Gifts from your kitchen - Recipe

Sunset, Dec, 1999 by Linda Lau Anusasananan, Elaine Johnson

More than two dozen delicious ways to say, "Have a merry holiday"

* For gifts in good taste, what better place to start than where good tastes reign: the kitchen. In minutes or a few hours, your home-based Santa's factory can produce tender, flavorful cake and quick breads; beautiful fruit vinegars or liqueurs in glass; candies and confections with grown-up tastes and humorous shapes; gingerbread for cookies, thin and crisp, and centerpieces that glow; and spice blends assembled into simple works of art.

So step away from the hurly-burly and spend a morning in a warm kitchen full of wonderful fragrances, with music to keep you company, and enjoy creating a steadily growing lineup of gifts you know won't have to be returned.

fruit under glass

Faz Poursohi, a Northern California restaurateur, displays dramatically scaled, bulbous jars filled with fruits in vinegars in many of his establishments. In clear jars, the beauty of the fruit is magnified by the liquid. And as it stands in the jars, the fruit becomes pickled and perfumes the liquid.

Poursohi's technique, which he brought from his homeland, Iran, works well with a wide variety of fruits and vinegars.

Recipients can use the flavored vinegars and chopped pickled fruit in salads and as seasonings. Or cook pickled fruit with some of the vinegar and sugar to make glistening sweet-sour relishes that complement meats and poultry. - L.L.A.

Citrus Vinegar and Pickled Fruit

PREP TIME: 5 to 10 minutes

NOTES: Lime and lemon vinegars develop a pleasant, slightly bitter flavor after a month or so. In addition to using the vinegar in salads, add a little of the chopped pickled fruit, peel and all. MAKES: 2 to 6 cups vinegar and 4 to 7 cups fruit; jar sizes can vary, but liquid must cover fruit

1. Rinse 5 to 15 limes or lemons (2 1/2 to 3 in. long), or 5 to 7 cups kumquats; if waxed, rub with a cloth under hot running water. Also rinse 3 to 6 fresh unsprayed citrus leaves (optional). In a 6- to 8-cup widemouth clear decorative jar with lid, tightly pack fruit, fitting leaves between fruit and jar.

2. Mix 4 cups distilled white vinegar and 1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar until clear. Pour into jar, filling to cover fruit. (If you need more liquid, blend each additional I cup vinegar with 2 to 3 tablespoons sugar.) If fruit floats above liquid, push a wad of clear plastic wrap (large enough to reach the rim of the jar) on top of it. Close jar airtight.

3. Let stand until vinegar is aromatic, at least 2 weeks or up to 3 months. (Limes and citrus leaves turn yellowish green as they stand.) Check occasionally to maintain liquid level; if it evaporates enough to expose fruit, the exposed parts discolor dramatically.

Per tablespoon vinegar: 7.8 cal., 0% (0 cal.) from fat; 0 g protein; 0 g fat; 2.3 g carbo (0 g fiber); 0.2 mg sodium; 0 mg chol.

Estimated per tablespoon chopped limes: 4 cal., 0% (0 cal.) from fat; 0.1 g protein; 0 g fat; 1.4 g carbo (0.7 g fiber); 0 mg sodium;0 mg chol.

Cranberry. Vinegar and Pickled Cranberries

Follow directions for citrus vinegar and pickled fruit (page 80), but instead of citrus, use 6 to 8 cups fresh or frozen cranberries. Sort, discarding bruised and decayed fruit. Rinse cranberries.

Per tablespoon vinegar: 7.8 cal., 0% (0 cal.) from fat; 0 g protein; 0 g fat; 2.3 g carbo (0 g fiber); 0.2 mg sodium; 0 mg chol.

Estimated per tablespoon chopped fruit: 3.4 cal., 0% (0 cal.) from fat; 0 g protein; 0 g fat; 0.9 g carbo (0.1 g fiber); 0 mg sodium; 0 mg chol.

Persimmon Vinegar and Pickled Persimmons

Follow directions for citrus vinegar and pickled fruit (page 80), but instead of citrus, use 4 to 6 firm-ripe Fuyu persimmons (2 1/2 to 3 in. wide). Discard stems and leaves; rinse fruit. Persimmon skins stay firm, but interiors get soft.

Per tablespoon vinegar: 7.8 cal., 0% (0 cal.) from fat; 0 g protein; 0 g fat; 2.3 g carbo (0 g fiber); 0.2 mg sodium; 0 mg chol.

Estimated per tablespoon chopped fruit: 24 cal., 3.8% (0.9 cal.) from fat; 0.2 g protein; 0.1 g fat (0 g sat.); 6.2 g carbo (0.5 g fiber); 0.6 mg sodium; 0 mg chol.

Pickled Fruit Relish

PREP AND COOK TIME: About 15 minutes

NOTES: Serve with roasted or grilled meats, poultry, seafood, or curries.

MAKES: About 1/3 cup

1. Use pickled citrus, cranberries, or persimmons (preceding). Chop limes or lemons, thinly slice kumquats (discard seeds), use cranberries whole, or scoop persimmon pulp from tough skin (discard skin and seeds).

2. In a 6- to 8-inch frying pan, mix 1/2 cup fruit with 2 to 4 tablespoons sugar, or to taste. Shake pan often over medium-high heat until mixture boils vigorously and fruit turns shiny and slightly translucent, 5 to 12 minutes. Serve warm or cool.

Per tablespoon with citrus: 27 cal., 0% (0 cal.) from fat; 0.1 g protein; 0 g fat; 7.6 g carbo (0 g fiber); 0.4 mg sodium; 0 mg chol. Per tablespoon with cranberries: 28 cal., 0% (0 cal.) from fat; 0 g protein; 0 g fat; 7.3 g carbo (0.4 g fiber); 0.2 mg sodium; 0 mg chol.

Per tablespoon with persimmons: 43 cal., 2.1%-(0.9 cal.) from fat; 0.1 g protein; 0.1 g fat (0 g sat.); 11 g carbo (0 g fiber); 0.3 mg sodium; 0 mg chol.