What are you canning now?

[flyingtnh]

We found a Victorio food mill for a very good deal (wish we could have found a Squeezo we could afford). We got the accessory setup also (extra screens and the grape auger). We are very pleased! With the grape auger, we can do them (even the wild ones with thicker skins) without cooking. Just wash and drop in the hopper. We ran the mash through a second time to get more of the juice out and kept the pulp instead of using the berry screen. The wild grapes we used filled the house with their scent before we even started squeezing them, and ended up making some of the best grape jam we've ever had in our lives!

 

[chickencrazymamahen]

canning pork today, but really want to be sewing!!!!

 

[Sore Thumb Suburbanite]

Hey I have a question about the tomatoes I just canned. I had a bunch of really old jar lids that seemed to be in acceptable condition regardless of their age. I canned using all different jars and different lids too (some wide mouth jars, some regular pint shaped jars, some slightly smaller jars that were older Atlas pint jars). After canning the tomatoes, I noticed that 3 of the jars with the older lids (they were unused in their orig. packaging, mind you, just from my grandmother's basement) were missing a large amount of their contents and the canner water was clouded with tomato gunk.

Now, the lids did vaccuum seal, and besides the lower level of contents within the jars, they look ok.

Has anybody had this happen, and does it affect the quality of the product and can I still use these canned goods?

 

[ChikeeMomma]

Picked up a half bushel of pears today. Pear sauce, here I come!

 

[Glenmar]

I just canned some pears too. I found a tree by a rural road. So the pears were free. I now have 18 jars of them.

 

[annaraven]

Quote:
As long as the lids sealed for sure, they should be okay. I would use them first and boil them 10 minutes after opening, just to be safe. (So, use them in a stew or soup or sauce where they need to boil anyways.)

 

[bockbock2008]

Quote:
Free is always good

I am getting mine from the trees my great great grandpa planted when he came back from the civil war. He planted 11 but there are only 6 left and they are FUUUULLLL this year. Now I'm trying to figure out how to graft some starts from these aging, hollowed out old trees.

 

[vfem]

Quote:
NICE!

I haven't canned anything, but I'm thinking tonight I wanna make some lavender & fig jam and see how that goes. I really should be trying to create a new flavor for next year by now, and I haven't bothered.

 

[krcote]

I've had my first jelly FAILURE! I was given a 5 gallon bucket of wild apples (mostly green in color and on the small side) and spent a decade making the apple juice. Only then, to have the epic failure of unset jelly

Soooooooo I have decided I need a break, and will keep the lovely syrup in the jars until I get my new stove and a massive amount of pectin

It should turn out ok right?

 

[Happy Chooks]

Quote:
vfem has posted that sometimes it takes her apple jelly 2-3 weeks to set. I haven't tried it again yet - no apples for us this year.