The Money Mustache Community
General Discussion => Share Your Badassity => Topic started by: Thegoblinchief on September 06, 2015, 04:21:38 PM
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This thread is currently a work in progress. I'm updating it and organizing it as I have time. In the meantime, hopefully the information presented is helpful to all Mustachians of the homesteading/radical homemaker stripes.
Introduction
In 2014 there was this thread (http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/throw-down-the-gauntlet/preserving-the-harvest/) about preserving the harvest. While this thread isn't technically throwing down a gauntlet, both its predecessor and the well-frequented gardening thread (http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/throw-down-the-gauntlet/plantinggrowing-your-own-the-garden-thread) are in this subforum, so I'm putting it here for now. Mods, feel free to move it if you see fit.
What I hope to accomplish is presenting a guide to the best way to preserve the local bounty of fruits and vegetables, organized by type. I'm a big believer in trying to live within my own bio-region as much as possible. Even if you rely heavily on things imported from outside of your region, nearly every fruit/veg has a "peak" season where price is lowest and quality is highest. Learning to preserve and store food at its prime is an excellent hobby. It won't necessarily save a ton of money, but the quality of food heading into the lean winter months will blow your mind. For me, this is something I tally up on my emotional balance sheet (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/30/business/an-emotional-balance-sheet-can-guide-hard-to-quantify-financial-choices.html?_r=0) more than my financial one.
Okay, let's get into this (again, sorry for slow updates) Post #0 will be Best Methods for Fruit
Apples
You have two main options here. First is to dry slices and make chips. If you don't have a dehydrator, I highly recommend the large Excalibur models. They're pricey but well worth it if you plan to preserve many things. Remove any bruises/blemishes, core, then slice 1/4" with a chef's knife. (Mandolines don't work very well because of the skin.) An apple corer can also cut ring slices quite effectively.
The second choice is canning applesauce. I'll get into the details further as I update.
Apricots
No personal experience preserving these but store-bought dried apricots are awesome, so I'd start there. Unless you're incredibly patient, after removing the pit they need to be sliced thinner.
Bananas
Not in my bio-region so I don't buy them, but if they were I'd dry them (1/4" slice).
Frozen bananas (hello Arrested Development) are an excellent treat.
Blackberries (and other large-seeded berries like muberry and raspberry)
Freeze in single layers on baking sheets to avoid clumping, then pack into bags for storage.
Blackberry jam can be canned. You can use a food mill to remove the seeds.
Blueberries
Freezing is your best option to preserve a fresh-like taste.
Canning can work.
Dried blueberries sound like a good idea but I find them very disappointing taste-wise.
Cherries
The main bottleneck here is pitting. I'm lucky enough to have a local orchard that allows you to run them through a high-speed mechanical pitter for a nominal fee. Once pitted:
Freezing works well. To prevent clumping, lay out on baking sheets in a single layer, place in freezer for at least an hour before packing into freezer bags.
Drying is also a good method. Unless you want them to take forever in the dehydrator, you will have to halve the pitted cherries.
I'll let others chime in about good canning recipes.
Citrus
Your main option is to preserve the peel for future flavoring. You can dry the peel plain, candy it, or preserve it in salt. Recipes abound.
Our own Erica has this handy guide. It's specific to lemon (ideally Meyer lemon) peel but many of the same principles apply: http://www.nwedible.com/ways-to-use-lemon-peel/
Currants
Canning them in preserves and jellies is well-known.
Personally, I'd dry them, at least based on the taste of both options I've had from the store.
Dates
No personal experience. I'm guessing drying is the best option.
Figs
Figs: drying is good, but it depends on the variety. Some have a thicker outer skin before the juicy seed cavity and these don't dry as well as the varieties with a thinner skin, in my experience. Up here, Desert King is a common variety, and these don't dry as nicely as something like Black Mission.
All figs make superior jam (but are borderline acid, so add some lemon juice), chutney, and sauce. Their flavor is particularly well paired with balsamic vinegar, cherries, thyme, or black pepper.
Grapes
If you grow your own, or live in a growing region, you could experiment with making your own raisins or grape jellies. I have no personal experience. The only vineyards here are exclusively for wine production.
Kiwi
No personal experience.
Melons
They can be dried or frozen, but honestly? I wouldn't bother. Enjoy them as the late summer, early fall local delicacy they are.
Nectarines
I haven't tried preserving these. From eating preserved products, drying, freezing, and canning are all equally good options. The first two will preserve more nutritional value.
Papaya
Not in my bio-region. Supposed to be good for drying.
Peaches
I haven't tried preserving these. From eating preserved products, drying, freezing, and canning are all equally good options. The first two will preserve more nutritional value.
Pears
I haven't tried preserving these. From eating preserved products, drying, freezing, and canning are all equally good options. The first two will preserve more nutritional value.
Persimmons
No personal experience. From what I've read, the challenge is getting ones that are dead ripe. Persimmons have a way of going from bitterly astringent to candy-sweet overnight.
Pineapple
Not in my bio-region but if they were, I'd dry them.
Plums
Drying works.
Cooking down into a plum or sauce is a VERY versatile condiment all on its own, or as a base for many sweet-savory Asian or BBQ type sauces and glazes.
Rhubarb
Culinarily, this is typically classified as a fruit. Typically I've chopped rhubarb and frozen it.
If I had enough of a harvest that freezer space looked a premium, I'd dry the slices. Rhubarb is excellent in jams/jellies/preserves but I find the taste is best when the sauce is fresh, not after it's been canned. YMMV.
Strawberries
Dried strawberries are worth the price of a large dehydrator alone.
For a basic strawberry jam, I really like the one printed in the book "Canning for a New Generation". With really prime, local fruit I have found very little sugar is necessary.
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This reply will the the home for vegetables
Asparagus
Beans (Shelled/Dry)
You want these to be completely dry before trying to shell and store. Depending on the variety and your climate, they may dry down on the vines, or you may need to pull the plants and hang them up in an out of the way spot (garage or basement) to dry further. Carol Deppe's book The Resilient Gardener has excellent info on varieties and how to winnow large quantities.
Beans (Green)
I do not have personal experience with canning beans.
I like green beans both dried and frozen. Both methods require blanching in a boiling water bath for about 2-3 minutes first.
Another method many like is pickling them, either as a lacto-fermented pickle or as a brined pickle (e.g. "Dilly Beans").
Broccoli
After some discussion below, you can blanch and freeze broccoli but thawed broccoli just isn't the same as fresh. It's watery and kind of blah. Eat what you can fresh, find more during the winter at winter farmer's markets, and "preserve" it via cooked uses (cream of broccoli soup, casseroles, etc.).
Carrots
Store fresh in either fridge or a root cellar.
Dehydration is another option with good eating results.
Peas (Snap or Shelled)
Freezing, after blanching for 2 minutes, is the best method for both kinds of pea. Freezing retains the sweetness of a freshly picked pea far better than drying or canning.
If you only want to extend the season a few weeks, I've seen recipes for refrigerator-pickled snap peas that look good but haven't been able to try yet.
Peppers (Hot)
Dry them whole or halved. The choice whether to de-seed them is up to you. Some recipes and uses call for the peppers to be seedless, others whole.
Peppers (Sweet/Mild)
You can remove seeds, slice/dice and either freeze or dry.
For deeper, more complex flavor, consider charring on the grill or roasting in the oven before freezing/drying. Be warned: the peppers will be quite messy/sticky to work with.
Potatoes
Ideally you will have a space that functions as a cool, moist enough root cellar to preserve these fresh. Failing that, you can dry potatoes either raw (must be cooked before eating) or cooked (hash browns are supposed to taste exactly like potato chips when dehydrated).
Tomatoes
These preserve very well any way you do it - canned, dried, or frozen and cooked into sauce/dishes later.
Zucchini
Dried 'chips' are a very tasty snack eaten out of hand. They can also be rehydrated in winter soups and stews.
I also like shredding zucchini and measuring the correct portion for batches of zucchini bread into freezer bags.
Winter Squash/Pumpkins
The main option here is to roast in the oven, scoop out the flesh, and puree it. The puree can be frozen or dried as leather. In the US, at least, it is not considered safe to can using home equipment.
Another option is to dry the raw flesh in slices or diced up. This allows you the option to cook into a puree OR use the squash in dishes that need the flesh whole, not pureed. I haven't (yet) experimented with this but hope to soon.
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Following!
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The list of different fruits should be mostly complete now.
Please, anyone, feel free to start posting experiences/recipes/tips. This will help me get the guide updated faster!
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Well, we are in the thick of this up here! V. timely!
I have been preserving my produce (or food from the farmers market) for 25 years now, but every year I learn something different to do. Of course the dewpoint is in the upper 60's this week, so not the best week to have simmering pots.
This year, the bumper crop of 2 kinds of plums demands various treatments; I am drying some, making preserves and canning/freezing whole fruit. I never use as much sugar as most recipes call for.
Hedgerow jelly. The idea for this came from my current fave preserving book from the River Cafe in London. I used my wild apples, beach plums, elderberries, blackberries,rosehips and black cherries-- all from my yard.
Will follow, GC, thanks for doing this!
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Im following.
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Of course the dewpoint is in the upper 60's this week, so not the best week to have simmering pots.
Yeah, we had a very hot/humid week that's just broken and cooled off. I was running the A/C while canning applesauce last week and still miserable.
Hedgerow jelly. The idea for this came from my current fave preserving book from the River Cafe in London. I used my wild apples, beach plums, elderberries, blackberries,rosehips and black cherries-- all from my yard.
Interesting idea. I'm not a fan of jelly myself, only jams/preserves, but the flavor combo sounds wonderful. Apple cores are a natural pectin source. I've seen a number of recipes that use them as an additive in the preserving kettle. Another option I've heard of but haven't tried yet is Pomona's Universal Pectin. It's a citrus-derived pectin that sets w/out any sugar (it's activated by calcium that's included in the packet).
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Figs: drying is good, but it depends on the variety. Some have a thicker outer skin before the juicy seed cavity and these don't dry as well as the varieties with a thinner skin, in my experience. Up here, Desert King is a common variety, and these don't dry as nicely as something like Black Mission.
All figs make superior jam (but are borderline acid, so add some lemon juice), chutney, and sauce. Their flavor is particularly well paired with balsamic vinegar, cherries, thyme, or black pepper.
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This thread could be gold for a potential homesteader-in-training like myself. Following.
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I like this thread!
We have really upped our canning (water bath only at this time) over the past few years. Peaches and pears we can quite often on their own (maybe some sugar/honey). Freezer room is at a premium, so that's why we can them. Applesauce and apple butter. Lots of pickling along with some salsa, chutneys, relish. We also ferment sauerkraut.
Pumpkins and winter squash keep so well in the basement or root cellar (except for delicata squash in my experience). I do freeze batches of pumpkin puree and we also can a batch of pickled pumpkins each year. They have been a big hit as an addition to Thanksgiving dinner.
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I have used the pomono pectin, but I don't really care for the results-- gummy to me. I don;t use much jelly either, but you can melt it and use for glazing, add spicy stuff and make a dipping sauce etc. Looks beautiful in the jars!
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We have really upped our canning (water bath only at this time) over the past few years. Peaches and pears we can quite often on their own (maybe some sugar/honey). Freezer room is at a premium, so that's why we can them. Applesauce and apple butter. Lots of pickling along with some salsa, chutneys, relish. We also ferment sauerkraut.
Nice! Peaches aren't available locally (just a touch too cold for commercial production) and I've yet to find a way to get decently ripe fruit via the supermarket. Seems so hit-and-miss. Plus, I'd dread buying pounds and pounds only to discover they were clingstone *shudder* but that info is never available.
I like pears, but not nearly as much as apples. But perhaps I'll buy a few the next time I'm at the apple orchard. They grow a small amount and they're struggling this year because hail damage forced them to cut prices.
Pumpkins and winter squash keep so well in the basement or root cellar (except for delicata squash in my experience). I do freeze batches of pumpkin puree and we also can a batch of pickled pumpkins each year. They have been a big hit as an addition to Thanksgiving dinner.
Storage depends on variety and also species. Delicata are definitely the shortest-lived in storage, but all C pepo varities will decline in flavor after a month, even if they aren't developing soft spots. C maxima varieties, on the other hand, are the ones you want to be just breaking into in December and onwards.
Pickled pumpkins sounds...interesting. I'm accepting that I'm just not a pickle person, despite wanting to like them. Glad your guests liked them!
I have used the pomono pectin, but I don't really care for the results-- gummy to me.
Good to note. I've not actually tried it myself.
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Following! I will contribute once I read through what is posted already.
I canned a ridiculous amount of B&B pickles and Butternut Squash from our garden haul the last few weeks. Planning to do a long weekend of chicken stock and vegetable soup making & canning in the next few weeks. Then canning the pumpkins once they aren't decorations anymore. Yay for cooler weather!
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Persimmons: there are two main types, astringent and non-astringent.
Astringent types, like hachiya, tend to be elongated, like an egg, and must be dead-ripe to be edible. They will ripen off the tree, going from firm to quite squishy. At this point, astringent persimmons are and very sweet. They are excellent made into a puree that can be added to quick breads or made into a persimmon pudding. I've never heard of astringent persimmons being preserved via canning. The pulp freezes well, and theoretically should dry well as a leather, though I've never personally done this. I would not attempt to can the pulp from non-astringent persimmons. In addition to issues with acidulation, I believe this pulp would be too dense to can safely.
