Winnipeg chefs hop on custom preserves food trend

Jars of preserves and jams multi-hued and edible foodstuffs like granny used to make have taken residence in more local dining rooms.

Aside from decorating, the house-made jams, jellies, chutneys and pickled vegetablesare valuable ingredients that add extra pizzazz to dishes and are great for winter months when fresh, local produce is unavailable.

You can add the flavour out of season, and also try to use more ingredients that are locally sourced and responsible, said Kyle Lew, chef and co-owner of Chew, a new eatery in River Heights.

In late summer, Lew and his wife Kristen Chemerika-Lew, also a chef and Chew's co-owner, preserved golden beets, jalapeno and Thai chile peppers, bing cherriesand cherry tomatoes in oil and herbs.

Exchange District eatery Peasant Cookery has been preserving and pickling for several years, displaying bottles of pickled asparagus, beans and carrots in its front windows. Bistro 7 1/4 makes its own bacon jam.
Prairie 360, Winnipegs revolving restaurant that opens Nov. 11, has its stockroom loaded with pickled cauliflower, cherry tomatoes and green beans.

Its about back to roots cooking, said Alfonso Maury, executive chef at the new skyline restaurant and lounge.
Preserved foods, he warned, must be used in moderation in dishes because the strong sweet and savoury notes can easily overtake all other flavours.

The preserving trend, which gained a foothold in Torontos food scene about five years ago, is an extension of the artisnal movement that includes craft beer making, fibre arts and gardening, according toCiao! magazine editor Erin Bend.