Canning Workshop Series

Oct - Preparedness Tip - Canning Crisco

Our preparedness tip for the month comes from Patty via Good Things Utah

The lady took a large can of Crisco, melted it down, put it in jelly size (8 oz.) jars, and sealed it by just placing the lid on it and screwing on the ring.  It has a 10 year shelf life.  I hardly ever use shortening but might try this.  

Thanks Patty W - Country View

Chicken Canning, Freezing, Slow Cooking

Just a quick post for you locals - Kent's has 40 lbs of chicken for $50, making it $1.25 a pound.  I haven't seen it that low in awhile.

Yesterday I prepared 80 lbs of chicken.

Freezer meals:

Hawaiian - I can't remember where the recipe came from but it's super easy and we love it.

Hawaiian Chicken
3 1/2 chicken breasts
1/2 cup white vinegar
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 cup large pineapple chunks (I used tidbits - large can from Sam's) so they will probably disappear in the slow cooker)
1 cup pineapple juice (I tried it with OJ this time too, we'll see how that goes.)

Low 6-7 hours

Orange Honey Teriyaki - recipe from the Yoshida's Original Gourmet Sweet and Savory sauce you buy at Costco.
It's 1 cup sauce, 1 cup orange juice, 1/2 cup honey.  (There was a lot of sauce left over, nice for over your rice but it is a little sweet so be warned).

Italian - From Over the Blue Moon

I also trimmed and froze two cookie sheets of tenders and then transferred them into freezer bags.

Canned:
I pressure canned two batches using my new Tattler lids.  I learned a few things:

• Don't over tighten the lids, they need to be 1/4 in loose to vent.
• Tighten when you take them out  - they are really HOT, use a couple of rags.
• DON'T HURRY - three of my pints didn't seal and were RUINED because when we slapped the lid on the rubber seal slipped into the jar and then that rubber cooked with the chicken - yum - NOT!! -resulting in really sour chicken that had me worried that I had just prepared 80 lbs of bad chicken.

Slow Cooker:

Orange Honey Teriyaki - with rice, not a bad dinner.

I still have once bowl left, I'm thinking General Tso's chicken!

Raspberry Jam from Green Tomatoes

Here's a fun one for you.  And I have it on good authority that is yummy.

5 C chopped green tomatoes (don't peel)

5 C sugar

1/4 C lemon juice

 

Mix together and boil for 5 minutes stirring often.  Remove from heat and add:

 

1 pkg. (10 ounces) frozen raspberries

This step is optional.  If you do add the raspberries, boil for an additional 2 minutes.

 

Then add 1 pkg. raspberry jello and stir until dissolved.

 

Pour into glass containers and process for 5 minutes.

 

This jam is runny until you put it in the frig.

Candied Jalapenos aka "Cowboy Candy" from Tasty Kitchen

This is also known as cowboy candy and I'm posting the recipe here but really you need to go to Tasty Kitchen to make it.  Step by step instructions, beautiful pictures, other recipes to tempt you even ideas for how to use it.

Just a quick note - I don't know that this recipe is USDA approved but the Ball site does have a similar recipe for Jalepeno Jelly, I think I would increase the processing time by about 10 minutes for our higher altitude.
So 20 minutes for 1/2 pints and 25 for pints - although for my family and treats for friends I like the 1/2 pint jelly jars the best.

Ball site altitude adjustment

Printable recipe

Candied Jalapenos

from : 3 pounds Firm, Fresh Jalapeno Peppers,               Washed, stems removed, sliced into 1/4 to 1/8 in rounds 2 cups Cider Vinegar 6 cups White Granulated Sugar ½ teaspoons Turmeric ½ teaspoons Celery Seed 3 teaspoons Granulated Garlic 1 teaspoon Ground Cayenne Pepper GO TO TASTY KITCHEN FOR THE DIRECTIONS OR CLICK PRINTABLE RECIPE (Above)

Reusable (Tattler) Canning Lids)

For Reusable Canning Lids

We are trying out an extra group buy this month (Locals only) 

Tattler Reusable Canning lids

This best buy I have found is at this site http://goodideasforlife.com/products/home/canning/tattler-canning-lids-regular-size-0  Good Ideas for Life.

