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HOW SHOULD I STORE BOTTLED GOODS?

Bottled goods should be stored undisturbed in a cool, dark place – a cupboard works well, but a larder or cellar is ideal.

BOTTLED GREENGAGES

Herr Wittmann, Omi’s neighbour, had a greengage tree in his garden. The fruit ripened in mid-July and carried on through August, by which time it was very sweet and the wasps knew it – I too knew it, because I was stung for the first time by a wasp when picking them late in the season.

I am very fond of this fruit – so juicy it’s imperative you have a tissue on hand to mop your chin with. There is a limit, though, to how many fresh greengages one can eat, and once that has been reached, these sweet perfumed fruits are bottled ready for the winter.

Ringelo is a beloved dessert of ours. The boys chant ‘tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor’ while counting the stones at the side of their plates.

The fruit itself is very sweet, so adjust the sugar quantities as you see fit. I like to keep the syrup light, but it’s all personal preference; alternatively, you can use pure apple juice for an even healthier option. Any kind of plums or damsons can be bottled in the same way – just adjust the sweetness of the juice or syrup according to your taste.

MAKES 4 × 500ML JARS

160g granulated sugar or 1 litre apple juice

1kg greengages, stalks removed (or plums or damsons)

Half fill a large saucepan with water, cover and bring to the boil. The pan must be deep enough to be able to completely submerge the jars you are using for bottling. Once boiling, turn down to its lowest setting to simmer. Keep covered and simmering until needed.

Put 1 litre of water and the sugar into a pan over a medium heat and bring slowly to the boil, until the sugar has dissolved and forms a light syrup. Turn off the heat. (If using apple juice, heat it in a saucepan until piping hot, then turn off the heat.)

Pack the whole greengages into warm, sterilised jars – you may end up with one jar being a little less full, depending on the shape and size of the fruit. Pour the hot syrup or apple juice over them until completely covered, leaving a 1cm gap below the rim of the jar, and seal.

Place a folded tea towel in the bottom of the simmering pan of water to prevent the jars touching the bottom. You may need to use a wooden spoon to push it into place (if the jars do touch the saucepan they will crack, due to the impact of immediate heat). Carefully place the jars upright on the tea towel and put the lid back on the saucepan. Simmer for 25 minutes.

Cover an area of a solid surface (table or worktop) with a tea towel or some newspaper. Carefully take the jars out of the water, transfer to the covered surface and leave to stand undisturbed for 24 hours. Check the seals (see here). If the seals are good, store in a cool, dark place for up to a year. If the jars haven’t sealed, refrigerate them and use within 5 days.

BOTTLED RASPBERRIES WITH VANILLA AND LEMON

BOTTLED RASPBERRIES

WITH VANILLA AND LEMON

These bottled raspberries could not be simpler. The syrup in which they are preserved is created solely by layering the fruit with sugar and stirring it gently, then setting it aside overnight for the juices to be drawn out. Blackberries, strawberries, redcurrants, mulberries, loganberries and elderberries can all be used in the same way. Fruit stirred with sugar is a speedy ‘conserve’, and is delicious eaten in conjunction with quark. When soft berries are in season I sprinkle the fruit with a small amount of sugar most days, stir it, cover it, and set it aside overnight ready for breakfast the next morning – this bottled version sees us through the winter.

MAKES 3 × 500ML JARS

1kg raspberries (frozen ones, thawed, also work)

150g golden caster sugar

½ a vanilla pod, cut into 3

6 strips of unwaxed lemon (or lime) zest (I use a vegetable peeler for this)

Put the raspberries into a sieve and wash them with cold water, then shake off any excess drips and tip them gently into a big bowl, layering with the sugar as you go. Gently stir the contents of the bowl to draw out some of the juice and to ensure that all the fruit is coated in sugar, but be careful not to break up the raspberries. Cover with a clean tea towel and set aside in a cool place overnight.

In the morning the raspberries should be swimming in a lovely thick syrup.

