Sauces, Condiments, and Preservation

Before the written word, there was honey; offering to the gods, source of potent drink and peasant currency, and even a love potion; honey is as old as time. Enjoy the history and the recipes.

This recipe is focused on pressure canning black beans. By preserving your own food, not only can you control the ingredients in the food you make, providing your family with more nutritious food, but you also get the satisfaction of making food for your family.

Gravy should be sublime, not like something out of the Twilight Zone.

Standard tartar sauce is great in a hurry and an even simply version takes about 60 seonds to prepare. At the same time, some of my favorites are also fast and easy.

Green sauces—a simple idea with world-wide appeal. Each culture uses the herbs of their garden to craft a condiment to accompany the foods they love. Let’s explore the origins of ten of these sauces, how to make them, and how to use them in dishes for your friends and family.

Why go to an expensive Japanese restaurant? Now you can prepare a classic Japanese sauce at home without worrying about your budget. Follow my easy recipe for galicky sweet soy glaze.

Here are step-by-step instructions on how to can stewed tomatoes.

An easy storage method for your garden (or Farmer's Market) root vegetables. Suitable for carrots, beets, and many others. Potatoes and similar tubers, too.

Mexican salsa is a tasty and versatile condiment that can be added to all kinds of dishes. Corn salsa is a delicious variation to the traditional tomato-based recipe.

A simple recipe, with photos, to make the popular Israeli spicy condiment, zhug (skhug). Originally from Yemen, this Mediterranean hot sauce is easy to prepare, has a vivid green color, and has a garlic/cilantro aroma that is entrancing.

With this recipe, making and canning fresh homemade cranberry sauce will be a breeze for your holiday meals this year! And you don't have to worry about what to do with all of the leftover sauce, if you have any. You can simply store it away for a mid-year craving or even for next year.

Wild berries are a common summer sight all over the world and are often free for the taking. Learn to make this quick and easy berry sauce, a delicious and elegant accompaniment for many desserts.

Wild plum jam is easy to make, sweet-tart, and pretty. If you don't grow your own wild plums, perhaps you can forage some.

Step-by-step instructions on making a delicious and pretty syrup. These instructions can be used for just about any edible flower.

If you're lactose intolerant or have a dairy allergy, you're may be wondering which foods contain dairy products. Let's find out if one of our favorite condiments, mayo, has dairy in it.

Learn the secret to making a thick and rich tomato soup from garden fresh or canned tomatoes!

Hot green pepper jelly! This is great old recipe for this famous and fantastic tasting jelly that everyone loves. It is a simple recipe and easy to make.

You can use those end-of-season, unripe tomatoes you picked from your garden or greenhouse to make an excellent chutney. I also include recipe tips for using the chutney in a ploughman’s lunch.

Nothing beats the fresh taste of homemade beef jerky. Say goodbye to the massively preserved, store-bought bags and find true comfort with homemade beef jerky recipes.

Marmite is a strong, savory, slightly salty-tasting spread. Learn all you need to know about Marmite, which seems to bring out strong reactions. Most people either love it or hate it, nothing in between.

Many mason jar canning lids contain BPA which acts like estrogen in the body, disrupting normal hormone regulation. BPA-free claims may not be enough. Find out how to find healthy canning jars.

Green beans are essential in a well-balanced diet. Fresh from the garden, they have higher levels of nutrients than ones bought at the store. Here's how to harvest, and freeze green beans.

Making a real Cajun-style roux is no mystery—it simply takes a little patience! With a couple of tools and three ingredients, you can have true, rich Cajun flavor for gumbo or étouffée for yourself!

Pesto—a great sauce for pasta, meat, or eggs. But some chefs have turned it into an amalgam of any veggie pulverized with olive oil. Let’s get back to basics.

Rowan jelly is a strong-tasting condiment once very popular in the UK and traditionally served with wild game or beef. This simple recipe shows how to make rowan-and-apple jelly from scratch.

Blueberry jam is the perfect thing to make in the middle of summer, when the blueberries are at their peak of ripeness. With just a few cups of berries and a little sugar, you'll have captured the perfect summertime flavor to enjoy all year-round.

A savory twist to an old favorite!

Prepare tangy and fiery pickled South Indian Andhra-style mango with my easy and quick recipe.

Red wine vinegar, shallots and garlic reduce quickly for a fabulous steak sauce. This sauce will change the way you enjoy steak. It's so savory and flavorful, plus it's easy to make!

I've tested dozens of bbq sauce recipes and these are the very best to make at home.

Duke’s Mayonnaise is a staple in the American Southeast. Duke’s just makes sandwiches and salads taste better! Here are some of my favorite recipes that highlight the great taste of this mayonnaise.

This 5 star restaurant-style salsa, reviewed over 2,000 times, is easy to make and bursting with garden-fresh flavor. We guarantee you'll be back for more! Also included: tips for making mild, low sodium or smoky salsa.

