tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19669135381924077632012-01-31T06:40:16.871-08:00Canning recipes, Advice, and Canning instructionsCharlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.comBlogger691100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-12849219603009330402010-07-22T10:59:00.000-07:002010-07-22T11:02:32.539-07:00

I was asked for a recipe for low sugar mulberry jam. Since I didn't have such a recipe. I decided to do some experimenting. Actually all I did was buy a box of no sugar needed Sure-Jell and followed the instructions for low sugar raspberry jam, but replaced the raspberries with mulberries. It set just fine and tasted great. May be I should use low sugar pectin more often. 5 cups crushed

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-33648346931171726712009-11-01T22:48:00.000-08:002009-11-01T23:14:54.487-08:00

I don't know what made me think of this story. I also don't suppose it really fits into this blog since it isn't about preserving food, but what the heck. After all canning jars can be used for more than just preserving food.My Mother (who was born in 1923) said that when she headed out to school each day, her mother would give her a canning jar full of cold soup and some bread and butter.The

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-34444782021596097982009-10-26T06:00:00.000-07:002009-10-26T08:32:52.873-07:00

Having Canned Chili on hand is nice for those times when you want a quick meal. Make a big batch once and you have several meals that are just heat and eat.Some jars of chili that can be heated in a small crock pot in a dorm room are also a nice gift for a college student who is missing Mom's cooking.Although tomatoes are somewhat acidic, the overall PH of chili is high enough that it must be

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-17823272555680089362009-10-19T06:00:00.000-07:002009-10-19T06:00:05.735-07:00

This old fashioned recipe recalls a time when people couldn't afford to be as wasteful as we often are today.When I mention corn cob jelly people often wrinkle their nose as if I must be talking about something poisonous. Some of the finickiness that our society has developed is unfortunate because, quite frankly, corn cob jelly tastes good.I always make it with the red cobs that come from dent

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-46989348021599048882009-10-12T06:00:00.000-07:002009-10-19T00:44:35.314-07:00

One of my Brothers is rather fond of Mulberry Jam so I was at his house this weekend making jam with the berries that he and his wife froze last summer. I mentioned before, that frozen fruit makes good jam, but I thought I would take a moment to mention some reasons why you might want to use frozen fruit.This weekend was an example of being able to time the canning so it was convenient for me. I

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-60750166642234536602009-09-21T09:25:00.000-07:002009-10-19T00:24:21.479-07:00

Rose hips are extremely high in vitamin C. In fact, since the British were cut off from their supply of citrus fruits during World War II, they used rose hip syrup to ensure their intake of vitamin C.To make either rose hip syrup or jelly, you start out by making rose hip tea. I find that as little as 1 cup of rose hips makes a decent batch of jelly, but 2 cups will work better. I left the

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-22049902474590066602009-09-17T09:25:00.001-07:002009-09-19T10:57:19.067-07:00

The Ungourmet made the comment that she wondered what it would be like to add maple syrup to apple butter. This idea certainly sounded good enough to make me curious. I was pondering how well apple butter would cook down if you used syrup, when it occurred to me that I probably wouldn't pay for real maple syrup any way: I would use maple flavored syrup. Then I decided the thing to do was flavor

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-27289934428839204732009-09-14T06:00:00.000-07:002009-09-19T10:57:40.715-07:00

I was feeling inspired by the fact that I made banana-lime jam without burning it. I decided to make another jam that I really like but haven't made for a few years. The last time I made it, I quit stirring for a short while because I was distracted by something else, and it burned. I decided that one bad incident shouldn't turn me off forever.This recipe is base on a recipe from The Illustrated

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-35951710658444374062009-09-10T06:00:00.000-07:002009-09-19T10:58:07.920-07:00

I had sort of lost interest in making jams that have bananas in them just because they seem to burn so easily. Then Retrogal sent me a recipe of her mother's. Naturally I was curious. I had never had a banana jam with lime in it before, so I had to try it.It also had the interesting instructions to "boil until bananas turn pink." Well I cooked it down until it was the consistency of fruit butter,

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-43025679149797367822009-09-07T06:00:00.000-07:002009-09-07T06:00:08.903-07:00

