Category: Preserved Foods

kitchen multitools
Preserved Foods, Recipe, SFH Food Talk & Recipes, Test Kitchen

Multitools in the Kitchen: A Practical Man’s Take

By Old Fuzz Face – Serendipity Farmhouse Test Kitchen

It’s been a while since I sat down to talk practical kitchen matters with you fine folks. But today, the stars aligned—Chef Blondie handed me a task sheet that would make any sous chef sweat. Zucchini needed slicing for dehydration, cheese needed grating for pizza, and jalapeños—freshly fermented—were waiting to be chopped for the topping. That’s a full day’s work, and it got me thinking: what tools really earn their place in the kitchen?

What Are Kitchen Multitools?

Out in the work shed, I always carry my Leatherman multitool. It’s not flashy, but it’s reliable—pliers, screwdrivers, even a file. It doesn’t do everything perfectly, but when you need a job done quickly, it’s there. So I asked myself: do we have kitchen multitools that live up to that same standard?

Turns out, we do. I put two contenders to the test: the Home Wave 16-in-1 chopper and the Susteas Rotary Cheese Grater. Both claim to be multitools. Both promise to slice and grate. But which one actually delivers when dinner’s on the line?

Let’s start with slicing. For dehydrated zucchini chips, I need thin, consistent slices. The Home Wave, with its mandoline attachment, did the job—but it took time to set up, and the slicing motion wasn’t as smooth as I’d hoped. The Susteas, on the other hand, spun through the zucchini like a champ. Its rotary action and dual-blade setup made quick work of the task, and the suction base kept it steady on our granite counter.

Then came the cheese. Parmesan isn’t easy to grate, and the Home Wave struggled. I even managed to poke myself on one of its sharp points—nothing serious, but a reminder that safety matters. The Susteas? It shredded that Parmesan like it was born for the job. Fast, clean, and no bloodshed.

Now, let’s be fair. The Home Wave does things the Susteas can’t. It dices onions, chops carrots, and even separates eggs. It’s a true multitool in that sense. But when it comes to slicing and grating—the tasks I needed today—the Susteas was faster, safer, and more efficient.

Kitchen Multitools – What’s the Verdict?

So what’s the verdict? Keep both. Each has its strengths. But if you’re looking for a kitchen multitool that behaves like a Leatherman—ready, reliable, and focused—the Susteas earns its spot.

And now, as promised, here’s the recipe for those zucchini chips we’ve been talking about. They’re simple, tasty, and perfect for preserving your harvest. Just scroll down and give it a try.

Until next time, keep it simple, keep it practical, and happy cooking.

Now that you’ve seen me slice zucchini with both the Home Wave and the Susteas multitools, it’s time to put those slices to good use. We’re making zucchini chips—crispy, tangy, and perfect for snacking or storing. This recipe is simple, practical, and tested right here in the Serendipity Farmhouse Test Kitchen.

Farmhouse Living, Preserved Foods, SFH Food Talk & Recipes, Test Kitchen

What are the 6 important preserving skills?

After harvesting and processing, the next step in a successful winter food prep is making use of preserving skills. This is key in ensuring that favorite summer foods will be there during the coming months. So, let’s talk a little about the preserving methods we used here at Serendipity Farmhouse during the week of September 15th.

Farmhouse Food Skills Category 3 – Preserving

preserving skills

Hi! Old Fuzz Face here. In the first two posts of this winter food prep series, we talked about where we get our winter food and the farmhouse food skills we use to process it. But that’s just the beginning of our winter food prep. There’s another set of food skills we’ve learned that helps us preserve the food we’ve processed.

Food Preserving Skills

Q – Okay, now that we’ve processed our raw ingredients, what do we do to preserve different types of farmhouse food products?

A – We employ a variety of techniques to extend the shelf life of food, such as canning, dehydrating, fermenting, freezing, and vacuum sealing herbs and other food products. In the future, we hope to explore smoking and other traditional techniques.

You can find any number of lists describing skills needed for preserving food. The lists pretty much agree on primary techniques, but it’s hard to find a single standard list. In our list of six preserving techniques, we show the ones that are important for us here at SFH. For other folks, the list will be different.

