Showing posts with label canning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label canning. Show all posts
Apples Matter -- Canning Homemade Applesauce
1/22/10: Canning Applesauce
During the week, Annemarie made some applesauce meatloaf (applesauce makes the BEST meatloaf, don't you know) and I discovered that we were out of our homemade canned applesauce. Uh oh! So on Friday I was ready to stockpile.
I chose to use a combination of our Jonathan and Northern Spy varieties. We kept them in the cooler since Fall and they are still very crisp and easy to peel! Yay! I also decided to make a few pints of apple butter because, well. . . I just love that stuff. :)
Some Notes for Rebekah: I used the baking and electric beater method for the apples. The oven temperature hovered around 350F and it took about three and a half hours to bake. No problem with that because I didn't have to keep a close eye on them! I used two of the steamer trays (a large and small) and I kept on refilling them as time went on. I used the hot water bath to can and they need 20 minutes in the bath. I filled them up leaving 1/2" headspace. I made about 9 and 1/2 quarts of sauce and about 4 pints of apple butter. All of them sealed. I used the apple butter recipe (one recipe only) found on simplyrecipe.com and I omitted the cloves and lemon and used only 1 cup of sugar.
I tried the apple sauce and I can honestly say that the Jonathan and Northern Spy work wonderfully together. There is never a need to add a teaspoon of sugar when these two come along!
My sister Catherine sent me these pics via email and left a note along with them. It read, "Sweat and tears were put into each and every one of these jars." :) Aw, that's sweet. Usually you will find those two evident during the canning process but because it is January I was glad to have a warm, sauna-like kitchen this time!
During the week, Annemarie made some applesauce meatloaf (applesauce makes the BEST meatloaf, don't you know) and I discovered that we were out of our homemade canned applesauce. Uh oh! So on Friday I was ready to stockpile.
I chose to use a combination of our Jonathan and Northern Spy varieties. We kept them in the cooler since Fall and they are still very crisp and easy to peel! Yay! I also decided to make a few pints of apple butter because, well. . . I just love that stuff. :)
Some Notes for Rebekah: I used the baking and electric beater method for the apples. The oven temperature hovered around 350F and it took about three and a half hours to bake. No problem with that because I didn't have to keep a close eye on them! I used two of the steamer trays (a large and small) and I kept on refilling them as time went on. I used the hot water bath to can and they need 20 minutes in the bath. I filled them up leaving 1/2" headspace. I made about 9 and 1/2 quarts of sauce and about 4 pints of apple butter. All of them sealed. I used the apple butter recipe (one recipe only) found on simplyrecipe.com and I omitted the cloves and lemon and used only 1 cup of sugar.
I tried the apple sauce and I can honestly say that the Jonathan and Northern Spy work wonderfully together. There is never a need to add a teaspoon of sugar when these two come along!
My sister Catherine sent me these pics via email and left a note along with them. It read, "Sweat and tears were put into each and every one of these jars." :) Aw, that's sweet. Usually you will find those two evident during the canning process but because it is January I was glad to have a warm, sauna-like kitchen this time!
I'm in a Sweet Pickle
9/29/09: Canning Sweet Pickle Relish
The day after I did the tomato puree with the pressure canner, I canned some sweet pickle relish. My family uses this relish on hot dogs mostly, but I love to add it to a ham sandwich every now and then!
The recipe came from the Ball Blue Book of Preserving, like the one seen here. I have the 2005 edition. I did four times the recipe. . . Well, sort of. I did kind of change some amounts (like the sugar) so I'll state my version of the recipe here:
4 quarts cucumbers OR pickles (ground, using the food processor)
2 quarts onions
2 quarts bell peppers
1 cup salt
4 cups sugar
4 tablespoons celery seed
4 tablespoons mustard seed
2 quarts apple cider vinegar, with 5% acidity.
Combine cucumbers, onions, peppers, in a large bowl; sprinkle with salt and cover with cold water. Let stand 2 hours. Drain; rinse and drain thoroughly. Combine sugar, spices and vinegar in a large saucepot. Bring to a boil. Add drained vegetables; simmer 10 minutes. Pack hot relish into hot jars, leaving 1/4" headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust two-piece caps. Process 15 minutes in a boiling-water canner.
I made about 14 and 2/3 pints.
And here is a pic of the relish used in a very natural setting.
The day after I did the tomato puree with the pressure canner, I canned some sweet pickle relish. My family uses this relish on hot dogs mostly, but I love to add it to a ham sandwich every now and then!
The recipe came from the Ball Blue Book of Preserving, like the one seen here. I have the 2005 edition. I did four times the recipe. . . Well, sort of. I did kind of change some amounts (like the sugar) so I'll state my version of the recipe here:
4 quarts cucumbers OR pickles (ground, using the food processor)
2 quarts onions
2 quarts bell peppers
1 cup salt
4 cups sugar
4 tablespoons celery seed
4 tablespoons mustard seed
2 quarts apple cider vinegar, with 5% acidity.