Divide the raspberries and their syrup between three sterilised 500ml glass jars (these must be warm, just out of the oven, to prevent them cracking when immersed in the water bath). The syrup won’t come up over the fruit but don’t worry about this – during the bottling process more juice is drawn out of the fruit, so they will end up swimming in syrup. Poke a piece of vanilla pod into the centre of the raspberries and push 2 strips of lemon zest down the sides of each jar. Seal the jars and follow the bottling process here for 30 minutes.

These will keep well in a cool dark place for up to a year. Once opened, refrigerate and use within 5 days.

ALSO TRY:

RASPBERRY SAUCE

If you like, remove the vanilla pod and zest and pass the fruit and liquid through a sieve or a mouli, turning it into a sauce – delicious over ice creams, set creams (such as Bavarian cream or panna cotta), yogurt and sponge cakes. This can be bottled as above; if bottling, heat the sauce for a couple of minutes until piping hot (but not boiled) before filling the warm, sterilised jars.

ELDERBERRY, LEMON AND BAY

This is delicious alongside meat dishes. Break a fresh bay leaf into 3. Follow the same method as above, using elderberries instead of raspberries, substituting the vanilla with bay, and adding the juice of a lemon to the fruit and sugar overnight.

FOUR WAYS WITH APPLE COMPOTE

We make this a lot, and in vast quantities. While in the UK we tend only to pair apple compote (sauce) with roast pork, in Germany Apfelmus is eaten with a great number of things. Fried potatoes and apple compote is a congenial combination; I love it with Dotsch (potato fritters for recipe); and it is even served with chips, alongside ketchup, at snack stands in some areas of the country. Noodle dishes both savoury and sweet often come with apple compote, as do steamed dumplings – it’s particularly good with those noodle dishes that are cheese-based. Apfelmus sits alongside fried Schnitzel (both pork and chicken), liver or fish, cutting through the fat with its sharp tartness, and, of course, the list of desserts in which Apfelmus is used is endless – I use it in trifles and tart fillings as well as in cakes (see spiced rye and apple sauce cake).

It can be made with any variety of apples, cookers and eaters, although my preference is Bramley. Spices can be added to the mix too, depending on how you intend to eat it.

This method of making compote is very easy, as you don’t need to peel or core the apples – everything goes in, skin, pips, stalks and all, adding a real depth of flavour.

MAKES 6 × 500ML JARS

½ a lemon, plus 30ml lemon juice

4.5kg Bramley apples (or any other variety)

golden caster sugar, added by the tablespoon to taste (optional)

Heat a large pan of water on the stove. The pan must be deep enough to be able to completely submerge the jars you are using.

Have a large bowl at the side of the chopping board, half full of cold water with the juice of ½ a lemon squeezed in. This will help to prevent the apples oxidising and turning brown.

Remove any blemishes from the apples. Cut the apples in half, then into 2cm chunks, popping them into the bowl of water as you go. Once you have chopped all the apples, put them into a large saucepan along with the 30ml of lemon juice and 60ml of water. Put the lid on the pan and stew the apples over a medium heat for about 20 minutes, until they are falling apart. Stir from time to time with a wooden spoon to prevent them sticking on the bottom of the pan or burning.

Once the fruit has turned into a mush, taste it for sweetness. If it is too tart, add a tablespoon of sugar, stir through and taste again. Repeat this until the desired sweetness is reached.

Pass the mixture through a sieve or a mouli into another large, clean saucepan. You will need to do this in batches. Discard the pips and skin that are left over.

Heat the now smooth compote for a minute or two until piping hot again. Now pour it into warm, sterilised jars. Tap each jar on the work surface to remove any air bubbles. Screw the two-piece vacuum lids on to the jars, or seal with a rubber band and clip, depending on what type of jar you are using.

Place a folded tea towel in the bottom of the pan of water (you may need to use a wooden spoon to push it into place). Carefully lower the jars into the pan so that they rest on the tea towel. Put the lid on the pan and simmer for 18 minutes. (If you are using larger jars you will need to simmer them for longer according to the size of jar.)