In addition to a fondness for making jams and jellies, I also have a fondness for Cacti. Don't ask me where I got it from. I don't know. I just happen to think that cacti are very attractive plants.The photo of the prickly pear fruit is one from my own garden. I don't know what variety of opuntia (the scientific name for prickly pears) it is. I didn't get it from a green house. I took cuttings

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-29845320964760999642009-09-03T06:00:00.000-07:002009-09-19T10:58:30.937-07:00

I had some brown sugar that I wanted to use up. At my house it tends to dry up before it gets used. I also had some plums that I wanted to can so I came up with the idea of using brown sugar in plum butter. The amount of brown sugar that I had was about 1/2 of what I needed so a also used white sugar.It turns out that I can't really taste the brown sugar in the finished product. However the whole

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-4427633395152962302009-08-31T06:00:00.000-07:002009-08-31T06:00:01.652-07:00

I honestly still consider myself to be a newbie at canning pie filling. I use to just can the fruit in syrup and then add the remaining ingredients for a pie later. Though I have seen sites on the internet that say to can it with cornstarch, the USDA doesn't recommend this (see post on ClearJel) and I don't do it. Even after ClearJel can along I still just kept canning fruit in syrup for awhile.

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-81914590815111747012009-08-26T06:00:00.000-07:002009-09-19T10:59:15.831-07:00

I was looking at the recipe for pear butter in The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving and pondering why they would give instructions that seem to me like the hard way of doing things. It actually took awhile for it to occur to me that people who don't do much canning might not even own a food mill. I was a little slow to figure things out, but I did finally realize that perhaps I should

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-52728293309127126922009-08-24T06:00:00.000-07:002009-08-24T06:00:04.627-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I made pickled carrots for the first time. Now that they have had time to soak up some of the flavor from the spices, I figured it was time to give them a try. I also asked several other people to try them so that there was more than just the opinion of one person who doesn't care much for carrots in the first place. First let me say that they were much crisper than I had

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-28596458563756959002009-08-21T06:00:00.000-07:002009-09-19T10:59:36.231-07:00

A reader asked me if I had a recipe for kiwi-gooseberry jam. Honestly the answer is, "no." None of my books had such a recipe and I had never thought of that combination on my own. However I figured I could come up with such a recipe.I figured that I should test it first and make sure it sets. The problem is that my gooseberry picking is pretty much over for the year. I decided to buy some canned

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-17458338825750523222009-08-19T06:00:00.000-07:002009-08-19T12:27:13.562-07:00

I mentioned a while ago that I was donating my jams to an auction for a girl who had her eye removed. My co-worker (the girls grandmother) said that the auction went well. I don't know the total amount that the auction brought in, but she said that my jams brought in about $100, so I am glad that I did it.Now on with the topic of pears.Pears are one of my favorite fruits, so it is exciting when

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-57847278171981611392009-08-17T06:00:00.000-07:002009-09-19T11:00:00.356-07:00

I generally prefer apple butter over jelly. I like the pulp of the fruit. I suppose I also feel like I am being wasteful if I am just using the juice.However, some years, I will make jelly just for variety. When I do that I usually have fun adding spices like cloves, cinnamon, or sage to it. You can add a cinnamon stick to the pan or put a few whole spices or herbs in a spice bag or tea ball and

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-17661320106637133252009-08-14T06:00:00.000-07:002009-08-14T09:18:43.728-07:00

I honestly don't even have a peach tree and I have only canned them a few times. However, I just don't think that this blog would be complete if I didn't include peaches.In case there is somebody who doesn't know how to peel a peach, dip it in boiling water just until the skin starts to crack, then dip it straight into cold water. You can slip the skin off with your fingers. It is helpful to

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-7489919325242778982009-08-12T06:00:00.000-07:002009-09-19T11:00:25.369-07:00

There are so many fun things to do with apples, that I think I could write 3 or 4 posts just on apples alone. Since apple Sauce and apple butter start out the same way, I figured that it is logical to discuss them both in one post. In fact you can prepare them both in one day. Just prepare the pulp, set some of it aside for apple butter, can the apple sauce and while it is processing in the

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-24161872184169934922009-08-10T06:00:00.000-07:002009-08-10T06:00:00.672-07:00

I gave some ideas about how to make canned gifts look a little fancier. Another method that I didn't mention is to simply use decorative lids. They are more expensive then regular lids, so I would not use them just for putting up some corn or green beans for the winter, but they could be nice for gifts. There is a variety of designs to choose from.The most decorative lids that I have seen are

