Canning & Food Preserving - Page 2

[rhianna813]

This year we are not doing as much preservation but have made some strawberry freezer jam, canned 14 pints peaches, dried some figs (and ate them all hahaha), and froze a small amount of shelled peas. We are planning on freezing green beans and beats from the garden too. And hopefully get some pears from a neighbors tree to can.

[kitchensqueen]

Okay, here's the recipe for "Apples for Baking" (aka plain apples in water) from page 17 of the Ball Blue Book - 

2 1/2- 3 pounds of apples per quart jar

1 quart of water per quart jar

Wash, core and peel apples. Apples may be cut into 1/4 inch slices, quartered or halved. Boil apples in water for 5 minutes. Pack hot apples into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Ladle hot water over apples in jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust two piece caps (fingertip tight only).  Process pints and quarts 20 minutes in a water bath canner. 

I adjusted the wording slightly so it makes sense, since the recipe as printed is a variation on the apples in sugar syrup recipe. It sounds easy and straightforward, and this is what I plan to use to can up almost a whole bushel of apples in October. I love this recipe - I was originally going to do up a bunch of apple pie filling, but this is much more versatile. Now I can have plenty of apples for pie, but also apples on hand for other things, like savory pork dishes and such. 

And I might be insane, but I just ordered three pounds of sweet peppers for freezing from our favorite farmer at the farmer's market. I'm supposed to get them on Sunday. It's a tiny quantity, but with the babe set to arrive any time, who knows if I'll even be home that day! 

[Arduinna]

Anyone tried packing apples in their own juice? It seems like it would maintain the apple flavor better than water. 

My tomatoes were a failure this year, in too late, freaky weather and bad location IMO so I've basically only canned chicken broth this year LOL. 

[Vancouver Mommy]

I went blackberry picking yesterday and made 8 jars of jam. Also did another seven quarts of peaches last night. If the jam is good I may go pick some more berries.

[kitchensqueen]

Tomatoes have been rough this year everywhere. :-( And I really need to get a pressure canner so I can do chicken stocks too - we go through at least a gallon of chicken stock a week at our house! 

[kitchensqueen]

I've got seven quarts of apples in the canner right now. And I've got enough prepped for another 4-5 quarts for a second batch when they come out. I just did them quartered and in water so I can use them however I want later. 

Anyone else doing any late season canning or preserving?

[jessemoon]

Just juiced and canned  four five-gallon buckets of plums.  I have a box of pears left to process later this week.  I've pickled and canned up a storm this summer!

[Moon Shadow]

Can anyone recommend a high quality but low cost food dehydrator?

Thanks!

[Chicky2]

Originally Posted by Moon Shadow 

Can anyone recommend a high quality but low cost food dehydrator?

Thanks!

get a refurbished Excalibur.  I got one for $150, and it has the same 10 year warranty as the new one!

[mommy212]

Just canned 6 pints of blueberry applesauce, 3 plain and two cinnamon. The blueberry was really tasty, and very pretty in the jar because I added some pieces of apple after the majority had cooked down to mush, and of course the blueberries made it a nice purple-blue color.

[rhianna813]

I did some canning this year and got:

14 Pints and 3 half pints of Sweet Pickle Relish

14 Pints of Peaches

7 Pints of diced Roma tomatoes

25 Quarts of Pears. Why so many pears? Well DS loves them and my MIL found a local no spray farm that was selling them already picked for only 30 cents a pound. We canned them together.

I also froze some peas, beets and swiss chard from my garden.

DH picked blackberries but instead of making jam he gave them to his friend who makes his own "hooch" LOL

[_ktg_]

I did some canning (though it feels like serious canning) and here's what I put up:

4 pints of sliced pears

4 pints of sliced plums

4 pints of sliced peaches

16 qts of sliced apples

16 pints of applesauce (which may become apple/pear butter at some point)

16 pints of salsa

6 half-pints of green tomato relish (I will make it spicier next year)

4 jars of peach jam

4 jars of blueberry jam

4 jars of plum jam

In the freezer:

6 batches of corn on the cob (4 cobs each)

8 1lb batches of zuchinni/summer squash

8 2cup servings of shredded zuchinni

5 4oz servings of pesto (without nuts & cheese)

This goes with the normal staples of my 12 qts of chicken stock, numerous pints of beans and 10 qts of speghetti sauce.  These get replenished on a regular basis. 

