If you, like me, pickle a lot of vegetables, you need a good deal of apple vinegar. Instead of buying it, however, why not try your hand at making it by yourself – from scraps! It’s so easy, that you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it earlier and never will buy a drop of apple vinegar again. All you need is apple scraps that is peels and cores (for example from making apple sauce or dry-canning apples), water, sugar and a bit of raw apple vinegar to start. As containers you’ll need sufficiently large sterile bottles or jars as well as some cloths to cover the jars
But before we start, let’s take a quick look at how vinegar is made.
Step 1: Sugar becomes alcohol
The first step to making apple vinegar is the production of apple wine. Natural yeasts transform the sugar from the apples plus the sugar we add into alcohol. You can see that by the formation of white foam on the surface. It’s also possible that after a few days, a white layer forms on the surface. That’s kahm yeast and it’s harmless.
When, after some time, the acid content in the liquid rises, kahm (and other) yeast(s) disappear.
Step 2: Alcohol becomes vinegar
As soon as the first alcohol has formed, acetic acid bacteria also start to work. They are naturally in the air and on the fruits and need alcohol and oxygen to multiply. For this reason, it’s essential that you only cover the jars with a cloth because without oxygen the acetic acid bacteria cannot work.
The alcohol is now fermented to acetic acid. If you want to learn more about how fermentation works, this article is just the thing you need:
How to make apple vinegar from scraps
Prepare your jars by washing them and the lids in hot water or the dishwasher and then let them dry.
Before processing your apples, wash them thoroughly in the sink to remove any dirt. Now peel and quarter them (depending on what you want to do with those apples) and remove the core. Cut off any rotten parts. Only unspoiled and healthy peels and cores can be used for making vinegar.
When chopping apples, I usually have three bowls at hand: one for the apple quarters to be processed, one for the “good” apple peels and cores and one for the rotten parts to be thrown away.
Put the peels and cores into a one-litre glass bottle until it’s about ¾ full. Add half a cup of sugar, and half a cup of apple vinegar as a starter and fill the bottle up with water. Stir or shake the mixture until the sugar has dissolved.
Don’t close the bottle with a lid as we need oxygen to make vinegar. Instead, put a clean piece of cloth on the bottle opening and fix it with a rubber band. That way, the liquid is exposed to oxygen, but no fruit flies or dirt can get into it.
Put the bottle in a warm, dark place (no direct sunlight) and let it sit for about 10 – 14 days. After a few days, you’ll see tiny bubbles forming.
After a few days, bubbles start to form
Sometimes, the mixture builds foam and may even bubble over the rim. If a thin white spread forms on the surface that destroys when you stir it slightly, that’s no reason to worry. It’s kahm yeast and will neither affect the process nor the taste. Around day 6 it’ll start to smell of vinegar.
After about 10 – 14 days, strain the liquid through a colander into a clean glass bottle. Make sure to squeeze out any residual liquid from the peels. If you have, you can add a vinegar mother to your fresh vinegar. This will help it to mature.
Put a fresh clean cloth on the opening and fix it with a rubber band. Let the vinegar mature in a cool, dark place for about six months. During this time, a mother of vinegar might form which is a great sign that everything’s going well! Taste your vinegar after six months. If it’s to your liking and a vinegar mother has formed, decant it into a fresh bottle. Carefully put the vinegar mother into a separate jar and fill it up with enough vinegar to cover it completely. You may use it as a starter for the next vinegar.
Homegrown jellyfish, a.k.a. mother of vinegar
Other fruit vinegars
I’ve also tried making vinegar from pear and quince scraps and it worked out very well. The pear and quince vinegar took a bit longer to mature (about 8 – 12 months) but the wait was absolutely worth it! Both vinegars tasted deliciously fruity and relatively mild and they add an interesting flavour to fruit salads. Pear and quince vinegar are also marvellous in a vinaigrette for autumn salads like lamb’s ear and chicory with pears, grapes and walnuts.
