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Home Canning


nonblonde007

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It's that time of year for many of us. Home Canning, break out the mason jars! I am very interested in the techniques and varieties of all things canned in different areas of the world. What do you can? How do you use what you have canned? Do you can the way it was passed down from generations or do you use modern methods?

For the most part, I stick with typical vegetables and pickles. In the past I have canned salmon, stew, and soups.

So far this year, tomatoes, pickles, (both the hot bath and brine style my grandmother used) okra and kimchi. I still plan on putting up corn, green beans and any other thing that catches my fancy. I will use these all winter long, far preferable to store bought. Nothing beats home canned tomatoes in the dead of winter, just warmed as is.

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Edited by nonblonde007 (log)

Brenda

I whistfully mentioned how I missed sushi. Truly horrified, she told me "you city folk eat the strangest things!", and offered me a freshly fried chitterling!

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I can tomatoes, primarily.

Lots and lots of 'maters!

I agree, there is nothing better than standing in my kitchen on a cold day in the dead of winter with a jar of canned tomatoes that I've just cracked open!

I also put up a lot of cucumber pickles and baby corn.

edited for spelling

Edited by Shelby (log)
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Details, folks, Details!!! Pics are nice too. :smile:

Brenda

I whistfully mentioned how I missed sushi. Truly horrified, she told me "you city folk eat the strangest things!", and offered me a freshly fried chitterling!

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Thank you for the link. I enjoy learning the individual differences and influences in the process. Plus, who doesn't love the pics?!

Brenda

I whistfully mentioned how I missed sushi. Truly horrified, she told me "you city folk eat the strangest things!", and offered me a freshly fried chitterling!

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How do you use it? Is is sweet and hot? Do you spread it on the ham or on toast?

Brenda

I whistfully mentioned how I missed sushi. Truly horrified, she told me "you city folk eat the strangest things!", and offered me a freshly fried chitterling!

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Details, folks, Details!!! Pics are nice too. :smile:

Ok, you forced me into it :laugh:

Veggies

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I blanch my 'maters in boiling water for a few seconds and then put them in the sink in cold water. It makes the skins slide right off.

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Then I pile all of the 'maters in pots and let them cook down while my jars are sterilizing in the dishwasher.

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After everything has cooked down, I strain the juice and put that up, too.

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Finished product!

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Shelby, I am so glad that I "forced" you into posting!! I have never cooked my maters down before canning, does it retain the fresh flavor that way? I do like that your way leaves you with the jars of juice. I peel as you do, then just squash them into a jar with salt and fresh lemon juice, the resulting jiuce covers the toms, and process. Beautiful kitchen, btw.

Brenda

I whistfully mentioned how I missed sushi. Truly horrified, she told me "you city folk eat the strangest things!", and offered me a freshly fried chitterling!

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How do you use it?  Is is sweet and hot? Do you spread it on the ham or on toast?

Hot, sweet and sour. The no brainer is on a bagel with cream cheese. Also great on salty meats (like the ham) and is a nice quick glaze.

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Shelby, I am so glad that I "forced" you into posting!!  I have never cooked my maters down before canning, does it retain the fresh flavor that way?  I do like that your way leaves you with the jars of juice.  I peel as you do, then just squash them into a jar with salt and fresh lemon juice, the resulting jiuce covers the toms, and process.  Beautiful kitchen, btw.

Thank you, Brenda! We have a 100 year old farm house and we just renovated the kitchen a couple of years ago. It was hell while we did it, but it was well worth it!

I don't know how or why I started cooking the tomatoes down. I don't cook them for very long, but it does get a lot more juice out. I don't think it changes the flavor at all. I add Lawry's salt to them, but have never tried lemon juice! I will add that next time.

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So far, I have 25 pints of roasted tomato sauce--cut tomatoes in half (no peeling), put them on oiled sheet pan with a chopped onion, stalk of celery, garlic cloves, 400 for an hour, then puree with stick blender.

14 quarts and 4 pints of tomato vegetable juice--same ingredients, with a little water to prevent sticking, simmer for 20 minutes and then put thru the tomato press.

About 30 pints of a sweet, hot salsa.

4 quarts green beans.

I use the roasted tomato sauce on pasta, as pizza sauce, on meatloaf. I drink the juice, or use it in veggie soup. Salsa goes on chips or on sandwiches.

More tomatoes to come, so totals may be updated. I think some more sauce would be good--I know my son will take some off my hands.

sparrowgrass
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We buy about 200 kgs of tomatos from a local farmer and bottle them up for the year.

Wow, now those pictures bring back great memories! They look remarkably like tomato day on my grandparent's farm. It is so good for those kids to be hands on, congrats.

I am having trouble figuring out what is going on in that picture on the bottom row, second from right? Are you storing in bottles, is that what I am seeing there? What kind of seal do those take, bail and gasket? My eyes are just not what they used to be.

Very nice tomato press as well. It all makes me smile! :biggrin:

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Sparrowgrass, I will have to try the roasted sauce, sounds great.

