Chili Sauce
An industry of glass jars with sealable lids evolved during a timeframe approximate to the Industrial Revolution, along with such concurrent advances in food preservation as pasteurization, seamed metal cans and freezing. On the home front, those glass jars with their metal lids became an important advance in the domestic arts as homekeepers moved from the basics of safety and technique to the pleasures of invention and execution.
Though canning cannot be said to be an American invention, the American landscape offered an abundance to inspire the capture of its own finest qualities. Sweet crabapples were jellied with a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg while cranberries fresh from the bog were put up with a whiff of orange rind and clove. Vinegar and salt turned anything from a bumper crop of cucumbers to a previously unusable watermelon rind into pickles. Any gardener who’s planted it will tell you that mint will take over your garden plot if you let it; any canner will tell you to seal this excess in a jar. Southwesterners pickle peppers, make jelly out of them, and use them to flavor salsa.
Other home-canned goods came from preserving practices well-established in specific cuisines. Though we think of mincemeat as a Victorian treat (or threat, depending on your viewpoint), its history traces back to the European middle ages. Middle Europeans had been making sauerkraut long before the “Dutch” settled the Pennsylvania hills. Giardiniera was a staple of the Mediterranean kitchen. Even succotash lent itself to being sealed in a jar, provided the canner could get the pressure right to protect those delicate flat soft beans and perky kernels of corn.
If you think you saw Grandma’s competitive side emerge when she was setting biscuits, then that means she shielded you from her true intentions during canning season. A home canner’s skill became a badge of honor both at the homestead and in public. Each household canner developed their own specialty, from a famous flavor of jam to a special-recipe relish. It was common for each homestead to enter their best efforts for blue-ribbon consideration at the county and state fairs, where an august committee debated with true expertise, perfect seriousness and expanding waistlines the merits of home-made jams, jellies, pickles, relishes, condiments, sauces, snacks . . . even beer and wine.
No competition was fiercer than that for the crown of the chili sauce champion. Almost every homestead had its own recipe for this condiment, and no secret was more closely guarded with no end result more proudly displayed on the ribbon table. That was because chili sauce, with its complex mélange of fruits, vegetables and spices, was an all-purpose condiment that was judged for how well it fulfilled multiple offices including sitting atop a hamburger, trailing along a tube steak, glopped onto a pork chop, stirred into a bowl of soup and on its own.
Almost no one makes chili sauce any more, and at Urban Home, we mean to reverse this unfortunate reversal of fortune. Below is a recipe for this old-fashioned condiment from my urban kitchen. Like many canning recipes, especially for old-fashioned preparations like chili sauce, this recipe looks like a lot of steps. But there is a rhythm to the cutting, chopping, stirring, and fussiness that echoes the natural bounty that we are preserving in the first place. It is, in fact, as steady and rhythmic as the process by which the orchard put forth the apples to begin with.
Chili Sauce
It is essential to follow safe canning practices. For instructions on safe canning, click here: http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/publications_usda.html , or here: http://www.freshpreserving.com/getting-started.aspx. This recipe makes approximately eight half-pint jars. You may find the Urban Home Blog Guide to Herbs and Spices useful for this recipe; click here for a free printable download.
2 pounds juicy red tomatoes, such as plum
6 stalks celery
2 medium firm sweet apples, such as McIntosh, Red Delicious or Jonathan
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 banana pepper
1 small white onion
1-1/2 cups white vinegar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 cloves garlic
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon juniper berries
2 teaspoons mustard seeds
2 teaspoons celery seeds
2 teaspoons onion seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground mace
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon salt
1. Prepare canner, jars and lids.
2. Place a large Dutch oven or stock pot on the stovetop.
3. Rinse the tomatoes, celery and peppers using a commercial produce cleaner and place in an in-sink colander to drain.
4. For each tomato, use the sharp end of a tomato knife
or paring knife to remove the stem end of the tomato. Cut the tomato in half vertically; halve each half. Cut each half into quarters. Cut across the quarters to form chunks. As you go, scrape the chunks and all accumulating juices into the pot.
5. For each pepper, place the pepper on the cutting board. Cut each pepper in half from cap to bottom. Cut away and discard the stem; cut away and discard any white pith from inside each half. Rinse each half under warm water to remove the seeds (if saving seeds for planting, do this step over a fine mesh sieve to catch the seeds). Cut off the rounded top and bottom of each half; set aside for snacking. Working one halved pepper at a time, flatten each remaining pepper, skin side down, against the cutting board. Cut each flattened half into 1/4-inch strips and cut across the strips to form 1/4-inch squares. Scrape the cubed pepper into the pot.
