A Chef's Year of Preserving

January 2, 2012
Virant, noted chef of Vie restaurant, on the outskirts of Chicago, offers a vibrant and inviting introduction to the world of preserving. After deciding to serve local produce in his restaurant year-round, Virant started preserving summer staples to extend the seasons. As a result, he experimented with canning and pickling everything from snow peas to watermelon rind and cherry tomatoes. The fruits of his experimentation are shared in this quirky yet useful collection. Virant devotes the first half of the book to the art of preserving, how to do it safely, and the various ingredients he utilizes for his year-round bounty. In addition to pickling, canning, and preserving, he covers the art of making aigre-doux, a French sweet-sour condiment that may be unfamiliar to many. He also includes numerous unusual but appealing jams such as beer, peach saffron, and raspberry chocolate. The second half of the book focuses on recipes that use these preserved ingredients including braised chicken legs in pearl pasta with Swiss chard and pickled stems, rainbow trout with creamed ramps and morels, and raspberry brown butter cake with yogurt ice cream and elderflowers. Those interested in making the foray into extending summer’s bounty through the cold winter months could have no better guide that Virant.

February 1, 2012

Virant, a restaurateur and chef at the Michelin-starred Vie (Western Springs, IL), bases his first cookbook on preserves. Pickles are generally among the least glamorous foods, often taken from dusty jars pulled from the cellar in midwinter to perk up the root vegetables on hand, but Virant brings preserved fruit and vegetables to a new level. He goes beyond cucumbers, beans, watermelon rind, and onions to peas and peppers, celery root, and ramps. Aigre-doux, a sweet-sour wine-based preserve, can be made with blueberries, mulberries, Meyer lemons, or asparagus. Creative jams include Caramel Apple, Grapefruit Thyme Marmalade and Rhubarb-Beer Jam. This cookbook provides detailed canning instructions and measurements by volume, ounces, grams, and percent. Virant also offers seasonal recipes for using the pickles and preserves, as well as general hints, such as working aigre-doux into sauces and glazes and combining sweet preserves with cocktails. VERDICT Virant's suggestions for cooking with preserved foods are helpful for both beginning and experienced cooks, and provided menu plans focus on making the preserves shine. A unique guide to elevating pickling and preserves, recommended for adventurous cooks and eaters.--Melissa Stearns, Franklin Pierce Univ. Lib., Rindge, NH

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2012
Before deep freezers became standard appliances in American homes and worldwide trade and transport revolutionized the historical food chain, families survived lean winter months by raiding their stashes of home-canned meats, fruits, and vegetables. While few want to revive memories of canned spinach or mushy asparagus, there is a lot to be said for the simple brilliance of homemade applesauce, tomato juice, or strawberry jam. Chef Virant has rediscovered the pleasures of home canning, but he raises it to a level far beyond what grandmother put up. He conjures kumquat marmalade, brussels sprouts sauerkraut, mapleblack walnut butter, and preserved porcini mushrooms. Then he offers recipes that either star his canned goods or use his preserves to dress other dishes. An introductory chapter delivers sound advice on canning techniques, explaining the science of food preservation to forestall any specter of tainted foodstuffs. For people committed to raising their own produce or to locavorism, this is a valuable resource.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)