Canning, Freezing, and Prepping for Winter

[Elaine]

Hi Everyone!
I'm new here but I just thought I'd share my awesome stocking up skills. I noticed that our food costs increase a lot in the winter, mostly due to produce being shipped farther. I'm sure we've all also noticed how gross winter tomatoes are (if you're in a climate like mine at least, I'm writing this from NYC).

I grew up in the Midwest so I know all about canning, preserving, freezing, etc. This year I'm doing my first real prep for winter, my goal is to buy nothing out of season (no $8 pints of blueberries or mealy tomatoes) and to buy no frozen vegetables (wasteful as they're practically all shipped from China)

So far I've "put up" (that's just slang for canning or preserving) 18 pints of tomato sauce and puree (tip: if you do puree you can include seeds and skins, plus you don't need to add citric acid), 5 pounds italian peppers, 5 pounds thai chili pepppers, 5 pounds heirloom red peppers, 5 pounds green beans.

My household is only 471 sq. ft. and it's just my fella and I so we don't need a ton of stuff, but I'm happy to answer any canning or preserving or freezing questions you may have. Modern canning books make it FAR more complicated than the simple midwest way that I learned (e.g. there's really no need to remove tomato skin and pre boil). 

[Gerard]

You deserve huge badass points for *needing* five pounds of Thai chiles.

[Elaine]

Haha, yeah I basically reek of curry and garlic 24/7. I do throw a lot of dinner parties so that's part of it :)

[Random]

Awesome job.  A+ for mustache quotient, for reducing your footprint, and for getting awesome healthy food in the bargain.

We are up to our ears in apples and other garden goodies.  Have frozen raspberries, applesauce, and pickles put up and may embark on chutney later today.  It sure winds up being a bunch of work but well worth it.

[KimPossible]

(no $8 pints of blueberries or mealy tomatoes)

:-O  (I am never.leaving.Idaho)

[Elaine]

I'm not sure where in Queens you are, but there's a guy from a local farm who sets up a stand on 30th near Cresent. I also go to United Brothers for produce, not everything is great all the time, but increasingly they're selling produce from Long Island farms- I preserve efficiently by picking and choosing what's best.

[Simple Abundant Living]

Where are you getting produce that's cheap enough to make it worth canning? There's a lot of inexpensive produce where I am in Queens, but most of it is so low quality I don't want to preserve it. I haven't had a non-mealy peach so far this year. *grumbles*

I canned sour cherry jam when I visited my mother last, and I'm hoping to do up the juice for grape jelly once I have some freezer space.

Some I grow, and some are from farmers markets or grocery stores. A local store had raspberries for 12.99/case yesterday. I bought four cases and made freezer jam. I figured out the cost per pint was $2.87/pint including sugar and pectin. That's so good, I wish I had bought more because we will use all of it and more this year. Watch for the sales and promotions of in season produce, and it can be a good deal.

[viverl]

I have a question!
I wanted to know, whether one can soak dried beans and then can them?
I tried it out but the beans have some brown-black points on them now and I don't dare to eat them.

Is there a test for canned goods?

A big thank you from Germany!

[MissStache]

I have a question!
I wanted to know, whether one can soak dried beans and then can them?
I tried it out but the beans have some brown-black points on them now and I don't dare to eat them.

Is there a test for canned goods?

A big thank you from Germany!

Unfortunately botulism doesn't create any noticable smells, spores, etc.  You can can beans with a pressure canner, but they are a big no-no with a water bath canner. 

My dad (a microbiologist and old-timey southerner) always stores his jars with the rings off.  The lids will stay on just fine unless some type of bacterial reaction creates pressure within the jar and it will loosen or blow the lid off.  You know to throw that one away.

I wouldn't eat your beans.  Botulism will mess you up.  WHEN IN DOUBT THROW IT OUT!

[Elaine]

Hm, regarding the dried beans:

I've never canned dried beans. To me it's a bit like taking a food from one preserved state to another (since they will keep forever dried). I'm guessing that you're trying to save yourself the time of making dried beans from scratch all the time- I would recommend a pressure cooker if this is the case. The only beans I have ever canned were green beans that I bought or picked fresh and then blanched.

[AJDZee]

So far I've "put up" (that's just slang for canning or preserving) 18 pints of tomato sauce and puree (tip: if you do puree you can include seeds and skins, plus you don't need to add citric acid), 5 pounds italian peppers, 5 pounds thai chili pepppers, 5 pounds heirloom red peppers, 5 pounds green beans.

