Preserving, it has started

Mummy2cheekymonkeys

I know what you mean caronc with the courgettes. By the end of the summer I am sick of the site of them. I make a courgette and lemon cake which is delish. I think the recipe was on the good food website. You have to grate the courgette, put it in muslin and then squeeze out as much water as you can. If I get too many courgettes I have weighed out the amount I need for the cake, grated and squeezed the juice out and then put it in a bag in the freezer. When i want to make the cake I just take it out the freezer when i start making the cake batter and by the time you need to add It, it has defrosted enough to break up and stir in. It's the only way I've managed to freeze courgette. It doesn't freeze well obviously because of the high water content.

Mummy2cheekymonkeys

Also I've made a savoury courgette crumble which was lovely. I had it in a restaurant once so tried to recreate it at home. If the courgettes get too big there is a recipe on the good food website for stuffed narrows which would work with them. It has a tomato sauce with chorizo and breadcrumbs on the top. Very yummy served with crusty bread.

caronc

Thanks for the recipes Mummy2cheekymonkeys, I'm not a great cake fan/ maker but love them stuffed and what's not to like about crumble

JingsMyBucket

Hello folks. Hope you don't mind if I join you. Does anyone have experience doing oven canning? I think I might like to try that but I'm not quite sure on where to start. Also, is there an easy recommendation for making freezer or fridge jams? I'm trying to focus on low sugar options since I have to watch my sugar intake.

penny-wise

caronc wrote: »

Has anyone tried dehydrating them?

I don't eat pasta or noodles and use spiralised courgette instead. I have dehydrated the courgetti and it works quite well. I'm not sure how well it would work in other recipes though.

JingsMyBucket wrote: »

I'm trying to focus on low sugar options since I have to watch my sugar intake.

I am on a no sugar diet and I make jams using Pomonas Univeral Pectin. (They have a website but I can't link it because apparently I am too new - although I've been here for years) Unlike normal pectin which needs sugar to set, Pomonas uses calcium, so you don't have to use any sugar at all. If you water bath can the jars afterwards, they keep for a year. You can use sweeteners if that's ok on your diet (I use Truvia, which is stevia and erithritol).

[Deleted User]

I have dehydrated many courgettes, they dehydrate well (excalibur) and are good in soups and casseroles all winter but I prefer small and fresh, love them in salads and I add them into juices. I have a vitamix and a vertical slow juicer and use both every day to get maximum veg and berry goodness into me, maybe 12 a day is average

I really dislike frozen green beans but made a sort of ratatouille for the freezer last year, it was nice and used courgettes too. There were times when ratatouilles were invaluable during the winter

I have also made courgette/chocolate cake and that was nice. I also think I would slice vertically and put on pizza

I have dehydrated allsorts and onions and mushrooms are excellent staples but I only grow shallots these days and they keep until march/april so I don`t dehydrate onions any more

I have never done oven bottling, I was very happy with the slow water bath and liked to keep a close eye on the temperature

[Deleted User]

I just came back from my fridge and was thinking about the ways in which I make foods last longer, not quite preserving. My fridge is at 5 degrees and lettuce lasts very well in a spinner with a metal bowl. Recently picked cabbage and kale leaves last 1-2 weeks when washed, shredded and put into vac jars, I put the lid on while pressing a button and air comes out. Best of all they help me cope with a glut and are ready to use. I wash almost all my veg as soon as they come off the allotment, in case of bird poop and I use veggie wash, then rinse


Vac packing is another way and I use that when I bulk buy nuts and when I bulk buy fish and meat for the freezer, both are very expensive, I get the fish straight from cornwall and my meat is grass fed organic, I don`t eat much meat. I vac pack in portions before I freeze and it makes both last much longer in perfect condition in the freezer

fuddle

It hadn't occurred to me that I could add courgette to soups and stews. I am only growing one plant because we're not too keen but I would like to make courgette cake to prove to the tribe that they're pretty cool in their own right. I do like them roasted med style with aubergine and tarragon etc but that's only me. I think, as I'm in basic set up just starting out, I will dice and freeze some to add to soups later on in the year.

I don't drink but I adore the idea of making fruited wines. I think I shall have to settle on fruited syrups though.

Floss

Fuddle there are lots of fruit that can be made into cordials - I make Rhubena with rhubarb from the River Cottage preserves book

Living_proof

penny-wise wrote: »

I don't eat pasta or noodles and use spiralised courgette instead. I have dehydrated the courgetti and it works quite well. I'm not sure how well it would work in other recipes though.

Did you do this in a dehydrator PW? I have wondered whether to try it in my Excalibur in little nests of spiralised courgettes. When you come to use it do you just dip it in boiling water or do you have some other way of using it please? I have a new allotment and have 12 courgette plants on there as ground cover more than anything!