Worcestershire sauce is a delicious fermented product used to flavour meat, fish, Welsh rarebit, and cocktails. It’s made from a secret recipe by Lea and Perrins.

Recipe and photo instructions for my mom’s delicious fig preserves.

10 ways to use up your leftover cranberry sauce. You might even be inspired to make some cranberry sauce just to try some of these ideas.

A good, flavorful jalapeno hot sauce recipe that goes a bit beyond the basics.

Homemade custard may be safely preserved by pressure canning and is suitable for most uses. Chocolate, vanilla, butterscotch, and coconut milk recipes are given here, along with a whole-egg variation. The entire canning process is shown.

Chili oil is a popular condiment commonly used in Asian countries. Some places add a twist on this condiment by adding garlic on it. Learn my version on how to make homemade chili garlic oil.

Quick and Easy Avocado Recipes. Salads, salsa, guacamole and more. Enjoy avocado a variety of ways with these tempting and healthy avocado recipes. Includes, guacamole a la mexicana!

When your chickens produce too many eggs to use fresh, or you find a good sale on eggs, preserve some for later consumption using an old-fashioned method. Store eggs in your basement or closet.

Make your own cooking spray saves money, reduces the chemical additives you're putting into your body, takes 5 minutes to make, and is better for the environment and better for your health.

Awesome diabetic recipes! Low carb recipes for sauces, with photos.

A gooey, dark brown, and salty spread has been marketed under the slogan “Love Me or Hate Me, I’m Yours.”

Is your jam thin and runny? Here are all the ways you can make great jam using low-pectin fruit, with example recipes.

Learn how to make blueberry jam quickly and easily with a pressure cooker.

What is in a romesco sauce? Find out how to make an authentic version of this Catalonian salsa in your own home kitchen.

Homemade salsa that can be used all year round. Step-by-step instructions that include tips on how to handle jalapeno peppers to keep them from burning your hands.

Preserved vegetables are the "magic" ingredient in home-style Chinese cooking. The preserved sweet salty radish called "choi poh" in Cantonese is a universal favourite. It's very easy to make. Enjoy!

My husband and I go a bit overboard when we see good sales. We capitalized on a pineapple sale we found. I want to show you how to take advantage of canning your own pineapple!

Red sauces—a simple idea with world-wide appeal. Each culture uses the produce of their garden to craft a condiment to accompany the foods they love. Let’s explore the origins of ten of these sauces and learn how to make them.

Would you like to prepare a simple and affordable sauce for your favorite fried food? Try my easy-to-make aioli recipe that calls for just five ingredients!

Frank's Red Hot Wings Sauce is the secret ingredient in this fantastic homemade wing sauce.

Text and photos teach you step-by-step how to preserve winter squashes or pumpkins by pressure canning.

Knowing how to make a white sauce can be invaluable cooking skill. You can use a white sauce in so many dishes either as a topping or a creamy filling.

An essential condiment in every British household is a bottle of HP Sauce, just as it’s nearly impossible to find an American home without ketchup.

How or why would you substitute one ingredient for another in a recipe? Perhaps you want a sauce for your meatballs, but you cannot eat tomatoes. Let me show you how!

Do you love KFC? Try my version of their famous gravy. You can prepare this delicious recipe in just 10 minutes.

Learn to make delicious and unique BBQ sauce from scratch! Easy directions and photos are included.

Olive & Vine is a Houston boutique that sells top-quality extra virgin olive oils and aged balsamic vinegars. Taste before you buy, and learn about health benefits for both.

Two authentic Southern chow chow relish recipes (cooked and no-cook versions). Bonus recipes: peach relish and jalapeño jelly.

Making cherry and black grape jam in the crockpot is going to be so easy, you'll be surprised that you didn't think to do this for yourself before now. Juicy cherries and crispy grapes made into a sweet, smooth, yummy concoction that you can enjoy with toast or biscuits.

Learn how to dehydrate foods and save money. Dehydrating foods takes none of the nutrients out and helps you use food at their prime.

Bacon jam is almost impossible to describe—until you taste it. Sweet, spicy, smoky, salty, it's an amazing combination of delectable goodness. Check out how easy it is to make it for yourself!

A quick and easy tahini recipe. Only need 2 ingredients. Homemade tahini paste made in just 15 minutes. Ideal for making hummus, tahini salad dressing, tahini dip, tahini sauce or even tahini cookies!

Rhubarb is a large leafed plant with edible stalks that grows like a bad weed any where that it gets the opportunity to be planted. It is a very hardy perennial yet rather than being harvested with...

This is part one of a two part article on the advantages and disadvantages of home food preservation. In this article we explore food that is fresh, root cellared, and frozen.