Apples are available all year round, especially when you grow a variety of them that ensure a long harvesting and shelf life. If you don’t have an orchard, you still can buy apples at any time of year. Nevertheless, fresh apples, plucked right from a tree when they are ripe are the privilege of autumn. I’m lucky enough to have a wonderful brother with a vast orchard and enough love for his sister that he allows her (that is: me) to have her share of his fruit harvest. Where we had very few fruits last year, this year has presented us with an abundance of them! Apart from eating the apples right from the tree and baking apple cakes in all varietes, what better way to preserve them for the upcoming winter than by canning apple sauce?
Ingredients and equipment for canning apple sauce
You’ll need a water bath canner (no pressure canner necessary for this recipe), appropriately large jars with well-closing lids and apples – at least one kilogram, the more the better – and sugar if you like.
Preparations
Prepare your jars by washing them and the lids in hot water or the dishwasher. Put the jar lids and rings or the rubber bands in a pot and cover them with water. Bring the water to a boil and let it all cook for five minutes. Remove the lids, rings and/or rubber bands from the boiling water and put them onto a clean dish towel on the kitchen counter. Let them dry.
Instructions for canning apple sauce
Rinse the apples in your sink to wash off any dirt. Also, remove any leaves, grass or other residues. Once washed, peel the apples, quarter them and cut out the cores. Cut off all rotten parts. If you want to make apple vinegar from the scraps, make sure that you only use unspoiled peels and cores. I usually take three bowls when preparing apple sauce: one for the apple quarters to be cooked, one for rotten apple parts or wormy cores to discard and one for all the scraps I later use for making vinegar.
Cooking
Once you’ve peeled and cut all the apples, wash the quarters again and put them into a large pot (or several if you have too many apples to fit into one, though you can also cook them in succession). Fill up water to about a quarter of the pot and put the apples to a boil. When the water’s boiling, carefully stir the apples from the top under so that they cook as well. After some minutes – depending on the sort – the apples become soft. Now use a hand blender to mix them into a smooth, homogenous mass. If you want, you can now optionally add some sugar to the apple sauce, but it isn’t necessary for preserving. I don’t use sugar in my apple sauce but if you want to and like your sauce sweeter, go ahead and add sugar to your taste.
When the sauce is blended stir it well until it’s boiling. Be very careful at this stage as the thick mass will easily bubble over and explosively release splashes of hot apple sauce that usually shoot at an unsuspecting arm or hand. I’ve gotten burnt more than once and know what I’m talking about…
Remove the pot from the stove and with the help of a funnel, ladle the apple sauce into the jars. Leave about one inch of headspace. Before closing the lids, make sure that the rim of the jar is clean. That’s best ensured by dipping a clean cloth (for example a towel) into some vinegar and wiping the rims clean. Seal the jars with the lids.
Canning
To can the jars, fill as much water into your water-bath canner as indicated in the manual and heat it. The water in the pot must have approximately the same temperature as the apple sauce in the jars. If we put the hot jars into cold to medium-warm water, they would break due to the huge temperature difference between the outside (water) and the inside (apple sauce). When the water has reached about 70 °C (160 °F), you can put the jars into the water bath canner (the apple sauce in the jars will have cooled down to approximately the same temperature by now). Make sure there is enough space between the jars and they don’t touch. Close the pot lid and bring the water to a boil. Once it boils, set the timer to 35 minutes and let the canner do its wonders.
When time’s up, carefully open the canner lid. Beware of the hot steam! Remove the jars with a glass lifter out of the canner and put them onto a towel on the counter to cool down.
When they’ve cooled down completely, store the apple sauce in a cool and dark place. It’ll last up to two years.
Apple sauce is a wonderful addition to pancakes or waffles, you can stir it into your morning yoghurt, make an autumnal apple tiramisu with it or just scoop it right from the jar.
Apple Sauce
Apple sauce is a wonderful addition to pancakes or waffles, you can stir it into your morning yoghurt, make an autumnal apple tiramisu with it or just scoop it right from the jar.
apples, at least one kilogram, the more the better
sugar (optional),to taste
Method
Prepare your jars by washing them and the lids in hot water or the dishwasher. Put the jar lids and rings or the rubber bands in a pot and cover them with water. Bring the water to a boil and let it all cook for five minutes. Remove the lids, rings and/or rubber bands from the boiling water and put them onto a clean dish towel on the kitchen counter. Let them dry.