Non-astringent types, like Fuyu, are wide and squat like a satsuma orange. These varieties are sweet and edible while still firm and crisp like an apple. They are excellent fresh in winter salads, and pair well with cured meats and strong cheeses. Non-astringent persimmons can be preserved in all the same ways as apples or pears, though they are borderline acid as I recall, so care should be taken if canning. I make a persimmon and apple chutney from non-astringent persimmons that is very good. I've also dried them; the Fuyu types dry like candy.
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Pears:
Certain varieties store for several months in the fresh state if kept cold or cool.
Pear Varieties - Days storage life (http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1957/17252/fs147.pdf) at:
30–32°F / 40–42°F
Bartlett 30–45 / 15–20
Bosc 50–70 / 30–40
D’Anjou 120–140 / 70–80
Comice 79–90 / 45–55
Winter Nellis 160–180 / 90–100
If cool/cold storage is not an option, pears are well suited to most preservation methods.
I prefer to dry pears. Peel, core, and halve, quarter or slice depending on size. Drop pear pieces into acidulated water. Dry until pieces are leathery. Condition and store at room temperature, or freeze as desired.
Pears can also be canned. All of the "cookie spices" - cinnamon, cloves, ginger, etc. - pair very well with pears. Infuse these spices into a light or medium syrup before canning if desired.
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Pears can also be canned. All of the "cookie spices" - cinnamon, cloves, ginger, etc. - pair very well with pears. Infuse these spices into a light or medium syrup before canning if desired.
I love canning some pears with a touch of cinnamon and vanilla bean. They are good on their own, but really good on top of oatmeal, pancakes, and waffles all winter.
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I prefer to dry pears. Peel, core, and halve, quarter or slice depending on size. Drop pear pieces into acidulated water. Dry until pieces are leathery. Condition and store at room temperature
Is peeling necessary? I leave the peel on when drying apples.
I'm assuming the water step is to avoid browning? Again, I haven't found that necessary with apples, but if it's more necessary with pears, I'd do it.
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Oh, I NEED one of these dehydrator thingys! A friend is going to let me borrow one to try this week. I dry herbs in bunches on my wooden clothes dryer when the dewpoint falls, but I have probably over 100# of plums this year I could dry. Freezing some, canning some.
I will wait til October to do the applesauce as there is still so much tomato/other fruit to do. My favorite apple for this is Empire which gives an amazingly juicy sauce. I leave the skins on(lovely pink sauce) cut in 5-6 pieces and put in my heavy 7 qt pot with the bottom covered with water or cider, cook them down and when cool I put them through a stainless colander, rubbing them through. I prefer this to my food mill. Then can in water bath in pints.
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I swear I have NO affiliation with Excalibur but the 9 tray model (no timer) has unequivocally been my best purchase this year. Heck, maybe even best purchase of the past few years.
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Thanks, GC, ridiculous that I don't have one of this so will get on it!
I think it's important to consider how you would like to eat and cook in the winter; do you want to have more ingredients or more finished dishes? Canned tomatoes are great for me as they go in so many dishes; I also like to have some frozen tomato-corn-white bean-herb sauce that can be thawed, cooked and eaten with a grain/pasta or diluted with stock into soup in a very short time. A friend who is a beginning gardener was so excited to have slews of cukes, she canned 54 jars of pickles. She and her DH needed, maybe, 12!
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I prefer to dry pears. Peel, core, and halve, quarter or slice depending on size. Drop pear pieces into acidulated water. Dry until pieces are leathery. Condition and store at room temperature
Is peeling necessary? I leave the peel on when drying apples.
I'm assuming the water step is to avoid browning? Again, I haven't found that necessary with apples, but if it's more necessary with pears, I'd do it.
Necessary? No. Recommended? Yes. The peel is quite tough when dry. Pears brown quite quickly - more quickly than apples, I'd say, and I typically am working with enough quantity that it's worth it to add in the acidulation step. I actually peel, then drop the whole peeled pear into acidulated water. Then I quarter and core the quarters, dropping the quarters back into the acidulated water as I go. It's more complicated to write it than to do it.
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Roughly how much acid per volume of water? It'd be either vinegar or lemon juice (what I have) or I could get something.
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This thread has got my mind spinning with possibilities. It was a struggle for us to use everything in our garden this year - sadly, some things withered on the vine/bush/tree. And this was just a first year garden - I know that it will only get bigger and more productive as time goes on. It really hits home that we need our cabin built ASAP so I can set up a "preserving station".
One thing I'd really like to know...what is the "mess factor" involved in all this?
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The "mess factor"--hahahahhaaha. Come on over and we'll show you mess. No actually, I try to clean up each night so only what I will need is out in the morning. There are jar rings everywhere, though, and freezer bags have already labelled waiting for the food, the big stock pot I can in lives on the stove for the duration ( I have 6 burners). Fun, though, and I always think how happy we'll be when it's -10F and, magically, food!
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One thing I'd really like to know...what is the "mess factor" involved in all this?
Mess isn't a huge factor. It's efficient use of space. With canning, you need space on the stove for a big-ass pot PLUS whatever pot(s) you're cooking with. You also need space on a flat surface to put the finished jars to rest for ~24 hours to ensure the seal is good.
For other methods (drying, freezing) you don't need that space, but all 3 methods need a decent section of counter-top for the prep. I also make sure to grab a big bowl or the washtub i use for camping dishes because the ordinary small compost bucket fills up way too fast when prepping lots of produce at once.
An article I found very useful in arranging the kitchen workflow is this one:
http://www.nwedible.com/time-and-motion-study-of-strawberries/
I spent a minute or two making sure the entire work area makes sense for what I'm currently prepping before actually starting work.
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Roughly how much acid per volume of water? It'd be either vinegar or lemon juice (what I have) or I could get something.
Not vinegar. Never with fruit. I just sprinkle some citric acid in a bowl. Maybe a generous teaspoon in a big bowl? No need to overthink it. Bottled lemon? Maybe a tablespoon in a big bowl?
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Favorite way to preserve broccoli? Store frozen broccoli is kind of meh to me but is home frozen better? Anyone tried dehydrating yet?
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I have blanched and frozen broc and, yes, it was pretty good; we don't grow enough to preserve now as we prefer kale and collards, but you have little kids so you need those little "trees". B sprouts are our all time fave fall veg and the plants will still be OK well into the fall/early winter; homegrown, this veg is so far superior to store bought, I have converted many sprout haters. You should try drying some so you can tell us about it!
Retired63-- you can root around for some sweet potatoes, but you will be disappointed as many will be little skinny long roots. Here, they really beef up at the last moment this month.
Canned 10 pints of plums this weekend; I used a very light syrup--10cups of water to 1 cup of sugar with some lemon juice--and the raw pack method. Gorgeous in the jars!
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Favorite way to preserve broccoli? Store frozen broccoli is kind of meh to me but is home frozen better? Anyone tried dehydrating yet?
Re: home frozen broccoli - it's not better in the kind of way that will change your mind about frozen broccoli, probably. I've done it, but the broccoli still has that watery, not-fresh texture going on. Since it's a veg the whole family really likes we can take down a lot fresh, so don't usually have to preserve. When I've had a serious glut, I've made stuff like cream of broccoli soup base or chicken and broccoli casserole and frozen that that. Not an item I would ever BUY with the intent to preserve, unlike apples or tomatoes.
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I think it's important to consider how you would like to eat and cook in the winter; do you want to have more ingredients or more finished dishes?
Excellent point and cannot be repeated often enough.
A friend who is a beginning gardener was so excited to have slews of cukes, she canned 54 jars of pickles. She and her DH needed, maybe, 12!
Hahaha. Been there, done that. Love the idea of pickles way more than I actually like eating them. Got carried away with chutney the first year and made four or five batches (of 20+ jars each). Still eating that five years later.
I've taken this summer off from preserving (no garden so have to buy in everything anyway) and it has been worthwhile. I'll hopefully use up everything I still have over this winter and start fresh next year. Although I am going to dehydrate apples over the next couple of months. Really hate those couple of months when apples aren't really nice anymore but soft summer fruits haven't arrived yet.
In the list of veg one method for beans that isn't mentioned is drying them on the vine and storing the dried beans. Or maybe that's what you meant by dehydrating but to me it's a slightly different method. Someone who actually knows what they're doing can offer more information on whether you leave them on the vine to dry or hang the plants to dry - I'm never sure which it is.
Edited to add: okay, went back and see you specified green beans. Drying on the vine would be for other types of beans, like pinto and so on. Could perhaps be added to the list.
One other method of preserving I've read about is for random smaller amounts of greens, in particular kale. Dry them in a dehydrator and put the dried stuff through a blender to end up with a green powder. A spoonful can be sprinkled in soups and stews (or smoothies, if that's your thing) for a vitamin boost.
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Surprised that tomatoes are not in the list.
I dry them (in a low oven on parchment); make tomato jam, as well as rosst in the oven to make tomato sauce (freeze)
Apples - I cook for crisp or pie filling, then freeze; also apple chips dried in low oven. Don't really have to worry about storage - way to easy to eat all the chips from many apples as soon as they are ready!
I don't can as I don't have the room to store equipment or results, nor do I have the inclination to juggle boiling hot glass jars.
I may make some pepper jelly, or I will pickle them. In the past we have let some small red hot peppers dry on the plant and stored them.
Cucumbers - refrigerator pickles. Wish there were more options this year. DH says he saw a recipe for cucumber chips - dry and season to eat like potato chips. Anyone else do this??
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A good way to make use of excess basil is to make pesto. As soon as my basil grows enough I cut it down and make a batch. Then you can freeze it into ice cube trays for easy use all through the winter.
Also, for too much fruit, making vinegar is something fun to do (I love watching it grow in the dark :)) and it tastes delicious. I've really gotten interested in fermentation and my next project is to venture into hard cider. Especially since I'm going apple picking today as a volunteer and we'll be "paid" in apples.
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Surprised that tomatoes are not in the list.
Oversight on my part. Added it - to be honest, I don't think there's a bad way to preserve tomatoes. If anyone has specific recipes they really love, I'll add them as links (either to a forum post in the thread or to an outside site) in that section.
Cucumbers - refrigerator pickles. Wish there were more options this year. DH says he saw a recipe for cucumber chips - dry and season to eat like potato chips. Anyone else do this??
We had a poor year for cucumbers here, so I haven't tried drying any but it's definitely a thing listed in my dehydrator cookbooks. Haven't seen the chip recommendation, but definitely used as a garnish on winter salads. If you want something that's even closer to a potato chip, try zucchini chips.
Not a preserving use, but last year we found a great way to use up our excess cucumbers was using them instead of lettuce on top of tacos/burritos/etc.
One other method of preserving I've read about is for random smaller amounts of greens, in particular kale. Dry them in a dehydrator and put the dried stuff through a blender to end up with a green powder. A spoonful can be sprinkled in soups and stews (or smoothies, if that's your thing) for a vitamin boost.
I've done this. Eh, it's okay.
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What a great thread! Following.
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Astringent types, like hachiya, tend to be elongated, like an egg, and must be dead-ripe to be edible. They will ripen off the tree, going from firm to quite squishy. At this point, astringent persimmons are and very sweet. They are excellent made into a puree that can be added to quick breads or made into a persimmon pudding. I've never heard of astringent persimmons being preserved via canning. The pulp freezes well, and theoretically should dry well as a leather, though I've never personally done this. I would not attempt to can the pulp from non-astringent persimmons. In addition to issues with acidulation, I believe this pulp would be too dense to can safely.
In our experience the astringent persimmons can also dehydrated by slicing while somewhat firm but not yet squishy (it is probably best to take the skin off). If you were to bite the fruit at this point it might be bitter, but the bitterness seems to go away during the dehydrating. This seems consistent with the Japanese method of making Hoshigaki (Dried Persimmons), a labor intensive delicacy: http://www.rootsimple.com/2012/11/how-to-make-hoshigaki-dried-persimmons/
We tried drying some pureed pulp into leather but had mixed results. It might have been our technique as it was our first year with a persimmon tree and with access to a dehydrator. Assuming we have fruit again this year, will try a couple more methods and report back.
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We tried drying some pureed pulp into leather but had mixed results. It might have been our technique as it was our first year with a persimmon tree and with access to a dehydrator. Assuming we have fruit again this year, will try a couple more methods and report back.
Interesting, thanks.
I wonder if it would work better as a mix with apple? I had not-great results drying prune plum puree at 100%, but when I mixed it about half and half with apple puree, that vastly improved the final texture without really diminishing the "plum-ness" of the leather's taste. Commercial leathers are often an apple base with a more expensive flavoring fruit like berry added, so perhaps this is a standard practice in leather making? I dunno - this is my first year tackling fruit leathers, but perhaps a blend for persimmon leather would be good?
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Cherry tomatoes: Halve them and put them on a cookie sheet in a low (225-250) oven for 1.5-2 hours for delicious "sun dried" tomatoes. I packed them with olive oil and kept them in the fridge, but you could keep them dried or can them.
Pumpkins: Halve, scoop out the seeds and roast at 300-350 for an hour or until soft. Scoop out the flesh and blend with a stick blender or a food mill and freeze. I've done this for years and it's great for pumpkin pie, pumpkin bars, pumpkin soups, etc. Basically anything you'd use commercial canned pumpkin for.
Green onions/chives: Chop and freeze. You're not going to want to put them on top of your baked potato, but they're still good in soups, casseroles and pasta dishes.
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Tomatoes if you're planning to cook with them: throw them, whole, into a ziplock bag and toss them in the freezer. It really is that simple.
Paste tomatoes- slice and dehydrate, store in jars. Rehydrate with warm water to throw on pizza. For paste, prep them dry in a food processor and add water until you get the consistency of a tomato paste.
Basil - either pesto or move inside and preserve on the plant. Or both, ideally...
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Basil - either pesto or move inside and preserve on the plant. Or both, ideally...