Combine cucumbers, onions, peppers, in a large bowl; sprinkle with salt and cover with cold water. Let stand 2 hours. Drain; rinse and drain thoroughly. Combine sugar, spices and vinegar in a large saucepot. Bring to a boil. Add drained vegetables; simmer 10 minutes. Pack hot relish into hot jars, leaving 1/4" headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust two-piece caps. Process 15 minutes in a boiling-water canner.
I made about 14 and 2/3 pints.
And here is a pic of the relish used in a very natural setting.
Ah, the Love Apple Once Again!
9/28/09: Canning and Freezing Tomato Puree
On the Monday after I made my torte my family and I did our final batch of tomato puree using the Squeezo machine. See my previous post to learn more about how we make puree. After the puree had simmered for a couple hours it was time to can. Instead of using the hot water bath method we decided to go with pressure canning because it is faster. It takes only 10 minutes at 10 pounds. Here are some detailed facts for myself so the next pressure canning job will be quick and easy:
1. Check pressure gauge on green canner for any defects before starting. Add about 1 1/2" of water to the canner, insert rubber gasket in lid, make sure safety valve is correctly positioned, place lid on canner, and seal. (Tip: look at arrow on edge of lid for easy placement.) When canner is sealed, put the 1-piece pressure regulator on vent pipe. Wait until dial gauge reads 10 pounds (which usually takes five minutes), turn off heat and wait until arrow goes down to zero. If arrow doesn't reach this point I have to replace the gauge.
2. The jars do not have to be piping hot when being filled.
3. When filling jars, leave about 1 1/2" head space. I did the first batch with 1" head space and some overflowed. They sealed, though.
4. To maintain it at 10 pounds, I hovered around 200 and 300 degrees F.
5. It takes about 20 minutes to do one batch: five minutes to reach 10 pounds, 10 minutes at 10 pounds, and another five minutes for cooling.
6. Do not have the washing machine or dryer going when canning, or you would overload the circuit. I had four burners going, the oven, the washer, and dryer. Oops!
So in the end I canned 28 quarts and froze 4. Whew! What a job!
And the best part... They all sealed!
On the Monday after I made my torte my family and I did our final batch of tomato puree using the Squeezo machine. See my previous post to learn more about how we make puree. After the puree had simmered for a couple hours it was time to can. Instead of using the hot water bath method we decided to go with pressure canning because it is faster. It takes only 10 minutes at 10 pounds. Here are some detailed facts for myself so the next pressure canning job will be quick and easy:
1. Check pressure gauge on green canner for any defects before starting. Add about 1 1/2" of water to the canner, insert rubber gasket in lid, make sure safety valve is correctly positioned, place lid on canner, and seal. (Tip: look at arrow on edge of lid for easy placement.) When canner is sealed, put the 1-piece pressure regulator on vent pipe. Wait until dial gauge reads 10 pounds (which usually takes five minutes), turn off heat and wait until arrow goes down to zero. If arrow doesn't reach this point I have to replace the gauge.
2. The jars do not have to be piping hot when being filled.
3. When filling jars, leave about 1 1/2" head space. I did the first batch with 1" head space and some overflowed. They sealed, though.
4. To maintain it at 10 pounds, I hovered around 200 and 300 degrees F.
5. It takes about 20 minutes to do one batch: five minutes to reach 10 pounds, 10 minutes at 10 pounds, and another five minutes for cooling.
6. Do not have the washing machine or dryer going when canning, or you would overload the circuit. I had four burners going, the oven, the washer, and dryer. Oops!
So in the end I canned 28 quarts and froze 4. Whew! What a job!
And the best part... They all sealed!
Canning Peaches
9/10/09: Canned Peaches
No, it is not a Sunday but I still wanted to jot down my Thursday canning experience. I canned twelve quarts of Harrow Beauty peaches using the hot water bath method and a light syrup. Just take a look at the Ball Blue Book for the recipe! I used a bushel and a peck of peaches to make this amount. I used both wide mouth and regular mouth jars and I think the regular mouth are easier to fill; they prevent the peaches from popping up and not leaving enough head space. The peaches were moderately ripe and most of them were first boiled for thirty seconds for easy skin removal. I used the Ball Fruit Fresh powder to keep the peaches from turning brown.
Ok, I think that's all I need to write down. I hope to use all these peaches in pies during the winter, can't wait for that!
No, it is not a Sunday but I still wanted to jot down my Thursday canning experience. I canned twelve quarts of Harrow Beauty peaches using the hot water bath method and a light syrup. Just take a look at the Ball Blue Book for the recipe! I used a bushel and a peck of peaches to make this amount. I used both wide mouth and regular mouth jars and I think the regular mouth are easier to fill; they prevent the peaches from popping up and not leaving enough head space. The peaches were moderately ripe and most of them were first boiled for thirty seconds for easy skin removal. I used the Ball Fruit Fresh powder to keep the peaches from turning brown.
Ok, I think that's all I need to write down. I hope to use all these peaches in pies during the winter, can't wait for that!
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