Just getting into canning this year. I've done about 10L of tomato sauce with the tomatoes I grew, and will do another 10L next weekend. As I'm a beginner, was curious how long will sauces last without adding citric acid? I've seen people add lemon juice before, and I assume adding citric acid is a similar idea. I just blanched the tomatoes, removed the skin, made into a sauce and canned in a water bath - no pureeing.

We also canned green beans, never tried this before. How did you can your green beans if you don't mind me asking?

[oldtoyota]

Thank you for posting this and +1 for what you are doing!

I agree that books are more confusing than they need to be.

Do you have a website or book rec for easy-to-understand canning instructions? My FIL showed me once a long time ago--and it looked way easier than in books--but I need a refresher.

Best,
Deborah

[kdms]

We've just finished canning 75lbs of tomatoes as puree (makes 35L if anyone's wondering) and just out of curiousity, why do you say you don't have to add citric acid (of some sort) to pureed tomatoes?  I don't remove the seeds or skin either...it's a pain.  Why does it make a difference what the state of the tomato is?  Whether whole, chopped, or mushed, it's still got the same level of acidity.  Tomatoes, according to health guidelines (and the past generational preservers in my family :) ), are one of those border-line fruits that need a little acid boost to ensure safety during the canning process - mind you, I use a water-bath because I don't have a pressure canner.  Don't know if that makes a difference or not.

I figure for the pennies it costs, I'll keep adding the lemon juice.  Haven't lost any jars yet.  :)

Neat to read about the ring-less storage - I can't convince DH that they're not necessary once they're sealed.

[Mr.Macinstache]

Canning question....is it just a matter of using mason jars with those seal-tight lids? Or do you use another method? And I assume you can store them in the pantry at room temp?

[MissStache]

We've just finished canning 75lbs of tomatoes as puree (makes 35L if anyone's wondering) and just out of curiousity, why do you say you don't have to add citric acid (of some sort) to pureed tomatoes?  I don't remove the seeds or skin either...it's a pain.  Why does it make a difference what the state of the tomato is?  Whether whole, chopped, or mushed, it's still got the same level of acidity.  Tomatoes, according to health guidelines (and the past generational preservers in my family :) ), are one of those border-line fruits that need a little acid boost to ensure safety during the canning process - mind you, I use a water-bath because I don't have a pressure canner.  Don't know if that makes a difference or not.

I figure for the pennies it costs, I'll keep adding the lemon juice.  Haven't lost any jars yet.  :)

Neat to read about the ring-less storage - I can't convince DH that they're not necessary once they're sealed.

Some varieties are more acidic than others- the yellows and oranges in particular are especially low.  I've never added additional lemon juice, but I would if I was using one of those varietals.  I think my dad adds lemon juice to all of his.  I remove the skins on mine because I hate the texture of tomato skins.

Have DH hold a ring-less jar upside down over the sink!  If it is a good seal it will hold and maybe that will convince!

[kdms]

Some varieties are more acidic than others- the yellows and oranges in particular are especially low.  I've never added additional lemon juice, but I would if I was using one of those varietals.  I think my dad adds lemon juice to all of his.  I remove the skins on mine because I hate the texture of tomato skins.

I tried to modify my post to ask that very question but ran into technical difficulties :).  I figured it was something like that - we usually can Romas because they're meatier, and it's no big deal to add the juice to the jars before sealing them up, but it's good to know it's not essential.

[backyardfeast]

Aack!  Just have to quickly butt in about canning safety from some of the comments above. 

Water-bath canning is easy and fun.  But it can ONLY be done safely when there is the right level of acidity in the contents, and when they are then heated to the right temperature for the right length of time.  While most fruits are fairly high in acidity, and most of us are making jam, which is high enough in sugar to also keep botulism at bay even if we are a little sloppy in our techniques, this is NOT true of vegetables.

Today's tomatoes are grown for sweetness, not acidity.  They CANNOT be water-bath canned without extra lemon juice, vinegar, or citric acid, unless you are using a Ph test and know for sure that they are acidic enough on their own.  A poster above mentioned green beans--these CANNOT be water-bath canned safely unless they are pickled; this is true of most veggies.  Freeze them or pressure-can them.

Today's recipes are not "overcomplicated" compared to the past.  They are carefully researched and scientifically tested.  Yes, most of us are still alive after consuming food preserved the old-fashioned way, but, back in the day, periodically a family would just get sick and sometimes die.  Don't take chances.

