Hopefully the tomatoes are better this year then they were last. The season wasn't so great and so I wasn't able to preserve tomatoes.
2 years ago, I attempted to can for the first time ever and we were all quite happy with the results. As you can see from the pictures, I went right to town!
Relish, salsa, bread & butter pickles, sliced pickles, regular pickles, pears, peaches, lots of canned tomatoes, green beans, yellow beans, chickpeas, kidney beans (red and white), corn, apple butter, applesauce and pickled beets. This doesn't include all of the freezer jams, frozen strawberries or other goodies I had in deep freeze!
Everything tasted so much fresher than store bought. The only thing I won't repeat is canning fruit. Not a fan!
So far this year all I've managed to get done are various beans, peas, freezer jam and this relish. Now I'm just praying that it will be a good season for tomatoes, so I can buy a couple of bushels from the grocer and get started!
5 comments:
You know what I LOVE? Canned spiced pears. GOOD GRIEF, they're good! I'll see if my grandma still has the recipes, because I can't think of anything better to eat in the world.
I am trying to figure out how to can things, but the part where you seal them up and make sure they're sanitized right makes me nervous... is it hard? How do you know if you did it right? The last thing I would want is to can something and then have it make my whole family sick! lol.
Beck: I've never had spiced pears. Sounds... interesting.
Jaden: No it isn't hard at all. There are two different types of canning. One is done with a pressure canner and the other with a regular canner. With pressure canning you can preserve things like vegetables packed in water, fruits etc. They can not be done in a regular canner because of their low acidity.
Tomatoes, any kind of pickle and applesauce can be done in a regular canner due to their higher acidity. You have to make sure the jars are boiled before hand and aren't over filled (the books will tell you how much head space you need for the different foods).
The way you know if the jar is properly sealed is:
You've followed the directions and processed it for the correct amount of time, the lid dips down in the center and when you press down there is no give. Also when you tap on the top of the lid with a spoon it should make a high-pitched ringing sound.
In the USA, the Bible for canning would be the Ball Blue book. In Canada its Bernardin guide to home preserving. This website will give you more info http://www.homecanning.com/ .
Hope that helps and good luck! Its lots of fun once you get the hang of it :)!
Nadia, you're amazing! I love preserves and jams... I wish I was up Cananda way so I could stock my pantry with some of these delicious goods!
wow! every year i say i´m going to start but never do... you are my inspiration!
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