I
BG-LandasteV Fartrling, Saturday, November 15', 2003
‘Diet-Breaker’ Fills Pantry With Unusual Preserves
LOU ANN GOOD
Food And Family
Features Editor
ELKTON, Md. “I’m known
as the diet breaker,” James Cof
fey said as a challenge to those
who claim they are on a diet.
It’s difficult to refuse his as
sortment of hbmemade pumpkin
and pecan pies and freshly baked
apple cake.
The pastry chef and accom
plished cook likes to share his cu
linary specialties with friends and
neighbors. In addition to pies,
cookies, and cakes, Coffey pre
serves food that most people have
never tasted.
His basement shelves are filled
with such items as green tomato
mincemeat, preserves of elderber
ry, blackberry, crab apple, and
Concord grapes, and spiced
peaches. Jars of canned pork sau
sage, pork tenderloin, beef, chick
en, meatballs, and even meatloaf
can be found in his canning cup
boards.
He even makes his own soap
from bacon grease that he puri
fies and treats with vinegar and
water.
The kitchen has always held a
special fascination for Coffey,
who grew up watching his grand
mother cook and can.
When he attended Baltimore
International Cooking School,
Coffey knew much more about
cooking and baking than his
classmates. Unlike them, he grew
up knowing how to make seven
minute boiled icing similar to
that made for the commercial
market.
Although he works as a pastry
chef, Coffey said, “I like to bake
and can food more than I like to
cook. I prefer exact measure
ments and the precise steps re
quired.”
Times have changed since Cof
fey first learned kitchen basics.
Methods once used in canning
food are no longer recommended.
It has been difficult for Coffey
to adjust to processing foods in
pressure canning since he has
had so much experience in water
bath canning. But Coffey said
home economists constantly re
mind him of the dangers of fol
lowing old methods.
Although Coffey has learned
to adapt his recipes to the ap
proved methods, he enjoys read
ing old cookbooks and modifying
old recipes to improve them.
Some recipes, he believes, can’t
be improved. For example, he
prefers to cook down fruit to
make jellies and jams the old
fashioned way, instead of using
packaged pectin.
He continues to make apple
butter the old-fashioned way that
his grandmother learned growing
up in Virginia. He doesn’t add
cider, but oil of cinnamon and oil
of cloves to keep it from darken
ing. This, he said, results in a
Coffey shows off a few of his basement shelves filled
with such items as green tomato mincemeat, preserves of
elderberry, blackberry, crab apple, and Concord grapes,
and spiced peaches. Jars of canned pork sausage, pork
tenderloin, beef, chicken, meatballs, and even meatloaf
can be found in his canning cupboards.
“I’m the cook, and she’s the dishwasher,” James Cof
fey said of the agreement reached by him and his mother,
Mary Coffey.
“more red” color.
He makes spaghetti sauce, chili
sauce, taco soup, and rhubarb
punch.
He estimates that he preserves
100-200 jars filled with produce
or meat annually. Some of his
specialties are canning pork sau
sage, beef, chicken, meatballs,
and meatloaf. He explained that
meatloaf is placed uncooked in a
wide-mouth jar. After pressure
canning, the meatloaf shrinks so
that it can easily slip out of the
jar when ready to serve.
Another unusual item he cans
is pecans. He packs nuts in clean,
dry jars, seals with lids and pro
cesses in the oven at 250 degrees
for 45 minutes. “Turn off the
oven, but let cool 30 minutes be
fore opening the oven door or the
jars will break,” Coffey said.
He enters many of his items in
the Cecil County, Maryland and
Delaware fairs.
He’s even written some articles
about preserving food for some
issues of Old Order Amish news
papers.
He lives with his mother Mary
Coffey in the home in which he
grew up. He cooks, and she
washes the dishes.
“I like anything he makes,” his
mother said. “I don’t cook. I do
awful things to food.”
