Cath Kerry-Food
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Cherries, Decluttering & Change

6/1/2018

7 Comments

 
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                                Decluttering / Cherries / Change
I woke up yesterday with an irresistible need to declutter the kitchen cupboards.

Marie Kondo ( Magic-Tidying ) and William Morris ( william morris ) would have got on famously.  A hundred years apart, both push the idea that we should surround ourselves only with what is both useful and beautiful.  (To Marie, it must spark joy!!!)
 
I realised there was not much joy in my store cupboard. In particular the olives had gone soft as had the pickled walnuts. The walnuts were old because I don’t use them because I’ve never liked them so why would I ever eat them?  Can’t imagine a relish or “tapenade” made with them. (Mashed with cream cheese? No.)  I have chutneys dating back to 2006, jams to 2007.  I’d had a lot of plums that year, obviously. They’d become dark and thick.  Not dangerous but not appetising. In the fridge there was some pickled eggplant, pure vinegar. On and on and on  it went and so dear reader, I dumped the lot, ruthlessly.
 
Interestingly enough, I didn’t have any old jars of pickled cherries and so I offer these observations. Make jams and chutneys you think are delicious rather than because someone has dumped a bucket full of something on your doorstep. Don’t let fruit bully you.
 
I learn’t a lot from my sister-in –law’s mother.  She was a sensible no-nonsense cook who had no time for fancy foreign stuff.  Her jams and chutneys were sublime, beyond reproach.  Her secret was small batch production – small so that you could watch over and care. Make stuff you are proud to give away or stuff of which you will be sorry to see the last jar. Extend the pride and label them clearly and nicely.  

Furthermore, give out and inevitably, you will receive. I've never received a jar I didn't appreciate.
 
Now, it’s that annual, short cherry season. Pickle some cherries.  They look fetching and there’s no chance of any jars still being around after May, I assure you.

Pickled Cherries
For every 1 kilo of cherries, prepare a pickling liquid of...
  • 800 ml red wine vinegar (or white if you'd prefer)
  • 400 ml water
  • 1 cup sugar
Snip the cherry stalks with scissors down to about 1 cm. Place cherries in your jar(s).
The aromatics are forgiving and very much up to you.  I suggest 1 tsp each of  whole peppercorns, coriander and 1/2 tsp cloves plus a  small whole dry chilli -  (just enough to give a little bite). Bring the pickling mix up to a gentle simmer for 5 minutes.  Allow to cool and pour over the cherries. You may wish to discard the aromatics but keep the chilli tucked down into the jar.
Seal and keep for 3 weeks before eating.

Change
But there's change afoot in the kitchen.  It's time for my  Frigidaire De Luxe Cookmaster (see above) to retire.  It was installed when the house was built in 1959 and is in perfect harmony with the mid-century- modern kitchen.  The clock stopped last year with no-one around to fix to it.  With this went it's timer and its ability to turn on, cook a roast while you were away, turn off, ready for when you came home from the movies.

The new "foreign" stove will arrive next week and its obsidian and brushed stainless steel will be a clash against the white and gold-flecked Formica of the cupboards. (White Goods are no longer white.) On the plus side, I will now work in degrees celsius, I can be sure the temperature will stay constant and the top glass plate will wipe clean with one swish. Sad, none the less.
7 Comments
ROSA MATTO
5/1/2018 03:24:42 pm

Catherine, I pack my cherries into the sterile jar, pour the hot liquid over the top and all is well for a while. But then, maybe in a month or two, the cherries float to the top, all the liquid below them. Is it not enough sugar, ph? what? Still taste terrific but the science baffles me.

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Cath link
6/1/2018 08:00:58 am

It's more physics than chemistry along with a dose of aesthetics.
Floating to the top of the jar does not affect the cherries, only how the jars look lined up in your pantry.
Of course you try to pack them in as tightly as possible, without bruising them, but they will soften and shrink a little as they "pickle" and so reduce in overall volume. The cherries are lighter than the liquid so they float.
There is also the "sciencey" issue of transference of elements through the skin between the fruit substance and the liquid. The cherries become slightly smaller and there's more room in the jar.
Incidentally, I pour on my liquid cool rather than hot, once the aromatics have had time to infuse. Not a real issue either way.

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Kym Dixon
5/1/2018 07:06:23 pm

The pickled cherries recipe S ounds interesting. I will give them a go. But, can you tell me Cath, how would they be served? Like dill cucumbers as in a salad?
Rosa - would a solution be to fill the jar right up to the rim with liquid so there is minimal air gap?

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Cath link
6/1/2018 07:49:02 am

You won't have any troubled using your cherries Kym. Use like pickled onions, for example, served on the side with cold meats, such as ham or roast beef. Mixed in a salad could be nice, as you suggested but you'd have to stone them first. Also check their acidity if you combine them with other elements.
It's even nice to have a small bowl on the table for hot meat dishes like roast pork or duck.

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Judy Griffits
6/1/2018 12:27:22 pm

Happy New-ish Year to you and Rog!
Do let us have a picture of the new wonder machine when installed and cooking- sounds very upmarket!

A reminder to me to search out the instructions for the overly complicated cooker I inherited and get the auto-cook system in use again (used so often when the children were small).

Which reminds me of my pronouncement in those days that "I'd never trust /use that method of cooking" and "It'll never catch on" =Microwave !!!

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Cath link
6/1/2018 12:59:16 pm

Thank you for your kind wishes Judy. Wish I was coming to Tasie but I have to water the garden and look after the chooks and cats.

I'm sorry I gave the impression the new stove is a "wonder machine". It's just a simple Smeg chosen because it will fit in the space available when the other one leaves us. I am very big on no-one needing super equipment apart from one's brain and one's willingness to cook. If you want to cook, you can do it on a candle. I am so sorry to see the other one go but it has just worn itself out. I urge you to get that instruction book out again.
If I had all the money in the world and could redesign a super kitchen, it would have space and what's called these days a butler's pantry (although some lovely old houses have them automatically, no servants though). I wouldn't bother with a microwave but yes they have certainly caught on!

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Francene Connor
16/1/2018 04:18:59 pm

Your pickled cherries sound simple to make, so I shall give it a try - there seem to be a lot of cracked cherries on sale in the Central Market, but I'll avoid these as I'm sure they would have an adverse result a few months down the track. Thanks for your beautiful writing - it is a joy to read.

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