Cover the work surface with a tea towel, then remove the jars carefully from the water bath and place on the towel. Let them sit undisturbed until cool. Test the seals (see here) and, if good, screw the lids tightly on or clip the jars shut.

Stored in a cool, dark place, this compote keeps well for up to a year. Once opened, refrigerate and eat within 5 days.

VARIATIONS:

250g prunes (or dried apricots), 2 cinnamon sticks, each 5cm in length, 18 cloves and ¾ teaspoon grated nutmeg added to the apples while they cook make a spiced version of this compote, which we love to eat for breakfast during the late autumn and winter.

Apple sauce is great fun to experiment with, so have a go at adding some of your favourite herbs and spices to the pot. Here are some additional flavours I have tried: allspice berries, pink peppercorns, crushed cardamom seeds, ground coriander, fresh rosemary sprigs, fresh sage leaves (for a savoury unsweetened version), freshly grated ginger, juniper berries, strips of unwaxed lemon zest, vanilla pods.

For pear and apple compote, simply substitute half the apples in the recipe with pears.

Rose water adds a delicate floral note. Stir½–1 tablespoon through at the very end, once you have turned the heat off, just before you fill the jars.

TARRAGON AND PINK PEPPERCORN VINEGAR

Simple white wine vinegar is most versatile, and we use it in dressings, preserves, pickles and several vegetable/meat dishes – it’s an ingredient that our kitchen couldn’t do without.

White wine vinegar carries the scent of fresh herbs well, and I often infuse a bottle with various leaves or sprigs. Having herb vinegar to hand means that even if you don’t have actual fresh herbs in the kitchen, their bright flavour notes can be imparted into any number of dishes.

This vinegar sits permanently next to the olive oil in our kitchen, at arm’s reach from the stove. I splash it on to and into many things; it’s delicious mixed with olive oil and drizzled over tomatoes or griddled asparagus, for example, or used to deglaze a pan in which chicken or mackerel have been fried. Delicious too sprinkled over a pan of potatoes and chicken thighs to be baked in the oven. Herb vinegars are great for making quick fresh pickles with, because they are packed full with so much flavour. Often while preparing lunch or dinner that requires a pickle on the side, I will mix spiced or herbed vinegar with paper-thin slices of carrots, radishes, mushrooms, cucumbers, courgettes or onions and allow them to infuse for half an hour while dinner is being cooked.

Flavoured vinegars are delicious in glazes too – I mix this tarragon vinegar with a little honey, mustard, sweet paprika, dried marjoram, fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to brush over chicken or portobello mushrooms while they are on the barbecue.

MAKES 750ML

10 sprigs of fresh tarragon

2 teaspoons pink peppercorns

750ml white wine vinegar

Stuff the tarragon sprigs and peppercorns into a clean bottle, then funnel in the vinegar and seal. It only takes 24 hours for the vinegar to become strongly infused with tarragon’s signature liquorice flavour.

This vinegar keeps well for up to 6 months, and as the bottle goes down you can top it up with more vinegar to keep it going.

ALSO TRY:

THYME VINEGAR

1 strip of unwaxed lemon zest

10 sprigs of fresh thyme

750ml white wine vinegar (this also works well with cider vinegar)

Follow the recipe above.

ROSEMARY VINEGAR

3 sprigs of fresh rosemary

750ml white wine vinegar

Follow the recipe above.

ELDERBERRY AND JUNIPER PRESERVE

This is my take on a traditional Bavarian woodland sauce, often served with game or duck and goose. I actually also quite enjoy it with chicken, which I cook far more often than the aforementioned. Although the recipe was originally intended as something to sweeten and lift meals that revolved around meat, I use it as you would any other condiment, that is to say on porridge, toast and mixed into yogurt; it is also very good with cold meats and cheeses.

My preferred way of making sweet preserves is in the oven, because it takes away the stress of setting point – this juniper-spiked preserve is not set like a jam or jelly but more like a syrupy compote in consistency.

