Canning & Food Preserving

[kitchensqueen]

Anyone doing any canning or otherwise putting up food this year?

I still did some, even though I'm at the end of the line with this pregnancy. With my husband's help, we put up 19 quarts of tomatoes and 5 pints of pickled hot peppers. We also have another quart of hot peppers in the freezer, as well as a couple of pints of blueberries and a dozen ears of corn. 

We're done with the canning until late October when we get a couple of bushels of apples, when I'm going to do up a bunch of plain apples in water and applesauce, but we're going to get some more sweet corn if we can still get it and fruit for the freezer at the farmer's markets for as long as they're available this season - slowly squirreling away good eats! 

[Vancouver Mommy]

I've canned about 21 quarts of peaches and made nearly 50 pints of jam (I plan to give some as gifts). I've also frozen about 20lbs of blueberries and ten pounds of rhubarb. I also plan to make applesauce and apple butter later this month. I don't have a garden and I'm finding it all a bit expensive at farmers market prices.

[MadameFancyPants]

I went on a canning frenzy.  I canned over 180lbs of tomatoes (salsa, pasta sauce, crushed) 20-1/2 pints of jam and about 10 or so pints of peaches.  I also soak and can dried beans on a fairly regular  basis. 

[seashells]

I've been stuffing my freezer full of tomatoes because I haven't had the time to can them yet. Plan to do it this weekend. I don't have tons, maybe a half bushel or so, but we'll see what I get out of it.

I've also been in the habit of freezing fruit, but we go through it very fast. I had a gallon of blueberries but we're down to the last pint already (and that was after we ate about 12 pounds of them fresh). I've been chopping up peaches and putting them in the freezer in quart jars, I then blend them with creamy jersey milk to make "ice cream" that my family is addicted to.

I may make a little bit of applesauce this year but I'm not sure. We usually manage to keep our apples through January just putting them in a cool closet. I get a bushel a year. We don't usually eat applesauce, we eat the apples fresh (sliced, put in oatmeal, apple pie, etc.) so that makes more sense. I also keep plenty of potatoes, carrots and onions in this closet too.

[kitchensqueen]

Originally Posted by Vancouver Mommy 

I don't have a garden and I'm finding it all a bit expensive at farmers market prices.

We really on the farmer's market for our canning and freezing produce as well, since we only get enough for fresh eating (if the squirrels leave us any) from our container garden. Have you tried asking a farmer or two for bulk pricing when you buy in quantity? I was able to get tomato "seconds" - the stuff that's not perfectly pristine and they can't sell retail - for only $1.00 per pound this year. It take a little more prep work to cut out the soft spots and some of the fruit isn't pretty, but with tomatoes especially, you're already skinning and coring them anyway so it ends up being a pretty good bargain. 

[Vancouver Mommy]

Yes, I sure do. I got organic peaches for $2/lb and "seconds" for jam for 75 cents/lb. I could have had as many apricots as I could carry for 1.50/lb, but I actually couldn't carry any as I already had 20 pounds of peaches and a chicken.
 

Originally Posted by kitchensqueen 

We really on the farmer's market for our canning and freezing produce as well, since we only get enough for fresh eating (if the squirrels leave us any) from our container garden. Have you tried asking a farmer or two for bulk pricing when you buy in quantity? I was able to get tomato "seconds" - the stuff that's not perfectly pristine and they can't sell retail - for only $1.00 per pound this year. It take a little more prep work to cut out the soft spots and some of the fruit isn't pretty, but with tomatoes especially, you're already skinning and coring them anyway so it ends up being a pretty good bargain. 

[mommy212]

I am just getting into canning this year, and I started small- 2 batches strawberry jam, and 1 batch lemon-ginger marmalade. Also planning on doing vanilla infused cherries if I can still get good ones, and several big jars of applesauce. Next year I'm hoping to do a lot more, including more veggies like tomatoes and pickles.