6 Important Preserving Skills

TechniqueDescription
CanningPreserves fruits, vegetables, and meats by sealing them in jars and heating to kill bacteria. This technique is vital for ensuring long-term storage without refrigeration while retaining nutritional value and flavor.
DehydratingRemoves moisture to prevent spoilage. This is essential for preserving herbs, fruits, and vegetables, making them lightweight, compact, and easy to store, with a long shelf life.
FermentingUtilizes natural bacteria to convert sugars into acids or alcohol, preserving food while enhancing its nutritional value and flavor. Perfect for making pickles, sauerkraut, and other fermented goodies.
FreezingSlows down enzyme activity and bacterial growth. Freezing is indispensable for maintaining the quality and nutrition of fruits, vegetables, and meats, making them last well beyond their natural season.
Root CellaringUses the earth’s natural coolness for storage. This energy-efficient method is perfect for keeping root vegetables, apples, and other hardy produce fresh over winter. (We don’t have a root cellar or basement, so we have to use the coolest places we can find in our old farmhouse.)
Vacuum SealingRemoves air from packaging or containers to extend the shelf life of foods. This method is critical for preventing freezer burn and oxidation, keeping frozen and dried foods fresh for a longer period.

Farmhouse Preserving Skills

Here are some preserving skills we used during the week of September 15th.

Canning – Spicy Dilly Beans

preserving skills

We’ve been canning spicy dilly beans for three years now. It’s a great way to preserve those garden-fresh beans and to kick them up a notch. Sure, they can be used as a side for dinner. But with these spicy dilly beans you can also serve them as an appetizer or as a snack at lunchtime. It’s really worth the effort to can beans this way because it ensures that we will have a crunchy, tangy snack or side dish all year-round.

See our post Spicy Dilly Beans @ Serendipity Farmhouse for the recipe.

Dehydrating – Sage

Sage is an essential herb for adding flavor to dishes. Dehydrating this herb takes little time and it’s about as easy as it gets. Now that we’ve started dehydrating products from our own gardens, we can be sure that we always have a supply of aromatic, home-grown herbs to season the foods cooked in the soon-to-be-world-famous SFH Test Kitchen.

For some background on our work with herbs, see SFH-TK SKills – Herbs.

Dehydrating – Tomatoes

preserving skills

This is our first year dehydrating tomatoes. We’re compiling a list of ways that we can use them in various recipes. They reconstitute easily and they’re going to be found on top of our pizzas and in clam chowder and other dishes. Looking further into the future, we expect to turn some of our dried tomatoes in tomato powder for making tomato paste, tomato sauce, and other basic tomato products.

As we see it, dehydrating tomatoes is a way to preserve summer’s sweetness for those colder months. It’s a great way get the most from our summer garden.

Fermenting – Cucumbers

Fermenting cucumbers, or making pickles, is an excellent way to add tangy, probiotic-rich foods to our diet. During the summer we get a large number of cucumbers from our CSA. In fact, we get more than we can use during a normal week. Fermenting those excess cucumbers means we can preserve them for several months and use our own homegrown dill and garlic to add flavor. So, we end up with a healthy, flavorful treat that’s perfect for snack platters and sandwiches.

Fermenting – Garlic

preserving skills

In mid-September our homegrown garlic meets a critical point in its lifecycle. Without a proper cold storage room, this is when our garlic starts to go down hill. We’ve found a few good ways to preserve garlic from two to six months beyond this point. One way we used to preserve the garlic was in red wine. Now, we prefer to ferment our garlic. That’s because, not only does it last longer, in the fermenting process it gains the healthy benefit of becoming a probiotic.

Fermenting garlic enhances the flavor and gives it a little more kick. Now our garlic is long lasting, has great flavor, and it’s healthy. Who could ask for more?

To learn why preserving garlic is important to us, the our posts 7 Reasons Why We Want to be Garlic Self-Reliant and Garlic & Hackers.

