A Day of Canning

With temperatures peaking today at 98, of course I decided to slave over the stove.  My targets, 20 lbs of carrots, a bag of orange and yellow bell peppers and banana peppers, and half a bushel of cucumbers.  The carrots were just canned normal style, the bell peppers I roasted and packed in oil, banana peppers got pickled in a sweet brine while the cucumbers were done bread and butter style.

 

Canned Roasted Peppers In Oil.

Clean your peppers, removing stem and seeds…then cut into thick slices and arrange on cookie trays skin side up.

Rub skins with oil, season with any flavoring you desire but salt, pepper and garlic work best and are the traditional compliments.

Place peppers under broiler for 15 minutes, or until skins become blackened and charred.

Remove peppers,  place them in Ziploc bag and seal bag for 30 minutes to allow steam to help skins slip off easily.

After 30 minutes, remove peppers and pull off skins.  Pack in jars.

Combine Olive Oil and minced garlic in sauce pan on stove.  Saute garlic until tender and translucent.  Pour the hot oil mix over your peppers in jars.  Add 6 drops lemon juice per jar.  Seal and process 25 minutes at 10 lbs pressure.  (Some recipes say you do not need this step, however I feel more comfortable putting it through the pressure canner due to acidity levels.)

 

 

Read Full Post »

Hot Veggie Mix

I’ll admit it, I am a sucker for spicy foods and growing up there was a hot veggie mix sold in the stores up North I loved, unfortunately it’s not sold down here so I had to learn to make my own.  This probably was a blessing as the other was packed full of preservatives and sodium, making and canning your own isn’t that difficult with end of garden vegetables.  If you want to try making your own here is the recipe I use.

Hot Veggie Mix

4 bell peppers, chunked  (green or combine green with red/orange/yellow)

4 large carrots , chunked

4 stalks celery, chunked

3 cups cauliflower, broken up

3-4 jalapeno peppers, sliced

1/2 cup canning kosher salt

2 cups water

10 cups vinegar

3 cloves garlic

2 tbsp prepared horseradish

1/3 cup sugar

Layer your vegetables in clean jars.  Combine remaining ingredients in large saucepan and simmer for 15 minutes.  Ladle hot liquid over mixture and seal.  Process 10 minutes in hot water bath.  Wait at least 2 weeks before opening to allow brine to manipulate the vegetables.

 

Read Full Post »

Canned Ketchup

12 lbs ripe tomatoes

1 lb onions

1/2 lb sweet red peppers

1/2 lb sweet green peppers

4.5 cups vinegar

4.5 cups sugar

1/8 cup canning salt (optional)

Into spice bag or cheesecloth add

1 tbsp dry mustard

1/2 tbsp ground red pepper

1/4 tsp ground allspice

1/2 tbsp whole cloves

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1. Select your tomatoes and put in water to boil.

2. Once skins are split, remove from hot water into ice bath and when cold, peel skins off “meat”.  (Save the skin for tomato powder).

3. Slice tomatoes in half and remove the seeds. Place in strainer over catch bowl and let drain out extra waters.

4. Prepare peppers and onions.

5. Put tomatoes, peppers and onions in blender in batches to puree.

6. Place in canning kettle and heat to boiling. Simmer 1 hour.

7. Add vinegar, sugar, salt and spice bag.

8. Move contents to a crock pot and reduce over low heat until ketchup is reduced by half volume (this takes about 12 hours in a crockpot). Stir occasionally.

9. Once reduced, can and seal.

10. Hot water bath 15 minutes.

Read Full Post »

Canned Mushrooms

I love mushrooms, in sauces, making gravies, on pizza’s or in general dishes. There is nothing better then mushrooms.  Often times our local groceries or the farmers markets have sales on mushrooms “past prime” meaning they don’t look as white and beautiful as they desire for eye appeal.  When this happens I make sure I’m first in line to snatch up the shipment boxes full of these little gems.

Canning Mushrooms

Button mushrooms, morel mushrooms, shitake, portabella mushrooms.

Citric acid (Fruit Fresh)

Salt (if you desire)

Wash mushrooms and sort by size for Button, Morels, shitake and baby portabella’s.  For large portabella’s slice into thumb tip size chunks.

Leave soak in water for 10 minutes before beginning processing.

Place in large sauce pot and add 1/2 tsp citric acid (to prevent browning).  Cook gently for 15 minutes and hot pack in jars covered with fresh boiling water.  (I personally like to use the water I boil them in, so my mushrooms are not as “clean” looking as fresh water would offer. but then it holds extra nutrients lost in fresh boiled water).