The beauty of this sauce is that it can use any hedgerow or woodland fruit that appears at the same time. Blackberries, plums, blueberries and damsons could all replace the elderberries here, just as apples could replace the pears – indeed, you could even make this out of a combination of the lot.

MAKES ABOUT 600ML

You will need a large, high-sided baking tray and some jars

500g pears, peeled and chopped into small chunks

500g elderberries, carefully taken off their stems

200g light brown sugar

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

juice of 1 lemon

10 juniper berries, crushed

Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6.

In a large bowl, toss the fruit together with the sugar, red wine vinegar, lemon juice and juniper berries. Tip into a large, high-sided baking tray and bake in the oven for 45–55 minutes, stirring twice during cooking, until the juices don’t immediately run back when a wooden spoon is dragged through the pan. Keep an eye on the fruit in the last 15 minutes, as it can catch on top slightly, in which case it may need covering loosely with foil – loosely is important because you still want to be able to let the steam out.

Pot immediately into warm, sterilised glass jars, seal and store in a cool, dark place.

This will keep well for up to 6 months, unopened. Store in the fridge once opened and use within 3 weeks.

Note: All fruit used for this must be optimally ripe, otherwise it won’t break down and soften.

SAUERKRAUT

Of course it would only be right to include a sauerkraut recipe in this book, as I, along with many other Germans, have fond feelings for the stuff.

Mass-produced kraut is so cheap today that more people eat it ready-made than homemade. Of course it’s a shame for many reasons, health benefits included, but taking into account the modern-day time constraints of many, it’s hardly surprising – I too have jars of it on the shelves for ease when cooking, reserving the homemade kraut for eating raw.

Fermentation is one of the oldest food-preserving techniques, a completely natural process that connects us to life and culture, for they are at its very heart. It doesn’t take much to make a small batch of kraut, in fact I often think of the fermentation process more as an act of wizardry than anything else. After your initial input the bacteria and yeasts in the air do the rest of the work for you; all you have to do is wait.

Small-batch sauerkraut-making is fun and very easy, the end result without a doubt being far greater than the sum of its parts. Although fermentation has gained some popularity again over the last decade, it is still to my mind a process that is not practised enough, and I urge you to try it, to see just how easy and superior in taste it is to the commercially produced stuff. It only takes around 15 minutes to prepare – give it a go.

It’s probably worth mentioning too that homemade kraut is good for you. I won’t delve too deeply into the science of it all, but in a nutshell foods become more nutritious and digestible once fermented. Micro-organisms in the air convert sugars and starch within fruits and vegetables into lactic acid, breaking them down, thus making them easier to digest – this lactic acid acts as the ‘preserver’ as well as giving the cabbage that distinct ‘sour’ flavour that sauerkraut is renowned for. Good bacteria (known as probiotics) flourish under the fermentation process – when we eat foods high in probiotics they enhance the bacteria already in our gut, benefiting the digestive system and strengthening our immune system. Commercially produced sauerkraut on supermarket shelves is pasteurised, which kills off the naturally occurring probiotics, and while this kraut may still be tasty it doesn’t have the same health benefits as a homemade ferment.

This recipe is the most basic and simple sauerkraut recipe to start you off, but you can vary it by adding different herbs, spices and vegetables if you want a more complex flavour. For example, I like my green kraut made with caraway seeds, and if I am making red kraut I use juniper berries.

MAKES ABOUT 750ML

You will need a 1 litre preserving jar, and a smaller lidded jar that fits inside

1 medium white cabbage (about 1.2kg)

2½–3 teaspoons fine sea salt

Cut the cabbage in half and slice it into 2mm strips. I would avoid using a food processor here if you can, as the quality of the kraut is far superior when chopped by hand.

Place the shredded cabbage in a ceramic bowl, sprinkling it with salt as you go. Scrunch the cabbage between your fingers, massaging it to release some of the liquid within the leaves. It may not look like it, but after about 10 minutes you should have enough brine at the bottom of the bowl to completely cover the cabbage once it is jarred up.

