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A shocking (and hot!) tip for preserving produce

Last year, I ended up having some unplanned surgery on a knee, right at the peak of harvest.  In my attempts to find a way to preserve the harvest, without "preserving" the harvest, I stumbled on this method.  Not having access to the volumes, I didn't pursue it.  Now that harvest is upon us, I thought I'd pursue the technique.
 
http://modernistcuisine.com/2013/04/a-shocking-and-hot-tip-for-preserving-produce/
 
I've two questions.
 
1.  Has anyone tried heat-shocking to "hold" your peppers and/or other produce until you can get around to dealing with it?
 
     and
 
2.  Does anyone have a copy of "Modernist Cuisine?"  There's supposed to be a complete table on 358-359 of Volume 3.  I'm curious what they recommend for some of the more commonly grown garden veggies.
 
At this price, even renting it, I'll lower my head and ask if anyone will share the table.
 
modernist cuisine.jpg
 
Interesting....... 
I'm wondering how they expect the water to stay at 113F for 40-45 minutes w/out a stove or running the hot water continuously. 
 
 
I've had good luck with VeggieFresh bags, kept chiles in the fridge for 3-4 weeks using those bags.  They are readily available online and in a lot of grocery stores, in the veggie section and in the storage bag section. 
 
skullbiker said:
 
psh
 
as far as i can tell, the site you linked to is just scammers who take pirated content and try to sell it, and none of the money goes to the authors.
 
if you believe in 'free knowledge', at least use libgen or something (which is where the scammers probably got the PDFs they're trying to sell): http://gen.lib.rus.ec/
 
http://gen.lib.rus.ec/search.php?req=modernist+cuisine
 
 
salsalady said:
Interesting....... 
I'm wondering how they expect the water to stay at 113F for 40-45 minutes w/out a stove or running the hot water continuously. 
 
 
I've had good luck with VeggieFresh bags, kept chiles in the fridge for 3-4 weeks using those bags.  They are readily available online and in a lot of grocery stores, in the veggie section and in the storage bag section. 
 
 
I've used the VeggieFresh bags, too, and find it really helps, especially with leafy greens.
 
As for holding a specific temperature, I have a sous vide circulator I use for sous vide cooking in a couple different sized Cambro food storage containers that would do the job handily.
 
sinensis said:
 
psh
 
as far as i can tell, the site you linked to is just scammers who take pirated content and try to sell it, and none of the money goes to the authors.
 
if you believe in 'free knowledge', at least use libgen or something (which is where the scammers probably got the PDFs they're trying to sell): http://gen.lib.rus.ec/
 
http://gen.lib.rus.ec/search.php?req=modernist+cuisine
 
Did a search and posted the link to what came up. At that point everyone is responsible for their own decisions or research. Don’t know libgen from a pigs a$$. Thank You.
 
nmlarson said:
 
 
I've used the VeggieFresh bags, too, and find it really helps, especially with leafy greens.
 
As for holding a specific temperature, I have a sous vide circulator I use for sous vide cooking in a couple different sized Cambro food storage containers that would do the job handily.
 
great idea!  I've never worked with one of those gizmos.  Those who have them seem to really like them.   
 
 
This post seems interesting.. So is this a better way (heat shocking and sous vide) than freezing? I'm in the midst of the harvesting as well and boy is it overwhelming! First time though so I'm still getting my sealegs lol

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salsalady said:
 
great idea!  I've never worked with one of those gizmos.  Those who have them seem to really like them.   
 
 
It's really hard to overcook food with it.  The best burger I've ever made was cooked sous vide to medium-rare (for an entire afternoon, I might add), blotted dry, then seared on a hot grill.
 
You can hold food for hours, yes, hours, without any loss of flavor or texture.  Pasturize food at lower temperatures, cook perfect egg custards,  infuse liquor in hours, not weeks, the list is endless.  The flavors of the food you cook are much more concentrated, as nothing is being "cooked off," drained away, etc. This past weekend, I cooked rhubarb that was a revelation compared to the soupy, stringy, saccharine-sweet stuff my mother used to feed me when I was a kid. 
 
If you want to dip your toe in the water, try the SeriousEats.com hack to cook meat in a beer-cooler.  A cooler works for meat, but can't hold the heat level necessary to cook most vegetables.
 
