posted on August 6, 2001 06:07:49 PM new
Tomorrow I start canning the first batch of our tomatos. Right now I'm looking forward to it and I enjoy it for a while. But...by this time next week I will be seeing tomatos in my sleep, EVERYTHING will smell like a tomato and my hands/fingernails will be stained a bloody tomato red!
Just wondering if anyone else does any canning, and what else besides tomatos is getting canned? I'd love to do some green beans, but I've got to get a pressure canner.
posted on August 6, 2001 07:21:24 PM new
Oh Rhondalee, you bring back memories of a super hot kitchen on sultry August days. Not pleasant. We used to get started very early in the morning and try to be done by 11 AM until the next batch. Of course sometimes everything was ready at once and there was not a break. We canned tomatoes, peaches, string beans and other produce. Made jams and jellies and had a pantry full of good things to last thru the winter.
When I married, we still canned tomatoes, and put up jams and jellies. But, I finally got into freezing my vegetables...not anymore sold the large freezer and I haven't done jam in about 5 years.
posted on August 6, 2001 07:45:59 PM new
Sorry but I can buy good canned tomatoes too cheap to want to can something that easy to buy.
Now some really good cherry preserves or sweet pickles........
posted on August 7, 2001 09:05:12 AM new
Rhondalee65 We have canned green beans for years and they are easy to do . We have never used a pressure cooker for green beans.
Put your large canner on the stove with enough water to blanche beans. When water begins to boil drop beans in hot water and leave them for 5 minutes. Pack in hot jars,using a spatula to pack down in jars.
Fill each jar to top with same water beans blanced in and add 1 tsp. salt to each jar.
I usually run by finger aroung rim to make sure there are no salt particles on top than would keep the jar from sealing. Put these jars back in canner, covering with more water,to cover top of jars. Let water come to boil,then lower heat to almost simmer and leave for 2 hours. Wonderful and we have never lost a jar to spoilage. They will keep for at least 3 years. Also, when you remove these jars from canner, don't try to tighten.
In a matter of 10 minutes, you will hear the lids popping down and sealing. Hope this will help you.
posted on August 7, 2001 11:53:59 AM new
We make bread & butter and Dill pickles, Chow Chow and tomato sauce. Everything else, we freeze The pickles hardly make it till winter though, they're soo good I have never used a pressure cooker for my veggies.
My mom used to do lots of canning, making jelly & such. MMM, homeade apple butter
posted on August 7, 2001 12:10:54 PM new
ANGELWOMAN - Thanks for the information, I thought you had to have a pressure cooker for green beans. I think I'll give it a try.
antiker - I do apple butter, too. You're absolutely right, yummy!! 2 years ago, we had such a good year for apples that I picked up enough good ones just off the ground under our tree. I never even needed to pick any!
[ edited by rhondalee65 on Aug 7, 2001 12:11 PM ]
posted on August 7, 2001 01:16:17 PM new
I have a HUGE fig bush and last year we did fig preserves.
I have a canner, pressure cooker with all the acoutrements(sp?), and recipes galore. What I don't have is the time.
My mom canned everything but meat when I was a girl, we did pickles, jams & jellys, relishes, plain fruit & veggies. Meat we froze.
And we lived in Miami FL, not exactly a country setting, but mom was of the old school.
posted on August 7, 2001 02:05:36 PM new
according to the government there is a risk with green beans and other non-acid foods of food poisening if the temperature is not taken to the level a pressure cooker attains.
A lot of people canned for years without them but you will have to make the risk evaluation yourself. The food can be deadly without being discolored or having a bad smell. We had a local restaurant get in trouble because they canned their own hot peppers to serve and they poisened over a hundred customers one evening. That was Trini and Carmens. They printed t-shirts that say survivor - but it almost put them out of business.
posted on August 7, 2001 02:19:06 PM new
gravid - Your post is exactly the reason I never tried my hand at canning. Fear of food poisoning. !! All my family, who are farmers did/do, but I was never around to watch and learn the process.
posted on August 7, 2001 02:32:56 PM new
Hi rhondalee65! Try this delicious recipe, called Steak Sauce, it is actually a sweet tomato relish.
Steak Sauce
3 qts. chopped ripe tomatoes
1 c. chopped green pepper
2 c. chopped onion
3 c. chopped celery
1/4 c. pickling salt
Mix and let set overnight. Drain. Add 1-1/2 t. black pepper, 2 c. sugar, 1/4 c. brown sugar, 1 c. vinegar, 1-1/2 t. pickling spice. Bring this mix to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes. Put in jars and cold pack for 20 minutes.
posted on August 7, 2001 05:57:06 PM new
A lot of times I cheat when I can or freeze my tomatoes I buy Mrs. Wages mixes. Her spaghetti, pizza sauce, sloppy joe sauce and bread and butter pickles are yummy. Around here you have to buy those mixes when you see them because they are sold fast.
There is nothing better than homemade jellies and jams. I always make them even though it is so time consuming. After eating homemade, store bought doesn't even have any taste at all.