Pack the cabbage into a sterilised 1 litre jar, a little at a time, pressing it down with your fist or a wooden kitchen implement as you go, ensuring that the brine rises to the surface. Continue this until all the cabbage is used up. If any brine remains in the bowl, pour this into the jar. Fill the smaller jar with water and seal, then place this jar on top of the cabbage to weigh it down, ensuring that the cabbage is covered by brine at all times and preventing any bits from floating up to the surface.

Cover the two jars with a clean tea towel and set aside to ferment in a cool, airy place for anything from 5 days up to 2 weeks.

Taste the kraut after 5 days. At this stage it will be a young kraut – I prefer my kraut young, probably around the 7-day mark, but if you enjoy a stronger fermented flavour, leave it for longer. Remove the small jar when you are satisfied with the flavour of your kraut. Seal the 1 litre jar and store in the fridge.

The kraut will keep well for up to a year, stored in the fridge or a very cool, dark cellar, but if you are only making one jar I doubt it will be hanging around for that long.

VARIATIONS:

Add 1 teaspoon caraway seeds to the cabbage before you start the scrunching process, then follow the recipe as above.

Add 2 tablespoons roughly torn fresh dill fronds (this is especially good with red cabbage).

Add 1 teaspoon celery seeds.

Add 1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds.

RED CABBAGE KRAUT WITH JUNIPER BERRIES

Add 12 juniper berries. I always add one or two grated apples as well.

Fermentation doesn’t just stop at cabbage, though – you can ferment any vegetable or fruit.

FERMENTED BEETROOT WITH MUSTARD SEEDS AND DILL

FERMENTED BEETROOT

WITH MUSTARD SEEDS AND DILL

While kraut is synonymous with Germany, fermented beetroot with dill encapsulates what I would call ‘German flavour’. This is smashing inside a rye bread and Emmental sandwich, or with smoked salmon. Mix some with a little soured cream to dip crunchy vegetables into as a snack. Layered between thinly sliced potatoes and cream, this makes a delicate pink gratin – good with fish and chicken.

MAKES ABOUT 750ML

You will need a 1 litre preserving jar, and a smaller lidded jar that fits inside

1kg raw beetroot, peeled and grated

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon fine sea salt

½ teaspoon yellow mustard seeds

1 tablespoon fresh dill fronds, roughly chopped

Follow the same method as for the caraway kraut here. Start tasting the beetroot after 5 days, then continue to test daily over the next week or two until the flavour suits your taste. I like mine at the 1½-week mark.

Note: It is really important that the vegetables are covered completely with brine throughout the fermentation process, otherwise they may grow mould. The brine will evaporate over the course of a few days, usually not enough to warrant topping up, but if you notice the levels of brine dropping so much that the vegetables are starting to peep out of the top, simply make a mixture of 1 tablespoon of salt to 200ml of water and add it to the jar until the vegetables are covered by a clear centimetre.

When taking fermented produce out of its jar it is always important to use really clean utensils, so as not to contaminate the jar.

PICKLED BLACKBERRIES WITH BAY

These can be made with all vinegar and no water if you prefer a sharper finish. I love to eat them just as I would any pickle, alongside cheese and cold meats, but they also go particularly well with fish.

MAKES ABOUT 1 × 500ML JAR

150ml white wine vinegar

75g golden caster sugar (or more, depending on how sweet the blackberries are)

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

50ml water

1 fresh bay leaf

200g blackberries, cleaned and patted dry

In a small saucepan, heat the vinegar, sugar, salt, water and bay leaf, stirring occasionally until all the salt and sugar crystals have dissolved. Take off the heat and set aside to cool.

Put the blackberries into a sterilised jar and pour over the cooled vinegar mixture, ensuring that all the fruit is covered. Poke the bay leaf down the side of the jar and seal. They will be ready to eat after 24 hours in the fridge.

These keep in the fridge for up to 3 weeks. You can remove the bay leaf after 24 hours or leave it in, but the bay will become stronger in flavour over time.

