Canning, Freezing, and Dehydrating 2013

[Michelle_Nelson]

So who else on here over plants there garden or buys produce in bulk to Preserve for when things are out of season or more expensive?  My Grandma and Mom canned for as long as I can remember.  I didn't get into it until about 5 years ago. 

I've tried several different things.  *Peaches, *Tuna, *Bear cubes, *Beef cubes, *Pineapple, *Fruit Cocktail, *Strawberry Jam, *Peach Jam, *Blackberry Jam, *Corn, *Pickled Beets, and *Bread and Butter Pickles, *Tomato's, *Spaghetti Sauce, and *Cherries. 

I thought that for those of us who are into Preserving this would be a good spot to share ideas, recipes, and ask questions.

 


 

[Michelle_Nelson]

Here is some Pineapple that I canned on 6/8/2013.  Fred Meyer had Pineapple on sale for $1 each.  Normally $3.79 each.  I ended up with 25 Pints and 11 Half Pints. 

[Sumpnneedskillin]

I froze 12 cups of rhubarb that I harvested from the garden.  Rhubarb crisp in winter is great!

[Fl0und3rz]

I like making spaghetti sauce and soups in huge batches and canning for quick and easy home cooked meals.

[NRA4LIFE]

One thing I did last year by necessity was to freeze onions.  I had a bumper crop of them last year but for some reason they weren't keeping well and starting to get rotten.  I chopped them up and vacuum sealed them and then in the freezer.  That turned out to be real handy when making dishes that use cooked onions.  Open up a bag, dump them in and your done.

Michelle,

Try dehydrating some pineapple next time.  Slice about 3/8" thick into bite sized nuggets and dry.  It takes a while but the result is like eating candy.

[nocklehead]

Hey Bearpaw, wheres this DIY forum weve heard about?


I can all kinds of stuff, 2 years ago I got a pressure canner and have even done some meat canning!
Next project on the list is to go to the U-pick farm and get 20lbs of strawberries soon for jam canning!

[Michelle_Nelson]

I picked Strawberries this pasr Friday.  Make sure you can your strawberries the same day you pick.  I put mine in the frig over night and the next day when I made jam I had to throw out 1/3 of them.

[SCRUBS]

Wish I wouldn`t have missed the Pineapples for $1. They are awesome dehydrated.

[sirmissalot]

Canned pineapple is a great idea, I also love them dehydrated.

I didn't know you could freeze onions I have been wanting to figure out a way to preserve walla walla sweet onions.

[robodad]

I picked Strawberries this pasr Friday.  Make sure you can your strawberries the same day you pick.  I put mine in the frig over night and the next day when I made jam I had to throw out 1/3 of them.

At least clean, slice and mix with some of the sugar the same day then refrigerate overnite to mascerate. IMO it makes better jam, also don't use the lemon zest if your recipe calls for it unless you like the tart flavor in your jam !!

Also...if anyone is looking for quart size jars, someone thought I needed 14 boxes of them so come and get some, I'll never use that many !!!

[hoyt5199]

  We do applesauce, and blackberry jam. This year we plan on doing strawberry and raspberry jam, freeze corn and maybe do applesauce again. Also may can some pink salmon.

[pope]

I feel sorry for anybody who has never had home-canned foods. The taste is out of this world, compared to what can be bought off the shelf. My wife is working on strawberry jam right now; my parents are growing black raspberries which aren't ready yet but make the best tasting jelly on the planet. My personal favorite is peaches, canned with the pit. My gosh, they are like nectar from Heaven!

[Southpole]

We're big on canned green beans, stewed tomatoes, sauerkraut and some wild game. Last year I took the peelings from the tomatoes (there is a lot of juice left on those things), ran them through the juicer along with celery, onions, carrots, parsley, garlic, cilantro, jalapenos, salt and lemon juice. Put it all in a big pot on the stove, brought it up to almost a boil, fill up jam jars and processed in the pressure cooker. V-8 and Snap-e-tom has nothing on me! That was the best tomato/vegetable juice ever! We serve the best red beers and bloody marys in the valley.

[Michelle_Nelson]

I canned some Mixed Fruit Cocktail last week.

Mixed Fruit Cocktail (makes about 6 Pint Jars)

3lbs Peaches
3lbs Pears
1.5lbs slightly underripe seedless Green Grapes
10oz Jar Maraschino Cherries
3 Cups Sugar
4 Cups Water


Stem and wash grapes and put in an anti-darkening solution.  Dip Ripe but firm Peaches, a few at a time, in boiling water for 60 to 90 seconds to loosen skins.  Dip in cold water and slip off skins.  Cut into 1/2'' pieces and place in anti-darkening solution with grapes.  Peel, halve, and core pears.  Cut into 1/2" pieces and place in solution with peaches and grapes.

Combine sugar and water in a sauce pan and bring to a boil.  Remove fruit from anti-darkening solution and drain well.  Add 1/2 cup of hot syrup to each hot jar.  Then fill each jar 1/2" from the top with a few cherries and fruit mix.  Fill jars with remaining syrup leaving 1/2" head space.  Remove air bubbles.  Wipe Jar Rims.  Adjust Lids. 

Process in a Boiling Water Bath canner for 20 minutes

The Jar on the left has Cherries in it.  Thats why it is a light pink.  The one on the let does not have Cherries in it.

[Michelle_Nelson]

Homemade Low Sugar Strawberry Jam.     Went to Spooners and picked them.  Nothing better than hamemade strawberry jam made from fresh picked strawberries.