My mother made the best homemade catsup. I like to freeze it and make meatloaf with it. As soon as I find my recipe I'll post it here.
posted on August 7, 2001 07:32:56 PM new
We live in the south and have over 50 cook books of southern cooking and all call for green beans to be prepared this way. I just went to my BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS COOKBOOK
and their recipe is the same as mine. Perhaps,the gov. has printed new guide lines that I am not aware of. I am 56 and live in a farming community and this is the way we have done it for years and the way my mom and her mom always canned theirs. If you wish I can scan the recipe from Better Homes and Gardens to you. There is always a chance that any canned food can sometimes spoil -
even from a grocery. I was always taught not to even taste of anything from any type of jar or can if the lid is bulged or loose in any way. I guess you will have to be the judge of what is right for you and your family.
posted on August 7, 2001 07:38:52 PM new
Not only does home canned taste better, but you know what goes in the jar!--no additives, no preservatives. It is quite safe when the directions are followed. It is recommended now that everything be water bathed, even jellies and especially tomatoes---didn't use to be that way.
rhondalee, I string, snap, and wash green beans then put them in the jar cold--shaking them down and stuffing the jar as they shrink when cooked. Add a tsp. of salt, water to 1/2 of the top and boil for three hours in the canner--what fits, 7 quarts?---so it takes a while to get boiling. I sterlize jars in the microwave, pack them hot, and hot water won't break the jar when they are filled. That way the canner can already be getting hot as you fill the jars. Pressure canners just save time---30 minutes after boiling it will be ready to start cooling down. (Catch one on sale at the end of the year maybe---they're also great for cooking huge roasts, etc.)
posted on August 7, 2001 07:44:39 PM new
Forgot to mention that canning guidelines have changed over the years. I consult the Rodale's 'Stocking Up III' (there maybe a IV by now) and do whatever they say as they keep up with the latest research, and I buy the revision everytime one is available.
I like Mrs. Wages also for pickles--perfect everytime.
posted on August 7, 2001 09:33:33 PM new
ANGELWOMAN - I talked to my mom tonight. She told me that she and my grandmother didn't always use a pressure canner for beans (did it pretty much the same as described on this board) and they turned out exactly the same and always stayed fine.
Thank you to all for the recipes and ideas, I've been canning for a few years now and have never heard of Mrs. Wages. Will be on the lookout for it. I'm always willing to try something new in canning.
Simco - I also don't like to cook, but love to can! I especially love to pick my tomatos. This probably sounds weird, but I think God made the tomato an absolutely beautiful thing - it's color, taste and smell are wonderful.
posted on August 10, 2001 03:40:07 PM new
Here's the ketchup recipe. It makes the best meatloaf or meat sauce-especially for wild game.
Blender Ketchup
8 lbs ripe tomatoes
2 seeded green peppers
2 seeded red peppers
4 medium onions
Wash & quarter above; chop together in blender, using 3 cups white vinegar as needed for liquid. Put blended vegetables and vinegar into a shallow roaster. Add:
3 cups sugar
3 Tablespoons canning salt
1 Tablespoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons allspice
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Bake uncovered at 325 or cook on top of stove until volume is reduced by half. My recipe says 4 hours but I know it's taken longer than that. I always freeze this recipe. My recipe says to seal while hot and put in boiling bath 35 minutes but I don't think that would be USDA approved anymore. The pressure cooker would be the safer and smarter way if you don't freeze it. This recipe makes 5 pints of ketchup.
posted on August 10, 2001 04:50:36 PM new
I've lived in Southcentral Pa. most of my life, but because of my unconventional upbringing, I had never heard of canning.
When I moved to my husband's hometown, I would hear the women around the pool talking about "puttin' up."
Huh???
I had heard of "puttin' out" , but never heard this other phrase.
It finally got the best of me, and I had to ask one of the ladies what they were talking about. Canning, of course.
The wife of one of my husband's friends use to make sure I got some peaches every year. I have to admit, they were so much better than the cans from the store.
However, when I watched her making applesauce (what a mess!!!), I had to tell her I thought it was a lot easier to just buy some Libby's! Libby's! Libby's!
posted on August 10, 2001 05:45:43 PM new
Ideas for pears?
I have made pear preserves which are delicious but take a LOT of work for a little product and no one eats them but me.
These pears are not the wonderful, eat raw kind that you buy in the store. They are canning and baking pears. It is possible to use them like apples to bake fried pies and such.
I have a box full on the cabinet and a tree full on the tree and yet I lack pear motivation. They may rot there, again.
When the muscadines are ready I might make jelly again. Everyone eats that and it is much easier than pears.
posted on August 11, 2001 05:53:47 PM new
I don't have a pressure canner so I never can plain green beans for fear of food poisoning, such as botulism. They need to be processed at a higher temperature than the water bath canner I use provides. Instead I make dill pickled green beans. Adding vinegar to the beans for pickling makes them acidic and then they can be processed without pressure canning.
Dill pickle beans are very tasty! I like them more than dill pickles made from cucumbers.
2 pounds trimmed green beans
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 cloves garlic
4 heads fresh dill
1/4 cup canning salt
2 1/2 cups vinegar, 5% acidity
2 1/2 cups water
Pack beans, lengthwise, into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space. To each pint, add 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 clove garlic and 1 dill head. Combine remaining ingredients and bring to boiling. Pour, boiling hot, over beans, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Remove air bubbles, adjust caps. Process pints and quarts 10 minutes in boiling water bath. Yield: 4 pints.
They need to cure for about four or five weeks before they are ready to eat. I found this recipe in a newspaper and then later I saw it almost word for word in the "Ball Blue Book The Guide to Home Canning and Freezing."
Just bobbin here
The pickles hardly make it till winter though, they're soo good 