Kellytree, Thank you! Those are wonderful pics, I love seeing that you have the whole family involved, and the process you use, just awsome. How many bottles do you end up with?

Brenda

I whistfully mentioned how I missed sushi. Truly horrified, she told me "you city folk eat the strangest things!", and offered me a freshly fried chitterling!

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I just made 27 pints of BBQ sauce .. I dont have any pictures and almost half went out the door already!!! I think my kids have radar and pulled off I-5 when the jar lids made that "ping" so before the onions are done for the year .(I use a dozen giant Walla Walla's in the "recipe"..I have to make more!!!

it is a long labor of love to do this ... but worth it I think!!!

it is a sweet hot tangy smokey sauce ..that is a great cooking glaze or I use like ketchup!

why am I always at the bottom and why is everything so high? 

why must there be so little me and so much sky?

Piglet 

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Okay folks---HELP. I'm a professionally-trained chef and I've never put anything by.....Can someone give me a quick hot water bath method for safe canning? My garden is EXPLODING with heirloom tomatoes, Thai peppers, cukes.....but the whole idea of canning terrifies me.

ANY HELP WILL BE APPRECIATED.

Signed,

Dumb as a Stump, in New England

BeefCheeks is an author, editor, and food journalist.

"The food was terrible. And such small portions...."

--Alvy Singer

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Okay folks---HELP. I'm a professionally-trained chef and I've never put anything by.....Can someone give me a quick hot water bath method for safe canning? My garden is EXPLODING with heirloom tomatoes, Thai peppers, cukes.....but the whole idea of canning terrifies me.

ANY HELP WILL BE APPRECIATED.

A lot of people swear by The Ball Blue Book as the basic text of home canning. Since you're drowning in produce right now and may not have time to wait for a book to arrive, check out Ball's website FreshPreserving.com. They have some step-by-step tutorials and recipes that should get you started.

Have fun!

Edited by MaryMc (log)

MaryMc

Seattle, WA

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MaryMc, I follow basicly the Ball Blue Book also.

I just loaded another dozen jars of toms, about half in sparrowgrass's roasted sauce, along with 3 varieties of dill pickles, and my first dilled beans. I have a bag of key limes and was thinking of preserving them. Think it would work like preserved lemons in salt?

Edited by nonblonde007 (log)

Brenda

I whistfully mentioned how I missed sushi. Truly horrified, she told me "you city folk eat the strangest things!", and offered me a freshly fried chitterling!

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Okay folks---HELP. I'm a professionally-trained chef and I've never put anything by.....Can someone give me a quick hot water bath method for safe canning? My garden is EXPLODING with heirloom tomatoes, Thai peppers, cukes.....but the whole idea of canning terrifies me.

ANY HELP WILL BE APPRECIATED.

A lot of people swear by The Ball Blue Book as the basic text of home canning. Since you're drowning in produce right now and may not have time to wait for a book to arrive, check out Ball's website FreshPreserving.com. They have some step-by-step tutorials and recipes that should get you started.

Have fun!

Thanks so much!

BeefCheeks is an author, editor, and food journalist.

"The food was terrible. And such small portions...."

--Alvy Singer

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Beef Cheeks, you will have great fun with canning. If you have any questions, post them here, or call your local Extension office.

I am an Extension Specialist (we used to be called Extension Agents) and our office spends a great deal of time walking people thru their canning efforts. (I am not a food and nutrition specialist--I work with 4-H, but I have been canning for lo these many years.)

If you google your state + extension, you will find a link to your local office.

Sometimes offices will have the Ball Blue Book for sale. Walmart or other sources of canning jars and lids often have copies for sale, too. Or check the library, but make sure they have a current copy, published sometime in the last 5 years.

Old books sometimes have good recipes, but recommendations for canning times and procedures have changed to make them safer

Or send me a pm. The Ball Book is out on the counter from July-September, and I would be glad to look up a recipe for you.

Edited by sparrowgrass (log)
sparrowgrass
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I am going to try one of those posts with pictures and directions--how bout roasted tomato sauce for canning?

First, pick the tomatoes.

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I guess if I am going to post pictures, I need to go buy a fancy trug or wicker basket. But drywall buckets work for me.

Cut 'em up, and put them on a greased sheet pan with a cut up onion, as much garlic as you like, a green pepper, a stalk or two of celery. I don't peel the tomatoes, but I do peel the onions and garlic.

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Roast in the oven, 400 degrees, for about an hour. They should be just browning a bit when you take them out.

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Then I scrape them off into a bowl, and use the stick blender to puree them. No pix of that, too busy scraping tomato puree and seeds off the walls. (My next kitchen paint color will be tomato red, not sunny yellow.)

Pictures of the actual canning process, later.

sparrowgrass
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Oh sparrowgrass, if you are going to post pictures, more of those!

I also use those buckets, and at Home Depot, Homer's 5 Gallon bucket is useful for a gazillion things, and cheap. :wink:

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