Some good resources: http://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/publications_usda.html (The National Center for Home Food Preservation)

and our own NWEdible on "How Not to Die from Botulism": http://www.nwedible.com/2013/07/how-not-to-die-from-botulism-what-home-canners-need-to-know-about-the-worlds-most-deadly-toxin.html

Don't mean to scare anyone off home canning!  It's wonderful to stock the pantry for winter.  I'm waiting for my tomatoes to ripen (darn PNW!), but I did 48 pints of sauce last year, and I've got several dozen pints of pickles and fruit in syrup, along with jam, and the rest of the produce starting to fill up the root cellar.  It almost makes me look forward to fall! (almost.)

[viverl]

Hey!

Thank you for the answers concering dried beans. My freezer is so small that I was thinking about canning the beans. I am gonna throw out my batch and freeze soaked beans. Better than dying of butulism anyway.

[michaelrecycles]

I'm new here but I just thought I'd share my awesome stocking up skills. I noticed that our food costs increase a lot in the winter, mostly due to produce being shipped farther. I'm sure we've all also noticed how gross winter tomatoes are (if you're in a climate like mine at least, I'm writing this from NYC).

Wha??? I haven't noticed this before! I'll have to keep an eye on it. The effect may not be the same out here though. This post reminds me to be thankful for living close to "the salad bowl of the world."

[sarahcooks]

Great thread, this is my sort of badassity! I canned a ton of peaches when they were cheap at the grocery store, my kids adore them and it means I don't need to make quite so many trips to the grocery store.  I froze a bunch of peach slices too, and made peach jam. And I froze strawberries, made strawberry freezer jam, and some regular strawberry-cherry jam (cherries from my tiny cherry tree).  I made currant jam from my bushes, though I think it's more of a currant sauce, oops.  I've frozen a lot of raspberries from my summer crop, and my bushes are just about to start producing what looks like an even bigger fall crop.  I've made salsa and spaghetti and pizza sauce for the freezer.  Apples are still to come, and I'm going to have to make canned applesauce because I'm running out of space in my huge chest freezer!  I make raspberry applesauce too (kids love it).  I just dug up a ton of potatoes from my small garden and need to read up on how to make them last until I can use them all.  Wow, when I write it all out, it sure sounds like I've done a lot! 

[hybrid]

I have an acidity question as well.  Each year I can dozens of jars of blackberry preserves and give them away as Mustachian gifts.  The recipe I use, lifted from the Internet, calls for boatloads of sugar.  I cut back on the sugar because the resulting prserves are just way too sweet.  Does cutting back on the sugar actually lower the PH of my preserves, since the PH of sugar is 7?

I had a separate thread about canning where a reader warned me about tampering with this recipe, but in this case I think the tampering is actually producing a lower PH, and safer, product.  Thoughts?

[MrMoneyPinch]

I have the Bernardin book(which is probably the Ball book with Canadian guidelines) and at the end is a very practical general guide.   It includes a nice acidity chart telling you what microorganisms die at what temperature, and one which explains the acidity thing.  All you need after that is a way to test the batch's pH and you're set!

As for the sugar:  there is a minimum quantity needed to kill bacteria.  It works just like salting, the sugar pulls all water from them and they cannot function anymore(some could revive if the mix was diluted enough, theoretically).  I can't remember from the top of my head how you can test for that, but it's known.  Sorry I don't have enough of a sweet tooth to can jams and stuff like that.

[MrsPete]

I genuinely enjoy canning food (and preserving via other methods as well).  It's just simple, wholesome and restful, and I love stepping back to look at a wall full of jars in my pantry and saying, "I did that for my family." 

I would not bother to can dried beans.  I agree that it's just moving from one method of preservation to another.  We eat dried beans rather frequently, and we cook them in a small crock pot:  Soak beans overnight.  Empty water, fill with fresh water.  Let cook all day.  Add salt after cooking.  Nothing to it. 

I grow some foods for canning, but most I buy at the farmer's market. 

[backyardfeast]

Hybrid,

Sugar is a little tricky; for some things the sugar is necessary to create an anti-bacterial environment, but Bernardin/Ball does also say that sugar is for preserving colour and flavour, and that you can, for instance, can fruit in water instead of syrup.

