Curing, Canning, Conserving...

That is the story of the season...the story of the moment. The summer is when all the production happens to put up all the goodness of the warm months so that we can enjoy that bounty long beyond its time runs out on us. The fruits, vegetables, herbs, wines, meats, and many other wonderful foodstuffs picked at the peak of the season are given love, care, nurturing, passion, and a push and a shove into the future to end up becoming something surreal. In essence, the fruits of our labor become the just that. It isn't until fall that the magic begins to take place and things start to transform themselves into something alive, cultivated, evolved and special. And sometimes, it takes as long as a year or more to really develop into greatness. Enter the world and love of meat curing, vinegar making, canning, preserving and conserving, pickling, marinating, and many other amazing old-world traditions passed down from chef to chef, grandmother to granddaughter, father to son and chef to client. And although I don't have pictures of all of our productions, the list is long, the wait even longer and the patience disciplined. But, the reward is more than one can imagine and very well worth the wait. Here is but a glimpse...

canned vans and rainier cherries, put up for the season

with vanilla, port, bay, black pepper, thyme and spice

 

various batches of vinegars in the making
sexy syrah, rhubarb, lemon, raspberry, huckleberry, apple-fennel, maple-bourbon
and so on

peppered, pork pancetta...
fresh artisan duroc and kurobuta pork belly, lathered with curing spices, salt, and sugar
and hung out to dry

truffled apricot conserve

sweet, spicy coppa...
mmmmmm!