[Alyantavid]

I just started canning this summer too but I'm getting addicted!

So far I've stuck with mostly pickled things; pickles, peppers, dilly beans.  I did make some plum bbq sauce and canned that.  I've frozen green beans, peas, zucchini, many varieties of hot peppers, raspberries, blackberries, cherries.  My tomatoes are just now starting to ripen and we're waiting on pears, apples, peaches and corn. 

[kitchensqueen]

Wow, you all are putting me to shame with the quantities you're working in! :-) 

I've got a serious wish list of things that I want to do next season. I didn't really plan it out well this year, with the pregnancy (and the fact that I've had to contend with a healing broken ankle for the last six weeks). Next summer with no pregnancy and hopefully no injuries I am going to nuts. We're going to have to move into a bigger apartment for make room for all the canned goods I'm planning on! 

[Vancouver Mommy]

OK, my neighbour just brought me a large container of (what I believe are Kodota) figs. I think I'll make fig jam, unless somebody can suggest something else.

[kitchensqueen]

Fig jam sounds really good! 

[cameragirl]

We've been freezing more than canning this year, mostly because I'm tired from being pregnant. We've put away a TON of spaghetti sauce, oven roasted tomatoes, pizza sauce, and plain tomato sauce. We also are freezing shredded and pureed zucchini to add to soup since we're kind of tired of summer squash right now. Since Apple Hill is open, we'll probably get a bunch of apples for drying and making apple sauce. I need to get around to freezing the sugar pie pumpkins we grew, since we don't have a root cellar to keep them.

[bignerpie]

We didn’t get our garden planted this year because of way too many crazy things that happened this spring. I gotta say… since I’m 39 weeks pregnant, I’m not too upset about it. The thought of canning 100 pounds of tomatoes feels a little overwhelming at the moment.

I did get a small quantity of tomatoes from a local farm and canned 6 quarts of marinara sauce. We went to a pick your own apple orchard last weekend, and I canned 24 half pints of applesauce from that. This weekend, we’re doing pick your own grapes and raspberries, and the plan is grape jelly and raspberry chipotle sauce. It’s fun this year not having our own stuff to can, so I get to play around. But this winter sure will be a lot harder without it.

[cameragirl]

Originally Posted by bignerpie 

We didn’t get our garden planted this year because of way too many crazy things that happened this spring. I gotta say… since I’m 39 weeks pregnant, I’m not too upset about it. The thought of canning 100 pounds of tomatoes feels a little overwhelming at the moment.

I did get a small quantity of tomatoes from a local farm and canned 6 quarts of marinara sauce. We went to a pick your own apple orchard last weekend, and I canned 24 half pints of applesauce from that. This weekend, we’re doing pick your own grapes and raspberries, and the plan is grape jelly and raspberry chipotle sauce. It’s fun this year not having our own stuff to can, so I get to play around. But this winter sure will be a lot harder without it.

Canning is tiring normally - I wouldn't want to be doing it at full term, either!

[Callimom]

We are in the thick of it. I will do 150 quarts of tomatoes this year- about 1/3 of the way there now and have 2 more bushels which I will get to tomorrow.

Have frozen blueberries, strawberries, sour cherries, rhubarb, peppers and pesto. Missed raspberries unfortunately. sigh...

Canned about 50 jars of jam and will do more peach jam and maybe a round of blueberry jam.

I'd like to try grape jelly this year.

I have 2 bushels of peaches which are ripening in my mud room at the moment. I'll can the ripest tonight or maybe do salsa

Today I have a bushel sized bucket of basil to deal with.  I'll make more pesto and freeze some in ice cube trays.

I'll also make a batch of dill pickle relish.

I hope to get another bushel of dill and/or sweet pickles done next week and I have the last order of the peaches ordered for the next weekend.

A little later I will do pears, apple sauce and pie filling, plum-apple sauce and freeze some pureed pumpkin if I can squeeze it  in the freezer.