Rinse the apples in your sink to wash off any dirt. Also, remove any leaves, grass or other residues.
Once washed, peel the apples, quarter them and cut out the cores. Cut off all rotten parts. If you want to make apple vinegar from the scraps, make sure that you only use unspoiled peels and cores.
Once you've peeled and cut all the apples, wash the quarters again and put them into a large pot (or several if you have too many apples to fit into one, although you can also cook them in succession). Fill up water to about a quarter of the pot and put the apples to a boil.
When the water's boiling, carefully stir the apples from the top under so that they cook as well. After 5 - 20 minutes - depending on the variety – the apples become soft. Now use a hand blender to mix them into a smooth, homogenous mass. If you want, you can now optionally add some sugar to the apple sauce, but it isn't necessary for preserving.
When the sauce is blended stir it well until it’s boiling. Be very careful at this stage as the thick mass will easily bubble over and explosively release splashes of hot apple sauce that usually shoot at an unsuspecting arm or hand.
Remove the pot from the stove and with the help of a funnel, ladle the apple sauce into the jars. Leave about one inch of headspace. Before closing the lids, make sure that the rim of the jar is clean. That's best ensured by dipping a clean cloth (for example a towel) into some vinegar and wiping the rims clean. Seal the jars with the lids.
To can the jars, fill as much water into your water-bath canner as indicated in the manual and heat it. The water in the pot must have approximately the same temperature as the apple sauce in the jars. If we put the hot jars into cold to medium-warm water, they would break due to the huge temperature difference between the outside (water) and the inside (apple sauce). Make sure there is enough space between the jars and they don’t touch. Close the pot lid and bring the water to a boil. Once it boils, set the timer to 35 minutes and let the canner do its wonders.
When time's up, carefully open the canner lid. Beware of the hot steam! Remove the jars with a glass lifter out of the canner and put them onto a towel on the counter to cool down.
When they’ve cooled down completely, store the apple sauce in a cool and dark place. It’ll last up to two years.
Never judge a book by its cover – or in this case: a vegetable by its appearance. Beetroots are not the prettiest of veggies. They are plump, dirty and make a hell of a mess when cut up. But if you get to know them, you’ll love them. You can eat them raw, cooked, steamed, boiled or roasted and preserve them by freezing, pickling, canning or fermenting them. Add to that a wonderfully unique taste and a bunch of nutrients and you have a veggie superstar! If you don’t know how to deal with an abundance of beetroots, look no further. In this post, I’ll show you two recipes for pickled beetroots so that you can enjoy their flavour and colour all winter long.
Pickled beetroots I
Yield: 5 jars of 350 ml Shelf life: up to two years
Ingredients
1,2 kg beetroots 3/4 l apple vinegar 1/8 l water 80 g sugar 1 tsp salt 4 tbsp grated horseradish 1 tbsp white peppercorns 1 tbsp caraway 5 cloves 1 bay leaf
Instructions
1. Put on an apron and always – ALWAYS – wear disposable gloves when handling beetroots. Otherwise, the stains will never come out of your clothes and your hands will have a butcherlike colour for quite some time.
2. Cut off the leaves to about 1 cm and put the beetroots onto a baking tray. Bake them in the oven at a temperature of 175 °C (350 °F) for 60 – 90 minutes, depending on their thickness. When they feel soft, they’re ready.
Put your beetroots onto a tray and bake them in the oven for about 1 – 1,5 hours.
3. In the meantime, mix the vinegar, sugar and salt and put it to a boil. Wash the horseradish, peel it and grate it.
4. Peel the cooked beetroots and chop them into squares. I do not recommend slices as they fall apart easily.
5. Layer the still-warm beetroots with the spices into jars. Fill up with the hot fluid and close the jars tightly with lids. Store the pickled beetroots in a cool and dark place.
Put on an apron and always - ALWAYS - wear disposable gloves when handling beetroots. Otherwise, the stains will never come out of your clothes and your hands will have a butcherlike colour for quite some time.
Cut off the leaves to about 1 cm and put the beetroots onto a baking tray. Bake them in the oven at a temperature of 175 °C (350 °F) for 60 - 90 minutes, depending on their thickness. When they feel soft, they're ready.