How much sunlight does basil need to be happy indoors? I don't have any plants in good enough shape to attempt it this year but maybe next year?
Question for those of you who've been dehydrating long than me: with fruits like apples, do you stick to a strict, flat single layer of slices or do you overlap them (like in a tart) figuring the shrinkage as they dry keeps them from failing to dry in a reasonable time period.
Discovered my favorite orchard grows delicious sweet plums the size of a small child's fist. Too late (time and budget) wise to pick that many but we picked about 6 pounds to eat and experiment with.
Also nabbed a 1/2 peck of pears to experiment with as I go through my next 3 bushels of apples.
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Question for those of you who've been dehydrating long than me: with fruits like apples, do you stick to a strict, flat single layer of slices or do you overlap them (like in a tart) figuring the shrinkage as they dry keeps them from failing to dry in a reasonable time period.
I just dried apples, in a low oven, I think overlapping will lead to slices being stuck together. Of course, you are using a different system.
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Basil - either pesto or move inside and preserve on the plant. Or both, ideally...
How much sunlight does basil need to be happy indoors? I don't have any plants in good enough shape to attempt it this year but maybe next year?
Question for those of you who've been dehydrating long than me: with fruits like apples, do you stick to a strict, flat single layer of slices or do you overlap them (like in a tart) figuring the shrinkage as they dry keeps them from failing to dry in a reasonable time period.
Discovered my favorite orchard grows delicious sweet plums the size of a small child's fist. Too late (time and budget) wise to pick that many but we picked about 6 pounds to eat and experiment with.
Also nabbed a 1/2 peck of pears to experiment with as I go through my next 3 bushels of apples.
You know, I don't know for sure how much sun basil really needs. Mine gets quite a lot (house set up for passive solar heating - I grew tomatoes in the kitchen in January last year.), so I don't know if it can do with less. It's pretty cheap to try, though. I've just started some new plants to move inside - planted last weekend. May be too late where you are, though. Actually, I think I started my last indoor batch inside. Again, basil seeds are cheap, so maybe try on a sunny windowsill.
On the apples, I always do strictly a single layer, but in this case, your climate may work to your benefit. Our humidity is crazy high, and you might be okay with an overlap. Again, apples are cheap -try a small area of the dehydrator and see.
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How dirty do you let the boiling water bath water get before you replace it? My applesauce likes to leak even with a full 1" headspace (NCFHP guideline is only 1/2"), but I hate having to reheat a huge kettle all over again between batches.
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I typically only end up with a glut of two things from my garden (excluding herbs, wich I dry in abundance): chilies and sweet peppers. My two cent on preserving is that dried chilies is by far the most versatile and the most space-effective. Tends to both mellow strength and enhance flavour.
For peppers I only bother with one metod: charing and then peeling, de-seading and freezing. Chared peppers added to lasagna, tomato soup or any type of taco is a must-try.
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I shudder to think of all the food that I was unable to use up because I am not set up to "preserve" right now. Tomatoes, cucumbers, blackberries, beans, apples (three varieties), plums...and more.
At the end of the season here I've had to call up family and neighbours to tell them to come and get whatever they want. The thought of good food rotting on the vine or branch or on the ground is even more upsetting than us not getting the food ourselves. I only expect this situation to exist for another season or two. I hope this thread will become a fixture in my forum time here going forward. Thanks for your efforts Chief....
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At the end of the season here I've had to call up family and neighbours to tell them to come and get whatever they want. The thought of good food rotting on the vine or branch or on the ground is even more upsetting than us not getting the food ourselves. I only expect this situation to exist for another season or two. I hope this thread will become a fixture in my forum time here going forward. Thanks for your efforts Chief....
Call it a gleaning party!
You have electricity at your shed - is it a time or storage space consideration?
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How dirty do you let the boiling water bath water get before you replace it? My applesauce likes to leak even with a full 1" headspace (NCFHP guideline is only 1/2"), but I hate having to reheat a huge kettle all over again between batches.
I do a full day "session" of up to several rounds of canning without replacing water, just topping up the water as needed. BUT - I am concerned that you are having leaking at 1" headspace. I'd be wary of underfilling - you risk early oxidizing in the jars with a too-large headspace, especially since you are a low sugar preserver.
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How dirty do you let the boiling water bath water get before you replace it? My applesauce likes to leak even with a full 1" headspace (NCFHP guideline is only 1/2"), but I hate having to reheat a huge kettle all over again between batches.
I do a full day "session" of up to several rounds of canning without replacing water, just topping up the water as needed. BUT - I am concerned that you are having leaking at 1" headspace. I'd be wary of underfilling - you risk early oxidizing in the jars with a too-large headspace, especially since you are a low sugar preserver.
Should I use the 1/2" headspace and just accept the mess then? I tried that in the big new pot to see if it was the old pot and siphoning that created so much mess (remember my emails to you?). The water was quite cloudy and dark with 1/2" space.
And I guess technically I was using more like 3/4" space (up to necks of the jars) rather than a full 1" the second batch today. There was a noticeable amount of floating apple pulp in the water, but it wasn't darkened like the first round.
All the seals have been 100% good. When you say early oxidizing, would that be actual spoilage, or just color loss like can happen with jams or pickles when the food is above liquid level in the sealed jar? Because I could give a crap about that.
Ah, canning. I have such a love/hate relationship with you...
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At the end of the season here I've had to call up family and neighbours to tell them to come and get whatever they want. The thought of good food rotting on the vine or branch or on the ground is even more upsetting than us not getting the food ourselves. I only expect this situation to exist for another season or two. I hope this thread will become a fixture in my forum time here going forward. Thanks for your efforts Chief....
Call it a gleaning party!
You have electricity at your shed - is it a time or storage space consideration?
Our current shed has power, with a fridge etc...but it shall pretty much forever be a nice tool shed - where we keep cold beer in the Summer. :) I hope to design our future cabin in such a way to make food processing and preserving as easy as possible. I'd even consider designing a dedicated outbuilding to keep the mess away from the main house. I'm not sure yet what design elements would help with food processing/harvesting (tons of counter space would be a start I would guess)...but I'm jumping the gun...we haven't even settled on a final cabin design yet. ;)
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I shudder to think of all the food that I was unable to use up because I am not set up to "preserve" right now. Tomatoes, cucumbers, blackberries, beans, apples (three varieties), plums...and more.
At the end of the season here I've had to call up family and neighbours to tell them to come and get whatever they want. The thought of good food rotting on the vine or branch or on the ground is even more upsetting than us not getting the food ourselves. I only expect this situation to exist for another season or two. I hope this thread will become a fixture in my forum time here going forward. Thanks for your efforts Chief....
You can dry, freeze or pickle most things. I am not going to be able to preserve everything, I am probably doing better this year than ever before. One issue I usually have is that many things produce small amounts over a long period of time. It can be hard to have enough harvest at any one time to process. This is part of the reason I haven't gotten in to canning, the set up and time doesn't seem worth one jar of something.
Work in progress. I will note that I am really enjoying the dried apples. Don't have to worry about shelf life at this point because they are getting eaten quickly, but that could be a concern.
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G-dog: yeah, freezing and drying are by far the best when things come in small batches. My canning this year has all been big purchases from farmers.
On shelf life, if you're storing the dry foods in Mason jars or thick plastic (Ziploc freezer bags) you're looking at least 12 month storage life. Dried apples specifically have a stated shelf-life of 20-25 years, though I think that is assuming vacuum packed.
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Cherry tomatoes: Halve them and put them on a cookie sheet in a low (225-250) oven for 1.5-2 hours for delicious "sun dried" tomatoes. I packed them with olive oil and kept them in the fridge, but you could keep them dried or can
How long do these keep in the fridge? I thought I only planted one cherry tomato but there is three. I have thousands of cherry tomatoes.
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How dirty do you let the boiling water bath water get before you replace it? My applesauce likes to leak even with a full 1" headspace (NCFHP guideline is only 1/2"), but I hate having to reheat a huge kettle all over again between batches.
I do a full day "session" of up to several rounds of canning without replacing water, just topping up the water as needed. BUT - I am concerned that you are having leaking at 1" headspace. I'd be wary of underfilling - you risk early oxidizing in the jars with a too-large headspace, especially since you are a low sugar preserver.
Should I use the 1/2" headspace and just accept the mess then? I tried that in the big new pot to see if it was the old pot and siphoning that created so much mess (remember my emails to you?). The water was quite cloudy and dark with 1/2" space.
And I guess technically I was using more like 3/4" space (up to necks of the jars) rather than a full 1" the second batch today. There was a noticeable amount of floating apple pulp in the water, but it wasn't darkened like the first round.
All the seals have been 100% good. When you say early oxidizing, would that be actual spoilage, or just color loss like can happen with jams or pickles when the food is above liquid level in the sealed jar? Because I could give a crap about that.
Ah, canning. I have such a love/hate relationship with you...
Yeah, I remember emails. I'm just really weirded out that you are getting so much siphoning from applesauce, of all things. Oxidizing is just that early browning - off color isn't a safety issue but the flavor degrades noticeably, too imho. Two things to look at:
(1) Is it possible what you are seeing in the pot is applesauce that was on the outsides on the jars when they went into the water? If the applesauce is coming out of the jar during processing your seals will be affected with a higher rate of unsealed jars and your head space will be lower coming out than it was going in.
(2) Is it possible the jars are going through heating spikes while on the stove? Ie, is the temp of the water and the temp of the applesauce about the same when the jars go into the pot for processing?
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It's not #1 but it might be #2.
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If applesauce can get out, why isn't water getting in to each jar?
This only happens with applesauce? Or is it the only thing you can where you can detect this problem?
Weird?
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If applesauce can get out, why isn't water getting in to each jar?
This only happens with applesauce? Or is it the only thing you can where you can detect this problem?
Weird?
A certain amount of food leakage is pretty common with canning. As you heat the jars, food expands, pushing the air out. You'd rather have (a little) food leak out than fail to push all the air out. It's the resulting vacuum when the food contracts and the seal forms that preserves the food. My explanation probably leaves something to be desired.
The water can't get in, because the lids are on just tight enough to prevent that.
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Dried plums yesterday. Ended up tasty but the prep is so slow, even with allegedly free stone fruits.
Pears also ended up tasty. The variety I got (Lincoln) is very resistant to browning, so I didn't use any acid. I did some peeled and some not peeled. I guess I don't really mind the peels, especially when I consider the extra effort of peeling.
Discovering that the kids really like these perfectly ripe pears. They're about 50% more expensive than apples but even the smallest volume is only $1.35/lb so if they still have a good supply at the orchard next month I might get a bigger quantity. I love these little surprises of abundance!
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It's not #1 but it might be #2.
Ok. I'm gonna recommend you try processing like this:
Have water hot/barely simmering but not boiling. Fill to accurate headspace with hot apple sauce and doublecheck accurate tightening on rings. Place jars in hot water. Bring water up to boil. Start timing at the boil. Turn off heat when processing is complete. Let jars sit in water for 5 minutes. Then, remove.
If you still get siphoning doing that....dude, I don't even know. It's like the great mystery of the applesauce. It'll drive me crazy.
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I made grape jam with free-from-Craigslist grapes this weekend. I did 4-5 cups of sugar per 2 quarts of grapes, cooked until it started to jellify (is that a word?), and then processed for 10 minutes for pints. This seemed easier than the jelly recipes that called for pectin.
Currently working on raisins in a borrowed dehydrator.
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I wrote a big long thing yesterday am and could not get it to post. About what, I can;t recall...
Plums: I've had over a 100# of plums from 2 trees this year ( Greengage and Mt Royal, both "European" plums which pollinate better here). When my neighbors walk by, I shout,"Hey, you've forgotten your plums again!" The seem more welcome than the floodtide of zucchini. I've canned them in 1:10 sugar:water,dried,jammed and frozen whole for use in sauces in the winter.
Shell beans/borlotti beans. These are the most beautiful red and cream striped beans grown for the fresh shelled bean-- delicious! Shelling them is a spiritual experience best performed out of doors, under an apple tree, with your chickens mulling about. i cooked them for about 20 minutes in water with herbs, then plopped them into a fresh tomato sauce I was cooking with garlic, fresh corn, basil and simmered another 10 min. Ate some over polenta and will freeze the rest. Heaven!
Beach plums: These are small purple fruits which grow on small shrubs native to the northeast. I planted mine ( Fedco Trees) some years ago; they don't bear heavily every year and this year was lighter. I freeze the pulp after using a cherrystone remover on them, or jam them, or hot sauce them.
Applesauce: Leakage issue-- do you have 2 inches of water over the jars? The pressure from that helps keep the leaking minimal, I think. Also, try removing some air with a plastic rod before putting the lid on, if you don't already. I don't do this except for applesauce, seems to help.
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Applesauce: Leakage issue-- do you have 2 inches of water over the jars? The pressure from that helps keep the leaking minimal, I think. Also, try removing some air with a plastic rod before putting the lid on, if you don't already. I don't do this except for applesauce, seems to help.
I'll try that. I think I had just a bit over the standard 1" of water. I did go after the biggest bubbles, but I wasn't terribly thorough.
As to Erica's comment about heat shock, the sauce was definitely warm/hot. I park the jars as they're filled and capped in the simmering water until the rest are ready. I'd guess the water is down around 150F before I crank up the heat to boil.
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Made my first sheet of fruit leather last night - goblin approved!
Question:
Best way to store them? The Excalibur book calls for them to be rolled up into plastic wrap and then plastic-bagged. The plastic wrap part seems a bit excessive but if necessary I'll do it.