I am seriously considering another freezer and/or a pressure canner before next summer.  Haven't decided yet.

Got a dehydrator at a garage sale. Think I will try drying some apples as they are cheap compared to blueberries and other soft fruit

Back to the kitchen

Karen

[Vancouver Mommy]

Question about peach jam: I know that it won't set like other jams, but is there any way to make it a little less runny?

[kristy1129]

Originally Posted by kitchensqueen 

We're done with the canning until late October when we get a couple of bushels of apples, when I'm going to do up a bunch of plain apples in water and applesauce, but we're going to get some more sweet corn if we can still get it and fruit for the freezer at the farmer's markets for as long as they're available this season - slowly squirreling away good eats! 

Just curious how you can plain apples in water. I'm VERY interested. New to canning too...actually, really new since I've never actually canned something. lol But I've read a lot about it. We NEED to can plain food though since we can't have sugar and we can only get safe foods for us (allergies) at certain times of the year. I'll also be getting lots of black & garbanzo beans and persimmons that I'll need to preserve. Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks!

Kristy

[kitchensqueen]

Originally Posted by kristy1129 

Just curious how you can plain apples in water. I'm VERY interested. New to canning too...actually, really new since I've never actually canned something. lol But I've read a lot about it. We NEED to can plain food though since we can't have sugar and we can only get safe foods for us (allergies) at certain times of the year. I'll also be getting lots of black & garbanzo beans and persimmons that I'll need to preserve. Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks!

Kristy

If your'e new to canning, I highly recommend you get the Ball Blue Book - it's got all the info you'll need to get started. The recipe in the Ball Blue Book (on page 17) is actually called "Apples for Baking", which says you can use plain water to 2 1/2-3 pounds of apples per quart, but it must be hot packed. I can type out the actual recipe for you later when I have a little more time. This will be my first year trying it, but I've canned for several years and it sound easy enough. 

For persimmons, you should puree and freeze them. I don't recall seeing any approved canning recipes for persimmons, likely for the same reason it's not safe to can pumpkin puree at home - it's to thick for the heat to penetrate to the center of the jar. I just run my persimmons through a food mill and freeze them in pint sized freezer bags. 

[sunnygir1]

Originally Posted by Vancouver Mommy 

Question about peach jam: I know that it won't set like other jams, but is there any way to make it a little less runny?

Peach jam should set fine if you add enough sugar or pectin.  You can use low sugar pectin and it will set even if it isn't very sweet, I use Pomona's.

You can also make your own from apples.  I've never done it, but am reading about it now and plan to make some and can it for future use.  Peel, core, and slice apples, cover with water, bring to a boil and cook for 15 min.  Strain through cheesecloth without squeezing and return the apples to the pan, cover with water again and cook at a lower temp for 15 min.  Let stand 10 min and strain again.  When cool, gently squeeze cheese cloth and discard apple pulp.  You should get 1qt per pound of apples, and that is equal to 3T(?) of liquid pectin (which I've never used).  Anyway, you can add this apple stock to your jam to help thicken it.  This is info off the top of my head that I've been reading in Stocking Up and online sources.

You can also use gelatin or agar agar, but I think they break down if you then waterbath can the jam.

[sunnygir1]

Oh, yeah, and I'm finally back to canning and freezing, yay!

I've frozen 2-3 gallons of broccoli, 2-3 gallons of green/wax beans, 4-5 gal raspberries, 2-3 gallons blueberries, and 2-3 gallons strawberries.  Unfortunately, most of that has already been consumed!

I just canned 14 quarts of apple sauce and 10-1/2 quarts of cider.  I've got crab apple jelly, grape jelly, elderberry jelly, and elderberry juice in the works.  Hope to get them in the jars tomorrow.

More applesauce and jelly to come if I can keep it up.  I'm also hoping for tomatoes soon, but ours are just starting to come in.