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-56340408955743734782009-08-07T06:00:00.000-07:002009-09-19T11:00:46.037-07:00

I think a very fun use of jalapenos is jalapeno jelly. I like it on crackers and cheese, and I like to spread cream cheese on a toasted bagel and then spread jalapeno jelly on top of that. This recipe is based on a recipe from 175 Best Jams, Jellies, Marmalades and Other Soft SpreadsJalapeno Jelly(printable recipe)(makes about 6 half-pint jars)10 jalapenos2 cups vinegar6 cups sugar2 pouches

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-45812071903920374802009-08-05T06:00:00.000-07:002009-09-19T11:01:11.895-07:00

This is where my hobby of making jams and jellies all began. I am not sure how old I was, but I know that I had never canned anything all by myself before.As I said before, my philosophy seemed to be that if nature planted it and it wasn't poisonous, then I had to try it. I knew that chokecherries are not poisonous (even if they are too bitter to be eaten plain), but I didn't know of anybody who

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-82539705162821473072009-08-03T06:00:00.000-07:002009-08-23T22:29:56.502-07:00

After Friday's post, I decided to look through recipes for pickled carrots. There was a huge variety of them to choose from.One from Pickles and Relishes: From Apples to Zucchinis that had both carrots and parsnips in it caught my attention. When I looked closer, I realized that it was a recipe for refrigerator pickles. On the one hand, refrigerator pickles can be nice, because they stay crisp.

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-57357981131099790702009-07-31T06:00:00.000-07:002009-07-31T07:32:45.945-07:00

It is interesting that I found it fun to write about, asparagus, corn, okra, beets, and green beans; yet when it comes to carrots, that topic just seems boring. Perhaps it is because I've never pickled them so they just seem plain to me. Perhaps it is because I've never liked them much to begin with.There seem to be a lot of recipes for pickled carrots. I think this weekend I will pick one and

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-4238114317789413222009-07-28T23:41:00.000-07:002009-08-02T23:03:53.530-07:00

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers...You can pickle any kind of pepper. I think jalapenos are probably the most common type to get pickled. I personally have a fondness for for pickled bell peppers. I think they make a lunch time sandwich more fun. They can be made more colorful by including some red or yellow peppers.I usually make them with just garlic, but this time I decided to

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-21081407114613604632009-07-27T06:00:00.000-07:002009-07-28T19:18:06.734-07:00

I will have to start all over making Christmas presents, but that is perfectly OK. It turns out that my treats are going to a better cause.You see, the 3 year old granddaughter of a coworker of mine had to have her right eye removed because of cancer. I borrowed a picture of the girl from www.EyesForJaclyn.net. A child that age grows so fast, that a prosthetic eye has to be re-sized quite often.

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-36737338747027547832009-07-24T06:00:00.000-07:002009-08-06T22:07:08.498-07:00

When it comes to pickled cucumbers, my favorite is definitely bread and butter pickles. The store bought ones simply can not compare to homemade ones. The main thing lacking in the store bought pickles is onion slices. They may be infused with an onion flavor, but most brands don't have the actual slices of onions in the jar.After the onions have been sitting in the brine for a few weeks and have

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-8555044111452231612009-07-22T06:00:00.000-07:002009-07-22T10:26:12.597-07:00

I won't give a recipe for spaghetti sauce here, because everybody has their own favorite for that. Have you ever thought, "wouldn't it be nice to have the taste of my homemade spaghetti sauce, with the convenience of a canned spaghetti sauce?" Well then, here are the canning instructions.OK, I admit that canning spaghetti sauce isn't as convenient as picking up a jar at the store, but make a big

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-65995199777993623372009-07-20T00:01:00.000-07:002009-09-19T11:01:43.832-07:00

I used to think of cantaloupe as strictly a summer time treat, the idea of canning it never even occurred to me until the first time I stumbled upon a recipe for cantaloupe jam.That recipe was in The Illustrated Encyclopedia of American Cooking by family Recipe Press. It is a fun cookbook, but it uses outdated canning methods so the canning instructions have to be updated (see my post on unsafe

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-13076586385327754892009-07-17T05:27:00.000-07:002009-07-22T10:32:53.056-07:00