Although he relies on his
neighbor’s garden for most of the
produce he preserves, Coffey
continues to grow his own saf
fron, which at this time of the
year continues to produce sta
mens that must be gathered
daily.
Coffey’s passion for cooking
has led him into collecting old
jars, canning supplies, and cook
books. Turn to the Antiques Cen
ter on page 823 to read about his
collection of 3,000 cookbooks and
other culinary-related items.
Although it is a bit late in the
harvesting season, here are a few
canning recipes from Coffey. He
makes chowchow this time of the
year using vegetables he canned
earlier in the season and cauli
flower in season.
PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH
CHOWCHOW
1 quart lima beans
1 quart com, cut off the cob
1 quart green beans
1 quart yellow beans
I quart cauliflower
1 quart kidney beans (canned),
drained, rinsed
1 quart green peppers
1 quart red peppers
1 quart celery
1 quart carrots
1 quart onions
Syrup for each 6 quarts;
1 quart cider vinegar
6 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon celery seed
1 tablespoon mustard seed
3 drops oil of cinnamon
3 drops oil of cloves (Measure
oils on sugar and count
drops. Do not overdo).
Clean and prepare all vege
tables for table use. Cook each
vegetable separately until crisp
tender. Most fresh vegetables will
cook in 10 to 20 minutes (beans,
celery, carrots, and cauliflower),
while peppers, com, and onions
will cook in only 4 or 5 minutes.
For frozen ones, heat only to
thaw, but do not cook.
When done, drain all vege
tables thoroughly and mix with
hands gently in a large bowl or
pan to combine. Pack mixed veg
etables in pint or quart jars.
Make syrup by mixing vinegar,
sugar, seed, and oil in a large
saucepan (not aluminum) and
bring to a rolling boil. Make sure
all sugar is dissolved. Fill jars
with syrup (fill only to jar neck
with both vegetables and syrup).
Wipe jar rims clean and make
sure no seed is on the rims or
they will not seal.
Seal jars according to the in
structions on the brand lids used.
Process (cold pack) for 10 min
utes for pint jars and IS minutes
for quart jars in boiling water
bath. Cool and test for seals.
This will make 12 to 15 quarts.
TACO SOUP
3 pounds lean ground beef
1-2 packages taco seasoning
mix (to desired taste)
2 small onions, chopped
1 quart corn
1 quart water
1 quart pizza sauce
Sugar to taste
2 15-ounce cans chili beans
Brown ground beef and onions.
Add remaining ingredients and
simmer IS minutes. (One pack
age of taco seasoning may be
enough for your taste. Two pack
ages make it quite spicy). Fill
jars, leaving one-inch headspace.
Wipe jar rims and seal. In pres
sure canner, cook 60 minutes for
pints and 75 minutes for quarts
at 10-11 pounds pressure. Makes
7-9 quarts.
PUMPKIN BUTTER
16 cups pureed pumpkin
8 cups light brown sugar
4-6 teaspoon pumpkin pie
spice
Combine all ingredients and
Well Preserved
The Well Preserved news
column is prepared by Lancas
ter County Cooperative Exten
sion.
Winter Canning Part 2
Today’s article includes ideas
for winter canning using the boil
ing water bath canner. These rec
ipes contain sufficient amounts
of high acid foods or sugar to
prevent bacteria growth. Soft
spreads, relishes, and syrups fall
into this category.
Relishes are prepared using
chopped fruits or vegetables
cooked in a spicy vinegar solu
tion. Sugar may be added for a
sweet relish, and hot peppers or
other spices may be added for a
hot relish. Cranberry apple relish
makes a nice topping for meats
and sandwiches. Cooked whole
cranberry sauce can be canned
with only 10 minutes processing
time.
With the help of the freezer
and dry storage, relish ingredi
ents are available year round.
Frozen com can be used in a com
relish. Onions in dry storage can
be used in a plain onion relish,
pepper-onion relish, or combined
with frozen rhubarb for Victoria
relish.