There are lots of ways to make and can jam safely, and there are a variety of amounts of sugar that are ok.  Some of it depends on what you're using as a thickener.  If you're using Certo, for instance, you have to use a certain amount of sugar, or the jam won't gel.  We use a product called Pomona's http://www.pomonapectin.com/, which allows us to use much less sugar.  But other folks make their own pectin out of pineapple juice, or berry seeds, etc, and then less sugar too.  There are lots of ways!  Take a look at NWEdible's blog; she has some great recipes and techniques to make jam without Certo, which allows for less sugar.

Good luck!

[Jamesqf]

There are lots of ways to make and can jam safely, and there are a variety of amounts of sugar that are ok. 

I like to use as little sugar as possible in my jam, so what I do is freeze it.

I'm not a canner (don't really like the taste of most canned foods), but I've frozen a few pints of strawberries and some snow peas so far this year (home-grown).  Unfortunately got only a handful of cherries and two peaches from my trees this year (but I have quite a bit left from last year's bumper crops).  Apples aren't doing well, but I have some pears, and it looks like I will have lots of grapes & quince, both of which will make great jam.

I also like to make dried fruit leather from pears & apples: just core & puree the fruit in a blender, then spread it on a cookie sheet covered with plastic, and put it in the truck when it's parked in the sun.

[N]

I have an acidity question as well.  Each year I can dozens of jars of blackberry preserves and give them away as Mustachian gifts.  The recipe I use, lifted from the Internet, calls for boatloads of sugar.  I cut back on the sugar because the resulting prserves are just way too sweet.  Does cutting back on the sugar actually lower the PH of my preserves, since the PH of sugar is 7?

I had a separate thread about canning where a reader warned me about tampering with this recipe, but in this case I think the tampering is actually producing a lower PH, and safer, product.  Thoughts?

you can buy ph paper to test the acidity of the product before you can it. I cant recall the exact number you need to be at...

if there is less sugar (or not enough sugar) it may not keep as well, or as long. some canned items are shelf stable for a year or more. some are less than a year.

[N]

I did not can too much this year. I dont find its particularly cost effective for me, since I dont have a spot to grow my own produce and have to buy it. also, we really dont eat that much canned stuff. we dont eat much jam. or pickles.

What I do like to do is can syrups that I make. There are a couple of particular recipes for jam/butters that I make for gifts.

ANd I also participate in food swaps where you bring stuff youve grown or made and swap. I can make a batch of something and take it and trade it for jars from other people. Its fun :)

I just made about 9 half pints of tomato butter (its like apple butter, but with tomatoes) to swap this coming weekend.
Im also going to make some banana butter this week for the swap and some cultured butter (cream and yogurt, let it culture, then churn) and butter milk, all for the swap.

Last year I made some strawberry lemonade concentrate that i canned, and it was delicious to have in the wintertime as a treat.

[MsSindy]

........ I just dug up a ton of potatoes from my small garden and need to read up on how to make them last until I can use them all.  Wow, when I write it all out, it sure sounds like I've done a lot!

Potatoes will keep several months if stored properly in a cool, dry space - I use a cardboard box and lay crumpled newpaper in between the layers so it minimizes touching and then store in our garage - however, if you have a hot October, you'll need to check frequently.  Another thing I do is to take a bunch of potatoes and make mashed potatoes (keep them a little stiff, not much milk) and then freeze them - just microwave when needed.  It's great to always have mashed potatoes on hand to throw together as a side dish.  If I further want to stretch out storage, I'll put some of them in my fridge.

[MsSindy]

Count me in for being an avid canner!  I have a pressure canner, so I can my own chicken (okay, not like my own out of the backyard....but the store when on sale), stews, chilis w/homegrown ingredients, etc.  I also canned LOTS of peaches, jams, string beans, salsas, chutneys, various pickled things, pizza sauce, tomato soup, marinara, various tomato-based marinades, meat spaghetti....and the list goes on.  I'm also a big fan of canning my own beans so that I can just pull a jar out of the pantry and make something quick - homemade beans are just pennies per jar vs canned (although you have an upfront investment in a pressure canner).  It's a very satisfying hobby, especially if you grow your own food.

I grew non-gmo organic Soy Beans for the first time this year and served as Edamame...mmmm!  Froze a lot for later and then left some to dryout and save seeds for next year.

[Elaine]

So awesome to find out we have so many canners on here! Who has a good recipe for salsa? I haven't had much luck.

[DK]

How do you make raspberry applesauce? (raspberrysauce?)

