Blind Pig & The Acorn

Folk School Red Pepper Jam

One of the best recipes I picked up from the Mountain Flavors cooking class I co-taught back in the Spring was the John C. Campbell Folk School's very own Red Pepper Jam. The original recipe is in the 1971 cookbook, Favorite Recipes of the John C. Campbell Folk School. It may be in more recent cookbooks published by the folk school as well.

Nanette, my co-teacher, changed up the recipe slightly from the original-she increased the amount of peppers and left the rest of the ingredients the same. The original recipe called for a bottle of Certo-which is what we used in class-however it didn't seem to jell the mixture enough. So I made the change from using a bottle of Certo-to a box of Sure Jell. We decided the make up of Certo may have changed since the cookbook was published in 1971.

Red Pepper Jam

• 4 cups sweet red peppers-chopped fine (I used a food processor)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 5 cups sugar
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 package of sure jell

Add salt to chopped peppers and allow to sit for at least 2 hours-then drain well.

Put drained peppers in a large pot-add vinegar. (Can you see the angel and the tree in my vinegar? I didn't notice them until I uploaded the photos-sweet!)

Stir pectin (sure jell) into mixture and bring it to a full rolling boil-boil for one minute.

Stir in sugar and bring mixture back to a full rolling boil-boil for 1 minute.

Ladle hot pepper jam into sterilized jars and seal.

You cannot believe how good this red pepper jam is-it is beyond good! The only problem with it-as you can see by the empty jar-is we're eating it way too fast for it to last through the winter.

Tipper

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Yellow Tomato Preserves

I've heard of tomato preserves for years-but to be honest with you I couldn't imagine wasting my straight from the garden ripe tomatoes on something we might not like. But this year-we've had the best crop of tomatoes we've ever had-in other words I've had so many I don't know what to do with them all. (I believe the excellent seeds we used from Sow True Seeds had something to do with our stellar production)

I've canned tomatoes-made salsa and made soup. One day when I was wishing I had something different to try with the tomatoes sitting on my counter I remembered the recipes I'd seen for tomato preserves.

I thought well-if I can find a recipe in one of my Appalachian cookbooks then I'll give it a try. My favorite cookbook-More Than Moonshine written by Sidney Saylor Farr-had a yellow tomato preserves recipe in it-which was perfect for the Cream and Sausage tomatoes sitting on my counter.

As I read Mrs. Farr's recipe I realized I didn't have 3 hours to let the preserves simmer-so I sorta came up with my own version of  her yellow tomato preserves.

You will need:

• 8 cups of quartered yellow tomatoes (if the seeds bother you-you can take them out)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 lemon-slivered (try to add any juice from the lemon too-and of course remove the seeds)
• 1/4 cup finely cut candied ginger
• 4 cups sugar
• jars-rings-taps

First put tomatoes, water, lemon, and ginger in a large pot and simmer for 25 minutes. Stir in a package of pectin (sure jel) and bring the mixture to a full rolling boil-boil for 1 minute.

Stir in sugar and bring mixture to a full rolling boil again-boil for one minute. Ladle preserves into sterilized jars and seal.

So were the tomato preserves good? Yes they were surprisingly good! They're not overly sweet-and the lemon ginger combo gives them a unique flavor. Our favorite way to eat them so far-is with a smear of cream cheese on a cracker-but they're not half bad on a piece of cornbread either.

Ever had tomato preserves?

Tipper

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B. Ruth's Red Wine Vinegar Instant Pickles

Today's guest post was written by B. Ruth.

Did you know you should never peel a cucumber from the blossom end...It will make it bitter. Well, sometimes they are bitter due to hot weather..but I dare not chance it anyhow..here is a Red Wine Vinegar instant pickle recipe...I got this from my Mother, and we have eaten them this way for years.

RED WINE VINEGAR INSTANT PICKLES

Small to medium cucumbers…washed, do not peel..
Pint jar..or any container
Red Wine Vinegar
Salt to taste
Ice and touch of water

Take a good sharp fork…hold cucumber well, and pull fork down cucumber from the stem end to the bloom end…Do this all the way around cucumber, pulling bits of green, out as you go…I usually wipe mine off with paper towel.

Turn on side and slice 1/8 to ¼ inch thick from stem end down to blossom end…Place cucumber slices in ice water as you slice them. So they stay good and crisp.

Make a mixture of Red Wine vinegar and water to taste, I use it full strength, most of the time. Salt will pull out the liquid and water them down some...Drain slices, salt them and drop in Red Wine vinegar mixture.

