Juicing Stuff

[bjcotton]

While everything is plentiful and inexpensive, don't forget to juice things. Last year, I juiced all kinds of fruit [mainly plums and berries] and some veggies [mainly carrots and celery], for use later in the year. The fruits were for sorbets and granitas, the veggies for soups and stews. One thing I did learn was that no one likes Bing cherry juice. I tried to make sorbet and granita with it and after one taste, people turned up their noses; the same thing goes for grapes. People would drink the grape juices [not the cherry though], but didn't like the sorbet/granita made from it. While I was getting the cherries ready to juice I couldn't keep people's hands out of them, but the juice, nobody wants. I think I gave Jean a couple of packages, but the rest of it is languishing in the freezer. I will probably take it down to the Soup Kitchen when I get back home, they said they'd take it.

The FoodSaver says not to vacuum pack liquids, but I do it anyway. What I do is make the package a little longer than necessary; fill it about 1/2 to 2/3's full; place the FoodSaver near the edge of the counter; fold up a papertowel and place in the reservoir inside; hang the bag of liquid over the edge of the counter where the counter makes a kind of closed edge; then vacuum seal it. Every so often I take the papertowel out, clean out the reservoir and put a new towel in. Don't be afraid to remove the gaskets and wash them when they get sticky.

[cjs]

...and just do the same thing with soups!!

[esgunn]

The other thing I will do for freezing liquids - which is a little more cumbersome is I put the liquid in a small pyrex - oblong dish and freeze - then pop out and seal it. Works fine. I may have to try that over the counter method though!