Food waste guilt.
I'm not sure we all suffer with it, but I sure do! One of my good friends does as well. That's why when she messaged me "Want any blueberries - I've been given some and they're starting to go squishy," I knew to say no.
The house was too hot for preserving (it was in this last heat wave), and I was busy. Last thing I wanted was some fruit I had to deal with straight away.
So I replied with a thanks but no thanks message.
She turned up anyway. Ready to pass the food waste guilt over to me!
So much as I didn't want to, I set about doing some preserving. They eally had gone too far to do much to them. I'd guess they had been chilled heavily as not too many had gone mouldy, but they had started to loose any firmness.
I decided that dehydrating was probably the best way to deal with them in bulk.
But now we have 5 quart jars full of blueberries on the pantry shelf. They'll keep for a couple of years in there and be a great addition to baking in the winter. I'm looking forward to using them - I think we'll rehydrate them slightly first before adding them to cakes and things.
How would you have preserved about 15kg of nearly over blueberries?
Washed, cooked, frozen (for winter pies and crumbles).
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've ever had a proper blueberry pie, something I should really get round to cooking. We're lazy with pastry here and just don't do it that much.
DeleteNot about blueberries, but I thought of you yesterday - I did my monthly trip to the small town and visited the new-ish refill shop where I saw displayed nicely around the drygoods were a a selection of turned scoops to buy - tiny ones suitable for salt or herbs, up to some about the size of a tin of beans, priced accordingly. There was a little display with details of the local maker, where he gets his wood (locally), and how one can contact him. The shop lady said they sell well and loves having them about because they look so nice. Might be an angle to explore, if you're still on a scoop jag!
ReplyDeleteI think things like the turned scoops would be really good. In all honesty I have a list of ideas of things I could make and sell as long as my arm, my trouble is time. Either having enough time to make it, or making sur eI can make something fast enough to make a profit.
DeleteIn an ideal world, I would buy a used oven and stick it in a shed outside somewhere for doing things like this on hot days. A close second is what I currently do. When we remodeled out kitchen, I bought a large cooktop vent exhausting directly outside, much larger than necessary for normal cooking, so we can suck hot air out of our kitchen and pump it outside the house. It works well, especially when I go to the surrounding rooms which remain comfortable.
ReplyDeleteAlthough more time consuming in my opinion, I have a friend that does a lot of solar cooking during the hot months, including dehydration. That could be a third option.
Every year I look at making a solar dehydrator. My trouble here is when there is a heat wave is rarely when we have a glut of food. My dehydrator is normally running in the autumn, although maybe I could gear my crops to pick earlier ones.
DeleteI'd love to have a proper outdoor kitchen, under cover with open sides, The pizza oven has been great for a bit of outdoor cooking. I like the idea of your large extractor, we have a fan out the wall, but it seems to do little.
Kev, we do not live in a place where blueberries appear in any great amount, but I dehydrate them as well. They are delicious.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I have a few bushes here but the birds get more than me normally!
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