Preserving by Salting

[Jillyreeves]

Have decided to have a go at Salting Runner Beans to preserve them and save on freezer space but was wondering if what other veg could be stored this way

Has any one tried anything else with any success?

[susieq100]

There is an old thread that has been resurrected under Snadger's question about drying runner beans. I have PM'd Alison to find out if her beans were a success. Watch this space???

[northepaul]

Funnily enough I was *just* trying this out! Preserving lemons though....

[Jillyreeves]

There is an old thread that has been resurrected under Snadger's question about drying runner beans. I have PM'd Alison to find out if her beans were a success. Watch this space???

Yes, read the tread before posting, but thank you

Its veggies other than beans I am curious about

[Jillyreeves]

Funnily enough I was *just* trying this out! Preserving lemons though....

Lemons, interesting, have you got a glut? Or are they to use in Moroccan cooking?

[Alison]

There is an old thread that has been resurrected under Snadger's question about drying runner beans. I have PM'd Alison to find out if her beans were a success. Watch this space???

It worked pretty well for beans. I got hold of a big earthern ware pot which I think is meant to be use for sauerkraut and has two semi circular weights which can be put on top of the beans. The whole thing was simply put on a mat and stored in the corner of the dining room which is quite a cool room. Basically filled in layers with a handfull of sliced beans and a handful of coarse salt. There was no smell at all although the beans didn't produce as much water as I was expecting from the stuff I'd read. They kept well, not as bright green as when fresh, a bit greyish I suppose but not manky looking. Whenever I wanted them I took out a few handfuls, rinsed them thoroughly after which they looked a lot better and then left them in soak for an hour or two. Quick rinse again before cooking and then cooked as normal. The first lot I tried were rather salty after which I did the extra rinses and made sure the soaking bowl was good and big. Also found that if you left them soaking for longer they seemed to get a bit tough for some reason. Only problem being I saved so many last year that I hadn't finished them by the time I was cropping this year . Am guessing that it'd be fine in kilner jars or whatever but not sure if it would be detrimental for the light to get to the beans.

Back to the original thread, no idea how this works for other things as I've not tried it but would be interested to know other people's experiences.

[Ruth M C]

After reading your thread I've looked up John Seymour's 'Self sufficiency' book as I have been following his instructions for salted runner beans. He states you can salt most vegetables as long as they are crisp and hard. He goes on to say that salt changes other vegetables (in comparison to runner beans) more because of the formation of lactic acid.
However the difference in his instructions with other vegetables is that he makes a brine first - needs to be strong enough to float a potato - rather than mixing the veg with dry salt. He cools the brine before adding it to the veg and then tops up with dry salt after additional veg is added to pot at a later date. He does this to keep brine's strength up as water from the veg will dilute it. He further advocates pouring 1cm of oil onto the finished product to seal it.

Hope this helps

I'm thinking of trying salted carrots this year - just as an experiment as my carrots are multi-rooted and smallish (clay soil). I shall be keeping an eye out in the charity/second hand places for suitable crocks as I don't yet have one.

KR
Ruth

[FionaH]

Am guessing that it'd be fine in kilner jars or whatever but not sure if it would be detrimental for the light to get to the beans.

Had a bit of a google and this site reckon glass jars wont work.

Preserving runner beans the old way, in the early 1900s and before: salting

[Jillyreeves]

Had a bit of a google and this site reckon glass jars wont work.

Preserving runner beans the old way, in the early 1900s and before: salting

Hi Fiona, what do you mean they wont work, I have bought some in specially for the job

I thought they would be good so long as I wrapped some paper around them to exclude light

[Jillyreeves]

Thank you Ruth for the info, not sure if I fancy doing any other veg now as it doesnt sound as easy as I first thought it might be.

Good luck with your carrots and please let us all know how you get on :-)

[FionaH]

Hi Fiona, what do you mean they wont work, I have bought some in specially for the job

I thought they would be good so long as I wrapped some paper around them to exclude light

Sorry didn't make myself very clear didi !? They won't work as they are as they let the light through, wrapping paper round thenm should be fine. In fact the site I looked at suggests just that.

[northepaul]

Lemons, interesting, have you got a glut? Or are they to use in Moroccan cooking?

LOL I wish I had a glut, Jilly.
I LOVE preserved lemons and they are really expensive to buy, (£4.99 for a small jar) I bought some organic unwaxed lemons x 6 £1.98 scrubbed them, (I acutally needed 8) cut them 2/3 in quarters and put coarse salt in the gaps, then packed them as tightly as I could into a jar, added some bay leaves, peppercorns etc, then the rest of the salt and juice from 2 more lemons and topped up with cooled boiled water. The recipe says it takes 4-6 weeks for the skins to soften.....watch this space

[Jillyreeves]

Sorry didn't make myself very clear didi !? They won't work as they are as they let the light through, wrapping paper round thenm should be fine. In fact the site I looked at suggests just that.

Oh good, what a relief All I need now is some salt.

[Alison]

Oh good, what a relief All I need now is some salt.

You need to make sure it's pure salt you use (I found somewhere that sold big bags of coarse salt pretty cheap but can't remember where, possibly Costco?!?) as a lot of commercial table salts have some extra stuff in them to make them easier to pour but you don't want it for preserviing - am guessing it'll say on the packet.

[taff]

I have to try doing this this year for a friend who especially likes them...it'll be a first, so thanks for the 1900's link and the plastic bucket tip