In the meantime, mix the vinegar, sugar and salt and put it to a boil. Wash the horseradish, peel it and grate it.
Peel the cooked beetroots and chop them into squares. I do not recommend slices as they fall apart easily.
Layer the still-warm beetroots with the spices into jars. Fill up with the hot fluid and close the jars tightly with lids. Store the pickled beetroots in a cool and dark place.
Pickled beetroots II
If you like it a bit milder, the following recipe will suit you! It uses apple juice in combination with vinegar which leads to a more fruity taste. As we use less vinegar, however, the shelf life is only up to one year when stored in a cool place.
Yield: 5 jars of 350 ml Shelf life: up to one year
Ingredients
1,2 kg beetroots 1 l water 3/8 l apple juice 1/8 l apple vinegar 100 g sugar 1 tsp salt 1 tbsp black peppercorns 1 tbsp caraway
Instructions
The procedure is pretty much the same as in recipe I:
1. Cut off the leaves to about 1 cm and put the beetroots onto a baking tray. Bake them in the oven at a temperature of 175 °C (350 °F) for 60 – 90 minutes, depending on their thickness. When they feel soft, they’re ready.
2. In the meantime, mix the vinegar, sugar and salt and put it to a boil.
3. Peel the cooked beetroots and chop them into squares.
Once baked and peeled, chop the beetroots into squares
4. Layer the still warm beetroots with the spices into jars. Fill up with the hot fluid and close the jars tightly with lids. Store the pickled beetroots in a cool and dark place.
Pickled Beetroots II
This is a recipe for a milder version of pickled beetroots. The combination of apple vinegar and apple juice takes the edge off the vinegar while at the same time adding a fruity aroma to the pickles.
1. Put on an apron and always - ALWAYS - wear disposable gloves when handling beetroots. Otherwise, the stains will never come out of your clothes and your hands will have a butcherlike colour for quite some time.
Cut off the leaves to about 1 cm and put the beetroots onto a baking tray. Bake them in the oven at a temperature of 175 °C (350 °F) for 60 - 90 minutes, depending on their thickness. When they feel soft, they're ready.
In the meantime, mix the vinegar, sugar and salt and put it to a boil.
Peel the cooked beetroots and chop them into squares.
Layer the still warm beetroots with the spices into jars. Fill up with the hot fluid and close the jars tightly with lids. Store the pickled beetroots in a cool and dark place.
Pickled beetroots can be eaten with a cold supper or some sandwiches, but they also make a wonderful side dish to potatoes and herring as well as boiled beef. If you want to go a bit further you can make this tasty spread with pickled beetroots.
What would cooking be without herbs? They not only are beneficial for our health but also add flavour to practically any dish. To make sure that we can use herbs all year round, we have to preserve them during summer. Drying is the most common practice to preserve herbs; as usual there is more than one way to do it. In this post I show you three different ways how to dry herbs.
Preparation
I know that many people tell you not to wash your herbs before drying them because that would enhance the risk of mildewing. But that’s only true if you don’t dab the herbs dry properly after washing or even bundle the stems together while they are still wet. I always wash my herbs before drying them because no matter where they grow, they’ll always be dirty or contain the occasional insect. After washing, shake the herbs out over your sink, then lay them out on a clean towel and cover them with a second towel. Now, gently squeeze out the remaining water and move the herbs over to a third (dry!) towel where you let them pre-dry for a few hours.
Now they are washed, your herbs are ready for being dried. Let’s start with
Air-drying
With this classic way of drying herbs, you bind the herbs into a bunch with a diameter of about 2 – 3 cm /1 inch. Hang it upside down at a temperate place with proper air circulation but without direct sunlight. Alternatively, you can put the herbs onto drying racks. Let them dry for about one week, depending on the herb. If you’re not sure whether they are dry enough for storage, you better leave them for one or two days longer. Otherwise, the herbs will develop mildew.
Dehydrating
You can dry herbs in a dehydrator. This is especially great if your dehydrator has mesh inserts that keep the leaves from falling through. Dry the herbs in your dehydrator according to the manual for about two to four hours.