Give them a shake, and let sit in pint jar in refrigerator a while to chill longer…or eat right them right away. I usually add cucumber slices along for a day or two until the vinegar starts disappearing. LOL

Makes pretty wagon wheel-like notched slices. We eat them with sandwiches, potato salad, any good summer cookout works with these instant pickles…Yummm. I think I'll make a jar to go with my butter beans and cornbread tonight...hope you like these...

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As you can see from the photos-me and Chatter made a small jar of B. Ruth's Red Wine Vinegar Instant Pickles. The Deer Hunter loved them! He loves anything that has what he calls a whang to it. I liked them too-but I might water down the red vinegar next time I make them. They would for sure be good on a sandwich or straight out of the jar if you needed a little whang.

Tipper

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Aunt Lee's Bread And Butter Pickles

I've never been a big fan of bread and butter pickles. But all that changed during my cooking class at the folk school. Nanette, my co-teacher, taught us how to make Aunt Lee's Bread And Butter Pickles-and my they were fine! If I remember right, the recipe came from another folk school cooking instructor's Aunt Lee.

The recipe takes 4 quarts of cucumbers (or 4 quarts of a combination of squash, zucchini, carrots, and cucumbers).

You combine the sliced cucumbers with 6 medium onions diced; 3 cloves garlic (or more) minced; 1/2 diced hot pepper; 1 quart diced sweet peppers.

I left the hot pepper out-cause I didn't have one. I diced up all the green bell peppers I had-and one big red one-but I only had 2 cups of peppers. I used the peppers I had and filled the rest of the quart needed up with more cucumbers.

Next-mix 1/3 cup salt and 1 1/2 teaspoon turmeric thoroughly with the cucumber mixture.

Cover mixture with ice and let stand 3 hours. (while I'm waiting on pickles-the smell always starves me to death!)

After 3 hours-drain pickles and place them in large pot.

Combine 5 cups sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoon celery seed; 2 tablespoons mustard seed; and 3 cups cider vinegar. Pour vinegar mixture over cucumber mixture and heat until boiling.

While pickles are still hot, pack into sterilized jars-leave 1/2 inch head space; add lids and rings. Process in hot water bath for 10 minutes.

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These bread and butter pickles are so good! When I let Granny taste my jar from the cooking class she raved over them. Now that she's made a run or 2 herself she said she'd put her old recipe in the back of the box.

After Granny made her first run she said "These are so good I could eat them for breakfast."

Tipper

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Appalachia Through My Eyes - Carving Pumpkins

Over the last few days, folks who celebrate Halloween have been carving pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns. The famous Jack-O-Lantern started out as a lowly turnip or beet. In the old days, folks in Ireland predominately used turnips-and sometimes beets-to make lanterns. Once Irish immigrants made it to the US they quickly realized the Pumpkin made a far better lantern than the turnip.

Chatter and Chitter are too old to care about carving pumpkins these days-and when they were little I wouldn't let them-mean uh? Oh they got to carve pumpkins at the folk school and other community type functions-but not at home. Sometimes I'm frugal beyond reason-and maybe pumpkin carving is a prime example. I just could never bring myself to waste a perfectly good pumpkin. I'd let the girls decorate the outside with stickers or better yet-just admire it as it sat among Granny's crocheted jack-o-lanterns. Then as soon as Halloween was over-I'd put it in the freezer.

 
First I cut the pumpkin into manageable pieces.

Next I use a spoon to scrape out the insides-making sure to put all those sticky seeds to the side to roast later on.

I place the pumpkin pieces on a cookie sheet or roasting pan pour some water (about a cup) around them and bake at 350 till done. It takes a while, after about 45 minutes-I start checking to see if they are soft yet. The length of time it takes depends on the size of your pumpkin pieces and the heat of your oven. (some people coat their pumpkin pieces with oil before roasting)

Once the pumpkin has cooked-I scrape it from the shell into a bowl and mash it with a potato masher-you can also use a food processor if you'd like a smoother texture. Next I freeze it in the amounts I need for the pumpkin recipes I make most often.

To roast the seeds-wash the gunk off of them-dry on paper towels-place them on an oiled/buttered cookie sheet and stir to coat-roast at 350 for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Before roasting you can sprinkle them with salt and/or any other spice you like. Store in an airtight container.

Did you carve a pumpkin this year?

Tipper

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How To Make Old Timey Pear Preserves

 
Since my sink has recently been full of pears-I thought it was a great time to republish one of my old posts: Granny's Pear Preserves.

Portions of this post were originally published here on the Blind Pig & the Acorn in October of 2008.

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Granny's Pear Preserves recipe has been handed down through her family for over 4 generations. I like it-because the preserves are tasty-and so easy to make.

