrs water 250g salt 100g plain flour ½ tbsp turmeric 2 ½ tbsp mustard powder 2 ½ tbsp curry powder 1.1 ltr malt or cider vinegar 100g brown sugar

Method

1.

2. Chop all the veg into small pieces. Make a brine with the water and salt. Pour over the vegetables and leave to soak for 24 hours. The next day, heat everything up to boiling point and then drain.

3. Put 1 ltr vinegar into a large saucepan and bring slowly to the boil. With the remaining 100ml vinegar, make a paste with the flour turmeric, mustard and curry powder and sugar then add to the boiling vinegar and stir until thickened. When this comes to the boil again, add all the vegetables, bring to a simmer and keep stirring continuously for about 10 minutes.

4.

Pot in hot sterilised pots Leave at least 2 weeks for the flavours to develop. Delicious with cold turkey, ham or cheese.

Sterilizing

Louise’s Pickled Shallots

Ingredients

1kg shallots 225g course salt 50g sugar 1 pt white wine vinegar 1 tsp whole cloves 1 tsp mustard seeds 4 dried red chillies ½ tsp back peppercorns 1 bay leaf, crumbled

Method

1. Place the shallots in a bowl, cover with boiling water and leave for 5 minutes to soften the skins. Drain and remove the skins whilst still warm. Cut a cross at the root of each shallot. Combine half of the salt with 2 ¼ pts of water in a large bowl and stir until dissolved. Add the shallots and cover with large plate so that they are completely immersed in the brine. Place a weight on the plate and leave the shallots to soak for 12 hours or so. Drain the shallots and wash out the bowl. Make a fresh brine with the remaining salt and 2 ¼ pts of water. Add the shallots, cover again with the

Hello from the accidental Chatelaine! I love to cook at any opportunity and delighted to be able to share that love with you

By Belinda Prince

Chateau Kitchen www.chateaumareuil.com

weighted plate and leave to soak for 36 hours this time.

5.

6. Drain the shallots and pack them into warm sterilised preserving jars. Now combine the sugar and vinegar in a pan, stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Add the spices and crumbled bay leaf, bring the vinegar syrup to the boil and then boil for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and leave to cool.

7.

Pour the spiced vinegar over the shallots so that they are completely covered. Seal the jars, label and store in a cool dry place. These are ready to enjoy in about 3 weeks, but best eaten within 6 months, so perfect to make now in time for Christmas! O ne of the most important steps of making your own pickles or preserves is sterilizing. If your jars are in bad condition (chips in the glass, dents on the lids) or haven't been sterilised properly, then nine times out of 10 something will go wrong. You need everything as clean as possible so that bad bacteria doesn't grow and ruin all your hard work. It's really simple, you just need to put in the effort at the start to get it all clean and sterilized! It’s good to add the food to the jars while they are still hot from the oven, just be incredibly careful not to burn yourself in the process. 1. Wash your jars in hot soapy water or run them through the dishwasher without any cleaning liquid.

2. Put them into the oven at 120°C

3. Leave the jars in the oven for around 15-20 minutes.

4. Very carefully, take them out of the oven and allow to cool. Be really careful here, the will be piping hot so don’t do this step in a rush.

5. In the meantime, check that all your lids are clean (give them a wash if they need it).

6. Boil the lids in a pot of water for about 5 minutes (this seems to be the magic number!).

7.

Remove carefully with tongs/fork and dry with a clean kitchen towel before putting on jars. Following the above process should keep your food safe from bacteria and good for you to enjoy for months.

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