Cook Your Meat in a Beer Cooler: The World's Best (and Cheapest) Sous Vide Hack
https://www.seriouseats.com/2010/04/cook-your-meat-in-a-beer-cooler-the-worlds-best-sous-vide-hack.html
 
YAMracer754 said:
This post seems interesting.. So is this a better way (heat shocking and sous vide) than freezing? I'm in the midst of the harvesting as well and boy is it overwhelming! First time though so I'm still getting my sealegs lol

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Far from it. Heat-shocking will only buy you a couple of weeks, at best, and that produce will still need to be refrigerated. Unless you 1) have the fridge space, 2) plan on using the produce in a couple of weeks, AND 3) need fresh produce for your recipe, I would freeze it, if I were you.

Example: I can marinated peppers, but my harvest is sporadic, yielding only enough to can 2 or 3 pints at a time. I want to fill my canner when I can the peppers, so I will heat-shock my harvests in the hopes I'll have enough fresh peppers to can 6 or 7 pints at once.

It's all about timing. Does that make sense?
 
Yeah totally makes sense.. What type of canning recipe do you do with your peps?
nmlarson said:
Far from it. Heat-shocking will only buy you a couple of weeks, at best, and that produce will still need to be refrigerated. Unless you 1) have the fridge space, 2) plan on using the produce in a couple of weeks, AND 3) need fresh produce for your recipe, I would freeze it, if I were you.

Example: I can marinated peppers, but my harvest is sporadic, yielding only enough to can 2 or 3 pints at a time. I want to fill my canner when I can the peppers, so I will heat-shock my harvests in the hopes I'll have enough fresh peppers to can 6 or 7 pints at once.

It's all about timing. Does that make sense?
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YAMracer754 said:
Yeah totally makes sense.. What type of canning recipe do you do with your peps?
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It's a recipe I came across in a canning/preserving blog a couple years back.  http://Foodinjars.com  It's published in her book, preserving by the pint, but the online recipe http://foodinjars.com/2015/08/marinated-peppers-cooking-story/ and how-to video is actually linked here:  https://cookingupastory.com/how-to-can-marinated-red-peppers-video-recipe
 
The recipe uses Aleppo pepper, which is why it caught my eye in the first place.  I was looking for a way to preserve my bounty of peppers that year that didn't involve pickling/brining or a pressure canner.  Unfortunately, this year's harvest is a bust and I'll be buying most of the peppers I'll be canning. 
 
It is a high acid recipe that doesn't taste like a high acid recipe and the brine/preserving liquid is excellent as a salad dressing, condiment or dressing for an Italian sub sandwich or muffuletta.  You'll have some leftover....don't throw it out.  This is now my hands-down favorite way to preserve peppers, sweet and hot.  Just make certain to use a pepper that will peel easily. 
 
The recipe suggests tearing the peppers into strips, but I have canned halved pepper pieces successfully.  The brand of white wine vinegar I use is "Napa Valley Naturals Oak Aged White Wine Vinegar" and has a 6% acidity level.  The recipe increases successfully.
 

Marinated Red Peppers Recipe
Preserving-by-the-Pint-cover-232x300.jpg

Makes 2 half pints. Prep time: 10 minutes. Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
  • 1 quart red bell peppers (approximately 1 1/2 pounds)
  • 1/4 cup bottled lemon juice
  • 3/4 cup white wine vinegar
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions:
  1. Prepare a boiling water bath canner and 2 half pint jars. Place lids into a small pan of water and bring to a gentle simmer.
  2. Heat your oven’s broiler to high. Cover a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and place the peppers on the pan and slide the pan under the broiler.
  3. Cook the peppers for 1 to 2 minutes per side under the broiler, until they are uniformly charred and they have slumped. Remove pan from the broiler and cover the peppers with another length of aluminum foil. Let the peppers rest of until cool enough to handle.
  4. While the peppers cool, make the pickling liquid. Combine the lemon juice, vinegar, olive oil, sugar, Aleppo pepper, salt, and pepper in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low.
  5. Once peppers are cool, peel away the blackened skin and remove seeds and cores.
  6. Pack the peeled peppers into the prepared jars and cover with the pickling liquid, leaving a generous 1/2 inch headspace. Using a wooden chopstick, gently prod the peppers to ensure that any trapped air bubbles have been released. If necessary, add more liquid to return the headspace to 1/2 inch.
  7. When jar are nicely packed, wipe rims, apply lids and rings and process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes.
 
How-to-Can-Marinated-Red-Peppers-p-6860-720x405.jpg
 
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