Mine had some wet spots on underside. Can't remember how thoroughly I tested the topside for dryness, but I suppose if it happens again I can just flip it and dry for another 1-2 hours to fix that.
Think I'm going to move my dehydrator back up to the living area. It's a bit noisy, but that plus the dehumidifer pulling the moisture out in the basement raises the temperature more than I want for the stuff that's already down there for storage. There've been some days where it's warmer down in the basement!
Tag-team canning with my sister today (applesauce). Gonna test out the Squeezo. Cleaned up the old screen as best I could. Despite being "stainless" it was definitely rusty and seems a bit pitted on the inside layer. I noticed that when I bought it but after further cleaning I'm a bit concerned. Hopefully it works acceptably. Otherwise replacement screens are nearly $50 with shipping.
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Went apple-picking with my sister and her kids. We got a late start, so didn't return to start canning until after 1PM. Between 1-9 we put up 43 quart jars of applesauce. I was working basically 100% of that time, my sister helping 75% of the time (she has an infant), and my wife came over for dinner and helped some the last 3 hours. I think we're going to divvy up based on how many of whose apples went in, so I think my share will be a bit under 20 quarts.
Got the chance to try the used Squeezo strainer I picked up off of Craigslist. Man I'm glad I bought that! I haven't done an exact timed test to compare, but I'd guess it's easily 3x the speed of my conventional Oxo food mill. Needs a little TLC I discovered (old gasket seal that leaked, we just put a bowl under it) and I'm sure the aluminum is somewhat reactive when stuff happens to sit between batches/runs but quite the labor-saver. Straining is no longer the bottleneck.
I think I'd have a hard time recommending it at the full price of a new model, but if you found one used under $100 it's well worth it IMO. There are food strainers available for much cheaper new on Amazon that seem to get solid reviews (e.g. the Vittorio one for $50). Not sure how they stack up. Some people seem to be concerned about their long-term durability since the worm gear and a few other components are plastic.
Which gives me the thought: should I modify one of the posts back at the top to include a discussion of tools?
Also, is it "kosher" to park filled (not lidded) jars in a warm (200F) oven while waiting for other jars to finish processing? I did that quite a bit yesterday. Can't see why it would cause issues, but want to make sure I'm doing acceptable technique.
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Following
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Did some measuring last night. So, my 9-tray Excalibur holds about 10 pounds (before coring and paring) of apples so, if I do a 2-shift drying schedule, which is easy enough for me being at-home (load it before breakfast, run during the day till 7ish, then run a new load overnight) I can process a bushel every 2-2.5 days. This is fast enough that next year I think I'll target which varieties we end up liking best dry and skipping drying other varieties when we pick. So far I think it's McIntosh. Cortlands stay kind of meaty dry, which is nice for being filling, but apples lose a lot of tartness when drying, so a tart-sweet like Cortland isn't necessarily best choice for drying IMO. Though of course they make phenomenal sauce and baked goods.
I experimented with overlapping slices. They work pretty well but the processing time is just enough longer that it interferes with my 2-shift schedule. It's also harder to have my kids help lay the slices, as it's harder for them to understand what's enough overlap but not TOO much. I don't mind the slices sticking to each other.
Still need to try apple butter. Slow cooker is occupied with making soup stock right now.
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I spent part of the weekend preserving (and part shoveling out the chicken coop).
--3 containers of tomato corn bean sauce with herbs, frozen as I don't pressure can
--6 more pint bags of greens, blanched briefly and frozen, kales and mustard greens
--pesto without the cheese, which will be added if needed. I now tend to freeze this in a bag and saw off what I need.
--several bags of small Seckel pears to the fridge
--several bunches of lemon verbena ( for tea) and sage, tied together and hung from my wooden clothes dryer. I will crumble these and store in glass jars in the dark.
The garden is still yielding leeks, kales, mustard greens, arugula ( no flea beetles this time of year!), brussel sprouts, and still herbs. Relieved tomato season is over!
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Making my first batch of apple butter right now. Tastes phenomenal after an overnight in the slow cooker. Just waiting for the canning kettle to come up to temperature :)
Used less sugar than called for. Spiced it with cinnamon and nutmeg. Don't have any allspice or dry ginger, and wasn't sure how fresh ginger would work in the recipe.
Think I'm going to make the bourbon ginger pears from Erica's book later in the week after we go to the orchard.
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Making my first batch of apple butter right now. Tastes phenomenal after an overnight in the slow cooker. Just waiting for the canning kettle to come up to temperature :)
Used less sugar than called for. Spiced it with cinnamon and nutmeg. Don't have any allspice or dry ginger, and wasn't sure how fresh ginger would work in the recipe.
Think I'm going to make the bourbon ginger pears from Erica's book later in the week after we go to the orchard.
Knowing your taste, reduce the sugar on those pears. :D
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You seriously need to try dehydrating watermelon. Seriously. It will be on the list within minutes. The flavour intensifies and the sugars become super-sweet. Just do it!
Also your list has no tips for juicing and preserving juices - too left field for you? I really want to give apple cider a go for next year though, and I wonder if fresh (not fermented) cider can be frozen successfully for winter use. SWMBO has been looking for ways to concentrate apple juice for winter too - anyone have canning tips for juices?
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Also your list has no tips for juicing and preserving juices - too left field for you? I really want to give apple cider a go for next year though, and I wonder if fresh (not fermented) cider can be frozen successfully for winter use. SWMBO has been looking for ways to concentrate apple juice for winter too - anyone have canning tips for juices?
I've used a steam juicer to make apple juice. It comes out very hot, I decant it straight into sterlised and hot bottles or jars, screw/clamp on the lids and leave it to cool. Haven't kept any past christmas (so three and a half months or so) but that's mostly because it was too nice not to drink and hard enough to try and keep it until then. I did mean to try and make some cider last year but never got around to it. I do love my steam juicer.
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Knowing your taste, reduce the sugar on those pears. :D
I'll try it your way first and see. Can I substitute fresh ginger for the candied ginger?
Also your list has no tips for juicing and preserving juices - too left field for you? I really want to give apple cider a go for next year though, and I wonder if fresh (not fermented) cider can be frozen successfully for winter use. SWMBO has been looking for ways to concentrate apple juice for winter too - anyone have canning tips for juices?
Haven't really done any work with juice, partly because we don't drink juice regularly at all. Erica can correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure cider can be frozen. (It can be canned too, but that changes the flavor IIRC.)
We're gonna get a gallon of cider this week at the orchard and see what the kids think of it. If I have time in November, I might try making some hard cider if I can borrow the gear I'm missing.
Serpentstooth likes to make boiled cider, more as a flavoring for desserts than as a juice concentrate for reconstitution. She talks about it here (http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/journals/babies-and-broadway-and-baking-oh-my!/msg800569/?topicseen#msg800569) but basically it's a gallon of cider reduced down to a pint (roughly the same reduction as a juice concentrate).
Eventually when I have my own orchard, or time to process windfalls (about $0.18/lb), I'll think about getting either a cider press, or a steam juicing setup to get cider more economically. (Gallon of cider is the yield on 12 pounds of apples, so at going rate of $9/gal you're paying $0.75/lb for pressed cider.)
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I have a cider mill on my to-do list for future non-essential projects. I've read a number of accounts of building them and it looks like a not-too difficult project. Of course the line up of not-to-difficult projects is long, and this is near the bottom.
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Nothing to add at this time (sadly), but following.
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Nothing to add at this time (sadly), but following.
Me too. Though I hope to rock this thread in upcoming years. :)
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Great thread! Another great option for cucumbers, rather than canning them for pickles, is to make refrigerator pickles. My mom has a couple recipes that will stay really good for 6+ months in the fridge. Way easier than canning!
Has anyone tried to freeze cooked spaghetti squash? I know the squash will last for quit a while before cooking, but I think it will still be a time saver to have some frozen too.
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This thread hasn't been updated in a while, but I have a question.
My attempts to resist the siren song of the pressure canner are becoming feebler, but there's something I'm wondering. Everything I've ever read about water-bath canning makes sure to say If You Change The Proportions In This Recipe By One Gram You Will Get Botulism And Die Horribly, and then repeats it a few more times, just in case it didn't take the first time.
Am I right in extrapolating that this is not the case for pressure canning? For example, if I look at a recipe and think, "hm, I might reduce the sugar by a couple of tablespoons since I don't like too much sweetness in savory applications," am I going to kill my spouse?
Any expertise is welcome. Thanks!
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I took one class on water bath canning and one on pressure canning from the Master food preservers in my county.
For pressure canning, they said to always time to the longest ingredient. So, if you have multiple ingredients in chili, you would look up the meat, beans, etc and can to the longest timed ingredient. Unless you are following a recipe, then follow that.
It's more the ingredients than the amount of the ingredients, is what I got from the class. Maybe Erica will chime in here....
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Cressida - I have NOT done any pressure canning, so hopefully someone else can chime in. As I understand it, pressure canning is always based on the ingredient that requires the longest process time.
Hypothetical recipe
Ingredient A (guideline is to process for 20 minutes)
Ingredient B (guideline is 30)
Ingredient C (guideline is 40)
A mixture of A, B, C gets processed for 40 minutes.
Also, since you brought up sugar specifically. You can modify sugar quite a bit in BWB applications. Sugar performs two primary functions in BWB recipes 1) bonds with pectin if you're doing Sure-Jell type recipes; 2) acts as a preservative once the jar is opened. Sugar doesn't affect pH, and pH is king when it comes to BWB and botulism.
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Also, sorry I never finished the main purpose of this thread. Perhaps I'll have the time and motivation to tackle it more this year.
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This is a neat thread.
My wife and I are going to have access to a 750 square foot garden this summer (5x150) as the result of meeting some folks who let people garden on their land and are excited as that's a lot of space. Not sure what we will grow, but we are definitely interested in this thread as a result!
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I pressure can chicken stock and it's awesome. I have pressure canned tomato sauce as well because it had some ingredients that were marginal for water canning.
Pressure canning is easy, peasy, and you don't fill the pot with water, only a few inches.
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This is a neat thread.
My wife and I are going to have access to a 750 square foot garden this summer (5x150) as the result of meeting some folks who let people garden on their land and are excited as that's a lot of space. Not sure what we will grow, but we are definitely interested in this thread as a result!
If I had a lot of space, and storage - I would plant a lot of potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, and sweet potatoes - basically root crops you can store fairly easily over winter if you have the space in the right location/environment. Sweet corn can also take up a fair amount of space.
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I took one class on water bath canning and one on pressure canning from the Master food preservers in my county.
For pressure canning, they said to always time to the longest ingredient. So, if you have multiple ingredients in chili, you would look up the meat, beans, etc and can to the longest timed ingredient. Unless you are following a recipe, then follow that.
It's more the ingredients than the amount of the ingredients, is what I got from the class. Maybe Erica will chime in here....
Yes, this is accurate, with the caveat that you can't ignore density, even in PC, because of heat penetration times. For mostly watery-liquidy-things like chicken broth, etc, it's not a big deal, but if you start canning your own chili or other dense type low acid food, keep an eye on the solid-to-liquid type ratio of approved recipes and match that.
Also, just so people know, avoid low acid things that just pack down into a dense puree - like winter squash - and anything dairy or starchy, like rice.
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Thanks everyone - this makes sense. It seems like most canning resources treat pressure canning as sort of the ugly stepchild, so I was having a hard time getting a straight answer.
Also, sorry I never finished the main purpose of this thread. Perhaps I'll have the time and motivation to tackle it more this year.
I'd read it. No pressure though. :)
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This is a neat thread.
My wife and I are going to have access to a 750 square foot garden this summer (5x150) as the result of meeting some folks who let people garden on their land and are excited as that's a lot of space. Not sure what we will grow, but we are definitely interested in this thread as a result!
If I had a lot of space, and storage - I would plant a lot of potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, and sweet potatoes - basically root crops you can store fairly easily over winter if you have the space in the right location/environment. Sweet corn can also take up a fair amount of space.
Storage might be a problem... we're in a 1BR apartment :)
Though we do have a garage, it probably wouldn't do to put stuff in a garage that probably gets to 100F consistently in summer :)
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This is a neat thread.
My wife and I are going to have access to a 750 square foot garden this summer (5x150) as the result of meeting some folks who let people garden on their land and are excited as that's a lot of space. Not sure what we will grow, but we are definitely interested in this thread as a result!
If I had a lot of space, and storage - I would plant a lot of potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, and sweet potatoes - basically root crops you can store fairly easily over winter if you have the space in the right location/environment. Sweet corn can also take up a fair amount of space.
Storage might be a problem... we're in a 1BR apartment :)
Though we do have a garage, it probably wouldn't do to put stuff in a garage that probably gets to 100F consistently in summer :)
Each stalk of corn will yield 1-2 ears, and do take up a fair amount of space, and also needs to be planted as a block for good pollination. Depending on how much you like sweet corn, you could planted enough to eat (stagger planting dates to spread out the harvest dates), and optionally enough to freeze or can.
Same for the other crops, of those I listed, garlic and onions would take up the least amount of space. But storage space is always a challenge. If you have access to a dehydrator or alternate - you can dry down tomatoes and other crops and massively reduce storage space.
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I know a woman who stores potatoes and squash from her garden in cardboard boxes under her bed. She says everything keeps very well.
We are just now using the last of the apples we purchased from a local orchard in September. Though I made applesauce and apple butter from quite a few, we also kept two boxes full to eat. We have them in a spare refrigerator in our garage. We turned the temperature in the refrigerator to its lowest setting and keep a bucket of water on the shelf next to the boxed apples for added humidity. Though some of the apples are starting to look a little wrinkled, they are still very edible and quite tasty. Apples are one of our favorite fruits. The ones we have left are Fuji, but we also stored Honeycrisp for a couple of months. I personally don't care for dried apples, so being able to keep them a long time fresh is worth the little bit of electricity required to run the refrigerator.
