Norwegian Food Culture - Assignments After Practical Session 3

Norwegian Food Culture - Assignments After Practical Session 1

Welcome back to my Blog! My name is Youngjun Kwon, and today, I'll show everyone about my assignments, after practical session 1!

Today's topic is Pepper Pickle and Canned Plum !

Introduction

The methods for food preservation this time were pickling and canning. I also tried making jam first, but I failed it because it was overcooked during the boiling part, so it's an unfortunate but I replaced it with canned food. (Failure may also be an experience!)

Back into history, the method which is called 'pickling' originated from the far century in Scandinavian countries. Since they didn't have the 'sugar' which is generally used for preserving fruits nowadays, the honey was widely used as a preservative instead of sugar.

(KVAROY ARCTIC, n.d.)

400g  Jars. Youngjun Kwon

Also I bought my own jars instead of using the kitchen's one,  because I wanted to feel how precious making my own food I've never made by myself before.

The recipes I used this time were from Korean blog (Pickles) and the guideline (Canning) that professor Kari gave to us before.

(totos1207, 2021)

First. Making a Pepper Pickle

Ingredients Preparation. Youngjun Kwon

Ingredients:

    Four Green Peppers,  Four Red Peppers

    One Cucumber

    Half of Onion

    Ten Garlics

    Three cups of Water (750ml), One cup of Vinegar (250ml), One cup of Sugar (about 250g)

    Two tsp of Black Pepper, One tsp of Salt

※  Note 1. You have to turn the ventilation on first before cooking, in order to prevent smoke from unpredictable fire or overcooked food.

※ Note 2. Remember to sterilize your jar. you can boil the lid and remove the germs by killing with the heat. And you have to heat the jars in the oven at about 100℃ for at least 20 minutes. If you don't have an oven, you can also boil the jar and let it dry.

Making Vinegar Sauce. Youngjun Kwon

First, make a vinegar sauce. Mix water and vinegar, sugar, salt, black pepper in one cup. if your jar is not enough to take a liter of water, you can reduce the amount of them.

Once you have finished making the vinegar sauce, pour it into the pot and boil it for about five minutes. When the sugar is completely melted, you can turn off the fire. Remember not to boil it too long, if you do, the sour taste from vinegar could be reduced.

Chopped Vegetables. Youngjun Kwon

Next, Wash all vegetables and chop them except garlic. So that you can eat it easily in one bite.

Jar and Funnel. Youngjun Kwon

So everything is ready, then put the jar and lid out of the hot place, and prepare a funnel, because we have to keep clean the top of the jar, which is really fragile against attack by bacteria.

Put all the vegetables in the jar, and pour the vinegar sauce in it.

※  Note 3.  It is essential to put all things in the jar as much as you can until it's full, because you can minimize the air from outside by doing like this once it's sealed.

Accomplishment. Youngjun Kwon

There we have it! Another cool Pepper Pickles.

Second. Making a Canned Plum

Ingredients:

    Plums (350g)

    Two cups of Water (500ml), Sugar (300g)      👉Sugar Sauce

Measuring & Peeling Plums. Youngjun Kwon

One of the most stressful procedures during cooking might be this, peeling plums. Here's the easiest way how to peel the plums. If desired, you can slice plums into halves.

1. Mark "X" shape on the base of the plum with knife.

2. Put plums in boiling water. you have to do that in about 30 seconds.

3. Put them into an ice water in contrast in temperature.

(CammysKitchen, 2024)

Making Sugar Sauce. Youngjun Kwon

Make a sugar sauce. and pour it into the pot and boil it until the sugar gets fully melted (about 5 minutes). 

Jar and Funnel. Youngjun Kwon

And the rest of the part is almost as same as how pickle was. Prepare the jar and hopper, and put the plums into it and pour the sugar sauce.

This packing method is called Raw-Packing", If you want to cook -mostly it's boiled- your fruits first, then you can do it that way. That is called "Hot-Packing".  (ADAMANT,2025)

Accomplishment. Youngjun Kwon

There we have it! Sweet sweet canned plums!

Third. Storage

Fermentation will take about 5-6 weeks, so it's important to keep watching if it gets mold or else. To prevent them, I'll show you a few tips below.

    First.  Keep them in a cool temperature. Regardless of how acid the canned food is, it is good not to be stored in over 26C.

    Second, Boil the canned food about 10-15 minutes before storing. It can kill more bacteria and any microbes.

    Third, Keep checking lids by pressing down the center of it. It should be no give. If there is, refrigerate the jar and make sure to eat in two weeks. that means there's already bad air caused by foods that turned bad.

If the pickles become soft or slimy, or develop an disagreeable odor, discard them.

(Julie Garden-Robinson, 2024)

Summary / Conclusion

Storing Canned Products. Youngjun Kwon

There were so many challenges to finish all procedures, but I started to wonder 'How vinegar or sugar prevents foods from rotting/withering?

That's because Sugar and vinegar make 'Ostomic Effect' when they meet crushed fruit/vegetable, stealing their water. And that prevents bacteria to grow and multiply, Which means sugar and vinegar can be worked as a 'preservatives'.

(Sugar as a Preservative, 2021)

Since I forgot to boil canned foods before storing, there's still a possibility of getting rotten or producing a bad smell. So it was my mistake, and I have to keep an eye on my foods.

This practical lesson was one of the most surprising ones, because most of us don't need a method like this anymore. We have fridge and freezer. But thinking that pickling and canning could be another sort of trend about how modern people eat foods more creative, It'd be really helpful knowing these methods for better food life.

+ Additional observation logbook (edited in 06.09.2025): It's been 10 days since I started storing, thankfully there are no ominous factors yet which can cause mold or increase a bacteria. The color of vegetables and plums are all okay, and the color of juice are also have no problem. Most of all, there are no bulges on top of the lid so far.

Thanks for reading the post, and I'll see you soon!

References:

KVAROY ARCTIC. (n.d.). PRESERVED PANTRY: OUR INHERITED ANCESTRAL WISDOM. https://www.kvaroyarctic.com/blog/preserved-pantry-our-inherited-ancestral-wisdom?rq=preserved

totos1207. (2021.12.20). 입맛 잡는 고추 피클 만들기 [ Making Appetizing Pickled Peppers ]. 미코유의 요리날다[Mikoyu's Cooking Day].  https://blog.naver.com/totos1207/222574921348

ASHLEY ADAMANT.(2025).Canning Plums. https://practicalselfreliance.com/canning-plums/ 

Sugar as a Preservative. (2021). In Sugarnutrition Resource center.  https://www.sugarnutritionresource.org/news-articles/sugar-as-a-preservative

Julie Garden-Robinson. (2024). Food Preservation: Making Pickled Products  (pp.5-6). NDSU NORTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY.

cammyskitchen[@CammysKitchen]. (2024, February 18). An appealing hack to easily peel the skin of stone fruits #cooking #cookinghacks #lifehack #plums #peaches #cookingtips [Video]. TikTok.

https://www.tiktok.com/@cammyskitchen/video/7336802422884535595