Big canning thank you

JustMe 11/28/2012, 7:01 pm

Thank you to everyone here who answered my questions, provided resources, and gave me tips about canning. This was all new to me this season. We have a closet in the basement that serves as an overflow pantry. It is filled with these home canned goodies:

12 pints salsa
4 - 1/2 pint pepper jelly
10 pints bread & butter pickles
4 pints apple pie jam
4 - 1/2 pint chili sauce
8 pints tomato sauce (did w/a friend, who took home 8 pints)
20 pints quartered tomatoes
1 quart quartered tomatoes
6 - 1/2 pint pineapple salsa
16 - 1/2 pint peach salsa
6 quarts peaches
6 pints peaches
8 - 1/2 pint spiced blueberry jam
6- 1/2 pint chocolate raspberry topper
8 - 1/2 pints strawberry vanilla jam
8 - 1/2 pints strawberry balsamic thyme jam
4 quarts dill pickles
10 pints dilly beans

My husband lost his job on Monday, so looking at our brimming pantry makes me so very thankful that we made hay while the sun was shining. In this pantry, we have food for our family as well as gifts and provisions for Christmas cookies (jams for thumbprint cookies).

Thank you.

**Kelejan** 11/28/2012, 8:38 pm

Well done, justme, but so sorry your husband has lost his job.
I hope he gets another soon.

**camprn** 11/28/2012, 9:28 pm

Kelejan wrote:Well done, justme, but so sorry your husband has lost his job.
I hope he gets another soon.

+1

Triciasgarden 11/28/2012, 11:22 pm

You have an amazing assortment that I wouldn't have even thought to do! You are so going to enjoy all of that!

I hope your husband gets a job very very soon!

**llama momma** 11/29/2012, 9:23 am

Wow, Remarkable production for a newbie canner. Very impressive, Congratulations! Big canning thank you 3170584802

cheyannarach 12/3/2012, 1:15 pm

Wowzers! You did great! I would love to know your peach salsa recipe!!

daryl.weaver 12/3/2012, 4:35 pm

I tired my hand at canning this fall as well. My mom has a great recipe for crispy green tomato pickles that bring back many memories from grandparents my grandparent's farm. I made a few batches along with cucumber pickles using the same recipe and some bread and butter pickles too. It was fun. Because they were relatively small batches, I used a couple of shortcuts my mom suggested: 1) sterilizing the jars in the dishwasher sani-cycle just before canning and 2) finishing the process in the microwave as opposed to the water bath method. All but one jar sealed up perfectly. Problem now is, I made them for holiday gifts, but I don't want to give them away!

Big canning thank you Pickle10

JustMe 12/5/2012, 9:35 pm

peach salsa

That's the recipe I used. Next year, I will figure out how to do more in pint jars, b/c I can seriously inhale a 1/2 pint all by myself in one sitting. That was a popular and appreciated hostess gift we gave along w/a bag of our fave tortilla chips this summer if someone invited us to a swim party or just to hang out. Good with chips, fish, and chicken.

cheyannarach 12/6/2012, 12:24 pm

Thank you just me! It sounds amazing! I may have to try my hand at this next year! I canned some regular salsa for the first time ever this fall and it turned out pretty good! My favorite store bought salsa is mango habenaro, yum!

Daryl, I am confused about finishing the proccess in the microwave, how does this work?

daryl.weaver 12/6/2012, 8:41 pm

cheyannarach wrote:
Daryl, I am confused about finishing the proccess in the microwave, how does this work?

