| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| levisgrammy |
Posted - Jul 31 2013 : 10:24:01 AM
What are your favorite foods besides jams and jellies to put up?
Denise
Farmgirl Sister #43
"Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path."
Psalm 119:105
http://www.ladybugsandlilacs.blogspot.com/
http://www.torisgram.etsy.com |
| 25 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Lanna |
Posted - Aug 09 2013 : 3:40:28 PM
quote:
Originally posted by levisgrammy
Someone mentioned Spaghetti sauce. I have my grandmother's recipe for sauce and I think it might have ground beef in it. Do I have to do it in the pressure canner if I put the meat in? I always thought you have to do any meat that way but I know tomato products can be done in the water bath.
Tomato products, you can just add extra lemon juice to make sure they're acidic enough to water bath can.
Not so much with meat. So yes, you need to use the pressure canner for sauce with meat in it. I've tried it a few times, but haven't perfected the canned recipe enough (using my MIL's recipe, she simmers on the stove for hours to meld it, but pressure canning pretty much simmers it for that long anywho, and yeah, it's just one of those things I haven't messed around with a ton yet - after a few batches of burnt-tasting sauce, I shelved the project for a bit).
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Lanna, homeschooling mama to four little monkeys that still try to jump on the bed |
| levisgrammy |
Posted - Aug 09 2013 : 07:05:00 AM
Does anyone have a recipe on how to do tomato juice?
Denise
Farmgirl Sister #43
"Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path."
Psalm 119:105
http://www.ladybugsandlilacs.blogspot.com/
http://www.torisgram.etsy.com |
| levisgrammy |
Posted - Aug 09 2013 : 07:03:47 AM
Someone mentioned Spaghetti sauce. I have my grandmother's recipe for sauce and I think it might have ground beef in it. Do I have to do it in the pressure canner if I put the meat in? I always thought you have to do any meat that way but I know tomato products can be done in the water bath.
Denise
Farmgirl Sister #43
"Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path."
Psalm 119:105
http://www.ladybugsandlilacs.blogspot.com/
http://www.torisgram.etsy.com |
| levisgrammy |
Posted - Aug 09 2013 : 07:01:03 AM
Pears are usually ready more towards September here. Peaches are late here because of all the rain we've had. I make my applesauce and apple butter in the crockpot. So easy! Some I do unsweetend, some sweetened and spices added. I think I may try peach and pear butter this year.
Denise
Farmgirl Sister #43
"Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path."
Psalm 119:105
http://www.ladybugsandlilacs.blogspot.com/
http://www.torisgram.etsy.com |
| danyel |
Posted - Aug 09 2013 : 05:56:35 AM
Thank you, I can hardly wait to give it a try. I did buy vanilla beans at the grocery store (I did not know where else to look for them ) So I have them and I picked up some peaches, so in addition to the 40 dozen ears of corn we are putting up today I will be doing some peaches. Yum. I wonder is it early or late for pears? The peaches are early. But I was not looking for any pears before I saw your idea for vanilla bean. I might actually enjoy eating them canned.
Thank you
Danyel
Farmgirl sister 4202
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| Lanna |
Posted - Aug 09 2013 : 12:22:59 AM
Oh, I get my vanilla beans from Olive Nation. A blog friend has a discount code there, the beans (or bag of caviar - that was my last splurge!) are fabulous, and actually keep longer in the pantry than I expected. Even in the ziploc-like bag they're shipped in, after I've opened them. Much cheaper than ordering who knows what from ebay (I've had friends with varied results) or getting 4 beans from Costco for like $12.
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Lanna, homeschooling mama to four little monkeys that still try to jump on the bed |
| Lanna |
Posted - Aug 09 2013 : 12:21:10 AM
quote:
Originally posted by danyel
I have never heard of canning the peaches, pears, applesauce with vanilla bean, or honey vanilla, or of canning apple cider. It sounds so good, Does anyone have a recipe they would be willing to share for those items? I would love trying these new items for my canning shelf.