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I thinly slice apples and dry them in an oven until they are crisp. I don't bother to peel them since the slices are so thin. They are very tasty! I like them more crispy than a softer chewy dried version. The low heat of the oven likely caramelizes some of the sugar. Unfortunately, with all the water gone, it is really easy to eat 3 or more apples in one sitting - calories!
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You seriously need to try dehydrating watermelon. Seriously. It will be on the list within minutes. The flavour intensifies and the sugars become super-sweet. Just do it!
Also your list has no tips for juicing and preserving juices - too left field for you? I really want to give apple cider a go for next year though, and I wonder if fresh (not fermented) cider can be frozen successfully for winter use. SWMBO has been looking for ways to concentrate apple juice for winter too - anyone have canning tips for juices?
If you're still looking for tips, here's a nifty process for getting applesauce and juice out of apples at the same time.
1) Fill a large stockpot almost to the top with apples (make sure you can still get the lid on)
2) Fill pot up with water until apples are almost covered (leave an inch or so at the top to reduce boiling over)
3) Boil pot of apples until apples are soft
4) Mash apples with potato masher-just enough so you have chunks, not whole apples
5) Set up a strainer. I use a colander with an old t-shirt in it to strain, and set it on top of a water-filled jar in a large mixing bowl
6) Dump your mashed apples into the strainer. While they strain, you can get another pot full of apples and water boiling
7) When apples are done straining (not seeing any drips), save the juice and dump the apples into a Vittorio or similar food strainer. Run them through to get applesauce
8) Waterbath your juice and applesauce separately when you have enough for a full batch (add lemon juice if needed)
The juice is concentrated apple juice, about twice as thick as normal. It is spectacular warmed up with a little cinnamon, or diluted by half for normal drinking. Undiluted, it has a ton of pectin, a smooth, almost syrupy texture, but is no sweeter than your apples. Drinking a whole undiluted quart in a day will clean out your digestive system like you wouldn't believe, so be careful!
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I like blackberry jam unless it's seedy, but I don't much like food-milling out the seeds. So I make jelly instead. I freeze my blackberries in gallon Ziploc freezer bags. When I'm ready to make jelly I thaw a couple bags. The thawed berries squish very readily with minimal hand pressure, then I strain out the solids with a simple mesh strainer over a bowl -- easily juiced without having to heat the berries. If I get more juice than needed, I just freeze the extra.
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I keep resurrecting this thread. :) Anyway, I have another question for the canning experts. Canning recipes always provide an appropriate headspace. Now obviously no one is going to match this headspace to the micron. So my question is, given that you already know you're not going to match the recommended headspace *exactly*, is it better to err on the side of slightly more or slightly less? Or are they equally bad? In asking the question, I'm mostly thinking of the "jars not sealing" result, although if incorrect headspace causes other problems I'm happy to hear about them.
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I keep resurrecting this thread. :) Anyway, I have another question for the canning experts. Canning recipes always provide an appropriate headspace. Now obviously no one is going to match this headspace to the micron. So my question is, given that you already know you're not going to match the recommended headspace *exactly*, is it better to err on the side of slightly more or slightly less? Or are they equally bad? In asking the question, I'm mostly thinking of the "jars not sealing" result, although if incorrect headspace causes other problems I'm happy to hear about them.
I would err on the side of slightly less. The important thing is that the lip of the jars is clean. If in the canning process things get between the snap lid and rim of the jar, you won't get a good seal. So a micron below the recommended headspace is better to me.
Also, I am not an expert.
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I keep resurrecting this thread. :) Anyway, I have another question for the canning experts. Canning recipes always provide an appropriate headspace. Now obviously no one is going to match this headspace to the micron. So my question is, given that you already know you're not going to match the recommended headspace *exactly*, is it better to err on the side of slightly more or slightly less? Or are they equally bad? In asking the question, I'm mostly thinking of the "jars not sealing" result, although if incorrect headspace causes other problems I'm happy to hear about them.
I would err on the side of slightly less. The important thing is that the lip of the jars is clean. If in the canning process things get between the snap lid and rim of the jar, you won't get a good seal. So a micron below the recommended headspace is better to me.
Also, I am not an expert.
It will work either way. A little extra headscape and you will usually still press all the air out and get a good seal. A little less headspace and you will get some siphoning which technically can compromise the seal but in my experience the seals have still been great even with major siphoning. If I had the choice I'd probably err on too much headspace.
The green headspace measuring tools Ball makes are super easy to use. I'll always check every jar and add or remove with a little spoon if necessary. Goes very quickly once you get the hang of it.
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Goblin-
Did you ever get an answer about your canning water getting dirty?
I had the same type of problem and then read Small Batch Canning. One step that I had been missing all the years that I had been canning was waiting 10 minutes before removing the jars from the bath after processing. I was lifting the metal rack up then minute the timer went. The pressure differential between the air and the hot contents in the jar was too great. Now I wait 10-15 min. until I don't see bubbles in the jar as I am lifting. Night and day difference with that one little step. The jars stay as full as I filled them and because there is no food on the rim, seals are 100%.
We have super hard water and I started adding some vinegar to the boiling water and now no more chalky film on the jars.
I was looking for info for a friend who wants to can this year and came across this amazing website:http://nchfp.uga.edu/
It has recipes for fruit using fruit juice - I want to get away from white sugar this year.
So glad I found this thread - learning a lot of new ways to preserve things.
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Goblin-
Did you ever get an answer about your canning water getting dirty?
I had the same type of problem and then read Small Batch Canning. One step that I had been missing all the years that I had been canning was waiting 10 minutes before removing the jars from the bath after processing. I was lifting the metal rack up then minute the timer went. The pressure differential between the air and the hot contents in the jar was too great. Now I wait 10-15 min. until I don't see bubbles in the jar as I am lifting. Night and day difference with that one little step. The jars stay as full as I filled them and because there is no food on the rim, seals are 100%.
We have super hard water and I started adding some vinegar to the boiling water and now no more chalky film on the jars.
I was looking for info for a friend who wants to can this year and came across this amazing website:http://nchfp.uga.edu/
It has recipes for fruit using fruit juice - I want to get away from white sugar this year.
So glad I found this thread - learning a lot of new ways to preserve things.
Yes, in my case it was mainly not tightening the jars enough. The last few batches of canning I did went perfectly.
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Cool, thanks everyone for the feedback. I'm going to tentatively conclude that my seal failure was improper cleaning of the jar rims and probably not headspace, so this is good information.
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Cool, thanks everyone for the feedback. I'm going to tentatively conclude that my seal failure was improper cleaning of the jar rims and probably not headspace, so this is good information.
Could also be overtightening of the lid.
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Posting this in case anyone is interested. It's an online boiling water bath canning course. Erica posted about it on her Facebook page but figured I'd share it here.
https://livinghomegrown.leadpages.co/canning-academyl1/
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Following
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Weather went from 90+ down to 60s yesterday so I decided to do a fun canning project. Did a small test batch and liked it so much I grabbed all the rest of the rhubarb I had. Made 12 half-pints overall.
This is not an approved recipe. Decide for yourself if it uses safe canning techniques. (Or use it as a freezer jam.)
Cherry Rhubarb Jam
Yield 8 half pints
2 lb sour cherries, pitted (frozen or fresh)
2 lb diced rhubarb (frozen or fresh)
3/4 cup sugar, or to taste
1. Cook over medium-high until everything is soft, puree with immersion blender. Continue reducing over medium until texture is right. It doesn't need a lot of reduction, maybe 10%. It's kind of hard to describe what's "right". I usually look for it sliding off of the spoon in big clumps instead of dripping off in liquidy drops, if that makes sense.
2. Fill spotless half pint jars with 1/4" headspace (1/2" is okay too)
3. Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Allow jars to sit off-heat for 5 minutes before removing them from the canner.
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Following!
I'm just about through processing my cherry tree's first crop. Some are being frozen, I'm working on a syrup right now, and a big portion went into jars of vodka and tequila. Definitely buying a better cherry pitter before next year!
I think a pressure canner is a good investment. Mine has certainly paid for itself a few times over just with the chicken and beef stock I've canned. This year I'm pressure canning salsa for sure, because I find the water bath recipes are always too vinegary. Of course you can do your WB canning in the PC as well, so you might be able to get rid of a redundant pot (I always use it because it has the fitted plate at the bottom, so I don't have to use one of those stupid, flimsy canning racks).
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Nice! Cherry season here is early next month but these were ones I bought from our local orchard's freezer.
If our own trees get big, we'll get a pitter but the orchard lets you use their pitting machine for very cheaply when you buy from them. Kinda unreal seeing 10 pounds of cherries pitted per minute.
Definitely want a pressure canner but I don't think I can justify it until next year. Looking at the All-American ones.
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This year I'm pressure canning salsa for sure, because I find the water bath recipes are always too vinegary.
So true. Unfortunately no one else seems to agree, or at least not people who write canning resources. If you have a pressure-canned salsa recipe you like, I'm dying to hear it. I've been on the lookout for a while.
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This year I'm pressure canning salsa for sure, because I find the water bath recipes are always too vinegary.
So true. Unfortunately no one else seems to agree, or at least not people who write canning resources. If you have a pressure-canned salsa recipe you like, I'm dying to hear it. I've been on the lookout for a while.
I will probably just start out with the Annie's Salsa recipe (http://faq.gardenweb.com/discussions/2766092/annies-salsa-recipe) and omit all/most of the vinegar, add more chiles and can it according to the crushed tomato pressure canning times in my Ball canning book.
I'd like to smoother molcajete style salsa too, but will need to do some experimentation to try to replicate one that's sold locally.
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Join the Rebel Canners group on Facebook.
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Join the Rebel Canners group on Facebook.
Thanks for sharing this group!
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Join the Rebel Canners group on Facebook.
Thanks for sharing this group!
You're welcome :) There are some awesome educational Facebook groups out there. I learn way more on there than I do here.
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Following to read for later. I've got high hopes for the garden this year and want to get into canning.
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Join the Rebel Canners group on Facebook.
Thank you! I've knocked, and hopefully they will let me in. :)
I think it's about time for this thread to have some love for fermentation.
It's actually incredibly easy, and a nice way to do small batches of things without a big production of canning equipment and steaming up the kitchen. Plus, you get the benefit of the probiotics if you eat your ferment raw. It will keep in the fridge for months.
Right now I'm getting low on Kimchi and will be making another batch this week. It consists of Napa cabbage, daikon radish, green onions, garlic, ginger, chiles, salt, kombu and fish sauce. It's about as much effort as making a coleslaw, and then packing it into a 2-quart jar and waiting. Pack it all down into the jar, wait for the salt to draw moisture out of the vegetables, and add a little extra water if needed to cover. fill a 1 qt. ziploc with briney water and put it in the top of the jar to hold everything down. Put it in a dark, coolish place or cover with a towel and check it every few days. When it tastes good, it's done (about 10 days usually).
Kombucha is also an easy one, and kombucha mother is easy to come by these days. Make a big jar of tea, dissolve sugar in (I like 2/3 cup per gallon), and when cooled, add the mother and cover the top with a coffee filter or other breathable thing to keep stuff from falling in. Kombucha likes light, so this can live on your counter, and will be ready in about a week.
Fermented pickles are also out of sight, as well as pickled
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Horsepoor: be careful about deleting all the vinegar in a salsa recipe. Tomatoes are not acid enough to canned successfully so there may be a safety reason for the vinegar in this particular recipe. I am going to try some salsa recipes this summer from my small batch canning book. I haven' t done salsa before but everything else in the book that I have tried is amazing.
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Horsepoor: be careful about deleting all the vinegar in a salsa recipe. Tomatoes are not acid enough to canned successfully so there may be a safety reason for the vinegar in this particular recipe. I am going to try some salsa recipes this summer from my small batch canning book. I haven' t done salsa before but everything else in the book that I have tried is amazing.
She specifically said she's doing the salsa in the pressure canner so she can get away from the vinegar necessary in a BWB recipe.
RE fermentation - Definitely talk about it! I like the idea of it but haven't done any fruit/veggie ferments yet so I haven't brought it up personally. Main ferments I do are bread (6 loaves and 4 large pizzas a week), yoghurt (not much right now as only one of my kids likes it and she hasn't been asking for it lately), and cider (out right now but waiting until next month when we get back from vacation to start a batch just in case something would go awry if I do a batch to ferment while we're gone).
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Lizard - thanks for the warning, but yes, as GC says, I'll be pressure canning, so no need to up the acidity. It's not the tomatoes that are the problem so much as I want to add more chiles and onions, and they are not acidic, so lots of vinegar is required for a safe water bath recipe.
GC - you've GOT to do a batch of fermented pickles when your cukes come in this year. You'll never look back if you're canning them in vinegar now. Whole, smaller cukes work best for this. Green tomatoes make a good pickle, too. In fact, I like to just kind of make a melange with small onions, peppers, okra, etc. as well as jars of straight dill cucumber pickles.
Oh, and fermented hot sauce is also amazing! This stuff keeps forever in the fridge. The bit of sour like a vinegar based hot sauce, but more complex because the tanginess comes from the ferment instead.
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Not a pickle person but do plant on attempting hot sauce next year. I have some Hinkelhatz seeds, which is an heirloom pepper that's supposed to make amazing hot sauce. Didn't have time to get them started this year.
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Not a pickle person either-- have to watch salt intake--but I do make lots of dilly beans with not much salt. First jars get opened at thanksgiving for the pickle tray. I've made lots of hot sauces-- fun to name them, ie, "snow melt"--but my favorite is sriracha, which I have not tried to preserve but it does have some vinegar in it.