Personally, I use a lot of stewed tomatoes. I eat them as a side dish. I serve them on macaroni. I add them to chili.I add them to spaghetti sauce. I make a stew out of stewed tomatoes, black beans, and corn.A nice feature is that you can have variety just by changing the spices. Add hot peppers and cumin and you have a batch of Mexican style stewed tomatoes. Add oregano and rosemary and you have

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-85342316835984131902009-07-15T06:00:00.000-07:002009-09-19T11:07:24.617-07:00

Don't throw that rind away. It makes delicious pickles.I have loved this treat since I was a child. However, I almost wonder if I will be able to continue enjoying it.Perhaps it is my imagination, but it seems like hybridization results in watermelons with thinner and thinner rinds every year. Every time I pickle watermelon rind, I feel like one of these years I am going to cut into a watermelon

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-59100589563254511202009-07-13T06:00:00.000-07:002009-07-13T08:51:30.271-07:00

As an Iowa girl who never got outside of the midwest, I was 20 years old before I even heard of okra. When I was finally exposed to it, I liked it enough that I had to try growing it. It turns out that it actually grows quite well in Iowa. Though I occasionally have people ask me, "what is that?"Growing it myself is the only way to get fresh okra here. Though I have seen frozen and canned okra

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-64047888935057489072009-07-10T05:15:00.000-07:002009-07-22T11:00:05.615-07:00

I walked into the grocery store the other day and saw a large display of mangoes at seasonal prices. Personally, I did not waste much time snatching some up. After I had my fill of fresh mangoes. I decided to can a mixture of Mangoes, pineapple and papaya.The PH of papaya is actually above 4.6 (the cut off point for safely canning in a water bath canner). Some sort of acid (such as lemon juice)

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-5382258054925005112009-07-08T06:00:00.000-07:002009-07-08T06:00:05.694-07:00

Since my Mother's tomato sauce always separated, I grew up wondering how commercially canned tomato sauce was so perfectly homogeneous. What was their secret?Considering that my best guesses were way off mark, it is a good thing that we have books to educate us. My best lesson in preventing separation, came form the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. I can't figure out why the Ball Blue Book

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-11487392406478501922009-07-06T06:00:00.000-07:002009-09-19T11:06:33.639-07:00

I promised to move on to vegetables, but some how jam keeps coming up.Anyway, blogging has led me to decide that I am too much of a creature of habit. After I wrote the post about Clear Jel, I started thinking about the options available to me. On the one hand, I like the fact jam recipes that rely on the natural pectin in the fruit usually use less sugar then recipes that call for added pectin.

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-24801244734229122832009-07-05T12:20:00.001-07:002009-07-05T13:42:26.337-07:00

I want to thank Norah at Norah's Menus and Recipes for the lovely award.She has wonderful recipes, and I wholeheartedly agree with her in encouraging the use of locally grown produce. To get this award, I have to name 7 things about myself that you might find interesting.I work as a certified nursing assistant, and I really like my work.I enjoy woodworkingI enjoy restoring antique furnitureI once

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-85658152048057149712009-07-03T04:48:00.000-07:002009-09-19T11:06:10.810-07:00

Recently somebody asked me why the fruit in jam sometimes floats to the top, leaving only jelly at the bottom of the jar. At the time, the only answer that I could honestly give was, "I wish I knew the answer to that."I just recently got a copy of 175 Best Jams, Jellies, Marmalades and Other Soft Spreads, by Linda J Amendt. It turns out that it had a section on the topic of, "Preventing floating

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-71424984072936234682009-07-01T06:00:00.000-07:002009-09-19T11:07:49.892-07:00

A couple of my siblings won't eat sauerkraut because it reminds them of the smell permeating the house when Mom canned it. She made it in 5 gallon batches, so the smell did get rather strong. I still eat it, though. Making smaller batches is easier on my nose, and I can't give up eating it. After all, how could I pass up a Reuben sandwich.By the way, to her children's surprise, my mother's 5

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-66663054982820876882009-06-29T05:59:00.000-07:002009-07-01T11:53:13.151-07:00

If you are just putting up some green beans to use yourself, then simply writing on the lid with a magic marker works for a canning label. However, if your are going to be giving away gifts of barbecue sauce made from your famous secret recipe, then you might want something fancier.If you are handy with photo editing software, then you can make personalized labels using 2 inch round adhesive