Oven-drying
If you (like me) don’t have a dehydrator, you can also dry herbs in your oven. For that purpose, cover your trays with baking paper or silicone mats, put the clean herbs on them and let them dry at about 50 °C /120 °F. Stick a wooden spoon into your oven door to let the moisture evaporate. Dry the herbs until they are crisp to the touch and remove easily from the stems.
Storage of dried herbs
Dried herbs are best stored in clean glass jars or airtight plastic containers. You may also use brown-glass jars to keep out the light.
When your herbs are completely dry, put them onto a piece of baking parchment and strip the leaves from the stems. Dispose of the stems, slightly fold the baking paper in half so that a crease forms and let the dried herbal leaves glide into your container. I usually, store the whole leaves (well, as whole as they stay when removing them from the stems) and crumble them when I use them. That way they maintain more flavour.
Store the jars or plastic containers in a dark and dry place for about one year.
Herbs are often unremarkable to look at, but man, what would we do without their flavour? Can you imagine a tomato sauce without thyme, rosemary and basil? Or a roast without a bouquet garni? What about pesto and herb butter for a barbecue? Yet, herbs not only flatter our tongues but are also beneficiary to our health. Think of chamomile tea that we drink when we have an upset stomach. Unfortunately, most herbs are only available during the summer months. Some aren’t even winterhardy. To use herbs all year round, we must find a way to preserve them. Drying is the most common method but there are many more. I’ll show you six great ways to preserve herbs.
When to harvest herbs
No matter what herb you want to use, the amount of essential oils must be high when harvested. There are some tips you might want to observe to make sure that you harvest your herbs at the best possible time:
The best time of day to harvest herbs is the late morning. The dew has dried off and it’s not yet so hot that the essential oils evaporate.
Most herbs are best harvested before they burst into bloom. Herbs like chive and mint, for example, lose taste as soon as they’re blooming.
Cut your herbs at the stems where they are still green and haven’t lignified yet. That way, they can continue to grow and you can have a second (or even third) harvest.
Drying
You can practically dry every herb. Just cut the stems off as described above. I know that many people tell you not to wash your herbs before drying them because that would enhance the risk of mildewing. But that’s only true if you don’t dry the herbs properly after washing or even bundling the stems together while they are still wet. I always wash my herbs before drying them because no matter where they grow, they’ll always be dirty or contain the occasional insect. After washing, shake the herbs, lay them on a clean towel and cover them with a second towel. Now, gently squeeze out the remaining water and move the herbs over to a third (dry!) towel where you let them pre-dry for a few hours.
Some herbs are suitable for freezing. Depending on the herb you want to preserve that way, however, there are different methods.
Freezing chopped herbs
This is a great way to preserve herbs, especially parsley, chive, borage, chervil and great burnet. Chop the herbs, press them tightly into an airtight plastic container and put them into the freezer. When you want to add some frozen herbs to your soups or sauces, remove the amount you need with a spoon or a fork and put the rest back into the freezer.
Freezing in water
This is a lovely way to preserve herbal flowers, for example, borage, chamomille or elderflowers. Put the freshly plucked flowers into an ice cube form, fill it up with water and put it into the freezer. Flower ice cubes are charming in drinks.
In the same way, you can also freeze herbs like mint or melissa and pimp your water or iced tea with it.
Freezing in oil
When you freeze herbs in oil, you can add them directly from the freezer into a sauce. For this method, I recommend a mixture of Italian herbs like rosemary, thyme, sage, oregano and marjoram. Chop the herbs, put them into an ice cube form and fill it up with olive oil. Put the form into the freezer and remove one to two ice cubes for spicing up a tomato sauce meat sauce.
Freezing herb butter
This is an easy one: finely chop ½ cup of herbs and mix it with one teaspoon of salt and 200 g (1 cup) of butter. Roll the butter into a “sausage” with 2 – 3 cm /1 inch in diameter and put it into the freezer. Alternatively, you can put the roll into the fridge first. When it has cooled enough to set, cut the roll into slices (about 1 cm / 1/3 inch) and freeze them in a freezing bag. Either put the frozen herb butter slices onto grilled meat or corn or thaw the whole roll before serving it to a barbecue.