You just make a honey syrup instead of a sugar syrup (you can find ratios online, I tend to just wing it anymore once I start canning fruit and find my groove). Then add vanilla caviar (the little tiny bean things, not the pod) - either to the syrup or straight into the jar, whatever floats your boat. Yum.
Honey-vanilla bean pears are yummy, but honey peaches just don't keep their color as well as sugar syruped peaches, plus they have a tendency to end up with a little bit of a bite after hanging out in the honey for whatever reason. Not bad, just different.
Canning apple cider is the same as canning apple juice, whatever the water bath canning times are for your elevation. Only difference with the cider is that the sediment will settle out after canning/sitting. It'll still taste the same, but once it's canned it's basically pasteurized. Hence why we have frozen (basically raw) and canned on hand. I use a cloth and filter out the sediment, but that's just my own version of OCD so to speak. ;)
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Lanna, homeschooling mama to four little monkeys that still try to jump on the bed |
| danyel |
Posted - Aug 07 2013 : 12:31:38 PM
I have never heard of canning the peaches, pears, applesauce with vanilla bean, or honey vanilla, or of canning apple cider. It sounds so good, Does anyone have a recipe they would be willing to share for those items? I would love trying these new items for my canning shelf.
thank you.
Danyel
Farmgirl sister 4202 |
| levisgrammy |
Posted - Aug 03 2013 : 6:25:54 PM
Picked up some pickling cucumbers at the farm market today. They are on my agenda for Monday. I have to find my recipe for them. I know it's around here somewhere.
Denise
Farmgirl Sister #43
"Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path."
Psalm 119:105
http://www.ladybugsandlilacs.blogspot.com/
http://www.torisgram.etsy.com |
| Betty J. |
Posted - Aug 03 2013 : 10:08:12 AM
Found the recipe for Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate and it was on the Ball website. Thanks for the help.
Betty in Pasco |
| coccocolorado |
Posted - Aug 03 2013 : 09:52:02 AM
Thank you, ladies! I am glad to know that purchasing is just as honorable as growing to can!
Annie, I am so glad to know you tested negative! When Peter Pan had the salmonella outbreak, my daughter got it-hasn't been "right" since, before that, never a cold or anything.
I think we are all on the same page-knowing where our food comes from, eating as clean as possible, while supporting local-it's really the only way to live!
C
Farmgirl Sister #5348
City Girl
Country Heart |
| nndairy |
Posted - Aug 02 2013 : 5:15:56 PM
I love canning anything I can. It is so satisfying to get a jar of something I canned rather than bought. Last year was my first year canning. I canned tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, applesauce, peaches, and of course some jelly. This year I've added some salsa, pickles, cherries, and corn. I was going to can some peas, but I didn't have enough left after we ate some. I'll have to plant more next year. I'm thinking of trying some soups next.
Heather
Farmgirl Sister #4701
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| AnnieinIdaho |
Posted - Aug 02 2013 : 4:43:50 PM
HI Coccocolorado,
Yes, I did mention Costco. Since I live in the desert where it is just too hot to grow much and in the winter too cold to grow much, my gardening efforts are relegated to a few herbs. So Costco does carry produce in crates for low prices. In our area store much of the produce comes from the Central Valley in California (Modesto down to the Santa Maria area). If the prices are good I will buy items and can them or dehydrate them (i.e. mushrooms). I like dehydrating fresh mushrooms grown locally rather than buying them in the big bags from Asia. I try to only purchase USA foods. Costco does feature big frozen bags of organic berries which I make sure are from the Oregon and Northern Pacific farms. I can these items because running a freezer along with air conditioning in our triple digit weather is expensive. Just a note also, my sister in Michigan said their gardens were miserable results this year. It was a late Spring so the seeds got a late start and just as the growing was good it started to cloud up, rain and turn to fall temperatures way too soon. Last years strawberry crop was a bumper and she canned away and this year wow, she will only have a few jars of strawberries. So I am reliant on store produce for sure, but I try to pick and choose carefully being both health, safety and cost conscious. I have learned it is best to use a single source item i.e. all cherries, all blueberries, because the berry blends give you higher risks of contaminants. I was caught up in the multiberry frozen mix from Costco that many caught Hep A from. Luckily I tested negative and have no symptoms. IT was the pomegranate seeds in the mix. I am using this same theory in meat too. Better to pick a single steak out and grind it for a burger rather than use store bought blended hamburger meat from multiple animals in multiple countries all mixed together. It's getting to be a full time job this meal and food planning. And the safety and consciousness of it all hits you in the wallet. Best to you. Annie
"The turnings of life seldom show a sign-post; or rather, though the sign is always there, it is usually placed some distance back, like the notices that give warning of a bad hill or a level railway-crossing." Edith Wharton, 1913 from 'The Custom of the Country'. |
| levisgrammy |
Posted - Aug 02 2013 : 1:42:01 PM
I would love to can more blackberries and raspberries but even the u- pick here is so expensive for these. 