Freezing – Okra

We dehydrate, pickle, and freeze our okra. But, we never ever ferment it. The one time we tried that, we regretted it deeply. So for now, freezing is our go-to method for preserving okra. It’s a simple, effective way to preserve this nutritious vegetable. Freezing okra ensures that we have a supply of this versatile veggie for soups, stews, and gumbos all winter long. Of course, frying is our favorite way to use okra.

For a tip on how not to preserve okra, see our post Report to St. Isidore – 2022.

Freezing – Crookneck Squash

preserving skills

Once you learn a preserving technique, you can apply it to a host of other food products. Freezing some veggies like okra is very simple and straightforward. Other vegetables, however, require an added step of blanching to lock in color and flavor. Crookneck squash requires that little bit of extra preparation. After that, it’s just like freezing okra and tomatoes.

You’ll really want to try this. That’s because everybody knows that by mid-summer they’ve seen too much summer squash and zucchini. Freeze it now, and enjoy it in February.

Farmhouse Food Skills Series

We hope that you’re enjoying this series of post and videos about farmhouse food skills.

For great ideas and ways to build your food preserving skills visit the National Center for Home Food Preservation.

ferment tomatoes
Preserved Foods, Preserving, Recipe

How to Ferment Ripe or Green Tomatoes Our Way

You have too many ripe tomatoes in mid-season and a ton of leftover green tomatoes at end-of-season. What do you do? – There’s no need to panic and there’s no need for waste. Just ferment those tomatoes the way we do. Extend the enjoyment of the fruits of your labor for months to come.

ferment tomatoes
Ferment those End-of-season Green Tomatoes
ferment green tomatoes

Hi! Chef Blondie here.

As you can see, I was originally going to show you how we ferment our end-of-season green tomatoes here at Serendipity Farmhouse. Then, I realized we ferment our excess ripe tomatoes in just the same way.

That’s when I decided to let all of you in on an SFH Tomato Twofer. – Here’s our mise en place. So, let’s get started and talk about fermenting both ripe and green tomatoes.

ferment tomatoes
Ripe Cherry Tomatoes
ferment tomatoes
Green Tomatoes

Lacto-Fermentation – Science or Art?

Is fermenting vegetables a science or is it an art? My hubby thinks of it as a science. That means he’s constantly researching and trying to perfect salt-to-water ratios for brine. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. After all, the Lacto-fermentation process relies on the mysterious chemistry performed by Lactobacillus bacteria as they convert sugars in the vegetables into lactic acid.

For me, Lacto-fermentation is more of an art. People have been fermenting vegetables for thousands of years without understanding the chemistry behind the process. Once we stumbled across the basic steps those many years ago, we’ve used the process to our own advantage for preserving food and developing new and interesting flavors to delight our palettes.

You have full control!

Hubby and I have worked together to improve our fermenting skills. And we both agree there are two points in the process where you can influence and control the outcome. We call the first the Flavor Creation Point, and the second is the Flavor Perfection Point.

Flavor Creation Point

Do you like the flavor of specific herbs or garlic? Our herb garden is filled with our favorite herbs such as dill weed and thyme. Every year we also grow our own hardneck garlic and hot peppers. So, when it comes time to can and ferment our tomatoes, those herbs and our garlic become the ingredients we use to create the flavors we love.

ferment tomatoes
ferment tomatoes
ferment tomatoes
ferment tomatoes
ferment tomatoes

When the ripe or green tomatoes go into the mason jar, so do the herbs, garlic, and other desired ingredients. It’s our time for flavor creation and experimentation. After all, that’s what the Serendipity Farmhouse Test Kitchen is all about!

Flavor Perfection Point

When canning tomatoes, you don’t know what your product is going to taste like until you take off the lid weeks or months later. – Not so with fermenting. No, this is a process where you have much greater control. But to exercise that control, you have to learn how to use the two most important tools simple farmhouse cooks or experienced test kitchen chefs have at their command.

If you haven’t guessed what those tools are, the two most important tools for fermenting success are your nose and your tongue. That’s right! You can sample your fermented tomatoes throughout the entire fermentation period. You get to determine whether those tomatoes are sour or tangy enough. Have the herbal flavors permeated the entire tomato or not? – It’s up to you!