Pickled cucumber is a popular condiment in dishes such as burgers. Let me show a quick recipe for making pickled cucumbers at home.

Sample five smoky BBQ sauce recipes from the main barbecue regions of the United States. Also included, the origin of barbecue sauce and BBQ cooking methods.

Endlessly versatile, ranch dressing is used on salads, as a dip, a sauce for chicken, a drizzle on pizza, and countless other foods. Here's the story of how it was created and how you can make your own.

Photos and text teach you step-by-step how to pressure can milk by sealing it in jars for long-term storage.

Home canning is simple and can be a great skill to learn. I think it's economical and healthy because no chemicals are added during the process. It's a great way to store extra food!

Homemade mango chutney is better than any shop-bought chutney and a great go-to for any Indian curry or ingredient to other recipes. Here's a simple recipe!

I freeze greens from my garden every year -- they taste as delicious as fresh-from-the-garden. It's an easy process to learn. Read on for all the details.

Salsa verde is a green salsa made in Mexico. It is made with tomatillos, cilantro, onion, garlic, chile serrano, and lime. It can be boiled or broiled. Includes variations and serving suggestions.

What are the advantages of preserving food by canning, pickling, drying, and smoking? What are the disadvantages?

A guide to making your own homemade jam with step by step instructions, photos and video.

Here's how to decrystallize honey fast in small and medium batches- no pan or microwave needed. This method is great if you have crystallized honey, but don't want to decrystallize an entire jar, or are dealing with honey in a plastic container.

Bee colonies have been collapsing for a decade, but the demand for honey is rising.

Learning how to make a quick pan sauce will give you superpowers in the kitchen. Three to four ingredients and five minutes will elevate a plain chicken breast or pork chop to a whole new level.

Peruvian ají sauce transforms chicken and French fries into something special! Learn how to make this spicy, addictive sauce.

Of all the vegetables I can each year, tomatoes have to be my favorite. My instructions are easy to follow, and the photos will help you, too. You're going to love having jars of tomatoes you canned yourself.

"Curry" is a blanket term used to describe a vast range of Indian spicy stewed dishes. There are many different styles of curries. Not all are hot. Get tips and recipes for curries here.

What does “French cooking” mean to you? Fancy, fussy, complicated? Mother sauces, the foundation of French cuisine are easy to prepare. I'll tell you how, and you'll never buy packaged sauce again.

Ten awesome recipes for barbecue sauce, including ideas for BBQ sauce ingredients. Lots of photos!

This article is about the the easiest way to make sweet, crunchy pickles, featuring a secret shortcut. Includes recipe, complete instructions, and lots of photos. You will love these pickles.

This easy, raw pesto sauce uses fresh kale, garlic, herbs, and toasted sunflower seeds for a multi-purpose condiment!

Walnut oil is one of those oils you don't hear much about, but it is fantastic. Learn how to use it in your everyday cooking.

Hummus—it's not just a dip for pita chips. Learn its origins, how to make the BEST in your own kitchen, and use it in many imaginative ways.

I am so happy to still have my grandmother's old food mill. Making homemade applesauce and choke cherry jelly is easy, fun, tasty, and satisfying. See videos in this post, then get busy!

Made with fresh ingredients, a fruit coulis is the perfect fruit sauce. Along with step by step photo instructions, you'll find recipes for a raspberry, a mixed berry and a strawberry version.

White sauces—a simple idea with worldwide appeal. Each culture uses the produce of their garden to craft a condiment to accompany the foods they love. Let’s explore these sauces and how to make them.

This recipe for Seville orange marmalade includes step-by-step instructions, photos and videos. Once you have tasted homemade marmalade, you will never want to buy the commercially made variety again.

This delicious salsa is easy to prepare and is always a crowd-pleaser. It can be served as an appetizer with chips, or it could be served as a main dish, with rice or couscous. This salsa, which can be kept in the fridge for up to a week, is versatile, colorful, and delicious.

Chutney is a regular side dish served with South Indian breakfast. Though use of coconut for making chutney is common, this tomato lentil chutney does not contain coconut. I have used lentils and tomatoes in this yummy side dish.

Mole, or Mexican BBQ sauce, has gained popularity due to the efforts of culinary genius Rick Bayless. This simplified recipe for red mole yields a silky, sweet, smoky sauce. A Scoville chart of dried chiles is included.

Fish can be preserved by drying, salting, and freezing. These methods are effective ways to store bumper catches for times of scarcity.

What started out as a brine for pickled okra ended up as an experiment for pickling some jalapeño peppers from my garden. The outcome was quite successful.

Real maple syrup is a treat that cannot be duplicated with artificial flavors. Let’s explore the history of this natural sweetener and how to use it in baking and cooking.

Learn how to prepare Indian-style tomato ketchup/sauce that is free of artificial preservatives, color, and flavor. I have included a recipe video, as well.