Preservation Day at the Market
Join us this Saturday, June 21st, for a special Preservation Day at the Market!
We'll have not one, but two, book signings on Saturday, from preservation mavens Kate Payne (of The Hip Girl's Guide to Homemaking) and Marisa McClellan (of Food in Jars). These two talented ladies will be onsite to share tips, and will demo various canning and fermenting techniques. Canning demonstrations will take place at 10am and 12:00pm, and fermentation demos will take place at 9am and 11am.
In addition, the Market Sprouts Kids Club will be hosting a kids preservation event as well! We'll be teaching the kiddos how to make pickles, so be sure to stop by the Market Sprouts booth to have a little pickling fun!
Lastly, to get you into the spirit of preservation, we thought we'd share a fun recipe for Pickled Strawberries. This recipe comes from Kate Payne (who will be at the market on Saturday, with her new book "The Hip Girl's Guide to the Kitchen").
RECIPE: PICKLED STRAWBERRIES
(Recipe from The Hip Girl's Guide to Homemaking)
yields 3 half pint jars
1. Halve and core 3 pints of strawberries. The smaller you cut them the less shape they will retain once pickled. Strawberries are tender to begin with, so keeping them halved will be your best bet for the firmest end product. In a medium saucepan combine 2-1/2 cups white vinegar, 1/2 cup water and 1-1/2 cups sugar and place over low heat to dissolve sugar granules.
2. Make your brine flavor combo and tie it up in a piece of cheesecloth or muslin tea bag:
1/2 lemon, sliced thinly
1/2 Tbs black peppercorns
5 allspice berries
1 cinnamon stick, broken
Drop flavor bag into brine pot.
3. Bring brine to a simmer and cook with the flavor bag for 5 minutes. Add prepared strawberries and remove pot from heat. Pour mixture into a glass bowl and allow it to cool on the countertop until the bowl is no longer hot to the touch. Cover and refrigerate overnight to infuse the strawberries.
4. At this point I suggest not canning this small batch for texture purposes, but rather just removing the flavor bag, ladling the overnight-infused strawberries into 3 half pints (or into 1 quart jar) and pouring the brine over the jar(s) to cover the strawberries. Place jar(s) in the refrigerator where they will keep for 6 months.
Strawberries are so tender, especially when ripe, but if canning is desired, then spread spices evenly amongst and directly in the jars and raw pack the strawberries into your jars, like you would with these vinegar fridge pickles and pour the boiled brine over the berries. Bubble and ensure 1/2-inch headspace and process half pints for 10 minutes in a waterbath.