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-21337178774640420822009-06-26T06:00:00.000-07:002009-06-26T06:00:03.672-07:00

I love ratatouille, and it seemed to me that it should be more than just a summer treat. Since none of my canning cookbooks had a recipe for canning ratatouille, I started with my favorite recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book, added bell peppers to it (because I happen to like peppers) and decided on canning instructions based on the instructions for similar food.When you are unsure

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-78256699992467980702009-06-24T06:00:00.000-07:002009-06-24T06:00:56.080-07:00

My first canner was actually homemade, and I still use it when I am making a small batch of something because it is smaller than most store bought canners. I don't have to heat up as much water. In fact, I just did a little arithmetic, and determined that it uses a little more than half as much water.First you need a stockpot that is tall enough to be able to cover the jars with water. As you can

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-65420149216419637762009-06-22T06:00:00.000-07:002010-07-22T10:48:26.340-07:00

The mulberries are getting ripe. Several readers will probably disagree with me, but I have never been able to relate to people who consider mulberry trees to be nothing more than nuisances. The main complaint seems to be that they lead to purple bird poop on your windshield. I have asked why purple poop is worse than white poop. After all, the birds are going to poop on your car regardless of

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-37719981447316043622009-06-19T06:00:00.000-07:002009-06-21T12:30:53.539-07:00

When I am baking a pie from fresh fruit, I usually use flour or cornstarch for my thickener. However, when it comes to canning pie filling, these thickeners don't work. Though I have seen sites on the Internet that say to use cornstarch, it doesn't stand up to being heated twice. The pie filling may be thick when the jar is put up on the shelf, but by the time the pie comes out of the oven, it is

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-7525476438829057852009-06-17T06:00:00.000-07:002009-09-19T11:08:45.740-07:00

The sweet corn is not ready yet, but I felt like writing this post in anxious anticipation of one of my favorite foods.It won't be too long before the sweet corn stands will be popping up on the street corners, and even people who don't have a garden will be stopping for a treat.To can corn simply fill hot jars with cut corn leaving a little more than an inch of headspace. If desired, at 1/2 tsp

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-20318424684640906242009-06-15T06:00:00.000-07:002009-06-15T06:00:01.288-07:00

If you cook something acidic, such as tomatoes or pickling brine, in a pan that is made of aluminum or copper, the acid will react with the metal in the pan. Some of the molecules of the metal will leach into your food. This can give your food a metallic taste. If you put the canned food that you cooked in this pan up on your shelf for later use, then while the jar is sitting there, the metal

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-11029459103655147772009-06-12T06:00:00.000-07:002009-09-19T11:09:34.022-07:00

Pineapple is in season. Obviously I don't have a local source, for pineapple, but I have to pick some up at the grocery store while it is in season. I was looking through the index of one of my canning recipe books trying to decide which pineapple jam recipe I wanted to use this year. For some reason, the word "raspberries" jumped out at me. Suddenly those two sounded like a great combination to

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-78124661766825730832009-06-10T06:00:00.000-07:002009-06-10T11:21:58.563-07:00

The term "pickling" refers to the process of preserving food by using acid to prevent the growth of bacteria. This can be done two ways. You can simply add an acid such as vinegar, or you can cover the food with salt water and allow the fermentation process to create lactic acid.Some times both methods are used. The food is fermented for a certain period of time, then the salt water is removed

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-45509107452851593862009-06-08T06:00:00.000-07:002009-09-19T11:10:02.153-07:00

I like planting bush beans for canning, because they are ready for the harvest all at once and you can get the whole winters worth put up in a short time. Personally I think pole beans are nicer for eating throughout the summer rather than canning. In any case, whether you plant bush beans or pole beans, green beans or yellow beans, the canning instructions for them are all the same. Canning

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-80720257508616850442009-06-05T06:00:00.000-07:002009-06-05T08:48:42.418-07:00

When you see a recipe that calls for canning/pickling salt, you may wonder, "what is the difference between canning /pickling salt and plain table salt?"There are two differences.First: table salt is iodized. People began adding iodine to salt in the 1920's to help prevent goiter in areas where the natural supply of iodine was low. Canning salt does not have iodine added to it because iodine

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-28780324701507295052009-06-03T06:00:00.000-07:002009-09-19T11:10:20.630-07:00

