Preserving Your Harvest

[tripletfeb]

Working on freezing corn today. My mom picked up 5 dozen ears for $4.00 each dozen. Not a bad price. And I did 15 pints of beans last week. My tomatoes are just starting to get red so as soon as I have enough of those, I'll be canning them

 

[tripletfeb]

WOW! This thread has exploded! I've not been on BYC much lately just because I've been SO busy. But it is great to see so many people swapping information, ideas and recipes.

I have a lot of overgrown zucchini right now. I think zucchini pickles and relish may be in the future. Has anybody ever canned baba ganoush? I'm tempted to make a zucchini version of baba if I can process it for shelf storage.

You can spiralize the zucchini and freeze it. Use it instead of spag noodles, yummy!

 

[muddy75]

AS for the loss of liquid, I found this interesting site that explains some of the causes:
https://www.healthycanning.com/loss-of-liquid-during-home-canning/#:~:text=There are several possible causes, experts say: 1,jar; 4 Lid related; 5 Water-bath canning issues.

This is part of the text:
1. SIPHONING
Siphoning technically means liquid being drawn out, but in home canning circles the term seems to be often used as a catchphrase to include liquid being pushed out as well.

If you overfill jars and leave insufficient headspace, you can end up with excess headspace because food will expand during processing (even if it shrinks back afterwards) and if there is insufficient room, while doing so it will push water out to make room for its expansion.

Siphoning can also be caused by fluctuating pressure.

FLUCTUATING PRESSURE
Fluctuating pressure can cause liquid loss.

The National Center for Home Food Preservation teaches,”Changes in pressure during processing may result in a loss of liquid from jars.” [5]
Patti Griffith from the University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension writes,

When pressure is released too frequently or constantly, liquid is pulled from the jars inside. This is a common problem in jars canned in a weighted-gauge canner. If the jars stay sealed after they are cooled, the product inside is safe to use even though the liquid is down. Pulled liquid may keep some jars from sealing because the residue on the jar rim will prevent a complete seal.” [6]
Note that she warns specifically against having the pressure so high on a weighted-gauge canner that the device is always struggling to release the excess pressure. Presto, a manufacturer of pressure canners, also says liquid loss can be owing to this: “Pressure regulator on the weighted gauge canner rocked vigorously during processing. Always maintain a slow, steady rocking motion.” [7]
Lowering the pressure too quickly after processing can cause siphoning. Wait until the pressure is at absolute 0 before removing the counter-weight or petcock. Presto says that even “bumping the pressure regulator before pressure has completely dropped” can cause siphoning. [8]
2. IMPROPER COOL-DOWN PROCEDURE
Cooling the jars too quickly after processing can cause liquid loss.

After a pressure canner has returned to absolutely zero, remove the weight and let the machine rest as is for 5 to 10 minutes (opinion varies whether it should be 5 or 10 minutes.) Then after removing lid, let the jars rest undisturbed for a final 10 minutes before removing.

Not allowing jars a bit of time like this to re-acclimate to the real world can cause liquid to escape from the jars.

For water bathing, after the processing time is up, turn off the heat, remove the cover and let the jars rest as they are in the water for 5 minutes before removing.

3. HIDDEN AIR IN THE JAR MAKING ITSELF KNOWN AND RISING TO THE TOP OF THE JAR
Raw food has a lot of air in it. The volume of food you have put in a jar before processing might actually only be ¾ food and ¼ air trapped inside the food. During processing, this air will escape from the food and rise to the top of the jar.

The Presto manual notes the following: “Failure to precook food before packing in jars thus allowing shrinkage to occur in the jar. It is especially important to preheat fruit.” [9] Note that the Presto people don’t like cold packs, and in their manual don’t even give you the cold-pack option for fruit as the NCHFP does; Presto gives only hot pack choice. Note as well that the Ball Blue Book [10] and the Bernardin Guide [11] emphasize that the hot pack is always preferred, too.

Starchy foods such as beans can absorb water, making it seem as though it has disappeared. This is less of a problem if you use hot pack for these types of food, which is the generally the recommended pack type, anyway.

Thanks for posting that!!!!! Great explanations

 

[Magda12]

We have a harvest right freeze dryer that we are going to be using this year to preserve the garden and surplus eggs. I am also trying to get into lacto fermentation.

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

I was inspired by tripletfeb to can the bunch of carrots I harvested. I got 7 pints!

Other stuff I've been getting done: dill pickles, sweet pickles, corn, cayenne pepper seasoning. I've also been freezing cut up celery, jalapenos, peaches, black raspberries, asparagus, green beans, green onions, garlic and green peppers. Also, the Strawberry Jam that I posted earlier.

 

[tripletfeb]

I was inspired by tripletfeb to can the bunch of carrots I harvested. I got 7 pints!
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Other stuff I've been getting done: dill pickles, sweet pickles, corn, cayenne pepper seasoning. I've also been freezing cut up celery, jalapenos, peaches, black raspberries, asparagus, green beans, green onions, garlic and green peppers. Also, the Strawberry Jam that I posted earlier.
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Aw, that's so sweet! 7 pints is legit, good job! Everything looks so good

 

[WIchickMama]

anyone can pears with the skin on? seems like such a waste of food and nutrients! and would cut down on a lot of prep work

 

[pennyJo1960]

anyone can pears with the skin on? seems like such a waste of food and nutrients! and would cut down on a lot of prep work

I peel them first Grandma and Ma did too.

 

[TooCheep]

anyone can pears with the skin on? seems like such a waste of food and nutrients! and would cut down on a lot of prep work

Never heard of doing them with skin on- commercial canned peaches, pears, etc. don't.

That said, you should absolutely experiment with it. Try one jar worth (or even a few pieces) and see what you think. If it works, then I agree that it would be beneficial. Takes some pictures and let us know how it works out.

 

[WIchickMama]

Never heard of doing them with skin on- commercial canned peaches, pears, etc. don't.

That said, you should absolutely experiment with it. Try one jar worth (or even a few pieces) and see what you think. If it works, then I agree that it would be beneficial. Takes some pictures and let us know how it works out.

I will try it, we eat them with the skins on fresh so might as well try. I will let you all know-my guess is that they get mushy so should work out well.