Beach House Maramalade (made en Espana)
Maintaining a decent larder/ store cupboard can be tough. The larder is really the backbone of any passionate cooks foodie arsenal. We need our dried goods, spices, grains, magic potions etc to be in special, pristine condition to produce wonderful food. It takes time and some amounts of dedication to get it right. It’s certainly not the most spontaneous, vibrant aspect of the joys of cooking, but its highly worthwhile, pretty much essential. We have just cleared ours out after returning from India and a few top tips came to mind:
It’s all about rotation – keeping new things at the back and ‘to use’ things near the front helps loads. Its a visual thing, you can’t remember everything that is lurking in the larder shadows. Spend a few minutes, regularly, opening jars and inspecting the contents. Sniff and occasional taste tests may be required. Ditch what looks like its past its best and if there is a whiff of mustiness, definitely escort it to the bin. Nuts especially should be cared for and used quickly. If they are in their shells, they keep for a long time. Otherwise, keep an eye on them. A rancid nut is no fun and can be quite bad for you.
Have a good stash jars handy – keep loads of empty, clean jars or plastic containers (ex-yoghurt pots etc) to decant spices, grains, sugar etc into. They keep better, we try not to leave anything in packets once opened. Unless they are those clever re-sealable ones. But…….
Keep some pegs handy – Pegs are great. They come in really handy sealing things when you inevitably run out of jars and platic pots.
Tea bags keep powders dry – If you pop a tea bag in with salt and sugar, this will help to keep them dry.
Buy spices as seeds or whole – and then grind them yourself using a pestle and mortar or coffee grinder. You can even make your own spice mixes. Buying whole spices seriously lengthens their longevity. Ground spices should really be used quickly, within weeks, even when stored in a air tight container.
Bardsey Island Apple and Plum Chutney
Buy local and in bulk – we buy most locally if we can, generally this means the produce is always in good condition and hasn’t been messed with on long journeys and in storage. We are lucky to be surrounded by some wonderful producers and suppliers, as I’m sure you are also. They are everywhere!
We also like to use the co-operative Suma for all larder items. They will deliver, but it needs to be over a certain amount. Get a load of friends together is our advice. A sack load of chickpeas keeps well and will make you feel wealthy beyond your wildest dreams.
Label Things – This may sound like a step towards librarian-hood, but having a few blank stickers handy means knowing you’re cumin from your coriander and importantly, your chilli from your paprika at a glance. It also means that you can be creative and decorate your jars and pots with imaginative doddles that make people smile. Labelling also means that you don’t double up on buying things.
Dry/pickle your own – This can be lots of fun, but a little hectic in the glut months of Autumn when piles of precious berries, fruits and veggies are filling the kitchen. Some late night jammin’ and picklin’ may be in order. A few pickling/ preserving techniques and basic chutney/ jam recipes up your sleeve can make this time of year a joy. Preserving the beauty of harvest time for later months when blooming nature seems very distant. Homemade raspberry jam (we make it sugar free) in January is one of life’s great treats!
Here are a few recipes for picklin’ and preservin’ from the B.H.K library:
Beetroot, Apple and Caraway Sauerkraut
5 Minute Fig and Prune Compote
beach house kitchen 