It is time to move past berries and start getting into vegetables.In case you have ever wondered, the picture that I have been using for my header is a jar of pickled beets. I think pickles make as nice of gifts as jam, so nobody is surprised when they get a jar of pickles from me.This pickled beet recipe is based on a recipe from Culinary Arts Institute Encyclopedic Cookbook. I really like this

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-58236700431163062612009-06-01T06:00:00.000-07:002009-06-05T08:56:21.152-07:00

A pressure canner is a pressure cooker that is large enough to hold quart jars.I still remember my mother sternly admonishing me not to mess with the pressure cooker, because it can explode. She did indeed succeed in scaring me enough that I decided to keep my distance from the pressure cooker. On the other hand, that fear was counter balanced by the fact that my mother used the pressure cooker

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-83658279687490731362009-05-29T06:00:00.000-07:002009-09-19T11:10:40.371-07:00

This decadent combination of flavors is great on ice cream, waffles, cheesecake, etc. The sauce also makes a wonderful gift.This recipe is slightly modified from Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. The yield is about 8 half-pint jars1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder5 cups crushed raspberries1/4 cup lemon juice1 package powdered pectin7 cups sugarCombine the first 4 ingredients. Bring to boil

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-65878439728349953772009-05-27T06:00:00.000-07:002009-05-28T08:54:49.305-07:00

This should be my last post about food safety. I have covered that topic pretty well and it is time to move on.One thing that I would like to point out, is that the high altitude instructions begin at just 1,000 feet. You don't have to live in the mountains to be that high. Even parts of Iowa are over 1,000 feet. Type your location followed by the word "elevation" into your search engine. You

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-11267456631243726942009-05-25T06:00:00.000-07:002009-09-19T11:10:55.352-07:00

I think that growing up on a farm with a variety of wild berries contributed to my desire to try new foods. If nature planted it and it wasn't poisonous, then I had to try it.Wild gooseberries are pretty small compared to their cultivated cousins. When you are picking a berry this small, it can take a while to get enough to make batch of jam or a gooseberry pie. I suppose that if it kept me out

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-88726209847025698962009-05-22T06:00:00.000-07:002009-06-11T12:53:38.227-07:00

To ensure the most reliable seals, you should always use jars with two piece lids. The jar itself can be reused. Check each time to be sure that there are no nicks in the rim. The screw band (which holds the lid in place during processing) can also be reused as long as it is in good condition. However, the lid should only be used once.I give canned goods as gifts, and request that people return

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-17269669260275923472009-05-20T06:00:00.000-07:002009-09-19T11:11:15.651-07:00

In Iowa, wild black raspberries (not the same thing as black berries) are quite abundant. You can even pick them for free along side hiking trails. I figure that with such an abundant supply, there is no excuse for me not to include raspberries in my canning.Since strawberries and black raspberries are the most plentiful berries at my house, I decided some time ago that I wanted a jam recipe that

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-70894234054231927642009-05-18T06:00:00.000-07:002009-05-28T09:21:05.129-07:00

I had planned to write a post about botulism next month, when I get more into canning low acid foods. Due to comments and e-mails from people that are afraid of poisoning somebody, I decided to move up the date.Of all the unwanted organisms that might live on your food, the Clostridium Botulinum bacteria has to be the scariest. You can't see it; you can't smell it; and you can't taste it; yet it

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-63816528477546878952009-05-15T06:00:00.000-07:002009-09-19T11:11:41.946-07:00

Start cooking pancakes! Actually, I personally would rather put a strawberry sauce on my pancakes. I like chunks of fruit, but that is just my own opinion. Something fun that you can do with syrup is make neat designs by dribbling it on your desert plates. It is worth having a few jars on hand just for that. Today's recipe is adapted from Ball complete book of home preserving. Yield is about 4

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-33143187882064910102009-05-13T06:00:00.000-07:002009-05-13T09:48:08.397-07:00

Lets say that you have a canning recipe that says to process with the water bath method. Being the creative cook that you are, you want to make some modifications to the recipe. After all, having your own flair is what makes cooking fun. The only question is, " is it still ok to use the water bath method?" The fact that the recipe says to use the water bath method means that the PH of the recipe

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-77942361609895909442009-05-11T06:00:00.000-07:002009-09-19T11:12:01.969-07:00

