This September 2025, the UC Master Food Preservers will be participating in the Terra Madre Americas event in Sacramento. The public will have a chance to taste and/or view demonstrations of the following recipes:
Recipe on this page:
- Carrot Top Chimichurri
- Elderberry Jam
- Kernza Crackers
- Strawberry Shrub
- Zucchini-Pineapple
- Unexpected Jams & Jellies Handout (PDF- 8 Recipes)
Carrot Top Chimichurri
PDF Recipe
Yield: About 1 cup
Ingredients
- 1 cup finely chopped carrot tops
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground sweet paprika
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ¼ cup white wine vinegar
- ¼ cup olive oil (a good fruity one)
Directions
- Wash and dry your carrot tops well; cut off of carrots.
- Finely chop the carrot tops, mix with all of the dried spices and minced garlic.
- Stir in the vinegar and olive oil. Taste and adjust seasonings. (tip: taste it with a carrot or a piece of bread rather than by the spoonful)
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Serve with roasted carrots, other veggies, toasted bread, or over grilled fish or meat.
If you find this too oily or vinegary, dilute it with ¼-½ cup of lukewarm water. Mix well and spoon it onto whatever you're serving it with, rather than dipping into it.
Variation: Use parsley instead of carrot tops, an additional ¼ cup of olive oil, ½ cup water, an additional clove of garlic, and an additional teaspoon of sweet paprika.
Source: loveandlemons.com, 2023
Elderberry Jam
PDF Recipe
Yield: About 6 half-pints or 12 4-oz. jars
Ingredients
Note: Weighing is important for this recipe- volume measurements are only for approximations
- 34 ounces crushed elderberries (about 4 cups fresh elderberries)
- 4.5 tablespoons Ball RealFruit Classic Pectin®
- 40 ounces granulated sugar (about 5 ¾ cups)
Directions
- Wash canning jars, place in canner to heat. Wash lids and rings in warm soapy water and set aside.
- Rinse, de-steam, crush and measure elderberries.
- In a deep pot, whisk pectin in with the crushed elderberries until dissolved.
- Stirring constantly over high heat, bring to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down.
- Add sugar all at once, stirring to dissolve. Return to a full rolling boil and boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Remove from heat and skim off foam if necessary.
- Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving ¼-inch headspace. Wipe rims with a damp paper towel and adjust two-piece lids to fingertip tight.
- Process in a boiling-water canner under 1-inch of water or on the rack of an atmospheric steam canner for 10 minutes at 0-1,000 feet elevation, 15 minutes at 1,001-6,000 feet, or 20 minutes above 6,000 feet.
- For a boiling water canner, remove lid immediately and wait 5 minutes; for a steam canner, wait 3-5 minutes before removing lid.
- Remove jars from canner. Let cool, undisturbed in a draft free location, 12-24 hours and check for seals. Lid should not flex up and down when pressed.
- Remove rings, clean and label jars. Store sealed jars in a cool, dry, dark location.
Source: California CFO Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Title 21, Part 150; Ball
Kernza Crackers
PDF Recipe
Yield: About 8 oz of crackers
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup (200g) whole grain Kernza + plus extra for rolling the dough
- ½ Tbsp (8g) sugar
- Pinch (2g) salt + more for seasoning
- ½ Tbsp (5g) baking powder
- ¼ cup (40g) flax seed meal
- ½ Tbsp (1g) ground cumin
- ½ Tbsp (1g) ground coriander
- ½ cup (115g) water
- 2 Tbsp (25g) olive oil + more for brushing
Directions
- Mix together all dry ingredients in a stand mixer. Add the olive oil, then add the water slowly.
- Mix the dough for two minutes. Once mixed, form the dough into a ball and cover with plastic wrap. Rest the dough for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove the plastic and flour a clean work surface.
- Roll the dough as thinly as possible(⅛ inch or thinner, if possible). Dock the dough by poking it all over with the tines of a fork.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until firm and golden brown. After you remove the crackers from the oven, brush with olive oil and season with salt.
- Once the crackers have chilled to room temperature they can be broken into smaller pieces. Alternatively, before cooking the sheet of dough can be cut into any desired shape.
Adapted from Chris Nye’s “Kernza Whole Grain Crackers”
Strawberry Shrub
PDF Recipe
Yield: About 6 half-pints
Ingredients
- 1 cup crushed strawberries (can also use peaches, apricots, grapes, plums, berries, or cherries)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup vinegar
Directions
- Crush strawberries in a large glass or plastic bowl. Pour enough vinegar over strawberries to cover them. Place lid or plastic wrap on container and let stand overnight in a dark, cool place (70°F to 75°F).
- Strain liquid from strawberries, collecting in a large liquid measurer. Liquid should be red and clear (no pulp). Measure liquid.Place strawberry vinegar in a clean, large stainless steel saucepan. Add an equal amount of sugar, stirring to combine.
- Bring mixture just to a boil. Remove from heat and skim foam if needed.
- Ladle hot vinaigrette into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe rim and apply two-piece metal canning lids.
- Process in a boiling-water canner under 1-inch of water or on the rack of an atmospheric steam canner for 10 minutes at 0-1,000 feet elevation, 15 minutes at 1,001-6,000 feet, or 20 minutes above 6,000 feet.
- Turn the heat off and wait 5 minutes before removing the jars from the canner. Check seals after 12-24 hours.
Adapted from the "Complete Guide to Home Canning," USDA, 2015.
Zucchini-Pineapple
PDF Recipe
Yield: About 4 to 5 pints
Ingredients
- 2 quarts zucchini, peeled & shredded or cut into ½ inch cubes
- 23 oz canned unsweetened pineapple juice
- ¾ cups bottled lemon juice
- 1 ½ cups sugar
Directions
1. Mix zucchini with other ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer 20 minutes.
3. Fill jars with hot mixture and cooking liquid, leaving ½-inch headspace.
4.Place lids and process pint or half pint jars in either a boiling water or steam canner for 15 minutes up to 1000’, for 20 minutes between 1,001-6000’, and 25 minutes above 6,000’.
Adapted from the "Complete Guide to Home Canning," USDA, 2015.