Depending on how many we order it will be $8 or $9 a dozen (maybe less, the woman I spoke with said if we had a large order she would give us a better deal then the website).

To learn more about the lids please see the tattler website http://www.reusablecanninglids.com/

I'd like to make a list of who would  purchase and how many dozen.  Please let me know by the 19th so I can call if it looks like we can get a better price.

I need your:

Name

# of boxes (12 in a box) of regular lids

# of boxes (12 in a box) of wide mouth lids

Thanks, 

As of today we have 24 dozen requested, which will make them:  

$7.71 for regular    (64 cents a lid)

$8.75 for wide mouth  (73 cents a lid)*

you can still order, this week

The price may go up to $8.08 (67 cents a lid)  for regular and $8.90 (74 cents a lid)  for wide mouth.  Plan on this if you haven't ordered yet.**

Please let me know right away.

* I believe this includes tax and shipping is free.

** I have orders for:  Name (# regular, # wide)

 Peggy T (2, 1)

Tiffany P(6,6)

Malissa A (6,5)

Jane H (0, 4)

MarJean B (1,1)

Becky J (0,2)

Bonnie M (2,0)

Deborah J (4,4)

April D (1,1)

Kristi H (2,2)

Vicki O (2,2)

looking for canning recipes - tried and true

It's canning season, what are you up to?

Share your favorite recipes here . . .

 - leave a comment or e-mail me at ask_kanesville@yahoo.com  (BUT leave a comment saying you are doing that because I am super lucky at that address and receive lots of prizes / SPAM) so I don't check it unless I know there is something waiting for me there.


-yes it's ok if they come off the pectin label it would just be nice to know which ones are really GOOD.

THANKS,
Kristi

What to do if the jelly didn't jell?

I've mentioned before that we have these awesome friends who shared some of their garden produce with us, well part of what they shared was jalapeno peppers and green peppers.  It was more than I needed to make spaghetti sauce and a batch of fresh salsa.  Not wanting them to go to waste I decided to try jalapeno jelly.  First times are always interesting because I have a really hard time following directions.  In other words I mess up often.  I used the wrong kind of pectin (powdered not liquid) and so didn't use enough and the jelly didn't set.  In the past I've noticed that they have directions for jelly that doesn't set in the pectin boxes so . . . I thought I'd give it a try.  It worked! 

I'm embarrassed to say I threw the directions away but I just wanted to give you hope that the jelly is not a loss.  Just buy a new box of fruit pectin and follow the directions.  Basically I reboiled the jelly and boiled the pectin in about a cup of water then when it had thickened up I added it to the hot jelly.  Re-processed the jars and voila I have jelly that may or may not even get eaten at my house.  . . . If any one would like to come over and try cream cheese on Ritz with jalapeno jelly please let me know maybe we can have a party.

This is my Christmas jalapeno jelly, it has red peppers and green jalapeno peppers, it's not very hot so I probably should have used more or hotter peppers.  Also I think it got darker when I reboiled it.

This is the powdered pectin, I bought it because it had enough for two batches but sadly it did not come with directions for fixing the not jellying problem.  I found the directions from and old box and saved the day.

Canning Spaghetti Sauce in a Pressure Canner

You need

Pressure canner.  I use a 23 qt Presto  with a dial gauge

Canning jars

Lids and rings (lids need to be new each time, rings can be re-used)

Tomatoes, Roma (paste type) are really nice to use because they are meatier, less water and fewer seeds so the cook down faster but I use whatever I have.  This year we were lucky enough to have some neighbors who shared their bounty and we had a really nice mix of great big tomatoes and nice firm Roma types.

Spices, this is what I used this year and I think it tastes really yummy.

                About 40 lbs of tomatoes  (4 large salad bowls full, like the large Tupperware bowl)

This is what about 20 lbs of tomatoes looks like

                1 cup minced green peppers

                1 ½ cup dried onions (or two cups minced fresh onion)

                ½ brown sugar

                ¼ cup salt

                ½ cup Italian Seasoning

                3 tsp. minced garlic

                                                                   printable

Paring knife

Extra’s that you don’t need but make it quite a bit easier

An extra large pot of boiling water

A bowl of ice water

A jar funnel (fits inside jar to make it MUCH easier to fill.