[decibelle]

Hi all, I'm new to the MMM community.  I'm a big fan of canning/freezing/drying.  From spring to autumn, I do a combination of picking/foraging at my favorite hiking spots/friends' properties, local U-Pick farms, and from my garden.  I make strawberry and gooseberry jam in June, raspberries in July, peaches and black raspberries in August, wild plum and Concord grapes in September, and applesauce or jelly in October.  They make the best whenever gifts.  It can also give a little cheer during those dark Wisconsin winters!  A couple other things I like to make are oven dried tomatoes and salsa.  At the end of the growing season I dry whatever herbs I've got left in the garden to create a signature "home blend" for the winter.

Concerning making the tomato sauce with seeds, I had bad luck one year.  Maybe it was the type of tomato but pureeing with the seeds made the sauce bitter.  Has anyone had this experience?

[kdms]

It's usually the skin that makes it bitter, not the seeds....did you peel them first?  I've never had it taste bitter and I puree everything together.  Maybe it was the variety, like you said.

[TGod]

We loooovvee curry, and as a busy household we were tending to buy the pataks pre-made sauces (they cost anywhere from 2$ to $5 for a 375ml, altho we generally stock up during sales) and throw them in with vegetables for a very quick and very yummy dinner. This year I decided to save the cash and try making my own, and they are awesome. I ended up with about 60 - 500ml jars, I made madras, masala and butter chicken (without dairy & we sub in tofu instead of chicken), sauces. I used about 60 lbs of tomatoes  which cost me about 55$, plus some onions, garlic (from our garden) and bulk spices. In total they cost me about $1.20/jar (including lids).  Even though I probably didn't have to, I pressure canned them like I would a meat free spaghetti sauce. We had curry for dinner 3 days in a row with the unsealed jars and they were better every day. I then did about 40 jars or roasted veggie salsa and with the left over tomatoes (I bought 100lbs in total from the BC Okanagan) I made plain tomato sauce.

[TGod]

Concerning making the tomato sauce with seeds, I had bad luck one year.  Maybe it was the type of tomato but pureeing with the seeds made the sauce bitter

Sometimes when tomato sauce simmers, if you are trying to cook it down before canning it, it can become bitter. My mom taught me the trip of adding a pinch of baking soda a couple times during the simmering stage. This year I chopped up my whole tomatoes (took out the core) cooked them down, ran them through my Victorio strainer and then simmered them for about 15 hrs in my crockpot. They were starting to get bitter until I added the first pinch of baking soda, let it simmer for a few more hours and then added another pinch and left it another few hours. By the time I canned it, the bitterness was gone.

The Victorio strainer is great, it's my favourite piece of food storage equipment. It makes for easy tomato sauce, apple sauce (just cook up the whole apples with a bit of water, till they are soft, no peeling or coring) and then run them through the strainer and voila...apple sauce.

[viverl]

@TGod, would you share recipes for the Indian dishes? I am very interested in meatless Indian dishes!

[TGod]

Curry Recipes!

Butter Chicken - I used this one. http://www.foodpreserving.org/2013/03/day-309-butter-chicken.html, but omitted the chicken. We throw in tofu when we use it.
Madras Sauce -  http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=6236.0 - I omitted the tomato paste (puree) and water and instead used fresh tomatoes.
Masala I used this one - http://showmethecurry.com/odds-ends/how-to-make-masala-in-bulk.html. I used my own ginger/garlic paste instead of using a storebought one and used fresh instead of canned tomatoes.

For the garlic and ginger - I had a bunch of our own garlic from last year so I basically used this as an opportunity to use it up so we could move onto this years (450 bulbs - we just moved from a 5 acre parcel to a .6 acre parcel....so probably no epic garlic growing anymore :(). I looked at all my recipes and figured out a basic ratio of garlic to ginger and then made a big batch of ginger and garlic paste in the food processor and then used it in the recipies.
I used all fresh ingredients, nothing canned, since that kind of defeats the purpose for me. I toned down the spiciness of the recipes since we have younger kids, one of which hasn't embraced hot foods yet, except for the madras which I "accidentally" heated up a bit.

[seattlecyclone]

We haven't gotten into canning yet, but we do have an apple tree in the backyard. We made a few gallons of applesauce this year (most of which is sitting in our freezer right now), and quite a bit of apple butter as well. So delicious!

[TGod]

Seattlecyclone We made a few gallons of applesauce this year

When we have a bumper crop of apples and end up having tons of applesauce, I make fruit leather in my dehydrator. The kids LOVE it! I'll take whatever juice I can make (plums, last year's frozen cherries) and add it to the applesauce and dry it out. Easy and uses those jars and jars of sauce that I always forget about!