I am low on/have run out of most of last years stocks of frozen greens, roasted tomatoes, canned applesauce, tomatoes and jams/preserves, blueberries etc; good thing it's almost our strawberry season.
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We're going strawberry picking Friday unless something comes up. Our patch is mostly done for the season already but the commercial patches are just opening this week. Trying to get some before we leave on vacation, then will hopefully catch the tail end when we get back. I don't think I want to plan long vacations in the summer anymore.
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We're going strawberry picking Friday unless something comes up. Our patch is mostly done for the season already but the commercial patches are just opening this week. Trying to get some before we leave on vacation, then will hopefully catch the tail end when we get back. I don't think I want to plan long vacations in the summer anymore.
We went on a "long" (ten day) vacation last summer - had some friends come over and tend the garden/eat from it while we were gone... But they totally forgot about the beans, so when we got home a whole bunch of them were way too old and lumpy to eat. My heart broke a little, but we saved the seeds at least.
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We're going strawberry picking Friday unless something comes up. Our patch is mostly done for the season already but the commercial patches are just opening this week. Trying to get some before we leave on vacation, then will hopefully catch the tail end when we get back. I don't think I want to plan long vacations in the summer anymore.
We went on a "long" (ten day) vacation last summer - had some friends come over and tend the garden/eat from it while we were gone... But they totally forgot about the beans, so when we got home a whole bunch of them were way too old and lumpy to eat. My heart broke a little, but we saved the seeds at least.
Yeah, last year I came back to tons of baseball bat zucchini because they forgot about one patch.
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G-dog:
I have a recipe book for small batch canning because often I don't have the quantity or the time to do large batch either. It is:
The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving: Over 300 Recipes to Use Year-Round
by Ellie Topp and Margaret Howard
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Frugal Lizard:
I have found a few recipes recently, both for rhubarb, that were small batch.
I often do pseudo-canning - I boil sterilize the jars, lids, rings (if needed), pill them out onto clean towel, face down to drain. Ideally the product and the jar is still hot, fill the jars like for canning, put on lids and tighten, set on counter to cool. The lids usually develop at least a partial vacuum.
Once cooled to room temp, store in fridge.
So far, so good. I may have to go to the next level and actually can. But I need to get a jar gripper to do that!
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Re: Melons - freeze them for the best smoothie ever. Blend small frozen chunks of cantaloupe, vanilla yogurt, plain almond milk, and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Nothing else needed. It's so so good.
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Re: Melons - freeze them for the best smoothie ever. Blend small frozen chunks of cantaloupe, vanilla yogurt, plain almond milk, and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Nothing else needed. It's so so good.
Great idea, thank you! My husband hates melon and I can't always eat it all myself, so this will keep them from going to waste if I'm lucky enough to get a good crop this year!
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Have put up 60 pounds of strawberries in past 2 days. Mix of frozen, dried, and two different jams.
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This thread needs a bump!
This weekend's them is apricots. A coworker gave me a big bag of them that were not so pretty, so they are turning into chutney, dried apricots and apricot butter. The farm stand had some beautiful ones for .98/lb, so I picked up about 6# of those this morning, and canned them in a light syrup. The apricot butter got a flavor bump from some vanilla and anejo rum (the alcohol burns off, but it lifts the fruit flavor).
I'm also upping my game with kombucha. Picked up some new loose teas and have lots of flavoring ideas to try out. Current batch is in secondary fermentation right now.
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Have made some cherry, raspberry, and gooseberry jams. Excellent local fruit and little need for sweetener. My favorites so far have been cherry-rhubarb and raspberry-gooseberry.
Froze a bunch of berries too, including local blueberries I'm so glad we decided to pick. It was a peaceful early morning and picked 10 pints with my kids in a bit over an hour.
Today we picked 20 gallons of cherries so that's this week's preservation project.
Seriously looking at buying a pressure canner.
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Didn't get to it today, but I've got to harvest some basil tomorrow. It'll be freezer pesto this time tomorrow night. I should probably work on using up last summer's pesto...
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A note to Rural and others in basil overload: consider making basil salt. It makes a great gift!
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Does anyone have good suggestions for oranges, other than marmalade? My mom has a tree that is positively loaded this year. They don't harvest until October-November but I've already been warned that I should get more jars for marmalade. Problem is, I can't eat more than a few jars a year and while I love giving them as gifts, I was hoping I could get some other ideas as well. Frozen concentrate for juice I suppose. Any better suggestions?
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Citrus keeps pretty well if you wrap each fruit in newspaper and keep in a coolish spot.
Dried or frozen orange zest is nice for cooking. Flavored vinegar would also be good.
Maybe instead of marmalade, an orange syrup would be more versatile?
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Does anyone have good suggestions for oranges, other than marmalade? My mom has a tree that is positively loaded this year.
Rhonda-Jean has a post on Down to Earth (http://down---to---earth.blogspot.de/2009/08/processing-lemon-harvest.html) about processing the lemon harvest which includes details for how to make cordial (and mentions it works with oranges too).
Is orange curd a thing? If you want a change from marmalade. Lots of recipes out there for lemon curd. And there's always candied peel (http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/candied-citrus-peel), I've never made it but I like eating it - especially orange dipped in dark chocolate.
Getting itchy fingers now to be preserving but need to wait another while until I've finished unpacking and settled a bit more so I've resigned myself to only doing a little bit at the end of the season. But, I have already met someone here who's involved in the local foodsharing group so I may have a good connection to get decent quantities of veg or fruit for free in the future. And yesterday I met someone whose dad is clearing out the attic and looking to get rid of a load of jars. So I might get some great new (to me) jars soon. I do like my little town.
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We always just drank a lot of orange juice when the oranges were ripe - you don't have to pick them all at once. Otherwise, you might try to trade them for something else, if you really have more than you can drink/eat.
I made blueberry jam this morning. I'm putting a bag of raspberries every day into the freezer. I've dried a ton of oregano and thyme so far.
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Does anyone have good suggestions for oranges, other than marmalade? My mom has a tree that is positively loaded this year.
Rhonda-Jean has a post on Down to Earth (http://down---to---earth.blogspot.de/2009/08/processing-lemon-harvest.html) about processing the lemon harvest which includes details for how to make cordial (and mentions it works with oranges too).
Is orange curd a thing? If you want a change from marmalade. Lots of recipes out there for lemon curd. And there's always candied peel (http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/candied-citrus-peel), I've never made it but I like eating it - especially orange dipped in dark chocolate.
Ooh, I love lemon curd! Never thought to try it with orange. Off to find recipes. Thank you!
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I've been going a little nuts with the canning this year. Well, for me, anyway. Just did a round of peach slices in honey. Before that did a batch of salsa. I still have 8 quarts of strawberries and, I dunno, a few pounds of raspberries I think, in my freezer waiting to be attended to. And this week I have 10 lbs of blueberries coming to me from my blueberry CSA!
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What is everyone putting up this harvest season?
I went and picked all this last night:
(https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/14233037_299616370397658_3315787425340228805_n.jpg?oh=f8975099accd72303e789ec29748d448&oe=5850A274)
So it's time for another batch of salsa, roasting and freezing green chiles, experimenting with a cucumber kim chi, and cooking down greens to use in Green Soup (http://www.splendidtable.org/recipes/basic-green-soup).
The tomatoes aren't as plentiful this year, so I'm wondering if it would be worth it to buy a bushel or two so I have more to can.
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The tomatoes aren't as plentiful this year, so I'm wondering if it would be worth it to buy a bushel or two so I have more to can.
Your countertop of produce looks great! It makes me fantasize about gardening.
I find it is worth buying tomatoes, to supplement what people are kind enough to provide me. The summer taste is always better than hothouse tomatoes or commercially processed products. I freeze packets of tomato and red pepper sauce and fresh salsa. I never get tired of either, and use the sauce and the salsa in all kinds of dishes.
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Oh, horsepoor, you have pattypan squash! I haven't had any in years.
Plus you have all the other things, of course.
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@Horsepoor - I am constantly amazed and impressed by your gardening prowess, and cooking! You always list dishes that sound totally high end, exotic, and / or gourmet.
What a great haul and variety!
I don't can, but have been processing our tomatoes as they accumulate - oven roast to make sauce and then freeze. I'll dry down cherry tomatoes or small tomatoes - but hardly getting any this year.
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Aww, thanks G-Dog! We eat pretty well around here. :)
Last week people in my building brought in masses of Italian plums, grapes and apples. Also my aunt brought me pears. I wasn't shy and loaded up on enough to do some canning projects.
Made raisins and prunes, pear sauce, Asian habanero plum sauce and plum BBQ sauce. Also have started sweet pickle and kim chi ferments. Fun watching the sweet pickles bubble like mad with the extra sugar added to that jar.
The stock of peppers destined to become paprika and chile powder is building up, and I'm hoping to get enough red jalapenos to try making chipotles this year, but they don't seem to want to ripen. The precious few habaneros are going straight into the freezer for winter use, and I might make a fermented hot sauce out of the long yellow ones on the one remarkably prolific plant. The chiles in my last pic were roasted, skinned, chopped up and canned. Also canned a couple batches of salsa that we've already cracked into. Must make more!
Tried making dehydrated watermelon, but didn't care for it, so the horse will get a treat (apricot fruit leather is his favorite thing in the world).
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Tried making dehydrated watermelon, but didn't care for it, so the horse will get a treat (apricot fruit leather is his favorite thing in the world).
How did you go about dehydrating the watermelon? I did some recently where I cut the water melon into ~1 cm x 1 cm rods that were probably 2 inches long (hows that for unit mixing). They took a long time to dehydrate, probably ~15 hrs for a fruit snack like texture, but everyone went crazy for it. I decided to try it because the watermelon wasn't actually that flavorful, so I figured the dehydration would help concentrate the flavor.
I have one more giant watermelon from the garden sitting on the table that needs to be cut up and dehydrated, but it just feels so daunting I keep putting it off. I have most of next weekend to myself so I plan to process the remaining peppers (green chile, pablanos, jalapenos, and bells), butternut squash, spaghetti squash, and tackle the watermelon then.
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I cut it about 3/4" thick, which is about the thickest that will fit in my dehydrator, and let it go for about 20 hours, I think. It could have stood to get flipped over and go a couple more hours, but since I didn't really like it, I pulled it out at that point.
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My dad loves growing asparagus. He buys crowns off ebay through different sellers.
First year: no harvest, if you do it will negatively effect the following years. It'll grow into a shrub which if you have a riding lawn mower you can drive over with your tires in the furrows or a weed eater.
Second year: begin cutting with a long handles tool with a short blade at the end. You'll want to cut the stalk about an inch underground. The knife makes this much easier.
(http://www.harrisseeds.com/storefront/images/Product/large/41143.jpg)
he plants about 50 crowns so he has to cut it everyday, but it's therapeutic for him.
Forget what month, but I believe it's in the fall when he stops cutting again and lets it grow to a shrub again.
He's started planting different patches so he can take one out when it stops producing and not have to wait another year to harvest again.
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I love this thread! May I suggest an additional category? Meats and Eggs?
We (really my DW) make our own sun dried sausage, salted eggs, and various other types of dried and salted meats. If there is interest I can get the recipes and post them here. Most are not "official" but are old family techniques.
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I think I'm almost done for the year. Just have about 40# more tomatoes ripening and broccoli, leeks, cabbage and dent corn to harvest soon. Need to remember to harvest Rosemary and thyme as well.
New experiments this year were smoking chiles and making prepared horseradish. I wanted to make chipotles in adobo, but a) I have two huge cans I bought in New Mexico this spring and haven't opened, and b) not enough jalapenos made it to red to justify the effort. So I smoked a bunch of different ripe chiles, dried them the rest of the way in the dehydrator and ground to a powder. I also did a regular hot chile powder and a facsimile of Aleppo peppers. I did the horseradish two ways: preserved in vinegar and lacto-fermented. Both pretty damn hot; looking forward to slathering it on roast beef this winter and clearing out my sinuses.
This afternoon I pulled all of my canned goods out and organized them since I really need to figure out a sturdier shelving system that won't give out under the weight. It was kind of stunning seeing it all in once place (disclaimer, some of this is from previous years). Now I just need to remember to shop the pantry every week before heading to the grocery store.
(http://s127.photobucket.com/user/AQHAHunter/media/IMG_20161023_143118451_zpszepijuqf.jpg.html)
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Following for next year.
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I had a glut of hot peppers this year so I made sriracha. Easy, delicious, quite hot with a mix of red jalapenos, serranos, cayennes with garlic, vinegar, sugar salt. I also froze some bags of the fresh peppers which can be used when a fresh chili is called for. Crabapple jelly came out well, gelled! I have done a few bags of blanched kale this week to add to soups/stews; after cooling, I chop it up and bag in pint bags.
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Any suggestions for mandarins specifically? (I've noted the citrus suggestions above, thank you.)
Another one is orange peel in vinegar for cleaning.
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Hey, sorry I haven't had the time to be around the forum much this year. I'll try and keep up with this thread and maybe update the first posts with the additional ideas posted here.
I went a little crazy with jam making this year so a lot of my preserves will be given away as presents.
Had really mixed results with veggie preserving. Finding that I don't like many preserved summer veggies in any form other than peppers (chili, fajitas, etc) and tomato sauce. In the winter we tend to eat a lot of potatoes and carrots for veggies and greens purchased from the excellent winter farmers market.
I froze and canned a ton of green beans and don't love them. We'll eat some but some will get fed to the chickens and rabbits
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Commenting to follow- there is so much excellent information in this thread! thanks!
