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Tag: preserving

  • The pantry plan we map out every February

    The pantry plan we map out every February

    Every February we sit down with the empty pantry and the seed catalog at the same table. That conversation decides what we plant. Here is how it works.

    Count backwards

    How many quarts of tomato sauce did we use this year? How many jars of jam went out as gifts? Multiply by 1.2 (we always underestimate). That is the number that drives the tomato and berry plantings.

    What we always run out of

    Tomato sauce in February. Pickles in March. Jam by May. Honey by June. We plant accordingly.

    What we always have too much of

    Zucchini relish. Apparently you can only eat so much zucchini relish. Cutting back to one batch this year. Maybe.

    Planning the pantry in February is the only reason October does not eat us alive.

  • A small-batch sauerkraut we make every fall

    A small-batch sauerkraut we make every fall

    We do not make twenty-pound crocks. We make one quart jar at a time and finish it before the next head of cabbage is ready. It works for us.

    What you need

    One head of green cabbage. One tablespoon of non-iodized salt. A clean quart jar. A small jar that fits inside the big one (as a weight). That is it.

    How we do it

    Shred the cabbage thin. Mix with salt in a big bowl. Scrunch it with clean hands for five minutes until it is wet and limp. Pack into the jar, push down hard until the brine covers the cabbage. Weight it down with the smaller jar. Cover with a cloth.

    When it is done

    Two weeks at room temperature, away from sun. Taste it at day ten. When the sourness is right, lid it and put it in the fridge. Keeps for months. Never lasts that long.

    We eat it on everything. We eat it standing in the fridge with a fork.