Well, since the pickles are already preserved and,practically boiling when you can them, I put them in hot jars two at a time and microwave them for about a minute to bring them up to a boil then put the lids on. When they cool, the seal perfectly.

littlejo 12/6/2012, 9:59 pm

Just about anything will 'seal' if it is hot enough when the lid and ring are put on. I'm no expert, but I think the water bath canning is not to just get the jar to seal, but to kill the germs, etc, that may get on the food, on the jar, lid, ring, from the air or a persons hands.
Jo

daryl.weaver 12/6/2012, 11:20 pm

littlejo wrote:Just about anything will 'seal' if it is hot enough when the lid and ring are put on. I'm no expert, but I think the water bath canning is not to just get the jar to seal, but to kill the germs, etc, that may get on the food, on the jar, lid, ring, from the air or a persons hands.
Jo

It is. That's why the jars,lids and bands and all utensils used in the process have to bet sterilized. It's not strictly "by the book," but we've been canning stewed tomatoes that way for several summers with no mishaps. The boiling food itself is basically sterile and the salt and vinegar in the pickle brine also help. For that matter, I probably have an open jar of store-bought dills in my fridge that's almost a year old, but nobody worries about food safety there, now do they? Seriously, I don't necessarily recommend it, but it's worked fine for me. Many people would say gardening in boxes is taking shortcuts too.

daryl.weaver 12/6/2012, 11:23 pm

daryl.weaver wrote:
cheyannarach wrote:
Daryl, I am confused about finishing the proccess in the microwave, how does this work?

Well, since the pickles are already preserved and,practically boiling when you can them, I put them in hot jars two at a time and microwave them for about a minute to bring them up to a boil then put the lids on. When they cool, the seal perfectly.

I just re-read this. I don't put the pickles in two at a time. I put the jars in the microwave two at a time :/

cheyannarach 12/8/2012, 9:52 am

Do you just microwave the brine then add the pickles?

daryl.weaver 12/8/2012, 10:57 am

cheyannarach wrote: Do you just microwave the brine then add the pickles?

No, the pickles are boiled in the pickling liquid for 45 mins befor canning, so you are canning hot pickles. The microwave process is jyst enough to bring them back up to boiling temp in the jars. I like this process for smaller batches of about 12 pints. Since the jars are sterilized in and hot out of the dishwasher, there is no need for the boiling pot of water, canning rack, etc an the canning process doesn't take over the kitchen. If you are interested, I'll pm you the recipe and technique. I particularly love the green tomato pickles for using up the end of season stragglers.

cheyannarach 12/8/2012, 11:00 am

Sure, send me the recipe! I am a newbie canner so I might seem slow with all my questions! Thanks DW!

daryl.weaver 12/8/2012, 1:13 pm

cheyannarach wrote:Sure, send me the recipe! I am a newbie canner so I might seem slow with all my questions! Thanks DW!

Not at all. I've only done a little canning myself. This was my first attempt at pickling.

cheyannarach 12/13/2012, 9:05 pm

I was limited to pickling and salsa this year, I am hoping to get a pressure canner for Christmas so I can expand next year!

Nonna.PapaVino 12/13/2012, 9:15 pm

Oooooh! What kind of pressure canner, cheyannarach? Inquiring minds want to know (our present canner is probably older than your first born). Nonna

Triciasgarden 12/13/2012, 9:32 pm

daryl.weaver wrote:If you are interested, I'll pm you the recipe and technique. I particularly love the green tomato pickles for using up the end of season stragglers.

I would like the recipe also please! I have canned lots of fruits but no vegetables.

daryl.weaver 12/14/2012, 2:29 pm

Tricia and Cheyann - Recipe sent PM as requested.

Triciasgarden 12/15/2012, 8:47 pm

Got it, thank you! These sound wonderful and will be a fun and tasty change from the usual things we eat!

**camprn** 12/15/2012, 8:57 pm

Daryl would you post it in the recipe section?

Nonna.PapaVino 12/15/2012, 10:51 pm

Yes, please do post the recipe. It's so nice to know a trusted source indicates a recipe is a winner before we try it ourselves. Nonna

daryl.weaver 12/17/2012, 12:20 am

camprn wrote:Daryl would you post it in the recipe section?

Sure. I'll post it tomorrow.

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