As one of the first items that can be harvested, I can’t help but think of rhubarb as a symbol of spring.The other day I overheard a woman tell an elderly man "Grandpa, this rhubarb sauce was made with the rhubarb from your garden, so you have to taste it and tell me if it tastes right." The conversation made me feel warm inside.Spring is here!I think most anybody with a rhubarb plant in their

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-3490914015998725462009-05-08T06:00:00.000-07:002009-07-19T23:45:20.269-07:00

Since Sunday is Mother's Day, I would like mention the woman who introduced me to home canning. I admit that for her, gardening and canning was sometimes more of a burden than a hobby. Sometimes she had to force herself to do it in order to afford to feed her family. Still, there were plenty of times when she had fun and plenty of times when she was pleased with the results of her work. Helping

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-35162310874622248742009-05-06T07:01:00.000-07:002009-09-19T11:12:22.364-07:00

Berry season will be upon us in a few weeks (in Iowa, anyway). I figure that the month of May is a good time to share recipes for various jams, sauces, and syrups that can be made with all those delicious berries. In June, I plan to move on to vegetables. Even if you don't grow your own berries, frozen berries actually make just as good of jam as fresh ones. In fact, if you don't seem to have the

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-90154621095629271682009-05-04T06:00:00.000-07:002009-05-30T08:30:49.918-07:00

Much of this is similar to the water bath method, so I debated about just saying "make these adjustments." For clarity sake, I decided to write the whole thing out.Thank You, Moxie, for telling me how to get my blog to just show part of a post. Hopefully my decision to do that is an improvement. Pressure canner MethodAs mentioned in my first food safety post, the pressure canner method should be

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-6955651877623613542009-05-01T06:00:00.000-07:002009-09-19T11:12:37.766-07:00

When Pam made a comment about her mother-in-law's pickled asparagus, I realized that asparagus was a vegetable that I had never pickled before. Naturally, I had to set out to find a recipe. After looking at several I finally decided to try this recipe from recipezaar.com.I like using Jelly jars for pickles because they look more decorative; and of course, I think homemade pickles make good gifts.

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-15986003067517066982009-04-29T06:00:00.000-07:002009-05-30T08:30:49.918-07:00

Right now I am alternating between recipes (for readers who have experience canning) and basic instructions (for anybody who is new to canning). My next recipe will be pickled asparagus. Then I will move on to recipes focusing on rhubarb and strawberries.Water Bath MethodAs mentioned in my first food safety post, the Water Bath method of processing canning jars should only be used for high acid

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-66718872689564837312009-04-27T06:00:00.000-07:002009-05-04T10:13:56.310-07:00

When the asparagus first starts poking out of the ground, it is easy to feel that one just can't get enough of it. It seems to disappear as fast as it grows. Hopefully as the season progresses, there is enough to preserve some of it for later. Like other vegetables, asparagus needs to be processed in a pressure canner (see food safety posts). Asparagus can be put into the canning jars while it is

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-73023001019463447332009-04-24T06:00:00.000-07:002009-05-15T07:53:36.754-07:00

Headspace is the space between the top of the food and the rim of the canning jar.During processing, the heat causes the contents of the jar to expand. Air escapes around the two piece lid. To ensure proper sealing, only two piece lids should be used for home canning. One piece lids are designed for commercial canning equipment.After Processing, the contents of the canning jar contract as they

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-14958500959598547842009-04-22T06:00:00.000-07:002009-09-19T11:12:53.033-07:00

Kiwi JamPrintable RecipeThis recipe yields about 5 half-pint jars. Select fruit that is slightly under-ripe (still firm when you squeeze it).Ingredients5 kiwi (peeled and chopped)1 Package Powdered Pectin1 cup unsweetened pineapple juice4 cups sugarCombine kiwi, pectin, and pineapple juice in a large pot. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Add sugar, stirring until dissolved. Return to

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1966913538192407763.post-23994616122903803412009-04-20T06:00:00.000-07:002009-06-11T21:09:36.001-07:00

The water bath processing method is fairly simple and inexpensive. The filled canning jars are placed in the Canner, which has enough hot water in it to cover the canning jars. The water is brought to boiling and held at that temperature for the time specified in the recipe. This method is only safe for certain foods.If a food is naturally high in acid (most fruits for example) or if acid is

Charlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632108890774557746noreply@blogger.com2