As early as four days into the process, you can say, “That’s perfect!” Or you can say, “No. It needs a few days more.” – Ultimately, you are the one who can say, “I’ve reached the point of perfection!”

We here at the SFH Test Kitchen have taken command of what happens to our excess and end-of-season tomatoes. – Use our recipe and/or do your own research – and you can take command too!

Happy Fermenting!!

Tomato Lacto-Fermentation Resources

We’ve saved my dear Hubby’s technical research for inclusion here at the end of this post. We didn’t want to bore you or weigh you down with tedious facts. But, if you’re interested in Lacto-fermentation and the type of equipment that works best with the process, it’s good to have starting points for your own research. Here’s some of what he’s found.

Safety

As with any type of food preservation, health safety is paramount. In the case of Lacto-fermenation, ensuring that products remain submerged in the brine is essential. For a good review of safety tips, read these articles:

Equipment

The truth is you don’t have to go out and buy any special equipment for fermenting. However, we’ve found glass fermenting weights and silicone fermenting lids to be quite reliable tools to ensure fermenting success and safety.

fermenting tomatoes

Here are links to:

Masontops Pickle Pipes – Waterless Airlock Fermentation Lids – Wide Mouth Mason Jar Fermenter Cap

Fermentation Glass Weights with Easy Grip Handle for Wide Mouth Mason Jars.

Brine for Fermenting

For fermenting vegetables, the recommended amount of salt to use in 1 quart of water is between 1-3 tablespoons. We used 2 tablespoons of sea salt per quart of water to ferment our tomatoes.  Remember, the exact amount of salt required will vary depending on the vegetable being fermented and personal preferences.

If you want a more precise measurement, you can use a brine calculator to determine the accurate salt to water ratio and make a perfect brine for fermenting vegetables. A brine calculator can be found here. The calculator enables you to make a brine solution accurately using the correct proportions of salt and water.

This is a re-issue of our November 2023 post How to Ferment Ripe or Green Tomatoes Our Way. The first video below is how to respond to a farmhouse tomato emergency. It’s short and we immediately cut to the chase so we can respond to our emergency. The second video provides more detailed explanations.

Pickled the old-fashioned way, through lacto-fermentation, ripe or green tomatoes are fermented slowly along with your choice of garlic, herbs, and hot peppers. The result is a tangy good flavor highlighted by a variety of herbal accents and with a spicy upbeat.
Preserved Foods, Preserving, Recipe

How to Ferment Ripe or Green Tomatoes Our Way

You have too many ripe tomatoes in mid-season and a ton of leftover green tomatoes at end-of-season. What do you do? – There’s no need to panic and there’s no need for waste. Just ferment those tomatoes the way we do. Extend the enjoyment of the fruits of your labor for months to come.

ferment tomatoes
Ferment those End-of-season Green Tomatoes
ferment green tomatoes

Hi! Chef Blondie here.

As you can see, I was originally going to show you how we ferment our end-of-season green tomatoes here at Serendipity Farmhouse. Then, I realized we ferment our excess ripe tomatoes in just the same way.

That’s when I decided to let all of you in on an SFH Tomato Twofer. – Here’s our mise en place. So, let’s get started and talk about fermenting both ripe and green tomatoes.

ferment tomatoes
Ripe Cherry Tomatoes
ferment tomatoes
Green Tomatoes

Lacto-Fermentation – Science or Art?

Is fermenting vegetables a science or is it an art? My hubby thinks of it as a science. That means he’s constantly researching and trying to perfect salt-to-water ratios for brine. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. After all, the Lacto-fermentation process relies on the mysterious chemistry performed by Lactobacillus bacteria as they convert sugars in the vegetables into lactic acid.

For me, Lacto-fermentation is more of an art. People have been fermenting vegetables for thousands of years without understanding the chemistry behind the process. Once we stumbled across the basic steps those many years ago, we’ve used the process to our own advantage for preserving food and developing new and interesting flavors to delight our palettes.

You have full control!

Hubby and I have worked together to improve our fermenting skills. And we both agree there are two points in the process where you can influence and control the outcome. We call the first the Flavor Creation Point, and the second is the Flavor Perfection Point.

