What are you canning now?

[Happy Chooks]

I loved your pictures of what you canned. I'm very new to canning and would love to know what recipe resources you use. I have the Bell book but would like more. Can you share?

The Joy of Jams, Jellies and other Sweet Preserves, and Blue Ribbon Preserves are also great books.

 

[sonew123]

The Joy of Jams, Jellies and other Sweet Preserves, and Blue Ribbon Preserves are also great books.

I LOVE THOSE BOOKS!!!!

 

[3goodeggs]

Finally found some Cranberries at the store and made my first batch of Spicy Cranberry Conserve, I can't stand the canned sauce that comes out on Thanksgiving.
I must say that it is pretty darn good, even my finicky hubby likes it.

1 pound fresh cranberries
1 cup fruit juice (apple, pineapple or white grape) -- i used unsweet apple juice
1 stick cinnamon
1/4 tsp Fennel Seed
2 whole cloves
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1 orange
1/2 cup raisins
3 cups sugar
1 cup Broken Walnuts (optional) - i didn't use them because my hubby can't have nuts

Rinse the berries and pick over them for bruising and stems. Heat in 1 cup fruit juice until the burst; let boil 5 min. or so. Bruise the fennel seed & tie all the spices into a muslin bag. Add to the cranberries at once.
Wash the orange, slice thinly, seed and then chop it (here I cut the rind off and chopped the meat, then zested the peel, leaving out the bitter white); add it to the cranberries with the raisins. Add the sugar slowly, stirring until completely dissolved. Boil for 10 min before adding the walnuts, if desired; then continue boiling until set, but no more than 20 min. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Remove from the heat and let stand 5 minutes before removing the spice bag. If you have opted for Walnuts, let cool partially so the nuts don't float to the top.
Ladle into hot sterilized jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Wipe the rims clean, put the lids in place, and tighten down. Invert the jars for a few minutes to complete the seal, then return to the upright and let cool completely (Here instead of flipping over I gave them a water bath for 20 min to make sure any germs are killed). Check the seals, label and store in a cool dry place.

*I doubled everything and ended up with 9 8oz jars

I wasn't going to can this year. I was going to eat up what I had... but... yummy. That is going to happen soon. I am printing it out now. Thank you.

 

[PuffyChick]

LOVE the idea of doing my own cranberry sauce. I love orange zest in it as well and really like a "jam" feel to it rather than the sloppy solid chunky "jelly" in the cans.

I will keep my eyes open for this one when fresh cranberries start to hit the shelves here.

For those Jellies that didn't set and are now a syrup, make a gift basket with your own "homemade" Pancake Mix (plop it in a quart jar) add a decorative tag and waaaa laaa Christmas breakfast in a basket for a present. You could do the same for jellies..but make it a biscuit mix.

Another thing to add, "Bark" It's basically chocolate, melted and spread thinly onto a sheet of wax paper, then sprinkled with all sorts of yummies like nuts, candies, cookies (crumbled), coconut, dried fruits, candy bars cut up like snickers, peppermint patties, reeses cups, You can basically go wild, make a layer or two and then when its super cold you "break" it or shatter it into cookie size pieces. YUM YUM! You can put this in neat little tissue lined boxes and dont have to worry about it getting broken. It's also a great gift to personalize.

I once gave soup in a jar to my family members, made with all stuff I had dehydrated ..it was a hit and for years everyone talked about how great that was.

 

[Pozees]

LOVE the idea of doing my own cranberry sauce. I love orange zest in it as well and really like a "jam" feel to it rather than the sloppy solid chunky "jelly" in the cans.

I will keep my eyes open for this one when fresh cranberries start to hit the shelves here.

For those Jellies that didn't set and are now a syrup, make a gift basket with your own "homemade" Pancake Mix (plop it in a quart jar) add a decorative tag and waaaa laaa Christmas breakfast in a basket for a present. You could do the same for jellies..but make it a biscuit mix.

Another thing to add, "Bark" It's basically chocolate, melted and spread thinly onto a sheet of wax paper, then sprinkled with all sorts of yummies like nuts, candies, cookies (crumbled), coconut, dried fruits, candy bars cut up like snickers, peppermint patties, reeses cups, You can basically go wild, make a layer or two and then when its super cold you "break" it or shatter it into cookie size pieces. YUM YUM! You can put this in neat little tissue lined boxes and dont have to worry about it getting broken. It's also a great gift to personalize.

I once gave soup in a jar to my family members, made with all stuff I had dehydrated ..it was a hit and for years everyone talked about how great that was.

Great suggestions! I made Bark a couple of years ago, and it was a hit - luckily I gave most of it away, far too delicious to keep around!

 

[off-grid hen]

My husband is very excited about the gift basket thing, who knew? Last night he tried to make caramels. He failed miserably, but now we have a lovely topping for ice cream and a dip for apple slices! My son has decided he wants to make something for the baskets too. I think he is going to do those woven pot holder things, haha!

