Put 'Em Up!

Summers in the Catskills make you feel like a socialite. Calendars are filled with events, many of them overlapping and competing for your attention and attendance. This mad rush of going to concerts, theater shows, gallery receptions, lawn sales, parties, and fairs makes for a whirlwind of activity. 

By September, the winding down of events is almost a relief and prepares us for the void that is winter, when watching the mail lady stop at the roadside mailbox is an occasion. 

In the Catskills, it is seasonally feast or famine. It’s especially like that in the vegetable garden as it winds down as well. 

I’ve picked the last of my tomatoes and cucumbers. There are some straggler zucchinis and—until the frost comes—green beans, peppers, and my second crop of lettuce and peas. The last to leave the party is the kale and Swiss chard. They’ll dance on into the snow. 

If these buckets of tomatoes and baskets of zucchini don’t get cooked up and eaten they’ll be food for the compost pile. This is when I take dust off my canning supplies and leaf through relish, chutney, and pickle recipes for interesting recipes to “put up.” 

There are some really wonderful canning books available. My first book on canning was from the makers of the Ball canning jars, the Ball Blue Book to Preserving. Back then it was a short, thick booklet with basic pickle, jam, and jelly recipes, and loaded with instructions for the novice canner. I made my first peach jam following the instructions in the book. It has since been updated. It’s a real hardcover book with 400 recipes for both rookies and pros. Not only is the peach jam recipe in it, but Thai Hot and Sweet Dipping Sauce, as well. The times they are a changin’. 

Here’s a list of some other great canning and preserving books I found really wonderful. I absolutely drooled over some of the exquisite photos. My idea of a centerfold photo is of a jar of Sticky Fig Jam. 

Preserving Summer’s Bounty by Rodale Food Center 

The Joy of Pickling by Linda Ziedrich 

The Joys of Jams, Jellies, and Other Sweet Preserves also by Linda Ziedrich Canning for a New Generation by Liana Krissoff 

The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving by Ellie Topp 

The Big Book of Preserving the Harvest by Carol W. Costenbader  

Put ‘Em Up by Sherri Brooks Vinton 

Preserve It by DK Publishing 

Well-Preserved by Eugenia Bone 

You Can Can by Better Homes & Gardens  

How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It by James Wesley Rawles (I just thought I’d include it. You never know.)  

Williams-Sonoma The Art of Preserving by Rick Field 

You can find these books, and many, many more about canning and preserving at online bookstores, brick and mortar bookstores, and at the best resource, your local public library. If your local library doesn’t have a specific book on its shelf, they can get it from another library that does if you just ask. 

I’ll be making the following chutney today from the Preserve It cookbook to use up the abundance of green beans and zucchini from my garden. I have mostly Romano beans and will be using them instead of green beans. Romano beans are flatter and wider than standard green beans. Typically, they are cooked with tomatoes. I usually cook them with tomatoes, garlic, onions, and a bit of hot pepper until the tomatoes cook down a bit and then serve it with pasta.

Green Beans and Zucchini Chutney
 
1 ¼ pounds green beans, thinly sliced
4 zucchini, thinly sliced
3/4 pounds cooking apples, peeled, cored and chopped
2 onions, finely chopped
2 ¼ cups light brown sugar
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
2 cups cider vinegar

Put the beans, zucchini, apples, and onions in a large stainless steel saucepan; add the sugar, mustard powder, turmeric, and coriander seeds. Pour in the vinegar and stir.

Green beans (I used Romano beans) sliced small and in the pot.

Cook over low heat, stirring until all the sugar has dissolved; bring to a boil and cook at a rolling boil, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about 1 ½ hours, stirring from time to time, until the mixture thickens. Stir continuously near the end of the cooking time so that the chutney doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

Pint jars bubbling away. Just 10 minutes does the trick.

      Ladle into warm sterilized mason jars, leaving ¼-inch head space and making sure there are no air pockets. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes; cover and seal with a two-part top, and label. Store in a cool, dark place. Allow flavors to mature for 1 month before using and refrigerate after opening. Make 2 ¼ pounds or 3 medium jars.

The finished product. I made half-pints and pints, some to keep and some to give as gifts.