Process in pressure canner, 10 pounds pressure for 45 minutes for pint jars.

Hint: If you do prefer to use fresh water to cover mushrooms, don’t throw out the nutrient water you boiled them in. Rather cool it to room temperature and use to water houseplants, herbs or garden plants.  They will thank you for it.

Read Full Post »

Canned Carrots

The carrots gave up the ghost today as they were dragged from their warm soil beds to grace winter shelves in a gracious display.  Canning carrots is very easy given you have a pressure canner.  All it takes is a bit of time and preparation to prepare the carrots for canning.  While some cold pack their carrots I prefer to blanch them first in the same hot water I use to cover them in cans.

Canning Carrots.

Carrots

Water

That’s it…two ingredients.  You can add salt I imagine if you desire but I do not allowing the carrots to provide their own natural sweetness.

Peel your carrots and slice into a large canning kettle.  Cover with water and let blanch 5 minutes until plyable but still holding a bit of firmness when tested.

Using canning funnel place into jars stuffing as many as possible. Cover with water you blanched in.  Run a knife or spatula around inside of jar to eliminate air bubbles.

Seal jars with lids and rings and place in pressure canner.  Process 10 lbs pressure for 25 minutes (pints) or 30 minutes (quarts).

That is all that is to it !

Read Full Post »

Canning Corn

I put up some pints of fresh corn off cob last night and still have more to go.  This particular corn was the yellow sweet corn variety which is most often used in the store bought cans.  Bi-colored works wonderfully also.  Canning corn is really quite simple it just takes some steps and willingness to get messy.

First you need corn.  This can be from garden, farmers market and yes even a sale of large frozen store bags.  Mine began on the actual ear so I will detail the steps from that point.

First, prepare your cobs.  This means remove the husks and silk from the corn.  Discard, or keep the husks to dry and make corn dolls and decorate scarecrows for the fall holidays.

Second, get yourself a sturdy, sharp knife, cutting board, and large turkey roaster pot to catch the kernels in.  Holding the corn upright by the tip, slowly begin working the knife down along the cob, using caution to not cut into the cob to remove the kernels.  Continue this process until all the cobs are cleaned of kernels.  (If you want cream corn, run the back of the knife blade against the cob to extract it’s milky juices.  If just kernel, skip this process.)

Third, place all the kernels from roaster into a canning kettle or large dutch oven.  If using kernel method add enough water to half way cover the corn.  Some people at this point prefer to add a little sugar to the water for a more sweeter corn.  I do not bother with this step.

Fourth, bring the corn kernels to boiling.  You will know they are finished when you smell corn in an adjacent room. Meanwhile prep your jars and put your lids on to begin to boil.

Fifth,  once the corn is prepared, using a canning funnel, ladle with a slotted spoon the kernels into the jars.  Continue until almost every kernel is removed from the water.  Then using a ladle transfer the hot water the corn was cooking in into the jars to cover the kernels.  Place on lids and secure tightly with rings.  Place in pressure cooker.

Sixth, fill pressure cooker with hot water to just under the rim of the jars.  Secure lid on cooker and process at 10 lbs pressure for 55 minutes.

Seventh, once finished turn off cooker, let the pressure decrease before opening.  Then remove the jars and let cool on counter.

You’re done.

For cream corn it’s the same processing only you heat the liquid milk juices with the corn and ladle all of it into the jars before processing.

PS: Don’t throw away your cobs, set outside or place in low oven (200 degrees plus a wood spoon holding door open for ventilation) until dried.  Slather with cheap peanut butter, bird seed and nuts and give the woodland creatures feasts all winter long.

Read Full Post »

Green Beans- Cold Pack -Canning

Green Beans is perhaps the most eaten vegetable in our family, and in many households for that matter.  Green beans are a wonderful low calorie food (44 calories per cup), and also loaded with nutrients.  Vitamins K, C and A, manganese, potassium, folate, iron, magnesium, thiamin, riboflavin, copper, calcium, phosphorus, protein, omega-3, niacin and also fiber are the health benefits to green beans.

To can green beans simply snap both ends from the beans, then snap the beans into 1 inch sections or leave whole if you desire.  Place in sink of cold water and wash.  While washing bring a kettle of water or tea kettle filled to boiling.  You can also start packing your pint or quart jars with the beans at this point as well.  Pour boiling water over the beans and if you desire you may add a 1/2 tsp of salt at this time.  Seal jars.  Place in canner and process 25 minutes for quarts and 20 minutes for pints at 10 lbs of pressure.  Enjoy!

Read Full Post »