6. Peel the onion and remove the root and stem ends. Place the onion on the cutting board. Halve the onion from root to stem; halve each half. Cut each quarter into thin crescents. Cut across the crescents to form dice. Scrape the diced onion into the pot.
7. Rinse the celery and place the ribs lengthwise on the cutting board. Cut across the top and the bottom of the ribs to remove the calloused top and bottom of the stalks. Cut each stalk lengthwise in half; halve each half. Align the quartered celery stalks and cut across the quarters to form dice. Scraped the diced celery into the pot.
8. For each apple, use a peeler to remove the peel from an apple. Working quickly, place the peeled apple stem-end up on the cutting board. Use a paring knife to cut the fruit in half from top to bottom. Halve each half to form quarters. Use the tip of the knife to remove and discard the stem, seeds with their hard core, the blossom end, and any bruised or discolored areas. Cut each trimmed quarter in half; cut across each to form bite-sized chunks. It is okay if the pieces seem large; they will break down as they cook. As you prepare each fruit, scrape the chunked fruit into the pot; stir to incorporate to prevent discoloration.
9. Peel the garlic and remove the root end. Half each clove; remove and discard any sprouting from the center. Slice each half lengthways into slivers and then each sliver lengthways into matchsticks. Cut across the matchsticks to mince. Scrape the minced garlic into the pot.
10. Measure the vinegar, sugars and salt into the pot. Use a metal spoon to stir the mixture thoroughly. It is okay if the mixture starts to foam; that is a common reaction between the sugars and the acids.
11. Turn the heat to low and start cooking the mixture. Watch the mixture and stir it periodically to prevent the mixture from scorching.
12. Measure out a double layer of clean cheesecloth and place it on the cutting board. Place the bay leaves, cloves, juniper berries and peppercorns in the cheesecloth. Tie the spice bag with kitchen twine and nestle it into the mixture in the pot.
13. Measure the mustard seeds, celery seeds, onion seeds, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, mace and red pepper flakes into a small bowl; stir to combine.
14. Once the mixture starts to thicken and release its fragrance (approximately 30 minutes on low heat), stir the spices into the mixture.
15. Continue to watch the mixture and to stir it periodically. When the mixture is very thick and fragrant (approximately 1 hour on low heat, but individual cooking times will vary), turn the burner off.
16. Place a clean towel on a counter near the canner.
17. Use canning tongs to remove hot jars from water bath. Do your best not to touch the hot jars; let the tongs do the work. Place hot jars mouth up on the clean towel.
18. Wrap a clean tea towel around a hot jar, being careful not to let the towel touch the rim of the jar. Use the towel to transport the jar to the pan containing the hot chili sauce. Place a clean canning funnel into the mouth of the jar. Use a clean spoon or ladle to fill the jar with chili sauce to the ½-inch mark. Continue until all of the jars are filled. It is okay if there is chili sauce left over; refrigerate it for use within 1 month. Check for and remove air bubbles if any (see instructions).
19. Use a clean, damp sponge to wipe the rim of each jar. Center a clean, hot lid (see instructions) on each jar. Screw a band down on each jar until it meets resistance; increase just until tight.
20. Use canning tongs to return the jars to the boiling water bath. Add more water if necessary to ensure that the jars are completely covered by boiling water by 1 inch. Process in boiling water bath for 20 minutes.
21. After jars have processed for 20 minutes in the boiling water bath, turn off the heat. Remove the canner lid and set aside. Let jars sit in hot water ten minutes.
22. After ten minutes, use the canning tongs to remove the jars. Being very careful of the hot jars, lids and liquid, place jars upright on the towel. Allow to sit 24 hours. After 24 hours, check for a vacuum seal (see instructions). Label each jar with the contents and the date prepared. Safely prepared, stored and sealed, the chili sauce will keep for one year from date of preparation.
There was a time when any American homemaker worthy of their apron canned. It was as expected a component of the domestic arts as sewing or cleaning. As with the need for clothes and a clean living environment (or, for that matter, the garden or the homestead themselves), preserving food became a form of expression that grew out of necessity. In the days before commercial mass food processing, though the larder was stocked with such staples as flour or cornmeal as they were obtainable, most food was either grown or caught by the homesteader. Preserving what was available evolved as a way to make bounty, when it happened, last. Ice, salt and sunshine each contributed, from the brine that “corned” beef to the air that dried venison and berries for pemmican.
