Fermenting, pickling, preserving...

[smee]

It's the time of year where I spend a lot of time trying to preserve all the fresh veg from the allotment so I thought I'd see what other people are doing/what I might be missing...?
So far we've started cider with the apples (have done this the last couple of years with great success), have done my usual roasting and freezing tomatoes, made kimchi with courgettes and cabbages, pickled some cucumbers and chillies and am storing potatoes in cloth bags and newspaper in the cupboard under the stairs.
The potato storage is new, first time we've had such a good crop, so will need to keep an eye on them for rot/mice (do mice eat raw potatoes?)
Also new-to-me will be 'canning' for some of the tomatoes. Have ordered some of those jars with the 2 part lids, read a good blog about how to do it and will hopefully attempt tomorrow....
Will probably make some chutney too and dry some chillies when they ripen. Any other ideas for tomatoes, cucumbers, courgettes, fresh herbs (basil, tarragon) etc that don't involve freezing or refridgerating ideally as running out of space! Also my pickled cucumbers are always a little dissapointing so any good recipes/tips for that appreciated.

 

[Pickman's model]

TopCat

 

[Wookey]

Mice do eat raw potatoes. If they're hungry.

Over.

 

[Duncan2]

Mice do eat raw potatoes. If they're hungry.

Over.

I can recall collecting a bale of straw from the farm to line hole dug in the allotment which the ptatoesthen hibernated in.We called it a clamp and it seemed to work

 

[TopCat]

I’m making tomato sauce today.

I can’t look at another cucumber. The sheer abundance was unexpected. I have loads on plants still but the plants are dying on a daily basis. They don’t like the cold one little bit.

 

[TopCat]

Green tomatoes chutney is going to be on the cards.

 

[Duncan2]

That's the only sort there seems to be last few years

 

[smee]

I can recall collecting a bale of straw from the farm to line hole dug in the allotment which the ptatoesthen hibernated in.We called it a clamp and it seemed to work

I’m going to look into this!

 

[smee]

Green tomatoes chutney is going to be on the cards.

Done this before not a massive fan but better than binning the green toms!

 

[smee]

I’m making tomato sauce today.

I can’t look at another cucumber. The sheer abundance was unexpected. I have loads on plants still but the plants are dying on a daily basis. They don’t like the cold one little bit.

The cucumbers have been insane this year. Like 4 a day and we’re lucky if we eat one. Have given a lot say so no waste yet but would like a nice pickle recipe

 

[smee]

Sorry been out at a hop picking shenanigans. (Not ours, they died, somewhat thankfully else that would’ve been another thing to do this month!)
Been researching herb vinegars for the tarragon and basil so might give them a go

 

[TopCat]

The cucumbers have been insane this year. Like 4 a day and we’re lucky if we eat one. Have given a lot say so no waste yet but would like a nice pickle recipe

Will do when I am proper awake.

 

[smee]

So the canning seems to have worked - one jar out of 4 cracked in the boiling pan though which was a shame (think it maybe touched the pan bottom when I put it in instead of the teatowel that was meant to be covering it. So have one 500ml jar with roasted cherry toms, and 2 or crushed san marzanos with a bit of basil and garlic. Might use them as a test to make sure they last then if yes do more next year.

 

[furluxor]

I don't have a proper garden or an allotment (I'm on the waiting list and terrified of being offered one) so I don't do much of this kind of thing, but in the past I've made kimchi, sauerkraut, kombucha, crab apple vinegar, jams, etc.
I've got my eye on what seems like a reasonably doable vegan cashew cheese (basically, blend > add soy yoghurt > ferment) so might be trying it sometime soon. If it works, could delight friends or even sell it in the local farmers market for 1000000 pounds per truckle.

 

[smee]

I don't have a proper garden or an allotment (I'm on the waiting list and terrified of being offered one) so I don't do much of this kind of thing, but in the past I've made kimchi, sauerkraut, kombucha, crab apple vinegar, jams, etc.
I've got my eye on what seems like a reasonably doable vegan cashew cheese (basically, blend > add soy yoghurt > ferment) so might be trying it sometime soon. If it works, could delight friends or even sell it in the local farmers market for 1000000 pounds per truckle.

I make a cashew cheese sauce/dip type thing with blended cashews, nutritional yeast, lemon juice etc so interested to hear how this next step turns out. Did actually make yogurt (soya milk, blended cashews and some alpro as starter) the other day and it seems to have worked but now need to work yogurt into our meals to eat it (don't really do puddings, or oats in their oaty or claggy forms).
I've tried making various vinegars with fruit/leftover wine and a bit of 'live' vinegar but it nevers eems to work. Need to research that more.

 

[furluxor]

I make a cashew cheese sauce/dip type thing with blended cashews, nutritional yeast, lemon juice etc so interested to hear how this next step turns out. Did actually make yogurt (soya milk, blended cashews and some alpro as starter) the other day and it seems to have worked but now need to work yogurt into our meals to eat it (don't really do puddings, or oats in their oaty or claggy forms).
I've tried making various vinegars with fruit/leftover wine and a bit of 'live' vinegar but it nevers eems to work. Need to research that more.

If I get round to it, I'll drop you a line on how it went!

Very interested in yoghurt, bc Sojade is the only one available in my area that doesn't have a bunch of additives, and I'd love to try and make something a little less beany (maybe using oat milk)? Do you have a recipe/info re proportions? I go through monstrous quantities of yoghurt.

If I recall correctly, the crab apple vinegar was really simple, you just give apples some sugar to feed the yeast and that's it. The process must be similar with other kinds of fruit. With wine, I assume you just leave it be and it feeds on its own sugar until it eats it all and turns into vinegar?

 

[smee]

If I get round to it, I'll drop you a line on how it went!

Very interested in yoghurt, bc Sojade is the only one available in my area that doesn't have a bunch of additives, and I'd love to try and make something a little less beany (maybe using oat milk)? Do you have a recipe/info re proportions? I go through monstrous quantities of yoghurt.

If I recall correctly, the crab apple vinegar was really simple, you just give apples some sugar to feed the yeast and that's it. The process must be similar with other kinds of fruit. With wine, I assume you just leave it be and it feeds on its own sugar until it eats it all and turns into vinegar?

That's what I thought with wine it never seemed to work. Actually I haven't checked on it for like a year, maybe I should feed it some sugar....
Recipe I used for the yogurt was: 1/4 cup cashews soaked overnight and blended smooth with a little soya milk. Add the rest of a litre soya milk and 1/4 cup of existing live yogurt (I used alpro). whisk or blend together and put in a glass kilner type jar in the instant pot (or other temp controlled environment) at 32 - 40 degrees C for 6-8 hours. Comes out as a runny yogurt which you can then strain to make greek yogurt (haven't tried this part yet as not much space in fridge).... I cannot find the recipe I used now though! But there's plenty, lots seem to use coconut milk and also probiotic capsules instead of live yogurt.