Herbs in oil
You can infuse oil with herbs to flavour salads, sauces, stews or vegetables. The basic method is to put 2 – 3 stems of clean fresh or dried herbs into a ½ litre bottle and fill it up with good olive oil. Either use one herb or a mixture of different herbs. Make sure that the herbs are covered with oil, otherwise they will become mouldy. You can also use sunflower oil but it has a shorter shelf life than olive oil and becomes rancid sooner. Let the oil infuse for about four weeks and afterwards, remove the herbs. Infused oil can be stored for 6 months up to one year.
Try out oven potatoes with rosemary oil or add thyme-infused oil to a fish steak.
Herbs in vinegar
Like oil, you can also infuse vinegar with herbs to add new flavours to your salad. Best vinegars used for infusing are wine and apple vinegar. Put 3 – 5 stems of clean fresh or dried herbs into a ½ litre bottle and fill it up with the vinegar of your choice. Again, you can either use just one herb to infuse the vinegar or an herbal mixture like herbs de Provence. Let the vinegar infuse for 4 – 6 weeks, then remove the herbs. Infused vinegar has a shelf life of up to one year.
Herb-infused vinegar and oil make great gifts!
Herbal salt
To make herbal salt, chop fresh, clean herbs into fine pieces and layer them alternatingly with salt into a glass jar. Lay the lid loosely onto the jar, don’t close it tightly. Let the mixture sit for 1 – 2 weeks and spread the salt-herb mix onto a baking tray. Dry the salt at a low temperature in the oven. When the salt has cooled down, put it into the blender and blend it until it’s homogenous. Fill the salt back into the glass jar and close the lid tightly. Stored in a dry place, the salt will last practically indefinitely.
Pesto
We all know the pesto “Genovese”, the famous mixture of basil, olive oil, pine nuts and parmesan that we love to add to pasta. But did you know that you can make pesto with many other herbs, too? Try out wild garlic, for example. It’ll add a wonderful taste to your dish. Or use a mixture of Italian herbs like rosemary, oregano, thyme and sage for our pesto. Even wild herbs like dandelion and goutweed can be processed into a great pesto.
Unfortunately, the shelf life of pesto isn’t very long. You can store it in a closed jar in the fridge for 3 – 4 weeks. Once it has been opened, it’ll only last for 3 – 4 days. But with all the fresh herbs from spring to autumn, we can always make fresh pesto whenever we like.
Aficionados of pasta and fresh vegetables appreciate the fresh and aromatic flavour of pesto. If you have fresh herbs at hand you can make some delicious herb pesto with simple means and relatively few ingredients. The big advantage compared to the store-bought version is that you can decide what herbs to put in and adjust the flavour to your liking. Below I’ll show you three great recipes for different herbal pesto that you can make in almost no time.
Tips for making pesto
Making herbal pesto is a fast and easy way to process fresh herbs.
Necessary devices
Pesto recipes always recommend using pestle and mortar. The reason behind this is not to make your arms go lame during the process of shredding and mixing the ingredients but to keep the herbs’ essential oils from evaporating. Electric devices like kitchen blenders or mixers can destroy valuable aroma substances of the herbs. Some essential oils evaporate at 40 °C already and the mentioned devices can reach those temperatures in a relatively short time. Thus, using a pestle and mortar is the first choice for making pesto.
However! If you chop the ingredients into very small pieces, use the pulsing function of your hand blender and pause the device whenever it gets warm, you’ll also get a formidable pesto. The choice of device is up to you.
What you should do in any case is wash the herbs and dry them thoroughly, then chop them finely with a knife before putting them either into the mortar or bowl for further processing.
Basic pesto ingredients
For an aromatic pesto, you always need two main ingredients: oil- or fat-containing nuts or seeds and an appropriate plant oil. One of the most famous recipes for a classic pesto, the Pesto alla Genovese, uses pine nuts and high-quality cold-pressed olive oil.
You can experiment like a crazy scientist with the nuts and seeds. Try out walnuts, for instance, or pistachios, hazelnuts, almonds, sunflower or pumpkin seeds, cashew nuts or – as in the original – pine nuts. Apart from olive oil, you can use sunflower oil, pumpkin seed oil or walnut oil. There is (almost) no limit to the imagination!
