Good Food News Archive - September 16, 2002

Article: Can you Can? Will you Can?
Featured this week... EGGPLANT
Recipes: Oven baked eggplant slices, Roasted eggplant + yoghurt dip, Morrocan roasted veggies

Can you Can? Will you Can?

Once upon a time, long long ago, there were no supermarkets filled with tomatoes in January-- in fact, you couldn’t even buy a can of tomatoes if you wanted a little mid-winter spaghetti meal. Instead there were thousands of cellars filled with root vegetables picked in the fall, with dried meats and fish hanging from the ceiling-- and many many shelves of neat rows of jars, filled with fruit and vegetables, jams and jellies. This food was most often home grown, picked and preserved in late summer and fall, and canned through many long, hot hours of work. Please note that “can” in this case actually means “jar” (see right). The idea was that you took what you got in season and made it last throughout the year.

We have many more options now to supply our kitchens during the off-season, but some people still find canning their own food a thrifty and satisfying way to enjoy local produce year ‘round.
Good reasons to can
Quality: a local late-summer peach is a completely different creature than a cardboard-y winter peach. Canning is a way to continue to enjoy that taste when local peaches are just a misty memory. You can save money: it can be a lot cheaper to take advantage of the low cost of fruit and vegetables during harvest time. In the case of organic, it may be the only affordable way to do so, since the price of imported on top of the extra you pay for organic can make winter costs very high. Self-satisfaction: you can spend many a happy winter evening simply sitting and staring at the beautiful jars of food you have produced with your own capable two hands. Convenience (later): Invest work now, and save time later. If you can 20 jars of tomato sauce, for example, you have 20 easy, quick meals on dark winter evenings.

Things to consider before diving in:
Up front costs: Saving money on ingredients is one thing, but you do have to get some basic equipment, and that means spending some money up front. You will need jars, lids, ring seals, a big pot and/or pressure cooker, a rack for jars, a jar lifter and funnel, at a minimum. Over the years, this investment may pay off, but if you’re just going to do it once, you won’t save any money at all. Obviously costs will be reduced if you already have some of this stuff or can borrow or get it second hand. However, do not re-use the ring seal (the round flat lid piece with the red rubber seal), because it will often not work a second time.

It’s time consuming: No question, this can be sweaty, back breaking work-- whether you think it’s worth it is up to you. If spending an afternoon chopping and boiling is not your idea of fun, you might consider freezing or drying as another low-cost, simple alternative to preserve your food (a future newsletter topic, perhaps).

There are safety issues to consider: You can safely can most things: from sauces and condiments, to jams, jellies and plain fruit and vegetables. But even though people don’t poison themselves very often, you still do have to have some basic knowledge and take certain precautions. If you’ve ever heard of “botulism,” you know it’s something you don’t want to tangle with. (In case you haven’t, it’s a type of bacteria that can grow in incorrectly-canned foods, and which can kill you.

There are two main canning methods: the “hot water bath” method and the “pressure-cooker” method. The hot-water bath method is less intimidating: basically, you sterilize jars and lids, fill with contents, then put jars in a large pot of boiling water, with about one inch of water on top, and boil for a set amount of time (depends on what you’re canning). Then you remove and cool jars, and this causes them to seal. But it is important to only use this method with high-acid foods (e.g. jams, jellies, fruit spreads, pickles, relishes, salsas, chutneys and tomatoes with added acid (e.g. lemon juice. The pressure cooker method works for lower acid foods, like vegetables, meats and seafoods. It is a similar process, but you need a special pot, which helps to create the higher temperatures necessary to ensure safety. Make sure you find out which is the right method for the food you are preserving.

In fact, if you are new to canning, we recommend that you do a little bit of reading before you start. Cookbooks will be readily available at the library, or you can check out www.homecanning.com.

Featured this week... EGGPLANT

Most boxes will be getting eggplant this time, though some will be getting ordinary-looking ones, and others the Sicilian variety, which are very round in shape. Preparation is the same for either type.

When choosing eggplant, look for firm, heavy eggplants with smooth skin, avoiding those with soft spots or browning. Store them in a cool, dry place and use within a day or two of purchasing, or wrap in plastic and store in the refrigerator for up to four days.

If the eggplant is young, the skin is edible. As the eggplant ages, the skin becomes bitter and may require peeling. The flesh discolors rapidly, so cut eggplant just before cooking. Slice eggplant, salt it, and let it sit in a colander or sieve “weeping” for 20 minutes to remove any bitter flavor. One simple way to prepare is to cube it and bake in a tomato sauce with onions, garlic, and fresh oregano. Or cut into cubes and add to your tomato sauce and cook until it goes mushy. This will thicken your sauce nicely.

Recipes

Oven Baked Eggplant Slices
This is a great way to prepare eggplant to put into a sandwich, in the Italian way. Since eggplant can soak up a lot of oil when fried, baking or broiling is a healthier cooking method.
Eggplant
Olive oil
thyme, pepper and oregano (optional)

Slice eggplant lengthwise into pieces 1 inch thick. Brush a baking sheet lightly with olive oil. Put the eggplant slices on the sheet and brush the tops lightly with oil. Sprinkle with spices, if you want. Bake 20 minutes at 350F. Turn once and cook another 20 minutes, until brown and soft. Cool. Can be stored, covered, in the refrigerator for several days. From Mary Lou Morgan and Kathryn MacDonald’s Farm and City Cookbook.

Roasted Eggplant and Yoghurt Dip
1 large or 2 medium-small eggplants
1 tbsp. light olive oil 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup plain or soy yoghurt
1/4 to 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley

Preheat the oven to 475F. Arrange the whole eggplant(s) on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake until completely collapsed, 40 to 50 minutes. Remove and let cool. When cool enough to handle, remove the stems and slip off the peels. Chop the pulp into small bite-size chunks. Heat the oil in the skillet,. Add the garlic and saute over low heat until golden, about 2 minutes. Combine the chopped eggplant with the garlic, yoghurt and parsley in a serving container. Season with salt and pepper and stir together. Serve at room temperature. From The Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet, by Nava Atlas

Moroccan Roasted Vegetables
1 medium onion, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 medium zucchini
1 small eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch thick semi-circles (a half circle or half-moon shape)
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch semi circles
1 large red or green pepper, sliced into 1/4 inch strips
2 medium fresh tomatoes, chopped
1 1/2 cups of cooked chickpeas (15.5 ounce can, drained)
3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp. ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp. turmeric
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tsp. salt.

Preheat oven to 400F. In a large bowl, thoroughly mix together all the ingredients. Spread the vegetables on an unoiled 11 x 17 inch baking tray. Bake for 20 minutes. Take out of the oven and stir well; then bake for another 20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Serve warm, over a grain like rice or couscous. You can garnish with toasted almonds, raisins, chopped hardboiled eggs or grated feta, if you like. From Moosewood Restaurants New Classics.