Preparing for Winter V

Primrose

Freezing piles in various portion sizes is useful because althiugh yiu can store them for a while they do go bad eventually.  So many uses for portions,  ie.
Apple sauce with roast pork, 
Apple crumble,

A portion with  sultanas with your porridge,
A portion mixed with fried Red cabbage, onions & smoked  frankfurters
A portion mixed  in with fried pork slices, creme fraiiche served with pasta
And  many other  options. Sometimes a mixture of Bramleys whixh dissolve into ourree, and eating apples which stay intact, is useful too. 

villagelife

Please does anyone have any ideas how preserve cherries. I am dehydrating some and will be making jam tomorrow but have 9kg with more to come.
I have given some to friends

[Deleted User]

Thanks Laura, I'll do that.  I'm hoping they'll last to next weekend when my daughter can come and have half and they're still fairly firm to squeeze today.

[Deleted User]

You could try making cherry leather in the dehydrator that would be very nice.

A cherry cordial would be very easy to make and if you keep it in plastic bottles in the freezer it won't ferment and either go mouldy or ferment.  It would make a lovely winter hot drink or you could use it as an ice cream sauce.

Laura_Elsewhere

villagelife said:

Please does anyone have any ideas how preserve cherries. I am dehydrating some and will be making jam tomorrow but have 9kg with more to come.
I have given some to friends

I make pickled cherries - in sweet spiced vinegar, to eat with cold meat - which are delicious and work best with cherries that are still firm and not soft, so a useful way to use up less-ripe ones. I find eating-cherries make slightly underwhelming jam, so I tend to just buy black cherry jam for treats although this year I discovered a tree with wild cherries, black ones, which have the flavour for jam, although I only just caught it at the very end of fruiting so will have to wait til next July for properly making it!
Here are two different variations, one adapted from Elizabeth David's, and one adapted from Jane Grigson's - two of the great cookery writers of the 20th century! 
I use malt vinegar, dark brown sugar, and cloves, juniper berries and nutmeg - as you can see you, can really adapt it to whichever spices you like or don't - I loathe cinnamon so I leave that out, others would choose to add it. 

https://www.fromthegrapevine.com/israeli-kitchen/recipes/pickled-cherries
https://jennychandlerblog.com/2013/08/24/pickled-cherries/

villagelife

Thank you. I'll be making pickled cherries cordial and leathers instead of jam. It will be to increase my store cupboard and remind me of summer in the depths of winter.

[Deleted User]

Yes fruit leathers are on the to do list. I also have planned to start dehydrating foods tomorrow. 

Completed: 
* leather boots have beeswax
*other half has finished whittling a coffee scoop, stained in coffee, of course.
*cheap salt is on the shopping delivery. I find that shovelling a path through the snow isn't enough as it soon ices over. 
*long sleeve cotton layers have been sorted through. We're grand except 1 householder needs a replacement.

ivyleaf

Noaidi How lovely to have a handmade wooden coffee scoop rather than buying a plastic one  It will be such a pleasure to use.

VJsmum

Also liking the idea of a handmade wooden coffee scoop.

Can i ask those with woodburners how they store their wood?  Any recommendations for woodstores?  we are gradually building up our supply ready for when ours goes in which will be a couple of weeks (all nicely seasoned and FREE due to some outdoor work i've done!).

Cheapskate

@VJsmum, my hubby bought one of those black grit bins as a temporary measure for wood and 'coal', doesn't get too cold or any condensation, and in fine weather I leave the lid open to air everything. Planning to make one next year but will still keep the grit bin for the 'coal'. 
Next week I'll be working my way through my wool stash to make crocheted blankets for the house and car, determined to not have the heating on as much this winter.
 A xo