What Are You Preserving, and How Are You Doing It? (2016–)

[ElainaA]

I picked cherries. Too many cherries. I love picking cherries.

4 jars of Sweet and Sour Cherry Jam with Kirsch. (from Ferber's Mes Confitures - her recipe is called Morello Cherry and Black Cherry with Kirsch but the farm where I pick simply has sweet cherries and sour cherries.)

Also 7 jars of Cherry and Orange Conserve. This is more like a sauce for ice cream rather than a jam. It was supposed to be all sweet cherries but i didn't have quite enough so I used some sour cherries too and increased the sugar just a little.

 

[Shelby]

10 minutes ago, ElainaA said:

I picked cherries. Too many cherries. I love picking cherries.

4 jars of Sweet and Sour Cherry Jam with Kirsch. (from Ferber's Mes Confitures - her recipe is called Morello Cherry and Black Cherry with Kirsch but the farm where I pick simply has sweet cherries and sour cherries.)

Also 7 jars of Cherry and Orange Conserve. This is more like a sauce for ice cream rather than a jam. It was supposed to be all sweet cherries but i didn't have quite enough so I used some sour cherries too and increased the sugar just a little.

 

I LOVE cherries.  Especially sour cherries.  Everything is so pretty.  You worked hard and it shows!

[kayb]

I contemplated putting up some of the Rainiers I bought the other day. But I've eaten more than half of them out of hand. They sure are good with yogurt and granola.

 

I need to pick cucumbers again tomorrow. I have done nothing with the last batch I picked. It may be sweet pickle relish time.

 

 

 

[ElainaA]

1 hour ago, kayb said:

 

 

I need to pick cucumbers again tomorrow. I have done nothing with the last batch I picked. It may be sweet pickle relish time.

 

 

 

My cucumber plants are about 4" high! 

Edited July 8, 2017 by ElainaA (log)

[Shelby]

 

 

[rotuts]

@Shelby 

 

what id the advantage , these days , to canning , say green beans , vs  blanching and vacuum bagging and freezing ?

[Shelby]

1 minute ago, rotuts said:

@Shelby 

 

what id the advantage , these days , to canning , say green beans , vs  blanching and vacuum bagging and freezing ?

For me it's that I don't have a ton of freezer space.  Our venison takes up a lot of room.

 

 

[rotuts]

and you get to see so many pretty jars in the basement

 

when there is 3 ft of snow outside.

[Shelby]

2 minutes ago, rotuts said:

and you get to see so many pretty jars in the basement

 

when there is 3 ft of snow outside.

I do enjoy that too!  

 

Honestly, it takes longer to prep the beans than it does to actually can them.....

[kayb]

4 hours ago, rotuts said:

@Shelby 

 

what id the advantage , these days , to canning , say green beans , vs  blanching and vacuum bagging and freezing ?

 

4 hours ago, Shelby said:

For me it's that I don't have a ton of freezer space.  Our venison takes up a lot of room.

 

 

 

When I was a kid and we "put up" almost all the veggies we ate all winter, there were certain things one froze and certain things one canned, because...there just were. One froze okra (cut up, breaded in cornmeal, frozen on a cookie sheet and then transferred to a big bag), purple hulled peas, lima beans, brown butterbeans, and peaches. One canned, in addition to pickles, jams and jellies, green beans and shelled pinto beans and butterpeas (something like a chickpea).

 

They just tasted better that way.

[ElainaA]

6 hours ago, rotuts said:

@Shelby 

 

what id the advantage , these days , to canning , say green beans , vs  blanching and vacuum bagging and freezing ?

Another issue is power outages. This doesn't effect me - and I freeze veggies rather than canning them - but if you live in a place with possible serious power outages due to hurricanes or tornados or other disasters you can lose the contents of a freezer while your canned goods are perfectly safe. 

Edited July 10, 2017 by ElainaA (log)

[rotuts]

I also think vacuum -freezing is very different than just plain freezing.

[Kerry Beal]

11 hours ago, rotuts said:

I also think vacuum -freezing is very different than just plain freezing.

For sure!

[Shelby]

I had a big day yesterday.

 

 Finally had enough tomatoes to make a bit of spaghetti sauce.  It's still keeping warm in the Instant Pot because I was too tired to put it away last night lol.

 

Also finally had enough cucumbers to start a batch of pickles.  Thankfully there was still a nice bit of dill in the garden to use.

 

Then, I copied @dcarch and dehydrated some squash.  I don't know why it never crossed my mind to do that before so THANK you dcarch!!!  They dried overnight and this morning I did a little test--rehydrated a slice in hot water.  Worked like a charm.

 

 

I will use these in the winter in spaghetti sauce for sure!

 

[Toliver]

1 hour ago, Shelby said:

...Then, I copied @dcarch and dehydrated some squash.  I don't know why it never crossed my mind to do that before so THANK you dcarch!!!  They dried overnight and this morning I did a little test--rehydrated a slice in hot water.  Worked like a charm.

@Shelby So now visitors can leave their car doors unlocked when visiting you without fear of returning to a car full of squash?  

Edited July 12, 2017 by Toliver
added name tag (log)

[Shelby]

5 minutes ago, Toliver said:

@Shelby So now visitors can leave their car doors unlocked when visiting you without fear of returning to a car full of squash?  

 

 

Oh no, one should be afraid.  Be very afraid.

 

 

 

 

[ninagluck]

apricot chutney to be

[FrogPrincesse]

Santa Rosa plum jam

 

Day 1

 

Day 2

 

 

 

[kayb]

 

Sweet pickle relish. Brine of 4 cups vinegar, 2 cups sugar, 4 tbsp. pickling spice. In addition to cucumbers, a couple of big onions and a healthy double handful of Cubanelle sweet peppers shredded up in there. An experiment, as I attempt to deal with the continuing onslaught of the cucumbers. Of course, I still have about half the last harvest, which I tried my best to give away.

 

 

And I picked about twice that many today. I can't win. 

 

Tuesday I am going to a friend's house to pick figs. There is fig jam in my future.

 

 

Edited July 15, 2017 by kayb
to add ingredient in brine (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

These plums make a really wonderful jam! I am not disappointed. Just the right amount of tartness to keep things interesting. I mixed super ripe and less ripe fruit.

 

 

[Smithy]

@FrogPrincesse, those colors are glorious: summer in a jar.

[ninagluck]

first try to make vermouth at home. let's keep fingers crossed. I used very plain flavours, just cinnamon and lemon rind besides white wine and brandy. warmwood and thyme as herbs and some sugar.

[Shelby]

This is not a big deal to anyone but me.  After not having enough tomatoes to can last summer, I got enough to do 3 quarts yesterday   Also my first time canning tomatoes in the pressure canner.  Why I waited so long to buy one of those is beyond me.  So much easier than using a water bath.  And the kitchen stays a bit cooler, too.

 

Unless, we get botulism and die that is.

 

[ElsieD]

48 minutes ago, Shelby said:

 

 

Unless, we get botulism and die that is.

 

 

Feeling cheery today, are we?

 

Nice looking tomatoes.  Did you grow these?  I was told at the farmers market last Saturday that we are still 2 weeks away from ripe local tomatoes.

[Shelby]

14 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

 

Feeling cheery today, are we?

 

Nice looking tomatoes.  Did you grow these?  I was told at the farmers market last Saturday that we are still 2 weeks away from ripe local tomatoes.

Thank you!  Yes, these are ours from our garden.