Flavor Creation Point

Do you like the flavor of specific herbs or garlic? Our herb garden is filled with our favorite herbs such as dill weed and thyme. Every year we also grow our own hardneck garlic and hot peppers. So, when it comes time to can and ferment our tomatoes, those herbs and our garlic become the ingredients we use to create the flavors we love.

ferment tomatoes
ferment tomatoes
ferment tomatoes
ferment tomatoes
ferment tomatoes

When the ripe or green tomatoes go into the mason jar, so do the herbs, garlic, and other desired ingredients. It’s our time for flavor creation and experimentation. After all, that’s what the Serendipity Farmhouse Test Kitchen is all about!

Flavor Perfection Point

When canning tomatoes, you don’t know what your product is going to taste like until you take off the lid weeks or months later. – Not so with fermenting. No, this is a process where you have much greater control. But to exercise that control, you have to learn how to use the two most important tools simple farmhouse cooks or experienced test kitchen chefs have at their command.

If you haven’t guessed what those tools are, the two most important tools for fermenting success are your nose and your tongue. That’s right! You can sample your fermented tomatoes throughout the entire fermentation period. You get to determine whether those tomatoes are sour or tangy enough. Have the herbal flavors permeated the entire tomato or not? – It’s up to you!

As early as four days into the process, you can say, “That’s perfect!” Or you can say, “No. It needs a few days more.” – Ultimately, you are the one who can say, “I’ve reached the point of perfection!”

We here at the SFH Test Kitchen have taken command of what happens to our excess and end-of-season tomatoes. – Use our recipe and/or do your own research – and you can take command too!

Happy Fermenting!!

Tomato Lacto-Fermentation Resources

We’ve saved my dear Hubby’s technical research for inclusion here at the end of this post. We didn’t want to bore you or weigh you down with tedious facts. But, if you’re interested in Lacto-fermentation and the type of equipment that works best with the process, it’s good to have starting points for your own research. Here’s some of what he’s found.

Safety

As with any type of food preservation, health safety is paramount. In the case of Lacto-fermenation, ensuring that products remain submerged in the brine is essential. For a good review of safety tips, read these articles:

Equipment

The truth is you don’t have to go out and buy any special equipment for fermenting. However, we’ve found glass fermenting weights and silicone fermenting lids to be quite reliable tools to ensure fermenting success and safety.

fermenting tomatoes

Here are links to:

Masontops Pickle Pipes – Waterless Airlock Fermentation Lids – Wide Mouth Mason Jar Fermenter Cap

Fermentation Glass Weights with Easy Grip Handle for Wide Mouth Mason Jars.

Brine for Fermenting

For fermenting vegetables, the recommended amount of salt to use in 1 quart of water is between 1-3 tablespoons. We used 2 tablespoons of sea salt per quart of water to ferment our tomatoes.  Remember, the exact amount of salt required will vary depending on the vegetable being fermented and personal preferences.

If you want a more precise measurement, you can use a brine calculator to determine the accurate salt to water ratio and make a perfect brine for fermenting vegetables. A brine calculator can be found here. The calculator enables you to make a brine solution accurately using the correct proportions of salt and water.

Pickled the old-fashioned way, through lacto-fermentation, ripe or green tomatoes are fermented slowly along with your choice of garlic, herbs, and hot peppers. The result is a tangy good flavor highlighted by a variety of herbal accents and with a spicy upbeat.
homemade salsa
Persnickety Pierre, Preserved Foods, Preserving, Recipe, SFH Food Talk & Recipes, Test Kitchen

Serendipity Farmhouse Homemade Salsa – Pierre’s Challenge

Why settle for second best when you can have your very own homemade salsa? Chef Blondie has known the answer to that question for years. In her Test Kitchen, she demands that you never, ever settle for second best. And that is why I challenged her to show me that she could devise a homemade salsa mix recipe that would satisfy the palate and bring joy to a family gathering.

homemade salsa

As you may remember in the post How to Make Serendipity Farmhouse Salsa Mix, Chef Blondie accepted my challenge. She allowed me to observe the soon-to-be-world-famous SFH Test Kitchen Staff in action. I recorded how they assembled and combined the ingredients for the salsa mix. Then, I observed the preparation and canning of the salsa. Finally on July 30th, I participated in the debut family taste test. – In all respects, Chef Blondie surpassed my expectations!