Phew I'm tired and now I know why I don't want to see my waterbath canner until next season

Next year though I hope to do more and get more preserved to start eating more seasonally vs. what we can pick up in the grocery store.  Already I'm eyeballing a food dehydrator, and possibly another small chest freezer and some new shelves for my basement pantry as many of my shevles look like they are about to fall down. 

[mommy212]

I am in the minority here with my little bits and batches (gotta start somewhere, right?), but I wanted to add that I also made a batch of caramel apple jam that is very tasty. Mostly I made this for my husband because he loves jams and jelly. Not the healthiest thing ever because it has a ton of sugar but very good flavor.

[bignerpie]

Originally Posted by mommy212 

I am in the minority here with my little bits and batches (gotta start somewhere, right?), but I wanted to add that I also made a batch of caramel apple jam that is very tasty. Mostly I made this for my husband because he loves jams and jelly. Not the healthiest thing ever because it has a ton of sugar but very good flavor.

You are not alone with the small batches. 

I am getting ready to make some pepper relish, and I probably have enough for 3 pints or so. I'm not even sure if it's worth getting the canner out. I might just refrigerate and give them away (minus 1 can for me, of course!).

[Wildflower]

I tried to use my grandpa's green gage plum tree to make my grandma's lovely tart golden jam...but my whole batch was brown, not gold! Tastes good though--wish I knew grandmas sercet ;)

[kitchensqueen]

Originally Posted by mommy212 

I am in the minority here with my little bits and batches (gotta start somewhere, right?), but I wanted to add that I also made a batch of caramel apple jam that is very tasty. Mostly I made this for my husband because he loves jams and jelly. Not the healthiest thing ever because it has a ton of sugar but very good flavor.

Small batches are the way to go. I swear, every time I do a double batch of tomatoes in a day (14 quarts) I get blown away by how much work it is, even though I enjoy it. I just don't know how the people who puts up ten times that in a day gets it done! Not to mention our foremothers, many of whom had to do giant batches of preserving at a time in order to feed their families for an entire year at a time. I have so much respect for that!

Also, caramel apple jam sounds really good. :-)

I've still got half a bushel of apples left to contend with, and I have got to get them done tomorrow before they start to spoil, since I don't have them in cold storage. I'm debating which is easier - canning another 7-10 quarts plain in water, or cooking them into my pie filling for the freezer. They're the same amount of work really... well actually, now that I'm thinking about this - it really boils down to storage space. I'm out of pantry space, but my chest freezer is only a third full... so freezer pie filling it is. 
 

[bignerpie]

My grandma called me a few days ago and told me that she had a bushel of apples for me. Last night, I cooked them all and made applesauce. Now my crockpot is full of apple butter that's been cooking down since last night. My house smells so good! The apple butter is definitely getting canned, but I'm not sure if I want to can or freeze the applesauce.

I got 4-5 dozen green peppers from my grandma, too. I didn't count, but there was a TON of them! I cut them all into strips, flash froze them, and dumped them in a freezer bag. The whole time I was cutting them up, I kept thinking that there must be an easier way. 

My next project is lacto-fermenting. I have a couple more things to get to make my own fermenting jars, and then I'm going to try some sauerkraut and ginger carrots. Anyone else do any fermenting? That counts as food preserving, right? 

[kitchensqueen]

Originally Posted by bignerpie 

My next project is lacto-fermenting. I have a couple more things to get to make my own fermenting jars, and then I'm going to try some sauerkraut and ginger carrots. Anyone else do any fermenting? That counts as food preserving, right? 

Putting up food so you can eat it later - counts in my book. :-)

I've dabbled in fermenting. I did a batch of sauerkraut last year that did not turn out, but I want to try it again and learn to get it right. I love sauerkraut so making my own would be so much more cost effective than buying it, and I could try different recipes. 

What kind of set up do you plan to use? I'd like to get an air lock lid for a large mason, but cash is tight so I think I'm going to try my next batch the low-budget way - I've got a gallon sized glass pickle jar a friend saved for me, and I'm going to use a coffee filter for the lid. Or I might try preserving in pint jars and see how that works out. 

[bignerpie]

This is the set-up I'm making- http://gnowfglins.com/2010/07/16/diy-airlock-fruit-and-veggie-ferments/, except I am using the plastic storage lids and the other kind of airlock (3 piece instead of the 
"s" airlock that's shown). I'll let you know how it goes!

The recipe on the page you linked looks delish... must try!

[cameragirl]

We just canned a couple dozen jars of pineapple sage flower jelly, and lemon balm jelly. Yum! We're pulling our tomato plants this week, so the green tomatoes will probably be turned into a sort of chile verde.