 
Peel, core, and quarter your pears. Slice the quarters into slivers.

 
Place slivers in bowl, pour sugar over, stir, cover, and let sit overnight in the frig (use 1 1/2 cups sugar for every 2 quarts of pears-you can use more or less sugar to taste).

 
After sitting over night-cook pears slowly on medium heat until the juice has thickened. While sitting over night-the pears will have made a little juice (the amount depends on how ripe your pears are) you may need to add additional water to the pears prior to cooking to keep them from sticking/scorching.

At this point-we have our jars sterilized and hot. We ladle the hot pears into the hot jars and seal with a hot lid and ring. As the jars cool they seal. This is called the open kettle method of canning.

ALL canning references will tell you NOT to do it this way-that it is dangerous. We feel comfortable doing it the old time way-because its always worked for us. But I totally get it if you're not o.k. with it. If you'd rather-ladle hot pears into sterilized jars-add tap and ring-and process at least 15 minutes in a boiling water canner.

 
Pear preserves are great over biscuits, warmed up and served as a side-dish, or straight out of the jar-that's how Chitter and Chatter like them. It makes me happy to know I'm at least the 4th generation of my family using this pear preserves recipe. It also makes me happy to open a jar on a cold winter day and eat them.

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Even though this post was originally published in 2008, every once in a while someone will stumble onto it and send me a question about it. A few weeks ago a lady sent me an email about the preserves. She was hunting a pear preserves recipe that tasted like her Mother-n-Law's-who was no longer living. A few weeks after I answered her question I got another message from her. This quote came from the 2nd email:

"He almost got tears in his eyes when he tasted the preserves and said, " Them taste like my Momma's." It made me so happy, and thankful!"

Yep that made me pretty happy too.

Tipper

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How Granny Makes Kraut

 
Last summer I showed you how to make Kraut the old time way-in a crock. It was only after I met The Deer Hunter that I learned how to use a crock for pickling. Granny doesn't use one-she makes her Kraut in the jar. Pap and Granny have been making Kraut this week-so I went and watched.

 
While Pap chops the cabbage-Granny sterilizes the jar. I have no clue why she only does one at a time-but that's how she does it.

 
Granny puts one teaspoon of sugar in a sterilized jar;

 
she packs the jar full of chopped cabbage-but not too tightly-Granny says it needs a little room to work.

 
On top of the cabbage-Granny adds 2 teaspoons of salt.

 
Then she fills the jar with cold water; adds the lid and ring and seals tightly.

 
Granny sits the jars out on the porch while the Kraut is making. Sometimes the juice will seep out around the lids-the mess is easier to clean up if it's outside.

 
I asked Granny how long it took the Kraut to make-she said "Oh at least 2 weeks, but I like to leave mine on the porch till cold weather then I'll carry it to the basement."

Granny also said she thought the sun made the Kraut work faster. I said "Does a jar ever explode?" Granny said "Why Lord no it may run out some but it won't explode." Granny's a worrier-after a few minutes she said "Well if it ever did explode it wouldn't hurt nothing outside no way."

Have you ever made Kraut in the jar?

Tipper

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LOL In Appalachia - And A Blue Ribbon

I'd like to say a big "THANK YOU" to all the Blind Pig readers who made it to the Young Harris Arts & Crafts Festival over the weekend. I got to meet a few of you in person for the first time-which was so nice!

Even though-I thought I'd melt more than once-it was a great festival-I sold some folk art-did some pickin' and grinnin' with Pap and Paul, talked a whole lot about the Blind Pig, and I entered 4 items in the canning food preservation contest. I still can't believe-I won 1 Blue First Place Ribbon (Blackberry Jelly) and 2 Red Second Place Ribbons (Peach Preserves & Grape Juice). 

Now for the LOL. The other day Pap shared this story with me-one of his friends told it to him years ago.

A new preacher was elected to the local church. Once the preacher began the usual tradition of going home with members for Sunday dinner it became apparent this particular preacher had an insatiable appetite-to the point that folks began to dread having to play host to him. Members of the church knew their turn to have the preacher home for Sunday dinner would come sooner or later. 

Pap's friend's father-decided he knew exactly how to handle the situation when he and his wife were called on to feed the preacher. As everyone sat down to the dinner table, the father said "Well preacher we don't have much but we're more than willing to share what we do have. We're going to have some onions and salt for dinner." The preacher said "Oh I don't eat onions." The father said "well help yourself to the salt."