Denise
Farmgirl Sister #43
"Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path."
Psalm 119:105
http://www.ladybugsandlilacs.blogspot.com/
http://www.torisgram.etsy.com |
| Lanna |
Posted - Aug 02 2013 : 12:37:41 PM
quote:
Originally posted by coccocolorado
Since my first attempt at a garden was *ahem* less than successful, I do not have anything to can! But I did see someone mention Costco? Do you buy in bulk and then can as well? That might be an option for me to at least try my hand at it.
Therein lies the beauty of u-pick farms and roadside stands and whatnot.  My hubby drives down to the nearish banana belt where they grow a *ton* of produce (we visit the same stands our local grocery store does, they mark that stuff up a lot!). I haven't been able to keep a peach tree alive in my yard yet, so we get 15 boxes from that area. My garden is just weeds this year because my kids have been less than helpful (mostly my 3yo), so I have a CSA and my usual u-pick haunts that I frequent. The kids know where the strawberry farm is, where the blueberry farm is, where the corn/pumpkin/green bean farm is, they get used to it.
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Lanna, homeschooling mama to four little monkeys that still try to jump on the bed |
| hudsonsinaf |
Posted - Aug 02 2013 : 06:50:55 AM
C - you asked about buying in bulk and then canning. My opinion is Absolutely, if I trust the source :) We are part of a CSA (there is no way I can grow enough produce where we live right now to sustain our family all year!) and I buy extras through them to can, especially tomatoes. We also go pick fruits from various orchards throughout the year and can those products - including strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, peaches, and apples. My kiddos love the picking experience and look forward to going each year, and they also enjoy helping me can the foods! My almost 10 yo dd knows how to both water bath and pressure can, though I still prefer to be in the kitchen while she's doing it! She is also extremely proficient at dehydrating and freezing - those I let her do on her own :) |
| coccocolorado |
Posted - Aug 02 2013 : 06:40:14 AM
Since my first attempt at a garden was *ahem* less than successful, I do not have anything to can! But I did see someone mention Costco? Do you buy in bulk and then can as well? That might be an option for me to at least try my hand at it.
I too would LOVE to see the cowboy candy recipe! My SIL-to-be's Dad puts up the best pepper jelly-we are going to use little jars for wedding favors! (along with some Maine maple syrup!)
C
Farmgirl Sister #5348
City Girl
Country Heart |
| hudsonsinaf |
Posted - Aug 02 2013 : 06:16:34 AM
Lanna - I didn't know you could can tallow! How awesome! I just put mine in ice cube trays in the freezer and then pop them out into gallon size freezer bags. I love to use my tallow in place of oil for veggies that are for a beef stir fry, and for cheaper cuts of beef that I really want to add some more flavor to. Rendering the tallow really intensifies the "beefy-ness" of the dish, naturally. |
| Lanna |
Posted - Aug 02 2013 : 12:37:34 AM
quote:
Originally posted by levisgrammy
What are your favorite foods besides jams and jellies to put up?
Oh my stars. I think a better question would be what *don't* we put up. 
