What are you canning now?

[Kim_NC]

Quote:
The Ball Fruit Jell, No Sugar Pectin is 100% natural.

I made mine from real fruit - because I was given a bunch of fresh pineapple. I crushed the pineapple in the food processor, covered with water, brought to a boil, let stand 1 hour, then strained.

And you could just make a jam by using the crushed pineapple. In that case use 4 cups crushed pineapple and 1 cup apple juice or pineapple juice, proceed with regular recipe.

It never bothers me to use commercial juice to make jams - the only ones I by are organic, all natural, etc.

I haven't tried using an apple in place of pectin. Although, in the 'old days', women made their own pectin from apples. I do make my own apple juice for jelly/jam recipes and keep it frozen. We have apple trees, so there's plenty to work with. When a jam recipe calls for added water - or when I'm a little short of having enough of any fruit - I thaw some of the homemade apple juice.

I also make infusions from homemade apple juice using herbs - rosemary, thyme, basil. Then I make these into jellies.

 

[ozark hen]

Quote:
The Ball Fruit Jell, No Sugar Pectin is 100% natural.

I made mine from real fruit - because I was given a bunch of fresh pineapple. I crushed the pineapple in the food processor, covered with water, brought to a boil, let stand 1 hour, then strained.

And you could just make a jam by using the crushed pineapple. In that case use 4 cups crushed pineapple and 1 cup apple juice or pineapple juice, proceed with regular recipe.

It never bothers me to use commercial juice to make jams - the only ones I by are organic, all natural, etc.

I haven't tried using an apple in place of pectin. Although, in the 'old days', women made their own pectin from apples. I do make my own apple juice for jelly/jam recipes and keep it frozen. We have apple trees, so there's plenty to work with. When a jam recipe calls for added water - or when I'm a little short of having enough of any fruit - I thaw some of the homemade apple juice.

I also make infusions from homemade apple juice using herbs - rosemary, thyme, basil. Then I make these into jellies.

You are a wealth of information! Thanks so much for sharing with us newbies to canning!

I only buy natural myself, so this info is very welcome. Oh, my dh loves flavored iced tea and I use about a 1/3 all natural fruit juice to a gal. of tea and he loves it!

 

[Kim_NC]

Quote:
I'll have to remember the 1/3 juice to a gallon of tea when our apples are ready this year. I'll try it and then can some additional apple juice for drinking/mixing tea. Thanks for the idea.

You're welcome for the 'wealth of information'. LOL...but I'm not that old...only 50, just been canning since my teenage years with mom/aunts.

 

[wegotchickens]

I had a huge batch of Rosemary that I wanted to dry. DH knew that. But it overhung a spot he wanted to mow. So he chopped it down and threw it in the dirt for the chickens to pick through. The stems he left behind are as thick as a sharpie marker. He cut away 2/3 of the plant at least. Think it'll even live?

 

[ozark hen]

Quote:
I'll have to remember the 1/3 juice to a gallon of tea when our apples are ready this year. I'll try it and then can some additional apple juice for drinking/mixing tea. Thanks for the idea.

You're welcome for the 'wealth of information'. LOL...but I'm not that old...only 50, just been canning since my teenage years with mom/aunts.

Age has nothing to do with it if you have never canned before. LOL I am 66 and have learned so much from Miss Prissy!! I never dreamed I would be making my own yogurt, cheese or mayo before I joined this wonderful site. I am eager to learn now. LOL I just hope I live long enough to do all these things LOL
Oh, I also put a 1/3 of juice into Kool Aid. One of our daughters calls it "adult Kool Aid". Very refreshing and I hadn't made Kool Aid since my grown kids were little, now we drink it a lot.

 

[freemotion]

Quote:
It should come back, it is early in the season. I'd either move it or put something around it so dh (that d doesn't stand for "dear" right now!!

) doesn't whack it again. Be sure he knows all the good foods he will not be enjoying without rosemary! That often helps with my dh. But once there is a mower or weedwacker in their hands, watch out. I outlined all my gardens with bricks and rocks, and every year I lift each one, weed around it, scrape more dirt under it to lift it, and put it back. So the borders are very visible.

DH's! Hmmph! At least rosemary goes great with chicken!

 

[bethandjoeync]

Quote:
It should come back, it is early in the season. I'd either move it or put something around it so dh (that d doesn't stand for "dear" right now!!

) doesn't whack it again. Be sure he knows all the good foods he will not be enjoying without rosemary! That often helps with my dh. But once there is a mower or weedwacker in their hands, watch out. I outlined all my gardens with bricks and rocks, and every year I lift each one, weed around it, scrape more dirt under it to lift it, and put it back. So the borders are very visible.

DH's! Hmmph! At least rosemary goes great with chicken!

my dh hasn't mowed my herbs down, they aren't really big bushes yet, so no worries for now. but when I started my herb bed last fall, my wonderful (but irritating) dog, licked my tender rosemary plant to death! she licked all of the stems and thing was bare when she was done with it. and she has no ordinary dog tounge, it's the boxer huge, flapping tounge. it killled the plant, and I had to get a new one, and this time she can't get to it. I would baby the plant as much as you can, and give it until fall to show signs of life, but in the mean time I would buy another plant to replace it just in case.

 

[ninjapoodles]

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Did you use the Sweet Leaf liquid stevia? How much? That's always my challenge with stevia--knowing how much to use without going overboard.

 

[wegotchickens]

Quote:
It should come back, it is early in the season. I'd either move it or put something around it so dh (that d doesn't stand for "dear" right now!!

) doesn't whack it again. Be sure he knows all the good foods he will not be enjoying without rosemary! That often helps with my dh. But once there is a mower or weedwacker in their hands, watch out. I outlined all my gardens with bricks and rocks, and every year I lift each one, weed around it, scrape more dirt under it to lift it, and put it back. So the borders are very visible.

DH's! Hmmph! At least rosemary goes great with chicken!

No, the D didn't stand for dear

My herbs are in a raised bed. The Rosemary had gotten so big that it leaned over the edge and onto 'his' lawn. He was mad at me and ruined it on purpose. The 2 remaining branches look goofy, so I'll cut & dry those, and see if the plant survives at all. I had never had one grow well until this one!

Last Sunday I brought back loads of canning jars from Mom's for canning spaghetti sauce. On Monday he chopped up my plant. Things are rather chilly at my house and the meals are rather tasteless. He's noticed.
If he doesn't want to help me can food, he doesn't have to! I'd actally rather he didn't, sometimes...

When he apologizes I'm sure he'll buy me a new Rosemary bush, too. Rosemary is for remembrance, after all!

 

[wegotchickens]

Quote:
I've been quiet about it and the kids don't even know what's going on. So on Tuesday dinner when the eldest said, "Wow, this is really bland tonight!" I just said, "Is it?" and kept eating.
He kept staring at his plate and shoveling it in.

We had pizza last night. We ran out of sauce. I smeared it really thin across the 2 crusts. He loves them to have extra sauce, and looked at me. I could see the question form in his eyes. And then he turned and started setting the table. We're getting closer to a resolution.

I'm a patient woman. He's a smart man. He'll come around.