A lid lifter ( a magnet on a stick), 

A jar lifter 

A dish washer

Cutting board and a place to put your skins  (garbage can right under the counter works well)

lots of extra bowls and dish rags 

someone to entertain you or better yet do the work for you

First things first

This is how I do it anyway . . .  put your jars and rings in the dishwasher.  

Now boil another large pan of water, and in a small saucepan on low simmer your lids (this will keep them sterile and warm) – don’t forget about them they really stink if the melt!  

Fill a large bowl with ice water.

Wash tomatoes.  Cut off ends and any yucky spots or cracks.

The quick way is to drop your tomatoes in the boiling water for about 45 seconds then with a slotted spoon move them to the ice water for a few minutes, the peels will then slide of pretty easily .

First in boiling water for 45 seconds

Then in ice water for a few minutes

Now I spend a bit of time getting rid of excess water.  Cut them in half and squeeze over the sink to drain and remove some of the seeds.  Squish them into a colander.  The more juice you remove now the less time you have to simmer to thicken.  (You can also add tomato paste to thicken, and as an added bonus make your sauce stretch further, 2-4 cans).

after squishing

my new invention the double bowl squisher

creepy looking hand but it's squishing out lots of juice (you could save this to make tomato juice)

I boiled the tomatoes for about 10 minutes and then put them in the blender with all of the other spices (I did microwave the green peppers and onions for about 3 minutes to soften).

When I had blended all of the sauce I put it back into the pot and simmered it until I had the thickness of sauce my family likes.

this is what it looked like after blending and simmering awhile

NEXT

Remove your jars from the dishwasher, while they’re still hot add spaghetti sauce.

Fill the jars to within ½ in to 1 in from the top.

Wipe off the rims with a clean cloth.

Fish your lid out of the hot water (this is where the magnetic thing would be nice, I use a fork)

Put on the lid and ring and tighten (just finger tight, you’re just keeping the lid on, not sealing it).

Follow the directions for your canner CAREFULLY.   

• For me I had 3 quarts of water heating in the canner with the rack already in, then I added the jars, I had more than one layer so I staggered the layers.  I also added 2 Tbsp of white vinegar to keep my jars from staining.  With the pressure regulator removed  and the lid on.  I heated the water until steam was coming out the vent and let it vent for 10 min (I turned the temp down just enough to keep the steam coming).  Then I put the pressure regulator on , turned up the heat until I got to 13 lbs of pressure (for an altitude of 4000 ft).   Processed it for 20 minutes (pints), for quarts go for 25 min.  Then I removed it from the hot burner and let it cool until the pressure was at 0 and the air vent cover had dropped.  After that I removed the pressure regulator and let it cool for another 10 minutes.  Then I opened  it! 

ALL of those tomatoes made 11 pints but it does taste really yummy, one thing to remember is that spices may intensify during the simmering process and once in the jar so you may want to go light and maybe add them at the end.

Remove the jars to  the kitchen counter (careful they’re still really hot) let them cool for about 24 hours to make sure the seal is good.  After that you can remove the rings and label your lids. 

Store in a cool, dark, dry place for longest life.   If you leave the rings on the can rust and cause the seal to pop.

I have to add too this a BIG thank you to Steve and Linda because the 8 tomatoes that came from our garden would not have made this possible.

Canning Peaches

To can peaches (or plums, pears or nectarines).

You need

A water bath canner, pressure canner or some type of large pan (large enough to cover the bottles you will be using) with a lid. 

Canning jars

Lids and rings (lids need to be new each time, rings can be re-used)

Fruit (you want to get cling-free or freestone), this means that the fruit will separate easily from the pit.  Trust me on this one, it’s a pain to cut the pit out.  It takes about 5 good sizes peaches or nectarines (or about 10 plums) to fill one quart jar. An average of 17½ pounds is needed per canner load of 7 quarts; an average of 11 pounds is needed per canner load of 9 pints. A bushel weighs 48 pounds and yields 16 to 24 quarts — an average of 2½ pounds per quart.  (Thank you http://www.pickyourown.org/peachescanning.htm for that great bit of info)

•   UPDATE - Right now you can get Early Alberta's (among others) up in the Brigham City / Peery area.  We canned some this week and they were great, the skins peeled right off, the kids love the taste and they are freestone.  Actually the expert therr told me that at this time of year in Utah at least everything is freestone.