Many relish recipes call for red
or green peppers. Store bought
peppers can be expensive out of
season. However, you can freeze
peppers during the summer
when they are abundant. Wash,
dry, cut, remove seeds, and freeze
using the individually quick
freeze method. Spread chopped
peppers or halves one layer deep
on a tray and freeze until solid;
package in a vapor proof con
tainer and freeze.
Chutneys are a combination of
vegetables or fruits, spices, and
vinegar cooked for long periods
to develop flavor and texture.
They are highly spiced and have
a sweet-sour combination of
flavors. Many chutneys such as
dried apricot date chutney con
tain raisins and other dried
fruits. Some contain nuts.
Even pickles can be made in
late fall and winter. Pickled cau
liflower and spiced pickled cab
bage use late crop vegetables.
Three bean salad, a convenient
ready to use product, can be
made using canned and frozen
beans. Cocktail onions can be
pickled. Pineapple makes a nice
fruit pickle. If dill is needed for
cook until thick (in oven at 350
degrees or on stove top). Fill half
pint or pint jars with hot pump
kin butter. Leave '/i-l-inch
headspace. Wipe jar rims. Seal
and process in pressure canner at
10 pounds pressure for 10 min
utes. Makes 7-8 pints.
CANNED PORK SAUSAGE
10 pounds ground pork
V* cup canning salt
Vi cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon sage
1 teaspoon black pepper
V»- l A teaspoon red pepper
For another variation, add 1
tablespoon Tenderquick, a meat
curing salt. Mix together ingredi
ents. Shape seasoned sausage
into patties that will fit into wide
mouth jar. Place sausage patties
on a sheet pan and bake at 350
degrees for 25-30 minutes. Pack
hot sausage patties into clean
jars. Discard grease. Wipe jar
rims. Seal. Pressure can at 10
pounds pressure for 75 minutes
for pints or 90 minutes for quarts.
Sausage can also be raw pack
ed into jars. Leave one-inch
headspace. Wipe jar rims. Seal
and process as above. This is
good for casseroles or for sausage
gravy. Pack rather tightly. Do
not overdo it or jars will burst.
winter pickles, it can be frozen
when fresh. Wrap it in foil to pre
vent odors from getting into other
foods.
Spreads such as jams, jellies,
and conserves can be made from
fall and winter fruits such as
cranberries, apples, and oranges.
Earlier fruits that have been fro
zen without added sugar can be
thawed and used in spreads. If
the fruit has been frozen with
added sugar, it will be necessary
to know the amount of sugar that
was added in order to have a
proper set or jell.
If you freeze your own fruit
and keep a record of the amount
of sugar added, you will be able
to subtract that amount from the
tested recipe. However, you will
need to use pectin that combines
the sugar and fruit before the
pectin is added. This is usually
the liquid-type pectin. Frozen
fruit is also suitable for long
cooking spread recipes.
Recipes developed for use with
commercially canned, bottled, or
frozen juices can be found on pec
tin packages.
Apple or grape jelly made from
bottled juice is very easy to make.
Cranberry cider jelly uses bought
juices, and cherry almond jam is
made from frozen cherries.
Conserves are jam like prod
ucts made by cooking two or
more fruits with sugar to a jam
like consistency. The traditional
nuts and raisins in a conserve can
be combined with canned pine
apple, apples, or dried fruits for a
specialty spread.
When dried fruits are added to
a conserve, no sugar is needed to
provide sweetness making it a
spread suitable for special diets.
Pineapple apricot conserve and
apple cinnamon conserve are ex
amples. Ambrosia conserve uses
canned or fresh pineapple, mar
aschino cherries, almonds, and
coconut for a tropical treat.
Other winter canning ideas in
clude flavored vinegar using fresh
or dried herbs and specialty
syrups. Maple walnut syrup and
apple cinnamon syrup contain
plenty of flavor making them
suitable for a special gift.
Remember that all the above
recipes need to be processed to
destroy harmful bacteria, molds,
and yeast that can cause spoilage.