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MMM-ers. Here's a quickie. Beans: freeze fully cooked or freeze raw? I just need to get this surplus through another week before their destined use, but they won't make it in the fridge.
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MMM-ers. Here's a quickie. Beans: freeze fully cooked or freeze raw? I just need to get this surplus through another week before their destined use, but they won't make it in the fridge.
I'm assuming green beans? Trim, leave in longer pieces for best quality. Blanch in boiling water for 2-3 minutes. Cool as rapidly as possible (either ice bath or under running cold tap water). I freeze on a baking sheet and then pack into a big freezer bag so they dont freeze in a solid block.
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Sorry for the slow follow-up. Thanks! Yes, blanching seemed to be the key. Love the baking sheet solution for not ending up with a solid block.
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Sorry for the slow follow-up. Thanks! Yes, blanching seemed to be the key. Love the baking sheet solution for not ending up with a solid block.
Yep, freezing that way works for everything. Much better than taking a hammer to it later :)
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Sorry for the slow follow-up. Thanks! Yes, blanching seemed to be the key. Love the baking sheet solution for not ending up with a solid block.
Yep, freezing that way works for everything. Much better than taking a hammer to it later :)
In my experience, it's also worth the effort to pat or air dry the fruit/veg after blanching and before freezing them on trays. The final product is crisper and seems more like fresh. YMMV.
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Posting to follow. Starting to prepare for the upcoming season now.
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This year I decided to make mint tea bags for holiday gifts, and they were a hit. Simple enough, too: cut mint in late fall, dried on screens for a day or two, then stripped the leaves from the stems. Took a kitchen scissors to the dried leaves to make the pieces more manageable for bagging. Bought a pack of unbleached paper tea bags from Amazon (cheap) and filled them. I could fit two or three of these into an envelope with a holiday card for small gifts, but for bigger gifts I turned a couple of storebought paper tea cartons inside-out, then decorated the boxes as I liked.
I was inspired by this thread to not let the mint go to waste again at the end of the growing season. Thanks, fellow Mustachers!
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This year I decided to make mint tea bags for holiday gifts, and they were a hit. Simple enough, too: cut mint in late fall, dried on screens for a day or two, then stripped the leaves from the stems. Took a kitchen scissors to the dried leaves to make the pieces more manageable for bagging. Bought a pack of unbleached paper tea bags from Amazon (cheap) and filled them. I could fit two or three of these into an envelope with a holiday card for small gifts, but for bigger gifts I turned a couple of storebought paper tea cartons inside-out, then decorated the boxes as I liked.
I was inspired by this thread to not let the mint go to waste again at the end of the growing season. Thanks, fellow Mustachers!
Very cool. I need to dry my mint for the winter next year as even my kids like mint tea.
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I discovered lactofermented veggies and I truly want to preserve more of my garden this year. I canned a lot of tomato sauce and applesauce and I don't regret it as we are eating through my pantry a lot. I'm trying to sow under protection this year to get ahead as I'm in zone 5 and we have a short summer.
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This year I decided to make mint tea bags for holiday gifts, and they were a hit. Simple enough, too: cut mint in late fall, dried on screens for a day or two, then stripped the leaves from the stems. Took a kitchen scissors to the dried leaves to make the pieces more manageable for bagging. Bought a pack of unbleached paper tea bags from Amazon (cheap) and filled them. I could fit two or three of these into an envelope with a holiday card for small gifts, but for bigger gifts I turned a couple of storebought paper tea cartons inside-out, then decorated the boxes as I liked.
I was inspired by this thread to not let the mint go to waste again at the end of the growing season. Thanks, fellow Mustachers!
Very cool. I need to dry my mint for the winter next year as even my kids like mint tea.
I dried a bunch of mint (air dried, then fished in low, low, low oven). I just use it bulk for tea (mixed with other tea right now).
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Not sure if you have touched on this, but in the first post when you say dried blueberries are disappointing; you mean the American type? The European is a different species, and has much more flavour. It is also known as bilberry.
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Not sure if you have touched on this, but in the first post when you say dried blueberries are disappointing; you mean the American type? The European is a different species, and has much more flavour. It is also known as bilberry.
American, yes. Don't think I've ever seen the European species here.
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Started some carrots and cabbage for lactofermentation this week. If I like the taste of them and if they preserve well, I'll probably try a few pounds of each next autumn. :)
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I made a couple of herb-salt blends last year as Christmas presents, and am still getting compliments. Lemon zest dried into the herb-salts works great. Another use for citrus peels is to make your own lemon or orange extracts (easy recipes on the internet).
My first garden-yield project this year will probably be sorrel pesto.
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Does anyone know what fractionated coconut oil is? Could I just substitute coconut oil?
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Does anyone know what fractionated coconut oil is? Could I just substitute coconut oil?
A quick google search says fractionated coconut oil is a method of refining that makes it almost all medium chain triglycerides (MCT). Increased shelf life and some people think MCT oils are particularly good for low-carb diets, bulletproof coffee, etc.
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Not sure if this idea has already been mention...when canning tomatoes, save the skin. Put the skin in a dehydrator, then crisp use an old coffee grinder to turn to dust. I use the tomato dust in the winter to make a light tomato bullion (sp?) or to spike tomato taste/color in things like tomato soup, tomato sauce.
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Not sure if this idea has already been mention...when canning tomatoes, save the skin. Put the skin in a dehydrator, then crisp use an old coffee grinder to turn to dust. I use the tomato dust in the winter to make a light tomato bullion (sp?) or to spike tomato taste/color in things like tomato soup, tomato sauce.
Most of the sauce I make is for pizza. I don't mind the bits of skin and seed left when you immersion blend cooked tomatoes up, so even though I have a food mill that makes separating the skin easy, I've gotten even lazier :P
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Tomato season is there in my zone 5. Just canned 18 pints of salsa and probably will do a few quarts of tomato sauce next week! I bought a strainer attachment for my kitchen aid and I'll hope it will speed up the process.
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How was I never following this thread before? It's brilliant!
The past week has been all about pickling. So far, lots of cucumbers and green beans have been pickled. I also canned some salsa verde. Excited to try how it turned out, since I haven't used this recipe before!
I'm hoping to buy some local tomatoes if they're not killer expensive, and can a bunch of my own tomato products. I can't hope to touch the level we use in a year right now, but I'd like to start working toward that goal!
Oh, I also see that "asparagus" is still blank on the second post. The BEST way to preserve asparagus is pickling it! =) It's really lovely. Assuming you like pickled things.
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I'm hoping to buy some local tomatoes if they're not killer expensive, and can a bunch of my own tomato products. I can't hope to touch the level we use in a year right now, but I'd like to start working toward that goal!
September is usually when tomatoes get stupid cheap by me. At my farmer's markets, usually they get down to about $1.50/lb for Roma types at the peak season, $1/lb for bigger, less meaty types. You could also look around for a u-pick farm. There's one in my area that does a few different veggies including tomatoes for u-pick. Localharvest is one place to look, a few other directories are out there.
Growing your own is the only way to get really cheap tomatoes. I'll have $1-$1.50 per plant between seeds, potting mix, and electricity for the grow lights and a good paste plant will give you at least 3-4 pounds, sometimes quite a bit more. Some greenhouses will get you starts for purchase that cheap, but I like having more variety. Lately I'm really liking what I call "dual purpose" tomatoes - ones that are meaty enough to be good for sauce, but unlike most Romas, they have the taste and texture that's good for fresh eating too.
There's an independent plant breeder in OR near you called Peace Seedlings that has really good strains of Amish Paste and one they call Andean Paste. Mr. Fumarole (FedCo exclusive) and Speckled Roman (Johnny's) have both impressed me as well. A pure paste like Heinz 2653 gives you bigger yields but they're rubbish for fresh eating.
Oh, I also see that "asparagus" is still blank on the second post. The BEST way to preserve asparagus is pickling it! =) It's really lovely. Assuming you like pickled things.
I haven't modified the posts in a while. I'm not a pickle person but that is a good suggestion. I'll try to remember to update things at some point.
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Thanks for the tips! I've only ever grown slicer varieties, so this is new territory for me. Sadly, my garden space was constrained this year, so I only have 3 tomato plants in- an early girl, an oregon spring, and a cherry tomato called matt's wild cherry.
Thinking this year I'll need to buy paste tomatoes. In the future, I plan to rip out my front lawn and put more beds in there, but for now I'm dealing with 6 little raised beds (like 3'x5'), and one of them is given over to herbs.
I'll also know for next year a better rotation- this year I didn't have a very good master plan in place!
I hadn't heard of Peace Seedlings, I'll look them up. Thanks!
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At our house, tomatoes that are made into sauce never get peeled. Everything goes in the pot except the stem end if it is large. About halfway through the cooking process I use the immersion blender to chop up everything. Waste not, want not!
Basic tomato sauce recipe:
1-2 Tbs Olive Oil
1 Onion, diced
2 Carrots, diced (Optional)
2 Sticks Celery, diced (Optional)
1-2 Bell Peppers (Optional)
1-2 Hot Peppers (Very Optional! I like it, DW does not)
3-5 Cloves Garlic, diced (Optional I guess but required for me)
A few pounds (5+?) of Tomatoes, any kind. Rough chopped if large
Italian Seasoning
Fresh Basil
Salt
Black Pepper
Note: I do not really measure anything I just dump it in until it looks right.
- Saute the Onions in the Olive Oil until just translucent. Reduce heat a bit.
- Add Carrots, Celery, Garlic and Peppers.
- Start adding Tomatoes. Cherries go in whole, bigger ones get stems removed and rough chopped.
- Add seasoning to taste. I like a big handful of fresh basil, 1-2 Tbs Italian seasoning, a couple of shakes of salt (1/2 tsp?) and some black pepper (1/2 tsp?).
- Once the Tomatoes start releasing their juices and the whole mix starts to bubble, reduce heat to a medium simmer.
- After about 30 minutes or so, process with immersion blender until smooth.
- Simmer for another 30 to 90 minutes or until it is cooked down to your desired consistency. The cooking time will vary quite a bit depending on the tomatoes used and the consistency desired.
Freeze, can or eat. Makes about 1/2 of my big pot when done (2+ quarts or so)
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I had lots of plum tomatoes needing to be dealt with this weekend, but didn't want to can as I'm working on deep-cleaning the house.
Sliced them in half and threw them into the dehydrator until they're still soft, but about 1/4 of original size. These are very useful in the winter for throwing into casseroles and soups, or rehydrating to make tomato sauce.
I also peeled quite a bit of garlic and buzzed it in the food processor with some olive oil and froze it in ice cube trays. My homegrown garlic tends to go bad before I use it, so trying to circumvent that, and it makes cooking with "fresh" garlic way easier on weeknights. I still have many, many heads to go though!
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I've been really pleased with the tomato salsa recipe from this pdf: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/fch/sites/default/files/documents/pnw_395_salsarecipesforcanning.pdf (http://extension.oregonstate.edu/fch/sites/default/files/documents/pnw_395_salsarecipesforcanning.pdf) I had slicer tomatoes from my garden. It's a little on the thin side, but it reminds me a lot of herdez salsa, which I am a huge fan of!
I'll be trying the paste tomato recipe today.
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I personally prefer to dehydrate all of my tomatoes these days and then make small batches of sauce by rehydrating as I need them.
My personal sauce recipe is per quart of appropriately thickened tomatoes:
1 tsp each garlic powder, basil, salt (if using fresh garlic, 4-6 cloves minced, sauteed in some olive oil with the red pepper)
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp red pepper
a short pour of red wine if you want to
But tomato sauce is a highly personal thing :)
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Somehow I previously missed this thread. I'm an urban canner with a 2 person household, so I'm not going to do the high volume most of you do, but I've been more serious about it this year. Earlier this summer, I picked blackberries, raspberries and blueberries and canned 16 pints of blackberry, raspberry and 3 berry (with blueberry, which is the best!) jam. I then canned a few pints of pickled sweet peppers, a few pints of plum halves with vanilla and a few of sliced nectarines and peaches with lemon honey. For small batch canning ideas, I often turn to a local food blog, http://foodinjars.com/ (http://foodinjars.com/). I've also done several quarts of refrigerator pickles.
The other thing I've done that I haven't seen mentioned is making shrub syrups and fruit vinegars. I've been making red wine vinegar for a few years, so I used that as my vinegar for the shrub syrups (raspberry, cherry and blackberry), and I also used a bit to kickstart some blackberry vinegar (http://hipgirls.squarespace.com/blog/2013/5/4/home-fermented-strawberry-vinegar.html (http://hipgirls.squarespace.com/blog/2013/5/4/home-fermented-strawberry-vinegar.html) was my guide). I was especially thrilled to get every possible drop out of the blackberries: I first mashed them with sugar for the shrub syrup, then when I had strained off the liquid, I used the sugary pulp a 2nd time to make fruit vinegar. I am definitely planning to make my own apple cider vinegar from applesauce leftovers later in the season!
We just got back from vacation, so this weekend I'm hoping to get back to the Upick farm for more peaches, raspberries, apples and maybe grapes.
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Very cool!
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For small batch canning ideas, I often turn to a local food blog, http://foodinjars.com/ (http://foodinjars.com/). I've also done several quarts of refrigerator pickles.
Thanks for the link, it looks interesting.
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Yesterday I spent the day canning tomato sauce with my brother at his house. We did four bushels. Last year we did six and got about the same amount as this year.