Peaches - plain sugar syrup, vanilla bean sugar syrup (winner!), honey vanilla bean syrup.
Pears - plain sugar syrup, vanilla bean sugar syrup, honey vanilla bean syrup (winner! sooo good).
My grandma's secret recipe relish.
Diced tomatoes.
Roma sauce.
Chicken stock.
Bacon bits.
Turkey stock.
Green beans.
Corn.
Carrot coins, or baby carrots (whatever I find/feel like).
Green beans.
Grape juice.
Apple cider (canned and frozen - I just ran out of freezer space one year).
Tuna, but my last batch was pre-Fukushima - luckily it was a *long* week of canning so it lasts a while. Not sure if we'll do it again considering the fallout...
Lard.
Bacon grease.
Beef stock.
This year there shall be tallow, even though I'm not sure what I'll do with it yet (but it shall be mine!).
Vanilla honey applesauce.
Grape-applesauce.
Strawberry applesauce.
Vanilla sugar applesauce.
Unsweetened applesauce.
Corn.
Vegetable stock.
Need to re-stock my stash of sliced, canned apples (crisps! muffins! breads!).
Trying a knockoff Bush's Beans recipe this week or so.
Trying out canning blueberries, like the book Blueberries for Sal (that we've read for school).
Still undecided whether I want to try canning Elderberry Syrup or not this year - the canning probably denatures the honey's medicinal properties.
And kidney beans, haven't canned any of those up yet - strawberry jam took precedence.
Also trying out homemade pectin - my kids and the neighbor kids have been playing with the apples from our tree (that won't be ripe for like 2 months), so I just started making them pick 'em so they won't be wasted or, ahem, thrown at cars. Sigh. Another one of my examples of harnessing that energy for good and not evil. 
In the past I've also canned minced garlic, strawberry-lemonade/cherry-limeade concentrates, beef stew, chicken bits.
I'm bummed we missed cherries this year - I just didn't feel comfortable taking all the kids into the orchards on 95-100* days to pick for hours. I *might* be able to handle it, but they wouldn't handle it very well, at all.
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Lanna, homeschooling mama to four little monkeys that still try to jump on the bed |
| hudsonsinaf |
Posted - Aug 01 2013 : 5:11:49 PM
If not, let me know and I'll send it to you! |
| Betty J. |
Posted - Aug 01 2013 : 08:28:45 AM
Thanks for the response. I don't have the latest Ball Blue Book, but maybe the one I have has it in it.
Betty in Pasco |
| hudsonsinaf |
Posted - Aug 01 2013 : 01:05:39 AM
Betty - The strawberry Lemonade Concentrate recipe is from the Balls Complete Book of Home Preserving, I'm pretty sure. For my crew, I had to reduce the amount of sugar, but it is super yummy!
Beth - May I get the recipe for the Cowboy Candy? That sounds super yummy!
Annie - I hope our Costco here has some cherries!!! That is one thing I would love to pick, but cannot find around here! |
| Betty J. |
Posted - Jul 31 2013 : 9:15:47 PM
Since I only put by for myself, I find those new lightweight containers a real find. So far this year I've only put by peaches and raspberries and a couple of tubs of cherries. The still will taste yummy this winter. I'm hoping my tomatoes come through. I can't believe how good they are in soups after being frozen.
I'd like to know where to find the strawberry lemonade concentrate recipe.
Betty in Pasco |
| Hoosiermom |
Posted - Jul 31 2013 : 8:06:24 PM
Cowboy Candy (candied jalapeno's)...there are hit! Sweet & hot all at the same time. Great to add a little something to just about anything you eat.
Beth |
| levisgrammy |
Posted - Jul 31 2013 : 4:26:22 PM
So glad to hear what everyone does! Lots of yummy things. I need to find a salsa recipe. My dh loves the stuff!
Denise
Farmgirl Sister #43
"Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path."
Psalm 119:105
http://www.ladybugsandlilacs.blogspot.com/
http://www.torisgram.etsy.com |