Making this Salsa Recipe Your Own

Dear Reader, it is up to you to make this recipe your own. If you enjoy salsa with chips, use it in taco salad, or combine it with any number of Tex-Mex recipes, then you should print this recipe and start using it right away.

Remember, this recipe is based on a mix of ingredients. You can change ingredient measurements to suit your individual tastes. That is what Chef Blondie has done. – If it worked for her, it certainly can work for you.

Please note that the recipe provided here contains four separate sets of instructions. The first set is the most important. It describes how to prepare the salsa itself using the Farmhouse Salsa Mix and a few other ingredients.

The next three sets of instructions explain three different ways of storing the salsa: in the refrigerator, in the freezer, and long-term storage by processing and canning. – The choice of methods is yours.

1. Level of the homemade salsa challenge

Because the Farmhouse Salsa Mix is already prepared and ready to go, the challenge on preparation day is minimal. Yes, you must scald, skin, core, and chop the tomatoes. And yes, you may have to mince some garlic, but these are but minor tasks.

2. Selection of good-quality salsa ingredients

It’s up to you to source good tomatoes. They can be fresh, frozen, or canned. In fact, when the Test Kitchen conducted this test, Chef Blondie used both fresh and frozen tomatoes.

homemade salsa

3. Use of cooking and canning techniques

The Test Kitchen Staff is renowned for their adherence to the best kitchen practices. Cleanliness and technique are the watchwords for all when they conduct a test. On this test day, the staff was doubly aware of their practices because they knew I, Persnickety Pierre, had my eye on them. – Their every move was the epitome of high culinary art.

4. Development of superior salsa taste and flavor

There is only one way to be sure that you have developed superior salsa taste and flavor – hold an open and honest taste test. And so, a taste test was held in the kitchen of Daughter #2. (You might recall that she received two Persnickety Pierre’s Paw of Excellence Awards – See the post here.) The official judges were Daughter #2 and Son-in-Law #2. I also tasted the salsa, but I recused myself because of my close association with the SFH Test Kitchen.

5. Presentation of homemade salsa & the judges’ decision

Immediately upon our arrival, Daughter #2 quickly set a tasting table. She was quite wise in using cup-shaped chips. They are perfect for getting just the right amount of salsa with each chip. – Then the kitchen went totally silent. The tasting had begun.

I dare not attempt to repeat the compliments or describe the sounds which happy tasting judges make when they encounter a salsa that truly matches their high expectations. Let me merely state two things. First neither official judge had anything but praise for the salsa. Next, when Chef Blondie said the she would take the salsa jar and remaining contents home with her, both of the judges quickly and quite adamantly said that the salsa would stay with them.

So, there you have it! Chef Blondie accepted my challenge. And because she did, two happy tasting judges, the entire SFH TK Staff, and I, Pierre LeChat, are much happier people now.

Why settle for second best when you can have your very own homemade salsa? In the Serendipity Farmhouse Test Kitchen, we never, ever settle for second best. This salsa shows what can be done when you follow that rule.
Serendipity Farmhouse Salsa Mix
Preserved Foods, Recipe, SFH Food Talk & Recipes, Test Kitchen

How to Make Serendipity Farmhouse Salsa Mix

For more than eight years, we’ve searched for the secret of how to make the best possible Serendipity Farmhouse Salsa Mix. We are now on the verge of unlocking that secret. Come join with our Test Kitchen staff as we go through the final round of tests. Your taste buds will be glad you did. And you will find out about Pierre’s challenge.

The Quest for Perfect Farmhouse Salsa Mix

Salsa mix

When I started to write this post, I asked the basic question: What is salsa? Hubby replied with a tedious response worthy of the Encyclopedia Britannica or Wikipedia.

