Summer Canning and Food Preserving 2017

[RiverRock]

This year I want to try to stay on top of canning and food preserving. I primarily can, freeze, and use a dehydrator for summer produce.

Last week I canned six half-pints of rhubarb chutney. I tried a new recipe and it was so good that a few days ago I picked up a dozen samosas from a local Indian sweet shop so we would have something to eat the chutney with. I think it will also taste good with grilled meat or as a condiment on a charcuterie board with meats and cheeses.

What have you been preserving?

[Mother of Sons]

I only got to make one batch of lilac jelly before the blossoms were gone. It's my favorite jelly ever. StrWberry season is coming so I will probably make a lot of strawberry jam.

[RiverRock]

I've never tried lilac jelly. I'm curious now. I really like floral gem candies, so I would probably like lilac jelly.

When cleaning out my freezer last week, I found two ice cream buckets of strawberries mixed with sugar ready to be made into jam. I made the jam today and have 7 pints cooling on my counter. I used the long boil method which is tedious but makes a delicious jam with more fruit than sugar.

[The Tickle Momster]

Can you tell me more about the long boil method? I've never heard of it.

[kklibrarian]

I am in the midst of mayhaw jelly making right now. Next will be blueberry jams and preserves. Probably will do some watermelon rind preserves soon. Late July/August will be figs. The last sweet jam of the season will be prickly pear jelly in late August or early September. I make preserves and can year round and sell the bounty at farmers market. I am trying my hand at creating drinking and culinary vinegars infused with herbs I grow to expand my product offerings at market. Making your own vinegar is not very hard. It just takes time and patience.

[RiverRock]

I need to google mayhaw. I've had hawthorne bushes in my yard, but I only had tiny berries. It sounds like yours might be the size of crabapples. Interesting.

I tried to make herbed oils once, but the herbs started to rot. Vinegar sounds like a better way to go!

---------- Post added at 07:06 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:01 AM ----------

Originally Posted by The Tickle Momster

Can you tell me more about the long boil method? I've never heard of it.

It might be the method you already use. It's the method I grew up with my mom and grandma using. You cook the fruit with sugar and sometimes a bit of lemon juice, making sure to include some unripened fruit for pectin. After about 40 minutes of a low rolling boil you do a gel test before putting the jam into hot jars and sealing. To do the gel test I keep a plate in the freezer and put a small teaspoon on the "frozen" plate to see if the jam gels when cooled. This method uses less sugar than regular Certo/pectin added recipes, and is a slower paced process (there is good and bad in that ).

[The Tickle Momster]

Thank you! I would love to be able to do it with less sugar. I use the Ball Blue book but hate that most of the recipes are more sugar than fruit and so, haven't done much jams in ages. Do you use a ratio of fruit to sugar?

[RiverRock]

I use Bernardin books (I have two of them) for my recipes. If it is a certain fruit, I can tell you what my book suggests.

[The Tickle Momster]

I don't have anything on hand at the moment, so no rush. I'm hoping for strawberries soon.

I'll have bosc pears and plums later this summer.

[CelticJourney]

Ok, so I've made peach butter, blueberry butter, strawberry butter and apple butter. What's really good is peach-bluebery-strawberry butter

Has anyone ever made watermelon butter? Seems like it would take a couple of them but it sounds good.

[Mother of Sons]

I think watermelon is a bit controversial because it's fairly low acid.

[Soliloquy]

Originally Posted by RiverRock

I use Bernardin books (I have two of them) for my recipes. If it is a certain fruit, I can tell you what my book suggests.

Does your book have thimbleberry? The only thing I plan to can is thimbleberrry jam. If it doesn't, raspberry is probably the closest fruit.

Going to freeze lots of strawberries, blueberries, and huckleberries. Maybe make elderberry syrup.

[The Tickle Momster]

Well, I canned 31 pint jars of chicken on Thursday.

I needed freezer space so I long boiled some beef bones. Came away with 18 quarts of broth. Second batch is in the canner now.

I bought a flat of strawberries, but they turned into shortcake and 2 strawberry-rubarb pie. Planning to freeze one. Anyone have tips? I've never done it before.

[RiverRock]

Originally Posted by The Tickle Momster

I bought a flat of strawberries, but they turned into shortcake and 2 strawberry-rubarb pie. Planning to freeze one. Anyone have tips? I've never done it before.

I always freeze pies assembled, but not cooked. If the pan is small enough, I put the pie in a ziplock bag, if it is bigger, I use a plastic shopping bag. With the shopping bag I put the pie down flat to the bottom of the bag, and then lightly twist the handles before tying so it is somewhat fitted. I use sticker labels to write the type of pie and date before freezing. I bake the pies from frozen, but not in a preheated oven because the temperature change would be too drastic.

Originally Posted by Soliloquy

Does your book have thimbleberry? The only thing I plan to can is thimbleberrry jam. If it doesn't, raspberry is probably the closest fruit.

Berry Jam

9 cups crushed berries (2250 ml)
6 cups granulated sugar (1500 ml)

Cook 20 minutes or until it passes the gel test.

yields 7x250 ml jars

[The Tickle Momster]

I always freeze pies assembled, but not cooked. If the pan is small enough, I put the pie in a ziplock bag, if it is bigger, I use a plastic shopping bag. With the shopping bag I put the pie down flat to the bottom of the bag, and then lightly twist the handles before tying so it is somewhat fitted. I use sticker labels to write the type of pie and date before freezing. I bake the pies from frozen, but not in a preheated oven because the temperature change would be too drastic.

I already baked it. I think I will use the grocery bag idea though.