I can't wait to try this cranberry stuff. I have to be careful about sampling the goodies to much, or I'll gain all my winter holidays weight even before Halloween!

 

[erinszoo]

LOL, I'm just the opposite, Puff...when I put stuff in a water bath and it gets boiling I can just set the timer and go clean up or get the next batch ready. I have to babysit the pressure canner...seems I have to fiddle with the heat almost constantly till about the last 20 minutes when it finally seems to stabilize. The good thing is that I can get so many more jars in it!

Pear honey, Erin? Do tell! That sounds interesting, and the preserves too. I have 3 grocery bags of Bosc pears waiting to be processed and I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to do with them yet.

We picked up more meat today; Got 3 packages of sirloin steak at buy one, get 2 free. That's going to be cubed and browned and put up for stew meat tomorrow. Also snatched up a couple really big salmon fillets that ought to give me 12 or 14 half pint jars. Yum. Plus about 10 lbs of little, end of season 'taters. That ole pressure canner's gonna get a workout!

Wow, sorry for the delay. I haven't been on in several days.

Pear Honey
Use the softest pears you have for this. Peel, core, and crush pears. Combine with equal parts sugar. Use one whole lemon for every 4 cups of pear pulp. Slice it very thinly and add to the pears and sugar. Bring to a boil and cook until the pears are translucent about 15 to 20 minutes. At this point you can either remove the lemon slices or leave them in. Can and process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Ginger Pears
Peel, core, and quarter or eighth (if big) 4 to 5 lbs of pears. Combine with 5 cups of sugar and let sit for 6 to 8 hours stirring every once in a while. Meanwhile combine 1/3 cup finely chopped ginger with 1/4 cup lemon juice. After pears sit, combine with ginger mix and bring to a boil. Boil until pears are almost clear, about 45 mins to an hour. Then add 1/4 cup vinegar and 2 TBS finely chopped lemon zest. Can and process in boiling water bath 20 minutes.

Pear Preserves
Peel, core, and slice pears. Combine with equal part of sugar. Bring to a boil and cook until pears are clear and syrup reaches jellying point. Can and process for 10 minutes in boiling water bath.

 

[Darklingstorm]

Finally found some Cranberries at the store and made my first batch of Spicy Cranberry Conserve, I can't stand the canned sauce that comes out on Thanksgiving.
I must say that it is pretty darn good, even my finicky hubby likes it.

1 pound fresh cranberries
1 cup fruit juice (apple, pineapple or white grape) -- i used unsweet apple juice
1 stick cinnamon
1/4 tsp Fennel Seed
2 whole cloves
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1 orange
1/2 cup raisins
3 cups sugar
1 cup Broken Walnuts (optional) - i didn't use them because my hubby can't have nuts

Rinse the berries and pick over them for bruising and stems. Heat in 1 cup fruit juice until the burst; let boil 5 min. or so. Bruise the fennel seed & tie all the spices into a muslin bag. Add to the cranberries at once.
Wash the orange, slice thinly, seed and then chop it (here I cut the rind off and chopped the meat, then zested the peel, leaving out the bitter white); add it to the cranberries with the raisins. Add the sugar slowly, stirring until completely dissolved. Boil for 10 min before adding the walnuts, if desired; then continue boiling until set, but no more than 20 min. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Remove from the heat and let stand 5 minutes before removing the spice bag. If you have opted for Walnuts, let cool partially so the nuts don't float to the top.
Ladle into hot sterilized jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Wipe the rims clean, put the lids in place, and tighten down. Invert the jars for a few minutes to complete the seal, then return to the upright and let cool completely (Here instead of flipping over I gave them a water bath for 20 min to make sure any germs are killed). Check the seals, label and store in a cool dry place.

*I doubled everything and ended up with 9 8oz jars

OK so its been 24 hours and I kept one of the jars out (refrigerator) to test it. It setup good and tastes great. One thing I would diffidently change next time is to strain it or food mill it. The cranberry skins are a little strange texture wise and a little less glove but that is just my taste buds.

 

[mickey328]

Thanks Erin...sounds yummy! Didn't get a durn thing done yesterday...I was just pooped and ended up crashed out in my recliner I work today but am off Tues and Wed, so I'm seriously hoping to finish up all the canning for the season. I've got those 3 bags of pears and enough tiny crab apples for a batch of jelly. Everything else is done, whew!

 

[silkensunlight]

Hey Mickey...I know you do a lot of canned ground beef. How much ground does it take to fill a pint? I'm trying to get a sense of how many I want to put up and how much it would take to make a meal out of it, so I can see if it would be worth it. Thanks.

Also, I got 18 quarts of beets put up and 18 pints of chili this weekend. Finally I feel productive! LOL