I responded by simply saying, “We’ve all had salsa, we know what it is, and we know what we like. Our Test Kitchen can make a salsa mix that will work every time.”

Our beloved Pierre LeChat, skeptic that he is, countered both of us with a challenge:

“Really? What does the Test Kitchen have to show for eight years of experimentation and testing! Allow me to be the judge of the quality of your Serendipity Farmhouse Salsa Mix!”

Pierre had thrown down the gauntlet. We had to put up or shut up.

5 Criteria for Excellent Farmhouse Salsa Mix

1. Level of the challenge

Every year, SFH produces between 12 to 30 pints of salsa. Each batch of 5 to 6 pints has had a slightly different recipe. This year, we wanted to standardize the basic recipe in the form of a mix. To the extent possible, the mix would use dehydrated vegetables and herbs from our own gardens. This meant we had to do three important things:

  • 1st – Ensure that our gardens produce sufficient quantities of needed vegetables and herbs.
  • 2nd – Develop the skills needed to dry/dehydrate the SFH-produced ingredients.
  • 3rd – Determine the proper ratio of ingredients for the salsa mix.

2. Selection of good-quality ingredients

Our Test Kitchen staff knew up front that the SFH gardens would never support production of all the needed ingredients. Consequently, we worked hard to source ingredients of the highest quality. We well understand that this effort is not ‘just once and done.’ – Most anything can be improved. Our Farmhouse Salsa Mix ingredients will always be under review.

3. Use of cooking techniques

The primary technique employed in preparing our salsa mix is dehydrating. For the present, that includes dehydrating jalapeños and other hot peppers. Eventually it will include drying garlic and turning it into garlic powder.

A secondary technique employs vacuum packing ingredients in mason jars for long-term storage. This is needed to store individual ingredients and the prepared salsa mix itself.

You can see some of our early work developing these skills in our posts Hot Peppers Above & Beyond, SFH-TK Skills – Herbs, and Crisis Averted in Rainy Day Catch Up.

4. Development of superior taste and flavor

As I said earlier, “We’ve all had salsa, we know what it is, and we know what we like.” But that doesn’t mean everyone likes the same thing. Our Test Kitchen had to produce a recipe that would satisfy the broadest spectrum of tastes. But more importantly, the recipe had to satisfy my Hubby and me. Certainly, it also had to be a hit with our children and grandchildren.

So, we reviewed literally hundreds of recipes on the Web and in cookbooks. That gave us a few general ideas.

We also looked at the three big makers of packaged salsa mix. We saw what ingredients they shared in common. Then we looked at which ingredients set them apart. This table shows some of what we learned.

We grow our own jalapeños, and they are great in salsa. So, even though only one company uses them in their mix, we knew they had to be in our mix too.

Despite all the research, our success depended on the most important factor of all – test, test, and test again. The Test Kitchen had to determine the optimum ingredient quantities and ratios. It’s been a long haul, and we’re not finished yet. But the recipe we’re giving you today will work.

5. How to Use Serendipity Farmhouse Salsa Mix

While this may be just a mix in a mason jar, it is a mix with a message. That message is – this mix that will provide you great-tasting salsa anytime you want it. You can:

  • Make fresh salsa that can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week.
  • Freeze salsa and store it for up to a year.
  • Use it for canning salsa that can be stored up to 18 months.

What Will Pierre think of Our Mix?

On July 21st, we put together our latest version of Serendipity Farmhouse Salsa Mix. On the 23rd, we put the mix to the test. We used the mix along with our own tomatoes and fresh garlic. Instead of the five pints we expected, we were able to can six full pints. After canning, there was just enough left over for Pierre to taste.

In our next post, Pierre will tell his tasting tale. Then, he will recommend how the entire world should rank Serendipity Farmhouse Salsa mix. This will be one post you don’t want to miss.