An industry of glass jars with sealable lids evolved during a timeframe approximate to the Industrial Revolution, along with such concurrent advances in food preservation as pasteurization, seamed metal cans and freezing. On the home front, those glass jars with their metal lids became an important advance in the domestic arts as homekeepers moved from the basics of safety and technique to the pleasures of invention and execution.
Though canning cannot be said to be an American invention, the American landscape offered an abundance to inspire the capture of its own finest qualities. Sweet crabapples were jellied with a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg while cranberries fresh from the bog were put up with a whiff of orange rind and clove. Vinegar and salt turned anything from a bumper crop of cucumbers to a previously unusable watermelon rind into pickles. Any gardener who’s planted it will tell you that mint will take over your garden plot if you let it; any canner will tell you to seal this excess in a jar. Southwesterners pickle peppers, make jelly out of them, and use them to flavor salsa.
Other home-canned goods came from preserving practices well-established in specific cuisines. Though we think of mincemeat as a Victorian treat (or threat, depending on your viewpoint), its history traces back to the European middle ages. Middle Europeans had been making sauerkraut long before the “Dutch” settled the Pennsylvania hills. Giardiniera was a staple of the Mediterranean kitchen. Even succotash lent itself to being sealed in a jar, provided the canner could get the pressure right to protect those delicate flat soft beans and perky kernels of corn.
If you think you saw Grandma’s competitive side emerge when she was setting biscuits, then that means she shielded you from her true intentions during canning season. A home canner’s skill became a badge of honor both at the homestead and in public. Each household canner developed their own specialty, from a famous flavor of jam to a special-recipe relish. It was common for each homestead to enter their best efforts for blue-ribbon consideration at the county and state fairs, where an august committee debated with true expertise, perfect seriousness and expanding waistlines the merits of home-made jams, jellies, pickles, relishes, condiments, sauces, snacks . . . even beer and wine.
No competition was fiercer than that for the crown of the chili sauce champion. Almost every homestead had its own recipe for this condiment, and no secret was more closely guarded with no end result more proudly displayed on the ribbon table. That was because chili sauce, with its complex mélange of fruits, vegetables and spices, was an all-purpose condiment that was judged for how well it fulfilled multiple offices including sitting atop a hamburger, trailing along a tube steak, glopped onto a pork chop, stirred into a bowl of soup and on its own.
Almost no one makes chili sauce any more, and at Urban Home, we mean to reverse this unfortunate reversal of fortune. Below is a recipe for this old-fashioned condiment from my urban kitchen. Like many canning recipes, especially for old-fashioned preparations like chili sauce, this recipe looks like a lot of steps. But there is a rhythm to the cutting, chopping, stirring, and fussiness that echoes the natural bounty that we are preserving in the first place. It is, in fact, as steady and rhythmic as the process by which the orchard put forth the apples to begin with.
Chili Sauce
It is essential to follow safe canning practices. For instructions on safe canning, click here: http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/publications_usda.html , or here: http://www.freshpreserving.com/getting-started.aspx. This recipe makes approximately eight half-pint jars. You may find the Urban Home Blog Guide to Herbs and Spices useful for this recipe; click here for a free printable download.
2 pounds juicy red tomatoes, such as plum
6 stalks celery
2 medium firm sweet apples, such as McIntosh, Red Delicious or Jonathan
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 banana pepper
1 small white onion
1-1/2 cups white vinegar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 cloves garlic
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon juniper berries
2 teaspoons mustard seeds
2 teaspoons celery seeds
2 teaspoons onion seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground mace
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon salt
1. Prepare canner, jars and lids.
2. Place a large Dutch oven or stock pot on the stovetop.
3. Rinse the tomatoes, celery and peppers using a commercial produce cleaner and place in an in-sink colander to drain.
4. For each tomato, use the sharp end of a tomato knife
or paring knife to remove the stem end of the tomato. Cut the tomato in half vertically; halve each half. Cut each half into quarters. Cut across the quarters to form chunks. As you go, scrape the chunks and all accumulating juices into the pot.5. For each pepper, place the pepper on the cutting board. Cut each pepper in half from cap to bottom. Cut away and discard the stem; cut away and discard any white pith from inside each half. Rinse each half under warm water to remove the seeds (if saving seeds for planting, do this step over a fine mesh sieve to catch the seeds). Cut off the rounded top and bottom of each half; set aside for snacking. Working one halved pepper at a time, flatten each remaining pepper, skin side down, against the cutting board. Cut each flattened half into 1/4-inch strips and cut across the strips to form 1/4-inch squares. Scrape the cubed pepper into the pot.
