it's canning in jars, yes. i am gonna try low-sugar jam, preserves, then left the last quarter of the load for freezing or baking, don't know yet. also cut up some for yogurts this week.
― forensic plumber (harbl), Saturday, 25 May 2019 12:31 (four years ago) link
My parents went through a canning phase when I was in elementary school. My mom's plum jam was v v delicious. Tomatoes, peaches are the other things I remember.
A friend is really into canning chutneys and the Major Grey style stuff she brought over last time was incredibly good, almost made me want to can but I fear the equipment involved. I will soon have more kitchen storage tho so maybe I will give it a go. Harbl u inspire me
― mom tossed in kimchee (quincie), Sunday, 26 May 2019 02:29 (four years ago) link
it's not scary! the instructions for canning sound very strict to prevent botulism, etc., but they are not too hard to follow. especially because it's not necessary to sterilize things (and really, how can you "sterilize" something in your kitchen when the spores are literally everywhere?). i just boil all 5 minute water bath canning recipes for 10 min. i actually prefer pressure canning. it's a lot of work but i can do more at one time. my set-up for water bath canning is not great because i have a flat-top electric stove that has trouble boiling a large pot of water. i hope to have gas in the future. i do water bath canning in a 12 qt stockpot. if you are afraid just try a small batch of something water bath cannable in a stockpot.
― forensic plumber (harbl), Sunday, 26 May 2019 15:00 (four years ago) link
i have canned all of my 50 lbs of tomatoes. got 6 qts of crushed and 7 qts of whole tomatoes. i would do this again--though perhaps only if i can grow them myself someday--but i learned some things. the yield is somewhat lower than one would expect (i knew this as this information is easy to find on the internet). a lot of labor for not much product. crushed tomatoes are a lot of work and mess. even with a long time boiling off the liquid, including some time saved by just separating juice off and boiling it in another vessel, i think they're too watery. whole tomatoes were more fun, and the boil-off time is pushed back to when the jars are eventually opened and turned to sauce. i lost a lot of liquid from the jars during pressure canning for a few possible reasons, one of which may be that the whole tomatoes hold a lot of air and liquid gets forced out. could try a hot pack of more cooked whole tomatoes next time.
― forensic plumber (harbl), Saturday, 24 August 2019 15:43 (four years ago) link
i think next year i'll buy a smaller quantity and just do salsa, but most "approved" recipes, incl one i have done, have too much added acid. one i made was too limey, though fine to eat
― forensic plumber (harbl), Saturday, 24 August 2019 15:44 (four years ago) link
i got 2 chickens from costco so i can make another load of "free" broth
― forensic plumber (harbl), Tuesday, 29 October 2019 21:16 (four years ago) link
i mean stock, i guess
― forensic plumber (harbl), Tuesday, 29 October 2019 21:21 (four years ago) link
i would like to report for the blåg also that the canned tomatoes taste really good, i've made a few batches of pasta sauce from the crushed but haven't yet cut into the whole. just takes a little while to boil it down to desired thickness. will definitely make more next summer but may boil first, then crush, to see if that's more efficient.
― forensic plumber (harbl), Wednesday, 30 October 2019 01:05 (four years ago) link
i have purchased another $9 turkey for stock. free range! black friday!
― forensic plumber (harbl), Saturday, 30 November 2019 00:59 (four years ago) link
i got a half bushel of peaches. will make peach salsa tomorrow because they are kind of hard right now and recipe calls for under-ripe peaches, then jam later this week. multiple types of peach jam. then will vacuum seal and freeze a few pies' worth. i also got 2 quarts of pickling cucumbers so i need to do pickles first.
― contorted filbert (harbl), Saturday, 8 August 2020 17:16 (three years ago) link
peach salsa was quite a project. lots of cutting and my hands are burning bc i touched a habañero but it's very good, also v pretty.
― contorted filbert (harbl), Sunday, 9 August 2020 21:42 (three years ago) link
Jealous!
― lukas, Sunday, 9 August 2020 21:42 (three years ago) link
i made 3 pints and 2 half pints of jam. an experiment to see if the bulk pectin from the amish store is any good. tomorrow and wednesday i need to finish my peach projects! i was successful at quickly peeling them tonight, not sure what my problem with the blanching method was before but i dreaded it.
― contorted filbert (harbl), Tuesday, 11 August 2020 00:35 (three years ago) link
i got 2 boxes of plum tomatoes, may get more next weekend depending on how much i hate this
― contorted filbert (harbl), Friday, 4 September 2020 19:35 (three years ago) link
btw, the bulk pectin at the amish store doesn't work that well. it seems you need to use a lot of it.
― contorted filbert (harbl), Friday, 4 September 2020 21:41 (three years ago) link
ended up getting:
― contorted filbert (harbl), Thursday, 10 September 2020 22:09 (three years ago) link