Preserving Your Harvest

[WingItRanch]

I'm inheriting a kumquat tree this week! I've never tasted one but heard they're really good. The rind is sweet (and edible) and the pulp is tart so it makes for a nice combination. Anyone have experience with these?

If we get a nice yield, I'll be looking at canning recipes.

 

[Smokerbill]

Today was relish day. I canned 7 half pints of dill relish and 8 halves of sweet relish. I didn't have any bell peppers to add so I used Hatch and Jalapeno peppers from the garden, so the relishes might have a little heat. Pickling cukes and yellow onions were from the garden too.

 

[Smokerbill]

Today was relish day. I canned 7 half pints of dill relish and 8 halves of sweet relish. I didn't have any bell peppers to add so I used Hatch and Jalapeno peppers from the garden, so the relishes might have a little heat. Pickling cukes and yellow onions were from the garden too.

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Strange thing about the lids. For the first batch (dill) I used cheap Walmart Mainstays lids and they all popped as the jars cooled. I used new Ball lids for the sweet relish, and I don't think any of them popped, but it appears that they all sealed OK.

 

[tripletfeb]

I need to make salsa soon. Like, two days ago. School started yesterday and I've had to be head cook so the past few days have been a mess. My fault

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

Strange thing about the lids. For the first batch (dill) I used cheap Walmart Mainstays lids and they all popped as the jars cooled. I used new Ball lids for the sweet relish, and I don't think any of them popped, but it appears that they all sealed OK.

I switched to Superb lids, the blue seals. I was having problems with Ball lids and when I contacted the Ball company they made it sound like it was my fault. So, I switched to Superb.
I believe they have to pop to be sealed. If you can use your fingers to take the lid off, they are not sealed.

 

[Smokerbill]

I switched to Superb lids, the blue seals. I was having problems with Ball lids and when I contacted the Ball company they made it sound like it was my fault. So, I switched to Superb.
I believe they have to pop to be sealed. If you can use your fingers to take the lid off, they are not sealed.

Yeah, I've read here that a lot have switched to Superb lids. I might do that.

I'll give the lids a pull tomorrow and see if any are loose. They all look like they're sucked down into the jar about the same amount as the ones that popped, and that tells me that there's a vacuum in the open space above the relish.

Guess I could lay a straight edge across the top of the lid and measure the gap at the center of the lids to see if they are pulled down as far as the lids that I know have sealed. If so, I'd say they're ok.

 

[saysfaa]

By "pop" do you mean hear it go down? Or do you mean it doesn't click when you press the top the next day whether or not you heard any popping down?

Nearly always, I can get the tops off with my fingers. Technique matters a lot, I think. And finger strength. Some are easier than others. As long as a top doesn't click down when I press its middle before I start taking it off, it was properly sealed.

Well, it was still safely sealed anyway. "Properly sealed" could arguably be different. If it is too lightly sealed, it might unseal when the jars are moved or temperatures where it is stored change.

Lightly sealed could be from variations in the lid. Or variations in things like the amount of headspace, temperature of the jars or contents when it goes into the canner. All those vary for me because I use different brands of lids, reuse lids sometimes, and sometimes I don't get a batch from warming the jar to filling the jar or from filling the jar to putting the lids on as fast as I do at other times. I am usually pretty precise about how hot the contents are and how much headspace there is.

 

[saysfaa]

...

Guess I could lay a straight edge across the top of the lid and measure the gap at the center of the lids to see if they are pulled down as far as the lids that I know have sealed. If so, I'd say they're ok.

If there is enough vacuum to pull the raised circle of the lid down, there is enough vacuum. If not, then not. Otherwise, it doesn't matter how far the lid is pulled down. At least, I think that is how it works. How else makes any sense?

 

[Sally PB]

I canned 45 quarts of tomatoes this year. I used all Ball lids, and had one failure to seal. I used the contents for spaghetti sauce the next day. It wasn't the lid's fault; a tomato seed had siphoned up on top of the rim.

I had one other jar that sealed after an hour when all the others had sealed with in 10-15 minutes.

Those were all wide mouth. The regular mouth lids have been more problematic this year. I will not buy Anchor brand lids from the hardware store again. I had two out of 10 FTS with that brand.

 

[Smokerbill]

By "pop" do you mean hear it go down? Or do you mean it doesn't click when you press the top the next day whether or not you heard any popping down?

Yes, I meant that I didn't hear it go down on initial cooling. When I pressed on the centers of the lids this morning they were all solid, meaning they couldn't move downward any more. All are sucked into the jars, and I couldn't pull them off with my fingers.

From looking at the lids, the ones that don't "pop" when the jars cool are the lids that don't have much of a dimple in the middle.