6. Peel the onion and remove the root and stem ends. Place the onion on the cutting board. Halve the onion from root to stem; halve each half. Cut each quarter into thin crescents. Cut across the crescents to form dice. Scrape the diced onion into the pot.
7. Rinse the celery and place the ribs lengthwise on the cutting board. Cut across the top and the bottom of the ribs to remove the calloused top and bottom of the stalks. Cut each stalk lengthwise in half; halve each half. Align the quartered celery stalks and cut across the quarters to form dice. Scraped the diced celery into the pot.
8. For each apple, use a peeler to remove the peel from an apple. Working quickly, place the peeled apple stem-end up on the cutting board. Use a paring knife to cut the fruit in half from top to bottom. Halve each half to form quarters. Use the tip of the knife to remove and discard the stem, seeds with their hard core, the blossom end, and any bruised or discolored areas. Cut each trimmed quarter in half; cut across each to form bite-sized chunks. It is okay if the pieces seem large; they will break down as they cook. As you prepare each fruit, scrape the chunked fruit into the pot; stir to incorporate to prevent discoloration.
9. Peel the garlic and remove the root end. Half each clove; remove and discard any sprouting from the center. Slice each half lengthways into slivers and then each sliver lengthways into matchsticks. Cut across the matchsticks to mince. Scrape the minced garlic into the pot.
10. Measure the vinegar, sugars and salt into the pot. Use a metal spoon to stir the mixture thoroughly. It is okay if the mixture starts to foam; that is a common reaction between the sugars and the acids.
11. Turn the heat to low and start cooking the mixture. Watch the mixture and stir it periodically to prevent the mixture from scorching.
12. Measure out a double layer of clean cheesecloth and place it on the cutting board. Place the bay leaves, cloves, juniper berries and peppercorns in the cheesecloth. Tie the spice bag with kitchen twine and nestle it into the mixture in the pot.
13. Measure the mustard seeds, celery seeds, onion seeds, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, mace and red pepper flakes into a small bowl; stir to combine.
14. Once the mixture starts to thicken and release its fragrance (approximately 30 minutes on low heat), stir the spices into the mixture.
15. Continue to watch the mixture and to stir it periodically. When the mixture is very thick and fragrant (approximately 1 hour on low heat, but individual cooking times will vary), turn the burner off.
16. Place a clean towel on a counter near the canner.
17. Use canning tongs to remove hot jars from water bath. Do your best not to touch the hot jars; let the tongs do the work. Place hot jars mouth up on the clean towel.
18. Wrap a clean tea towel around a hot jar, being careful not to let the towel touch the rim of the jar. Use the towel to transport the jar to the pan containing the hot chili sauce. Place a clean canning funnel into the mouth of the jar. Use a clean spoon or ladle to fill the jar with chili sauce to the ½-inch mark. Continue until all of the jars are filled. It is okay if there is chili sauce left over; refrigerate it for use within 1 month. Check for and remove air bubbles if any (see instructions).
19. Use a clean, damp sponge to wipe the rim of each jar. Center a clean, hot lid (see instructions) on each jar. Screw a band down on each jar until it meets resistance; increase just until tight.
20. Use canning tongs to return the jars to the boiling water bath. Add more water if necessary to ensure that the jars are completely covered by boiling water by 1 inch. Process in boiling water bath for 20 minutes.
21. After jars have processed for 20 minutes in the boiling water bath, turn off the heat. Remove the canner lid and set aside. Let jars sit in hot water ten minutes.
22. After ten minutes, use the canning tongs to remove the jars. Being very careful of the hot jars, lids and liquid, place jars upright on the towel. Allow to sit 24 hours. After 24 hours, check for a vacuum seal (see instructions). Label each jar with the contents and the date prepared. Safely prepared, stored and sealed, the chili sauce will keep for one year from date of preparation.
Comments
Post a Comment