Ingredients
3 medium bell pepper, red
2 1/2 lb apricots, stoned & quartered *
2 1/2 lb plum, red, stoned & quartered *
5 1/2 cup cider vinegar
2 1/2 cup ; water
1 1/2 cup sugar, white
2 cup sugar, light brown
1/3 cup karo, light
1/2 cup ginger, fresh, peeled & chopped
2 tbsp salt, kosher
1/4 cup mustard seeds, toasted
1 medium onion, quartered
2 chile serrano, seeded & diced
5 garlic clove, minced
1 cinnamon stick
Directions
* weight before preparation
Roast the peppers to remove skin; quarter lengthwise and devein. Set
aside.
Combine the apricots, plums, three cups of vinegar and water in a
large non-reactive kettle and simmer until soft; about 25 minutes.
Remove from heat and set aside.
In another non-reactive kettle, this one very large, combine the
remaining vinegar, sugars, and Karo and bring to a boil, stirring.
Add the fruit mixture, ginger, salt, mustard seeds, onion, chiles,
garlic, cinnamon, and the skinned bell peppers. Simmer, covered, for
five minutes then simmer uncovered for one hour, stirring every so
often. Remove the cinnamon stick.
With a food processor, pulse the mixture for a couple of seconds
(this has to be done in batches; process a little longer if you like
a less- textured sauce). Return to the kettle and boil gently,
stirring, until the sauce has thickened, about 15 minutes (the sauce
will thicken some more as it cools).
Ladle into sterilized jars, either half-pint or pint. Process in a
boiling water bath for 10 minutes (for half-pint jars) or 15 minutes
(for pint jars). Allow to age in the jar for 2 to 4 weeks before
using.
-- Better than Store-Bought
Witty & Colchie
Servings: 4 pints
Chinese Plum Sauce (Duck Sauce) Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Asian; Chinese; Duck; Fruit; Meat
The History of Recipes
We are able to read the history of `recipes` back into the far past, certainly as far into history as ancient Egypt, and maybe even further. In practice though, in the main part, these early recipes were just primitive hieroglyphic recipes for preparing food.
Fascinatingly, the most ancient recipe in existence, according to food historians are some tablets in Sumerian which describe the baking of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making anyone who tried it feel exhilarated and blissful. Moving our culinary historical trip onwards, there are two books which appeared in the 14th Century - a cookery book titled `Forme of Cury`, and another titled `Curye on Inglish`. Surprisingly, these two books are unconnected to the indian curry that appears on menues today, but rather recipes for the types of food prepared by the chefs of the upper classes of the time. In the 15th century, the Crusaders brought back many new foods and herbs from Arab countries, such as coriander, basil and rosemary. These new herbs and spices created an eruption in recipe books, some of which still exist in private collections. Over the following few centuries, the wealthy families of the West strove to lay on the most exotic meals, and as a consequence, cooks and their recipes could command a high salary. Nevertheless, it was during the 19th century that cookery and recipe publications really came of age. The Famous Mrs Beeton in the UK, and Fannie Merritt Farmer in the US, spent years to collating, trying out, and recording recipes to allow everyone to enjoy them. The arrival of TV brought us celebrity TV chefs and the recipe books that accompanied them. And that pretty much brings us to the present day and the invention of computers and the internet, allowing everybody to access massive numbers of recipes like those on sites such as the one you are reading now. |
We hope you enjoy this Chinese Plum Sauce (Duck Sauce) recipe.