Tipper

p.s. Paul over at Saltcreek has started a rural radio program-you can listen to his most recent streaming program-which has old and new country music, old retro commercials, and you might even hear Paul and Pap somewhere in the mix. Click here to jump over and check it out.

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Grape Hull Jelly

 

The Grapes are ripe and ready for the jars lined up on my kitchen counters. We have an abundant supply of wild fox grapes that grow along the creek, Granny has tame grapevines in her backyard, and Miss Cindy has a friend with more grapes than he can use-so my Grape supply this time of the year seems endless.

Sometime during the last year I heard my Aunt talking about Grape Hull Jelly. I had never heard of it-so I was curious. She went on and on about how it was so much better than your usual grape jelly.

The Blind Pig family mostly prefers jelly to jam-so I kept thinking about Grape Hull Jelly and wondering if we would like it or not. Finally I decided to try it thinking if we didn't like it I could always give it away for Christmas presents.

The first problem I ran into-I couldn't find a clear recipe of how to make grape hull jelly. So I kinda made mine up as I went.

~first I washed the grapes-and popped the insides out into a pot-reserving the hulls for later

~next I added some water to the pot and cooked the skinless grapes for about 15 minutes (I added water till the grapes were almost covered)

~I poured the grapes into my ricer-to get the seeds out-a food mill would also work good for this step or if you had to you could use the old timey method of cheese cloth/pillow case

I felt good about the process up to this point, but when I thought about adding those hulls back in-I just couldn't get my mind around what the texture of the jelly would be like. I almost gave up and just made jelly from the hull-less juice-but I kept hearing my Aunt's voice in my head.

~I got out my food processor, chopped the hulls up to a pretty fine texture, and added them back to the juice

 
~I pulled out a box of sure jel and followed the directions for making grape jelly

So what did I think about the finished product? My Aunt was right! The addition of the hulls gave the jelly an unbelievable brightness-and my worry about the hulls ruining the texture were for nothing. As the jelly cooked the hulls all but dissolved-and I believe if I had done a more thorough job chopping them they would have completely dissolved. 

It's always hard to tell how many grapes it takes to make the amount of juice needed for making jelly-I had 2 cups left over. When I have extra juice, I put it in the frig if I'm going to make another run of jelly in the next few days or if it'll be longer than a week before my next run, I pop it in the freezer and then thaw it on the day I need it.

Since I've never made Grape Hull Jelly before-and I couldn't find a recipe I'm not sure I was supposed to chop up the hulls. If you've ever made it or ate it please leave me a comment and tell me what you know.

Tipper

p.s. If you missed Ethelene Dyer Jones' post about grapes last summer-it's definitely worth clicking here to read it. Be sure to drop by tomorrow for another Spotlight on Music in Appalachia post.

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How To Can Kraut

 

2 weeks ago we made kraut the old timey way-yesterday it was ready to can. It's normal for a skim of mold to form on top of the liquid in the crock-you can see what was waiting for me as I took the towel off.

First-take the weights out-then take a large spoon or spatula and get the mold off-discard mold.

Next take the plate that was pushing down the kraut out. Remember the large cabbage leaves I put on top-I discarded them too.

You can use a spoon, cup, or bowl to dip out the kraut and place it in a large stock pot-or in your canner. It may not all fit at once-mine didn't.

Place the pot on the stove and heat the kraut to a simmer. If you don't have enough liquid-you can add water.

While the kraut is heating up-you can begin sterilizing your jars-lids-rings. Some folks use the oven-some their dishwasher-I just use a pot of simmering water.

Once the jars and kraut are hot-you can put the kraut in the jars. I like to make sure there is enough liquid in each jar to cover the kraut. After each jar is filled place a lid and ring on it.

When you get to this point of the process you have 2 choices:

*We use the open kettle method of canning the kraut-which means the kraut is hot-the jars are hot and once you put the hot kraut into the hot jars and add the lids and rings-they seal as they cool. Both my family and The Deer Hunter's family have used this method for generations-so we feel comfortable with doing it. However-if you do any research on the method-you'll see modern day instructions warn you the open kettle method of canning should never ever be used to preserve anything.

*Your other choice-is to place the jars of kraut in a hot water bath. The Ball Canning Book says too: process pints 15 minutes and quarts 20 minutes in a boiling water canner. 

I ended up with 14 quarts and 1 pint of kraut. I think it's the best we ever made-it was crisp, white, and so yummy. Most of all I love that we grew the cabbage.

If you didn't see the directions on making kraut the old time way in a crock-you can click here to read about it.

Tipper

p.s. The winners for the Shirley Stewart Burns cd giveaway are: Glenda-and Kenneth Roper! 
 

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