A further important ingredient is well-matured aromatic hard cheese – at least for all non-vegans. You can either use pecorino cheese which is mostly made of sheep milk or a good parmesan. Or both.
The last basic ingredient for our herb pesto is – tadaa! – herbs. You can use almost all herbs. If you use a mix of herbs, make sure that they harmonize well. When in doubt, stick to the classic Mediterraneans like rosemary, sage, thyme, savoury, basil and oregano. Either use the single herbs or a combination.
Further possibilities are kitchen herbs like lovage, bear’s garlic, parsley and tarragon or wild herbs like dandelion, sorrel or goutweed.
Recipes for homemade herb pesto
It’s quite easy to make herb pesto by yourself. In a few easy steps, you can make some tasty variations that are great in Italian dishes, on fresh bread or as salad dressing. I show you some simple recipes that you can adapt to your liking.
Bear’s garlic pesto
Bear’s garlic or wild garlic is a very popular spring herb. You may have tried already these recipes for bear’s garlic bread and bear’s garlic brioche braids. Wild garlic pesto is another great recipe for this flavoury herb. Its delicious taste is wonderful with pasta and fried potatoes. You can use it in a risotto or spread it on freshly baked rustic bread.
Ingredients for 250 ml pesto
50 g bear’s garlic 125 ml olive oil 5 walnuts 50 g pecorino ½ tsp salt
Instructions
Wash the wild garlic leaves and chop them finely. Grind the walnuts with a pestle in the mortar until they’re creamy, then add the chopped wild garlic. Add the pecorino. Alternatively, put all the ingredients into a bowl and mix them with a blender. Remember to only pulse the blender. Add the oil and salt to your taste.
Mediterranean herb pesto (vegan)
Combine Mediterranean herbs like thyme, lavender, basil, oregano, savory, rosemary and sage and use it for an extraordinary vegan herb pesto. A bit of garlic enhances the flavour of the herb mix.
Ingredients for 250 g pesto
10 g thyme 10 g lavender 15 g basil 15 g oregano 1 – 2 garlic cloves 20 g pine nuts 125 ml olive oil 1 tsp of salt and pepper each
Instructions
Chop the herbs and the garlic. Roast the pine nuts without oil in a pan until they turn light brown. Put the nuts and the chopped herbs in a mortar and mash them together with a pestle. Add the oil and salt and mix all thoroughly. If you want – and don’t insist on this pesto variant being vegan – you can also add hard cheese, for example, parmesan.
Wild herb pesto with dandelion, sorrel and goutweed
Wild herb lovers will adore this pesto that’s perfect for noodles, gnocchi or wild herb salads.
Ingredients for 250 ml wild herb pesto
50 g wild herbs (dandelion, sorrel and goutweed) 25 g sunflower seeds 10 g walnuts 125 ml olive oil (alternative: grape seed oil) 2 tsp lime juice (alternative: lemon juice) 2 tbsp parmesan 1/2 – 1 tsp salt 1/2 – 1 tsp pepper
Instructions
Wash the fresh herbs thoroughly, then dry and chop them. Put the sunflower seeds, walnuts and chopped herbs into a mortar and mash all together with a pestle. After that, add the oil, lime juice and cheese and mix it all thoroughly. Add salt and pepper to your taste.
Storage time of homemade pesto
Making herb pesto is a fast process and you may be tempted to make a lot of it when your herb harvest is abundant. However, pesto can’t be stored for a long time. The oil and salt in pesto are usually preserving foods that help to prolong the storage time of the pesto. The nuts, however, become rancid after some time and thus make the pesto inedible. The same goes for the hard cheese.
Therefore, homemade pesto can be stored unopened for three to four weeks in the fridge, depending on the quality and amount of oil and cheese in it. Storage time can be enhanced when you fill up the jar with oil so that the pesto has no contact with the air. Another possibility to prolong storage time is to add the hard cheese not until you eat the pesto.
So, making pesto is a great idea but making large amounts of it may not be the best way to preserve your abundant herb harvest. If you need other ideas to have herbs all year round, take a look at this post.