Sugar or other sweetener, or even fruit juice

Water

Fruit Fresh (a commercially prepared mixture of citric acid and vitamin C) or lemon juice, there are generic brands too that seem to work as well.

Paring knife

Extra’s that you don’t need but make it quite a bit easier

An extra large pot of boiling water

A bowl of ice water

A jar funnel (fits inside jar to make it MUCH easier to fill.

A lid lifter ( a magnet on a stick), I don’t have this but I’m not sure I have much feeling left in my fingers either,  so it might be nice)

A jar lifter (large weird looking pliers like things that keep your little fingers safe).  With a water bath canner you have a rack you can lift out, then I use a silicon oven mitt to lift them out.

A dish washer

Cutting board and a place to put your peels (you can save them to make other things) and pits

A bunch of extra bowls and dishrags

Chocolate - this is not for the faint of heart you may need a treat

First things first

This is how I do it anyway . . .  put your jars and rings in the dishwasher.   

Put water in you large black  ( or sometime blue speckled) water bath canner.  You can just use a large pot but the canners have a jar rack that is really nice, if you plan on doing more than a few batches these are good to have and generally not too expensive.  Add some water and put it on your largest burner on low (you don’t want it too hot right away).

 

Now boil another large pan of water, and in a small saucepan on low, simmer your lids (this will keep them sterile and warm) – don’t forget about them they really stink if they melt! 

Fill a large bowl with ice water.

Wash and drain your fruit and peel.  (Peaches and nectarines don’t have to be peeled but most people do, peaches at least).

The quick way is to drop your peaches in the boiling water for about 45 seconds then with a slotted spoon move them to the ice water for a few minutes, the peels will then slide of pretty easily (works for tomatoes too).

Remove the pits and cut up the peaches, (halves, quarters, diced, it’s all a matter of personal preference)

Because peaches will turn brown when exposed to air you want to top each bowl off with ¼ cup lemon juice or Fruit Freshener.  The jar says to add 2 tsp per pint or 3-4 Tbsp per qt of water, then add the fruit, drain and then put the fruit into the jars.

Now you need something to put in the jar with the peaches.  I’ve only ever used sugar syrup but there are other ways, I’m sure a good google search will help.

• For a light syrup, which is what I always use, heat 6 cups of water, slowly add 2 cups of sugar, stir constantly, yield 7 cups of syrup Make as many batches as you need to cover your peaches.

Remove your jars from the dishwasher, while they’re still hot add* cut up peaches, syrup and additional fruit fresh if you are adding it to your jars (it will help keep fruit from turning brown).  I usually just use it in the rinse water as described above.

• *You can add the peaches to the syrup and boil it for 5 minutes but I’ve never done this.  I just try to work with hot jars and hot syrup.  The USDA does recommend this method because it helps to remove air from the food, allowing you to store more food and also helping fruit retain it's color.

Fill the jars to within ½ in to 1 in of the top.

Wipe off the rims with a clean cloth.

Fish your lid out of the hot water (this is where the magnetic thing would be nice, I use a fork)

Put on the lid and ring and tighten (just finger tight, you're just keeping the lid on, not sealing it).

Put the warm jars in to the hot water in the canner (on the rack) lower the rack and put the lid on.  Bring to a boil and boil for:

• Raw (the way I do it) at our altitude ( around 4000 ft)
• Pints 35 min quarts 40 min 
• Take off 5 minutes if you boiled the peaches in the syrup for 5 minutes.

When the time is up remove the jars to the kitchen counter let them cool for about 24 hours to make sure the seal is good.  After that you can remove the rings and label your lids. 

If you're a first timer, you know it's sealed because when you push on the top and it doesn't pop up

Store in a cool, dark, dry place for longest life.  If you leave the rings on they can rust and cause the seal to pop. 

My SIL canned these beauties, I have yet to buy any peaches this year.

update 9/1 - We made a trip to the Brigham City Temple open house and so we HAD to buy some peaches while up there.  This is our first batch (my daughter helped - it is WONDERFUL to have someone help you)