For more than eight years, we've searched for the secret of how to make the best possible Serendipity Farmhouse Salsa Mix. We are now on the verge of unlocking that secret. Come join with our Test Kitchen staff as we go through the final round of tests. Your taste buds will be glad you did.
Preserved Foods, SFH Food Talk & Recipes, Test Kitchen

Spicy Dilly Beans @ Serendipity Farmhouse

Have you ever wondered what spicy dilly beans are? Well, they’re simply pickled green beans that are flavored with dill, garlic, and spicy pepper flakes. But there’s more to it than that. In this post, the soon-to-be-world-famous Serendipity Farmhouse Test Kitchen takes a look at how to pickle green beans. More importantly, the Test Kitchen staff learns a few lessons along the way and shares them with you in this post.

Hi! Chef Blondie here! – Perhaps your home gardens are similar to what we have on our vast 1.203-acre estate. If so, you probably have the ingredients you need to pickle spicy dilly beans. But, even if you don’t have a garden, all the ingredients are in season and readily available. Now is the best time to learn how to make this delicious treat.

This is my first food preserving post of the season. So, it’s worthwhile to review some of the basics. Allow me to recommend some authoritative food preserving resources that have served the SFH Test Kitchen very well:

1. Spicy Dilly Beans – Level of the challenge

Pickling is not a difficult process. It is one of the oldest methods of preserving food. There is a quick pickling process and there is a canned pickle method. The recipe we used is the canned pickle method. It uses a stronger brine and a water-bath canning process to extend shelf life. – This is one of the simplest recipes we use in the SFH Test Kitchen.

2. good-quality ingredients for Spicy Dilly Beans

Produce & Herbs: Ingredients are very important to the process of pickling. Using produce and herbs straight from the garden is the best way to go. If you don’t have your own produce and herbs on hand, check out your local farmers’ market or a nearby community supported agriculture (CSA) outlet. – We used our own green beans, garlic, and dill.

Salt: Salt is an integral part of many pickling processes and flavor twists. Canning or pickling salt that does not contain iodine or non-caking material is ideal. – We used mrs. wages Pickling & Canning Salt for this pickling session. It produces a very clear brine.

Distilled Vinegar: Use apple cider or white distilled vinegar, but the pickles may taste best with the recommended type in the recipe. Apple cider vinegar is milder and offers a different flavor note than white distilled vinegar. – Remember, whichever vinegar you select should be at least five percent acetic acid.

3. Use of cooking techniques

My friends, this is where I and the entire Test Kitchen staff strongly recommend that you stick to the best practices for pickling and canning. For a review of those best practices, click here. – If you follow these guidelines, it will build your confidence and give you great results.

4. Development of superior Dilly Bean taste and flavor

If you’ve selected the best ingredients and have followed best practices, this recipe won’t fail. The flavor will be there. – Should you have family members or friends who prefer less spicy food, reduce the amount of red pepper flakes, or leave them out completely.

5. Presentation of Spicy Dilly Beans

Spicy dilly beans look great on a charcuterie tray. They also work well as a side to a light summer lunch or snack. It doesn’t matter much how you arrange them. That’s because they won’t remain there very long.

6. Lessons learned

The soon-to-be-world-famous SFH Test Kitchen takes great pride in its work and its achievements. We strive for culinary perfection. And we do that by critiquing ourselves and learning from our mistakes and through constant study. Here are three lessons we’ve learned along the way.

Store Jars Without Ring Bands

The National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFP) recommends that jars be stored without ring bands to keep them dry as well as to allow for easier detection of any broken vacuum seals. However, if you choose to re-apply the ring bands, make sure all surfaces are clean and thoroughly dry first.

No Need for Alum or Pickle Crisp

Some recipes for pickled dilly beans call for either alum or Ball Pickle Crisp to add crispness. The NCHFP article Preparing and Canning Fermented and Pickled Foods advises that alum may be safely used to firm fermented pickles. However, alum and Ball Pickle Crisp are not necessary for pickling dilly beans. 

Heat the Water Bath Faster

Heating up the water bath can take a long time and slow down canning. We’ve learned to heat some of the water in an electric kettle. It cuts the overall heating time by half.

Have you ever wondered what spicy dilly beans are? Well, they're simply pickled green beans that are flavored with dill, garlic, and spicy pepper flakes. But there's more to it than that. In our accompanying post, the Serendipity Farmhouse Test Kitchen takes a look at how to pickle green beans.