The 2012 Preserving has started!

Today I canned seven 500mL jars of elderflower syrup. I also had a little over a litre left to put in the fridge. In the end I settled on adding a total of 6 tsp citric acid to my tripled recipe (i.e. I doubled the amount of citric acid) which made the syrup read clearly with a pH of 2 on my test strips. I left 1/4" headspace and processed for 15 minutes – the longest time for any of the similar tested recipes I found. I’m looking forward to enjoying elderflower cordials over the summer (and winter!)

Last night I went to pick peas (I find I need to pick at least every second day) and found that the ‘Little Marvel’ peas were ready and their vines were dying. A result of the heat I suppose. I had already planned to make a stir fry with snow peas. So after dinner I steam blanched and froze four cups of peas (in two bags). There is nothing like shelling four cups of peas to make you appreciate that bag you can pick up at the grocery store for $4! My peas do taste a lot better though, particularly in the middle of January, so it’s worth it.

I also found that there were more snow peas than I could use in one meal, which makes sense as I planted enough that I would be able to get three CSA shares worth of everything harvested in one day so that people get fresh rather than refrigerated produce. I was able to freeze four two cup servings, which join another four already in the freezer.

The snow pea vines are not doing that much better than the shelling peas, but I’m hopeful that the cooler temperatures (and rain) predicted for the early part of the week will yield at least one more harvest for the CSA baskets.

Photos

1. Elderflower syrup
2. Peas and snow peas ready for the freezer
3. Salad harvest