Our preserve adventure continues!
I’m particularly excited about this receipt because it comes out of a cookbook that I was lucky to find in a rare cookbook store I found in my area!
I was SOOOO excited when I found this one! And I got a really great deal for it from the very friendly and talkative owner!
Though the original “White House Cook Book” was published in 1887, this version was published in 1911. The 574 pages of recipes and information is so much fun to leaf through! But it must be done with a bit of caution. My husband won’t touch it for fear of it falling apart.
So, while taking a look at the “Preserves” section, I stumbled upon several different receipts for “catsup”. And this one in particular stood out. So I though I’d give it a try!
Cucumber Catsup
“Take cucumbers suitable for the table, peel and grate them, salt a little and put in a bag to drain overnight; in the morning season to taste with salt, pepper and vinegar, put in small jars and seal tight for fall or winter use.”
Zieman and Gillette The White House Cookbook (1911) pg. 170
Since this is the season for cucumbers I already had several in my fridge. The two on top came specifically from my garden!
So I took each of the five cucumbers and peeled and deseeded them. Though the receipt doesn’t say anything about deseeding, I thought it would make it easier to grate if the seeds were removed. But you could keep them if that is your preference.
I then proceeded to grate them into a bowl on the coarse setting, though you could also do it a bit finer if you’d like a smoother mixture. But I would give a word of caution, make sure you are careful when the cucumber is getting to the end of the grating because it will cause your fingers to get very close to those sharp holes. If you have something that can hold the cucumber flat against the grater without getting anything else in there please use it. If not, just move very slowly and keep your fingers out of the way as much as possible.
Or you can just use a food processor…
Once it was all grated, now it was time to add some salt! Not knowing how much cucumber I would have after grating I didn’t measure a particular amount of salt to start with.
What I did was sprinkle some in, stir it around, add some more, stir it again, then taste it, added some more, and stirred it one more time. It probably was only a few tablespoons, but I feel it will vary depending on how much cucumber you have. Just remember, the salt is to help draw out the moisture. You’ll be flavoring it again once it is drained the next day.
Once the cucumber was salted I added it to a strainer that was placed over a bowl. This way the cucumbers (which by this point were already dripping) would be able to sit on the counter all night. I covered it with a tea towel and placed it on the counter where it stayed overnight till the morning.
14 or so hours later…
So here they are! I know you can’t see below them but there was a good 1/2-3/4 cup of liquid in the bowl. And they had certainly shrunk and dried out a bit since yesterday.
So I put the grated, salted cucumber into a fresh bowl. Then I got some vinegar, salt and pepper for seasoning.
Again, like yesterday with the salting, I would add some of the salt/pepper/vinegar, stir them around and taste it. Then I would add some more until I felt the flavors were well balanced. The true essence of “season to taste”. So I don’t have exact measurements, as I was adding a little each time. But I will say that the cucumbers didn’t need as much salt as it did pepper and vinegar because it had been already salted.
Once it was mixed and flavored to my liking I put it in small canning jars…
… and sealed them up. I’ve put them into the fridge (since they weren’t officially canned) and I’ll let them steep in there for the next few months.
So, like the brandied peaches, this will be enjoyed sometime this winter. I will certainly let you all know how it turns out at that time!
And I do hope that it will be a refreshing reminder of the summer garden harvest!