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