Sauces, Condiments, and Preservation

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!

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

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

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

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.

Extra virgin olive oil is much better than regular olive oil for your health due to the cold process during extraction. This article reviews the health benefits and includes several recipes.

How a nostalgic New England experience became a new tradition in Indiana.

Capers are a salty, briny condiment that can provide amazing pops of flavor to your savory dishes.

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

Learn how to make a delicious sardine spread to enjoy with your favorite crackers or breads.

"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.

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!

How do you turn 400 pounds of tomatoes into wonderful smoky sauce in one day? With an outdoor evaporator and the help of several friends, of course.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

There are a lot of brands out there. How do you know which one's the best? I've tried a lot of ACV and want to share my experience with you.

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

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!

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.

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.

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

People seem to have a love/hate thing for French food - which I can understand. It's somewhat intimidating, involves approximately 476 steps for something as simple as a scrambled egg, and no one understands what the names of dishes are. They are in...

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

A step-by-step illustrated guide showing you how to prepare and can wild plums in a sweet-spicy syrup—a wonderful treat.

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.

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.

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

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.

This hearty, rustic tomato pasta sauce takes less than 15 minutes to prep and produces a bold tomato and garlic flavor. Pairs well with a variety of pastas and is an excellent spread for appetizers.

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!

Did you know that extra virgin olive oil, when used for high temperature cooking, transforms into a poisonous pool of free radicals that ravage the human body? Learn how choosing the right cooking oil can protect your health.

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

Check out this fantastic recipe for freezing tomatoes. Use this recipe to save any excess tomatoes you may have. Use the frozen ones later to make fantastic sauces that are full of flavor.

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!

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...

Celebrate the grand garden season finale. Here are some faster, space-saving methods to harvest and store garden produce at its best.

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

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

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

This sauce is made with tiny tomatoes, garlic, and fresh and dried basil. It's an easy sauce that goes well with any type of pasta.

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.

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

Hot Green Pepper Jelly! This is great old recipe that anyone can make and share. It is a famous and fantastic tasting jelly that everyone loves, especially during the Holiday Season. It is a simple recipe and easy to make.

Homemade apple jelly is easy to make out of simple apple juice, pectin and sugar. By following this easy recipe, you can have a great apple jelly to enjoy in less than an hour's time.

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.

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.

A tasty, spicy jam to warm autumn and winter meals.

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!

When I visit my home country of the Philippines, I like to make coconut oil from the coconut trees behind my house. My grandmother taught me how to do it.

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.

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.

This recipe will help you with pressure canning sweet corn off the cob. Summertime is wonderful, if not just because corn is in season, and the best of it goes on sale at my local organic food store. We love everything about corn, like cream corn, corn broth, tamales, and especially corn on the cob.

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.

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

Grape jelly is a definite American favorite. Though it is delicious, it can get boring! Rev up the grape jelly in your pantry with this recipe that has a surprisingly delicious twist.

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 links to various recipes so you can make your own.

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

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.

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.

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!

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

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

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

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!

Try this tasty pineapple twist on a traditional Mexican condiment.

Learn how to make your own fruit preserves and then use them to make a simple fruit cobbler.

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.

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.

Salsa—Not just a Tex-Mex dip. Salsa is a heart-healthy mix of fruits and vegetables with so many flavor combinations. I'll show you how to make a salsa you will love.

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.

This delightful vinegar recipe is easy to make at home and is perfect for the beginner.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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

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.

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.

Pickles from zucchini? Yes, crisp and full of flavor! You'll be amazed at how delicious these pickles are.

This homemade vegetarian tomato sauce is a health-conscious solution for your spaghetti. Everyone will think it has beef in it. Made with Morningstar Farms® Grillers Crumbles™.

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

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.

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.