What are you canning now?

[vfem]

Welcome back Calico!

The addiction begins again!

I managed to fix my watermelon jelly wonderfully yesterday. That helpful note I found did wonders. I tried to fix some last year according to the directions from Ball with the pectin packs, and it came out very hard and terrible that way. I am MUCH more pleased with the above directions, and I was able to do 2 Qt at a time.

I also got in a fresh batch of caramelized onion jam. Good stuff that is!

 

[HenThymes]

Have a couple of questions I hoping someone with experience can answer:

How can I freeze/preserve spinach?? We are coming to the end for our spinach and would like to put some up to use in recipes later. This I have never done yet, any advise?

Also, how do you know when your onions are ready to come out of the ground? We planted them last fall all have nice large stalks and three went to "flower heads". Then I know they have to cure for awhile, how long is that?

We planted garlic as well, hoping to make some of Shannon's yummy caramelized onion jam this year.

 

[BarefootMom]

Quote:
we always pick ours before they go to seed (flower heads) because we like to eat and use the green part too.

can't help with the spinach question though sorry.

 

[Chickangel79]

Quote:
HI, we blanched our spinach for 4 minutes and put them in a colander to drain, then into ice cold water and squeezed it out and froze it. Hope that helps.

 

[mom22alcorns]

To freeze spinach just blanch it for 4 minutes, plunge it into an ice bath then drain it REALLY well. Then I use a vacuum sealer to seal it in bags, but before I had that I just used freezer bags.

To can it, you want to wilt it pretty good by putting it in a big pot with just a splash of water and stirring it to keep from sticking. As it reduces in bulk, I add some more until I have a big pot of wilted spinach. Then it's just 1/2 tsp salt to a pint and 1 tsp salt to a quart, pack it as tightly as you can leaving 1 inch headspace, screw on hot lids and process. Process pints for 1 hour 15 minutes at 10 pounds pressure in a steam canner and quarts for 1 hour 30 minutes at 10 pounds pressure in a steam canner.

I did 21 quarts of spinach, 12 quarts of pork and beans, 12 pints of strawberry jam, and 12 quarts of chicken stock over the weekend, so the recipe was still rattling around in my head...

 

[pirtykitty]

I just made 2 quart jars and 2 pint jars of sweet pickled bannana peppers from this recipe:

http://www.food.com/recipe/sweet-pickled-banana-peppers-17254

this is my first attempt at canning.. I noticed when I moved the jars onto the dinning room table that there's a good inch or so of brine at the bottom of the jar( the peppers are above it.. Is this okay???? also not sure if I got the brine 1/2 inch from top will this make a difference...

 

[chicken stalker]

This just came up on facebook.....From Grow It, Cook It, Can It


Whatever-Kind-Of-Greens-You-Have Kimchi
"This recipe will work with pretty much any greens you have. I’ve made it with savoy cabbages, kale, garlic scapes, and rainbow chard. I would avoid traditional types of cabbage because the leaves are so thick, but napa cabbage, collard greens, boy choy and mustard greens would all be fine.

Equipment needed: 2 quart jars

Ingredients:

1 lb. greens such as savoy cabbage or rainbow chard
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. sugar
2 dried cayenne peppers, crushed
1 tbs. paprika
1 tbs. fresh ginger, minced
2 tbs. garlic, minced
1 tsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. unrefined peanut oil (or toasted sesame oil)
1. Sterilize two quart jars.

2. Wash greens and roughly chop into 1/2″ strips.

3. In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients except for the greens. Mix together thoroughly. Add the greens to the bowl and mix well, making sure to coat everything evenly.

4. Divide the greens between the two jars. Loosely screw on lids and leave unrefrigerated overnight. The next day, give each jar a good shake. Put them into the fridge for a week to lightly ferment the greens. Each day or so, take the jars out and give the jar a shake and stir up the greens a little bit so that the ones on the top of the jar eventually end up at the bottom. The greens will shrink down and if you’ll probably want to combine them into one jar after a 4-5 days.

5. In about a week, the kimchi is ready. You’ll know because the greens smell slightly sour and you won’t be able to resist digging in any longer. Eat it in sandwiches, wraps, salads, as a side dish with stir fry or rice, or all on its own. You will love it, I guarantee."

Original Link http://growitcookitcanit.com/2011/06/03/kimchi-and-a-lot-of-hard-work/

 

[vfem]

I picked my first 3 pickling cukes today.... and there are like 20 more that will be ready in a day or 2. I'm so excited to be thinking about pickles already!!!!!!!

 

[3goodeggs]

I did 4 quarts of bread and butter pickles last Friday.
I doubt my plants will handle any more heat to give me cukes for dill.
I was going to try them this year. I have never done dill.
I threw some in a jar with salt, vinegar,dill, and water and put them in the way back of the refrigerator. They aren't bad, but I doubt they will keep long.

 

[3goodeggs]

Quote:
I have always wondered this myself. it never matters how careful I am to have all of the food covered with brine and the required head space, they always seem to float above the brine.
I make them eat those first.