Home Preserving….

…. is a true extension of SEASONAL COOKING.  Most countries and cultures have developed ways of making abundant, perishable summer produce last through the leaner winter months. And in France most of these preserves have become cherished and prized delicacies.

Preserves

There’s so much more to preserving than jams and chutneys – we will be PICKLING, SALTING, DRYING and CANDYING.  In terms of basics we will make flavoured oils, vinegars, butters and olives… Depending on the season and availability we will also preserve fruit in ALCOHOL and VINEGAR, SALT and SUGAR.  We might use duck fat to CONFIT duck legs, and salt to PRESERVE LEMONS and make our own GRAVLAX of SALMON.  We could use vinegar to make CRUNCHY PICKLES, or sugar to make THYME JELLY for serving with cheese.  We will even make my favourite RASPBERRY VINEGAR and, in summer we can make OVEN-DRIED TOMATOES and preserve them in olive oil..

Charcuterie

In terms of CHARCUTERIE think luscious Provençal RILLETTES of RABBIT (made with olive oil and lemon) or divine DRY-CURED DUCKBREAST.  We may even make the indispensable PETIT-SALÉ (dry-cured PANCETTA belly of pork) that no serious cook can live without.

Sweetmeats

And on the sweet spectrum (and depending on the season) we can use sugar to CANDY FRUIT such as CANDIED FIGS or ORANGE STRIPS half-dipped in chocolate, but also MEMBRILLO, the quince paste that many Mediterraneans serve with cheese.

And finally we may make some festive FRUIT LIQUEURS, such as the local THYME liqueur, or LIMONCELLO.

This course is about how to to make these versatile  ‘basics’ from scratch – and how use them afterwards.. And of course you’ll take home the products.