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Preservation Techniques and Transformations - Modernist or Traditional

douglas_bd

This time of year, I'm lucky enough to sometimes find myself with an abundance of really great produce, and while I use as much fresh as I can, I'm also interested in how to extend the life of the ingredients beyond the often way too short season. I've been doing a lot of pickling, preserves, ferments, freezing, etc. lately, but interested to see others ideas and techniques for taking what's good now and transforming it into something different for later use. Hopefully this is something others will find of interest and we can share some ideas.

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prince_of_porcelain

Tart cherries were picked this week. Last year I made a batch of cocktail cherries that didn't last nearly long enough, so I made more this year.

From the left, Cherry and Black Tea Preserves, Maraschino cherries (1 part simple syrup to 4 parts Luxardo) and a batch of kid friendly cherries on the right without alcohol.

prince_of_porcelain

This was a trial run at some dried tomatoes inspired by an @chris post. I wanted to give them a try before the season kicks in here. They were initially quite delicious, I'd say a considerable improvement over the original tomatoes which were ok but certainly not great. However, they did not store well. I refrigerated after drying and on day 3 they were not nearly as plump. The texture was just kind of limp at that point, and I didn't test any further because we finished them off about them. I wonder if there's a better way to store for longer? Perhaps in oil? I used basil instead of Thyme and Bay, because, well, I had plentiful basil and no fresh thyme or bay on hand. The basil went black on me during drying. Possibly this was due to the olive oil drizzled over the basil rather than directly on the tomato and then topping with the basil. Any thoughts on how to better preserve the color of the herb? Maybe a quick blanch before drying?

Roma Tomatoes, Garlic, Basil, Olive Oil

seijoed

There is the answer

Looks awesome.

Chris_Young_80640

@Brian — We vacuum packed them flat in a single layer at The Fat Duck. You should expect the texture to change to some degree because fresh from the dehydrator the surface is often much dryer than the center. Overtime, moisture will migrate through the food to reach an equilibrium.