VARIATION:

PICKLED BLUEBERRIES WITH LEMON

Follow the same method as above, but substitute blueberries for the blackberries and a strip or two of unwaxed lemon zest for the bay leaf.

MAGIC VEGETABLE BOUILLON

This recipe is integral to much of my cooking and, like an heirloom, has been handed down the female generations of my mother’s side of the family. The very thought of this makes me pause each time I make it, knowing that some things will always be – except of course that I am bucking the trend by passing it on to boys.

Grossmutter used parsley roots in her bouillon, which give a wonderful deep, earthy flavour. If you are lucky enough to have parsley growing in your garden I suggest using the roots, but it’s not the end of the world if you don’t. It is also a good idea for a third of the ingredients to be alliums of some kind, to get the balance of flavours right. I favour leeks, but white onions, red onions or even spring onions would do instead. The idea really is that this serves as a shortcut to a stock – I use a spoonful when cooking stews, soups and sauces. Have a play around with different vegetables and herbs – like so many recipes, this is a guide only. Fennel, coriander and celery stalks all work, and garlic can also be added but personally I find this too strong a flavour.

MAKES 1.5 LITRES

300g carrots

300g celeriac

300g leeks, washed and trimmed

100g fresh parsley (with roots if possible)

375g fine sea salt

Peel the carrots and the celeriac and chop into large chunks. Cut the leeks into 3 pieces and roughly chop the parsley. Put all the vegetables and the parsley into a food processor and blitz to a grainy consistency. Tip into a bowl and mix in the salt.

Pack the mixture tightly into sterilised jars and seal.

Store in a cool, dark place – it will keep well for up to a year. Once opened, store in the fridge, where it will keep for another 6 months. The vegetable mix will discolour the longer it is kept, but this has no impact on flavour and it is still perfectly fine to use.

NOT JUST A STRUDEL FILLING

The quantities for this recipe fit on to one large baking tray, but often I make two trays full, as I like to have quite a few jars handy on the shelf. This sort of preserve, which may take an hour to make, saves vast amounts of time in the long run. With a jar of this on your shelf, a Strudel is only ever 5 minutes away from going into the oven, and if you don’t even have time for that, simply heat this up in a saucepan and you have a beautiful apple ragout which can be eaten with custard, yogurt or cream.

MAKES ABOUT 1.2 LITRES (ENOUGH FOR 2 STRUDELS)

You will need a high-sided baking tray and a couple of jars

2kg Bramley apples (or a mixture of any apples you have to hand)

50g raisins

275g light brown sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla sugar (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)

¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

30ml dark rum

Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6.

Peel and core the apples and chop them into 1cm chunks. Spread them in a high-sided baking tray, strew over the raisins, and scatter the brown sugar, vanilla sugar and spices on top. Pour over the rum and toss everything with your hands so that the apples are all coated in sugar and spice.

Cover the tray with foil and bake in the oven for 40–45 minutes, turning the apples over carefully halfway through, until they are cooked but still hold their shape. A lot of water will have been drawn out of the fruit – don’t worry, this is normal and essential for a juicy Strudel.

Pack the filling tightly into a couple of warm, sterilised jars. It is important to make sure there are no air bubbles in the mixture, so tap the jars gently on a work surface to disperse any bubbles. If you notice a bubble at the side of a jar, push a clean spoon down into it so that it pops, then tap the jar again on the work surface. Seal the jars immediately.

Stored in a cool, dark place, this will keep well for up to 6 months. Once opened, refrigerate and use within 3 days.

VARIATIONS:

CARDAMOM AND PEAR

Replace half the apples with pears, and the cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg with ¾ teaspoon ground cardamom. Follow the instructions above.

BAY AND JUNIPER

Replace the ground cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg with ½ teaspoon finely ground juniper berries and 2 bay leaves. Follow the same instructions as above. You can remove the bay leaves before jarring up the Strudel filling if you don’t want the flavour to be too strong (I leave mine in).

Strudel, Noodles and Dumplings: The New Taste of German Cooking

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