Of jamming and canning

Classic peach jam 

      

Strawberry preserve

      

Cherry jam

     

If you ever see in Deli’s like Moshe’s, Le pain quotidian, smoke house or at any gourmet super markets there are pretty good chances that you would catch me around their shelves which are dotted by jams and preserves made inhouse, checking the label for ingredients and effusing over their brilliant flavor pairings but too pricey to bring them home. 

Strange but Its only this year for me in Mumbai that I got introduced to peaches, nectarines, persimmons, picture perfect cherries and abundance of strawberries. these fruits elude the markets of Hyderabad *sigh*. So in an attempt to take full advantage of the abundance I decided preserve few fruits, carefully ‘can’ them, eat it over buttered toast in the morning, eat it by spoonful when craving for sweet in the night or to put a twine around the jars and present it to friends. while I was looking up for tips on canning and recipes on Jams I did a right thing by ordering Canning for a new generation by Lianna krisoff and I was hooked. Earthy recipes and canning at home with minimum care are the star points for me in this book. 

Baking With Julia- The White Loaf.

With my personal santa gifting me Baking with Julia a week before it was Tuesday I had the right kind of encouragement to bake a loaf of white bread and to be a  part of TWD . Sadly, though I baked a gorgeous loaf I couldn’t post on time. My blog provider was at its nasty best and internet connection too shaky. Im happy to report that The white bread loaf was kneaded, baked and devoured with a generous helping of cinnamon butter .

For the White loaf recipe please hop onto Jules Blog

(Finally) Welcome BBC GoodFood (India) !!

Each time I visit a bookstore, I scan the magazine racks for food magazines and would most of the time return disappointed. I would always see a slew of books on photography, fashion, technology, finance, health but none on food. While some imported food magazines like Martha’s Living are available but at exorbitant price. So I would just flip through the glossy international magazines, standing there tempted to buy then would finally give in or more often give it a pass. Finally my months of disappointment was answered with Good Food India magazine, brought to you by BBC. It is a perfect package matching the international standards with glossy pages, gorgeous food pictures, beautiful kitchenware and recipes in abundance. The content is perfect (for me), with a mix of easy to make on a weekday night recipes and some elaborate recipes. The ingredients used are pretty easy to find and their source is most often listed. It’s really inspiring to come across some of our Indian chefs who I dint know existed but now follow them on Twitter happily. The kitchen tools recommendations, book picks, ingredient reviews and restaurant reviews are a good guide for a amateur cook like me. The foodie holiday suggestions are a total happy/informative read so are their articles on one seasonal fruit per issue. Though I find the advertisements  too bothersome I wouldn’t mind it for all the food writing I get to devour.

So when a good friend asked me to whip up desserts for a Christmas dinner, it was but natural for me to pick a recipe from the magazine I have been reading so religiously. Since the time I had on time was little, I chose to make vanilla panna cotta with fresh strawberry sauce. I did not bother testing the recipe beforehand as it seemed pretty straightforward and also the mag claims that the recipes are triple tested for a domestic kitchen and I wanted to believe them. The reviews I got both for the look and taste were rave. I literally caught somebody swooning after their first bite, I guess the cold vanilla speckled cream against the sweet tang of strawberries does have the happy effect. 

vanilla panna cotta with fresh strawberry sauce

Source- BBC GoodFood India

Notes- I had halved the recipe and made use of muffin tins in place of custard cups. Half of this recipe in muffin tins yield around 12 panna cotta’s

Update: In place of custard cups or muffin tins I have also tried making them in Disposable bowls and they work just fine.

For the panna cotta

Fresh cream- 1 ltr  (I used Amul cream)

Sugar- 200 gms

Vanilla bean- 1 split lengthwise

Powdered gelatin - 4 1/2 tsp

Cold water - 100 ml

For the fresh strawberry sauce

Strawberries- 400 gms washed and hulled

Sugar- 2 tbsp

• In a saucepan heat cream and vanilla bean and bring it to a simmer


• Turn off the heat and cover the Pan for 30 mins.


• Discard the bean Re-heat the cream with sugar until completely dissolved


• Lightly oil 8 custard cup with neutral oil like sunflower


• Sprinkle gelatin over cold water and let it stand for 5-10 mins


• Pour the warm cream mixture over gelatin and stir until its completely dissolved


• Divide the panna cotta mixture into the prepared cups and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours until firm

For the strawberry sauce

• Blend half the strawbrerries into a purée. Chop the other half of the strawberries and stir it with the purée


• Add sugar and transfer to a serving bowl


• To unmould the panna cotta run a sharp knife around the edge of each panna cotta or briefly dip the cups into warm water. 


• Spoon over some strawberry sauce and serve.

Apple and Strawberry jam with Blueberries

Apple and Strawberry jam with Blueberries

Each time I discuss with Seeteez something new in pastry that completely stumped me, he does not fail to remind me of my blog which is lying in limbo. That big boy can never get convinced if I plainly tell him I have no natural talent for writing and food blogging is all about beautiful writing, food styling, photography and keeping up with the trends happening in some very popular blogs all around the world. The truth is I have a lot to share. My life is practically revolving around butter, sugar, flour, eggs and chocolate and I am loving every sweet bit of it.

Without much ado I would like to tell you guys that I am now working as a trainee at a bakeshop which has been selling fantastic breads for the last 55 years. Its been two months working in a professional pastry kitchen and boy oh boy this did some wonders to my speed. 5 hours is what i spend working at the bakeshop shaping loaves, creaming butter and sugar, separating 60 eggs for a meringue and peeping into massive ovens with a crinkly face. After a snoozy local train ride I am back home ogling at food blogs and baking in my brothers adorable kitchen by the big window which truly is a spa treatment for the mind.  Every time i am close to finishing my bakery ingredients i  ever so happily make a trip to RUN to Crawford market. When I am there I’m untouched by all the melee. it’s the variety of dry fruits from macadamia to Turkish hazelnuts, cream cheese and cheddar at discounted prices, fresh herbs and my love bordering on obsession with fruits that makes this place a Medina of sorts for me.

Couple of weeks back I was insanely scouting the food blogs for recipes on homemade jam, after hours of searching I was totally lost with the whole canning process. The difference in sugar content, addition of pectin and other preservatives did little to comfort me. For that week since I was so pumped about jam making, I made Strawberry and Apple jam with Blueberries. I used this recipe from my good old trusted source, the jam turned out beautiful ruby red with every flavor being high and distinct and thus continuing my quest for good homemade jams led me to this book. This is my first book on jams and canning , it is terrific in the sense that it takes away all the mystery from canning and makes the whole jam making process a simple 4 stepped one.  More on this and jam recipes in my next post.