Preserved - Softcover

Nick Sandler

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1856266214 ISBN 13: 9781856266215

Publisher: Gardners Books

Synopsis

Why preserve? Because preserving makes food taste great, is cheaper than shop-bought versions and ultimately because it is addictive - once you begin, you will soon discover a reluctance to return to inferior, mass-produced food. Preserved is a panoramic introduction to a world that will consume and seduce you. Full of practical information, it covers all the main techniques of food preservation with accessible instructions and a light-hearted manner. Johnny and Nick show you how to dry meat and herbs, salt fish and cure ham. They teach you how to build a smokehouse and then smoke your own salmon, how to make sausages, pickle eggs and infuse oils, preserve with sugar, bottle fruit in alcohol and can your own produce. Preserved also reflects the international nature of these techniques, exploring the biltong of South Africa, Asian kim chee and the herbes de Provence as well as British classics such as kippers, marmalade and sloe gin. Accompanying the techniques are over 100 recipes that will help you to bring out the best of your preserved food - what do to with your damson jam, home-made chorizo or smoked oysters? There are also entertaining tales about the history of preserving, including the story of the American World War II pilots who made ice cream by tying cartons of the mixture to the tails of their planes. Preserving is like alchemy. It is about transforming food. Creating individual food that you will enjoy not only because it tastes so good, but because you have crafted it, tailored it to your own palate and then waited for it. But above all, preserving is fun.

About this title

About the Author:

JOHNNY ACTON is an entrepreneurial writer/journalist and the author of The Man Who Touched the Sky, The Ideas Companion, and Kings of Comedy. Brought up on a farm, Johnny is a keen advocate of sustainable and organic farming and he firmly believes in the importance of local, seasonal produce. NICK SANDLER is the chef for Prêt a Manger, and therefore responsible for the lunches of several thousand Londoners on a daily basis. He is also a freelance development chef, a role that requires him to dream up new dishes and establish the best ways to process and preserve them for delis and supermarkets. Together Nick and Johnny have written five books including, Soup, Mushroom, Duchy Originals Cookbook and The Branded Cookbook.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

Fruits of the Forest Fruit Leather
Makes 2 sheets
1 1/2 cups raspberries
2 2/3 cups strawberries
1 cup blueberries
Juice of 1 lemon
1/3 cup honey
Boil up the raspberries in a pan, then put them through a food mill or conical sieve. Keep the juice and discard the seeds. Return the raspberry pulp and juice to the pan and add the rest of the fruit. Add the lemon juice and honey and simmer for five minutes.
Blend with an hand-held blender until smooth.
Line a medium baking tray with plastic wrap or foil and pour in the mixture until it just runs to the sides.
Place in an oven heated to 160 degrees Fahrenheit and leave for about six hours. The leather is ready when it is tacky but no longer sticky.
Let the leather cool, then roll it up in plastic wrap or cut it into strips and store them in an airtight container in a cool place for up to two months.

About this edition

• Publisher: Gardners Books
• ISBN 10: 1856266214
• ISBN 13: 9781856266215
• Binding: Paperback