One innovation to our system was using the bbq. We load the entire grill and warming rack with the washed tomatoes. They steamed in their skin and really reduced the amount of moisture. The weirdest thing is that the juice on the trays of the cooked whole tomatoes was jelling like jam - I have never seen that before. That goodness went straight into the sauce. We also added roasted pepper, onion and garlic to the sauce. My brother likes to use his kitchenaid mix stand for juicing but I really dislike listening to it so I manned the bbq. We processed the jars outside near the bbq and it all worked really well.
Next year I think we should core the tomatoes before we cook them. This year was our second year working together. And it goes so much faster.
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Gleaned six pounds of tasty apples (not sure of variety - kind of tasted like a Fuji but not quite sweet enough) from an old apple tree on a nearby commercial lot. Canned three pints of spiced applesauce them. We don't really eat applesauce neat but I like to sub for oil when making less indulgent baked goods.
Anybody got good suggestions for prepping large amounts of apples? I'd love to do more but I'm getting paring knife blisters. I've thought about getting one of those spinny peel-and-core-and-slice doodads but they seem really wasteful. Thinking about switching to a regular peeler, and saving the skins for apple cider vinegar.
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I have one of these:
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/G/01/aplusautomation/vendorimages/a0691c47-76cd-4d8b-8146-6b15103416ab.jpg._CB275002941__SR285,285_.jpg)
Yeah, it's a uni-tasker and really only gets used ~3 months of the year, but it's SO MUCH QUICKER. I also see these at Goodwill pretty much every time I'm there.
I don't usually peel apples for sauce, I'll just cook them down with skins and then take a stick blender to the whole thing.
For waste, I don't think the cores from the peeler gadget are any larger than normal, but you could cut off any usable parts and throw them in your mix and you'd probably still save time over hand-slicing and peeling.
When I do use the peeling part of the gadget, I then take the peel strips, toss them with cinnamon sugar and bake for 5-8 minutes until toasted. Delicious, fiber-filled snack.
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I also don't peel apples for sauce. I like a "rustic chunky apple" type sauce, but that wouldn't work for baked goods =)
Merula- I like the toasted peels idea.
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I don't usually peel apples for sauce, I'll just cook them down with skins and then take a stick blender to the whole thing.
....
When I do use the peeling part of the gadget, I then take the peel strips, toss them with cinnamon sugar and bake for 5-8 minutes until toasted. Delicious, fiber-filled snack.
Genius! I'll leave the peels on for the next batch. DH was side-eyeing the wasted fiber haha.
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Some of you may enjoy this article I wrote:
https://www.nwedible.com/its-okay-to-be-a-homesteader-and-hate-canning/
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I haven’t joined this post before. So many great ideas!
We ended the season with 7 lbs of green tomatoes, so I tried out this recipe: http://montanahomesteader.com/green-tomato-salsa-verde/ It’s great! I’m going to make more and can it.
We also harvested tons of hot peppers, and I’m going to make some hot sauce for Christmas gifts.
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Has anyone ever pickled kohlrabi? I see cauliflower in pickled veg mixes and i’m Thinking it should work fine for kohlrabi too.
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Has anyone ever pickled kohlrabi? I see cauliflower in pickled veg mixes and i’m Thinking it should work fine for kohlrabi too.
I've not done it because I don't like pickles but it can definitely be done. Pickling turnips, which are similar, is quite common in Asian countries.
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Has anyone ever pickled kohlrabi? I see cauliflower in pickled veg mixes and i’m Thinking it should work fine for kohlrabi too.
Since kohlrabi is mutated cabbage (same as cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and broccoli) and people pickle cabbage all the time, I would think there's got to be something out there.
My preferred kohlrabi preparation is roasted, though.
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Thanks for the thoughts. Spouse loves pickles, so picking the kohlrabi (refrigerator pickles) is a way to use it / preserve it.
I did use some in Cole slaw, along with cabbage - but it is harder to eat that much Cole slaw....
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My favorite way to preserve fruit other than drying them is to can them into pie filling. You do it with water bath canning and you need to use a modified cornstarch for canning.
I make apple pie filling, cherry pie filling, strawberry rhubarb, raspberry, and blueberry lime. It makes desserts during the holiday season so much easier.
If you don't to make a pie crust the stuff is amazing on ice cream.
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Hi all,
I would like to get into canning but I'm a little bit scared of poisoning myself or alternatively blowing up the house. I would mainly make jam & pickles and preserve fruit and tomatoes, so if I stick to only those, would a waterbath be sufficient?
The reason I ask now is that I've seen a second hand electric water bath for sale for a really good price, it's a whole kit including a dozen pint size ball mason jars and lots of other equipment for AU$80. The ad says 'used once'. I like the electric option because I can put it outside and not heat the house.
Cheers
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Hi all,
I would like to get into canning but I'm a little bit scared of poisoning myself or alternatively blowing up the house. I would mainly make jam & pickles and preserve fruit and tomatoes, so if I stick to only those, would a waterbath be sufficient?
The reason I ask now is that I've seen a second hand electric water bath for sale for a really good price, it's a whole kit including a dozen pint size ball mason jars and lots of other equipment for AU$80. The ad says 'used once'. I like the electric option because I can put it outside and not heat the house.
Cheers
Yes, absolutely. With a couple exceptions all fruit is high acid so safe to waterbath can. Tomatoes as well, though because some low acid varieties exist, here in the US safe canning guidelines recommend adding some acid (typically people use powdered citric acid, as it’s very flavor neutral compared to lemon juice or vinegar) to ensure pH is fully below the threshold.
In general, fruit (as long as it’s a high acid fruit) you can really be inventive with canning and be completely safe. You don’t have to stick to established recipes. Zero sugar, lower sugar, a certain amount of spices, a bit of alcohol, etc.
NWEdible.com is a good resource for learning about safe canning practices. Another good one is here: http://nchfp.uga.edu/ Note that the official US safety guidelines are probably the strictest official canning guidelines of any country. There are approved recipes in Europe and elsewhere that aren’t considered safe here, so YMMV.
If Canning for A New Generation is available there, that’s a fun book that gives you some very different recipes compared to the ones you’ll see on Ball’s website or the NCHFP linked above. NWEdible also has some very cool stuff, Erica is a very inventive canner.
@deborah does a lot of canning, maybe she can chime in for an Aussie perspective.
Don’t be scared of pressure canning if you get hooked on canning, but it’s best to learn waterbath canning first anyways :) Please ask away with any follow up questions!
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Thanks for the tips, I'm buying the waterbath! The mason jars alone that come with it cost $30 new over here so it's a great deal. Hopefully by next weekend I'll be testing it out with some jam.
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We've gotten into the habit of canning over Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day weekend (last weekend in May and first weekend in September, for non-USians). This weekend (Mem Day) is usually stock (mainly chicken or turkey, depending on what carcasses we have in the freezer). We just finished pressure canning 18 quarts of beautiful, golden chicken stock. Once it cools down from molten lava stage we'll label and bring it down to the root cellar. :-D
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I'm hoping to buy some local tomatoes if they're not killer expensive, and can a bunch of my own tomato products. I can't hope to touch the level we use in a year right now, but I'd like to start working toward that goal!
September is usually when tomatoes get stupid cheap by me. At my farmer's markets, usually they get down to about $1.50/lb for Roma types at the peak season, $1/lb for bigger, less meaty types. You could also look around for a u-pick farm. There's one in my area that does a few different veggies including tomatoes for u-pick. Localharvest is one place to look, a few other directories are out there.
Growing your own is the only way to get really cheap tomatoes. I'll have $1-$1.50 per plant between seeds, potting mix, and electricity for the grow lights and a good paste plant will give you at least 3-4 pounds, sometimes quite a bit more. Some greenhouses will get you starts for purchase that cheap, but I like having more variety. Lately I'm really liking what I call "dual purpose" tomatoes - ones that are meaty enough to be good for sauce, but unlike most Romas, they have the taste and texture that's good for fresh eating too.
There's an independent plant breeder in OR near you called Peace Seedlings that has really good strains of Amish Paste and one they call Andean Paste. Mr. Fumarole (FedCo exclusive) and Speckled Roman (Johnny's) have both impressed me as well. A pure paste like Heinz 2653 gives you bigger yields but they're rubbish for fresh eating.
Oh, I also see that "asparagus" is still blank on the second post. The BEST way to preserve asparagus is pickling it! =) It's really lovely. Assuming you like pickled things.
I haven't modified the posts in a while. I'm not a pickle person but that is a good suggestion. I'll try to remember to update things at some point.
I have also had great luck asking market vendors if they ever sell bushels of seconds. I have even ordered them for pickup the next week at the same market. If you live near a farmer, just stop by and ask.
1 bad spot and they will never sell the tomato, but just cut out that spot and it is great for canning. Farmers will often gather them if they have a buyer, otherwise, they sometimes just leave them lay to rot. Just make sure if there is any rot you remove a large swath around it. Your nose is your friend here. Always let these jars sit a while before using. If they spoil, it will pop the top and you know it went bad.
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Apples
You have two main options here. First is to dry slices and make chips. If you don't have a dehydrator, I highly recommend the large Excalibur models. They're pricey but well worth it if you plan to preserve many things. Remove any bruises/blemishes, core, then slice 1/4" with a chef's knife. (Mandolines don't work very well because of the skin.) An apple corer can also cut ring slices quite effectively.
The second choice is canning applesauce. I'll get into the details further as I update.
FWIW I've had decent success using some old-time Yankee-style methods of storing and eating whole apples for a several months.
First, we harvest one bushel of tart apples (sweet apples break down quickly) in September. "Empire" is the variety that our local Rhode Island orchard (Narrow Land Orchard, North Kingstown) grows that is on the tart side. Very important to keep the stem on! If it comes off, eat the apple early. Be very gentle in handling! The slightest impact can bruise them badly and spoil the whole apple over time.
Second, we wrap each apple in a bit of newspaper. The line about "one bad apple spoils the bunch" is true! Wrapping them ensures that if one spoils you don't get a big mess that actually spoils a bunch of apples. Wrapping 100 apples is boring work, but it's become a fall family "tradition" like canning.
Third, we store them upside-down in a cool place. Storing them upside-down is easy. Finding a consistently cool place can be tricky in a modern home since few people have root cellars any more. Good luck on that one!
These keep until about January-Feburary. I have eaten these in March but they're on their last legs then. Spoilage rate is usually around 5-10%. I need better storage for them...I know the bags I keep them in don't offer the best protection from bruising.
Hope this is helpful!
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Peaches
I haven't tried preserving these. From eating preserved products, drying, freezing, and canning are all equally good options. The first two will preserve more nutritional value.
I buy a half-bushel to bushel of peaches every August from our local orchard (Narrow Land Farm, Kingston, RI). $60 for a bushel...about $1/lb. Processing them is a pain but I realized this year that packing them carefully so that the peach-halves lay on top of each other ensures I can get way more fruit into the jar. This cuts down on the actual canning time.
And, man, there is nothing like the taste of an August peach in a February peach pie when it's 5 degrees outside. It feels like cheating death or something!
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Zucchini relish is one more option for preserving and for some of the inevitable excess. It can be water-bath canned, and it makes a good gift.
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This year we planted a Purple Tomatillo (https://specialtyproduce.com/produce/Purple_Tomatillos_481.php) plant as a novelty item in our garden, and it's actually done really well. I don't see much love for Tomatillos in general in this thread, so I thought I'd chime in.
I have no experience in preserving them, but a friend told me to de-husk them, rinse them, and then freeze. I first froze them in a single layer (on a small cookie sheet lined with parchment paper), and once frozen threw them together in a bag.
I like making Pork Green Chili in the winter, so I'll report back later this year to see how a Green/Purple Chili comes out!
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Still drying aaaall the roma tomatoes.
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Some apple varieties are best in root cellars, Arkansas black will keep for a year. Others like Macoun won't store, so dehydrated chips or applesauce, don't sweeten it and add a tablespoon of lemon juice, add sugar and cinnamon when you open it.
Tomato puree, add TBLS of lemon juice and you can it in boiling water. Very easy.
Winter squash, wash the outside with 10% bleach solution and they will keep for up to two years. I did this with acorn squash when I had a productive year.
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This is a fun thread - love finding canners in the wild!
here in snowy New England what's in season right now is...bags and bags of potatoes on the Demoulas marked down produce cart lol so I spent these past couple gloomy days canning potatoes. Chipotle potatoes and Herbed potatoes from the "All New" Ball book - plus an experiment with steak-fry cut potatoes in beef broth with s&p and rosemary.
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Regarding preserving the lemon harvest: Please consider making lemon curd. I live in coastal California, and in winter there's a glut of lemons. I make lemon curd and ladle it into half pint jars, most of which I freeze. I then have a great homemade something on hand to give someone as a thank you or to gift to someone hosting a dinner or party. You can sweeten with either sugar or honey (and lots of other things, I imagine). Besides sweetener, other ingredients in the curd I make are eggs, lemon juice, lemon zest, and butter. People are always appreciative and often amazed. (You made this?!) It's incredibly easy and fast to make and very yummy on yogurt. Highly recommend.
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Regarding preserving the lemon harvest: Please consider making lemon curd. I live in coastal California, and in winter there's a glut of lemons. I make lemon curd and ladle it into half pint jars, most of which I freeze. I then have a great homemade something on hand to give someone as a thank you or to gift to someone hosting a dinner or party. You can sweeten with either sugar or honey (and lots of other things, I imagine). Besides sweetener, other ingredients in the curd I make are eggs, lemon juice, lemon zest, and butter. People are always appreciative and often amazed. (You made this?!) It's incredibly easy and fast to make and very yummy on yogurt. Highly recommend.
More appropriate for a "select few", but preserved lemons are also awesome! It's just lemon, salt, and time (and potentially more lemon juice, if necessary, to keep everything submerged), and winds up yummy and lemony and mellow.