What are you canning now?

[rancher hicks]

This is what I need! Enclosed inside a screened porch.

I'm not sure inside would be a good place for it. Perhaps under and tent of some kind. I had plans to do a set up under a half hoop. Then I could uncover it for processing and then put the tarp over it and close it up till the next time.

 

[jomoncon]

This must be a record - no new posts in almost 2 months!! Surely, we're doing some canning, or maybe we're all too busy with our spring gardens to post much. I know that's what been happening with me. Early spring gardening is the busiest time of the year for me. With processing all the late winter veggies - broccoli, cauliflower, carrots - I haven't had much computer time.

But now the late spring/early summer fruits are starting to come in. Strawberries, blueberries, mulberries, and mayhaws are all either growing or coming to market. I've processed so many strawberries and blueberries that I'm surprised I'm not red and blue all over. I received a couple of gallons of mulberries last night and they're in the steam juicer as I'm writing this. Since mayhaws don't grow too much in New Orleans, more of a north Louisiana thing, I decided this year to just purchase mayhaw juice for my jellies and I should be getting around 5 gallons next week. The blackberries are starting to come in, bit I don't think my new berry patch will give me all I need, so I found a pick-your-own farm not too far away to get some more. A lot of customers are starting to ask for figs, but they won't be ready for at least another month or so.

So what has everyone else been up to? Have you just been too busy for posting? I'm sure all of us canner can't let 2 months go by without canning something!!

 

[Glasshen]

Nothing grows here in the winter, but now we are planting, and apples are just starting to blossom, next month strawberries...our trees are not even fully leafed.

 

[TerriLaChicks]

Put up 2 batches of strawberry jam, picked wild blackberries for jam but they're in the freezer until I have time to get to them, have mayhaw juice ready to be made into jelly, and waiting on wild plums to ripen, tomatoes & cucumbers! Not quite up to full gear yet but getting there.

 

[wyoDreamer]

DH is now working in WI, the house in Wyoming is for sale - so no canning for me right now. Trying to keep the house clean and tidy for someone to buy soon!
We purchased an old farmhouse on 25 acres. I haven't been able to explore too much, I was only there for the closing (needed to sign the papers) and had to come back 2 days later. Those two days were spent emptying DH's apartment. I did notice that there was a cupboard in the basement with a door ajar. Looked like a couple of shelves of jars at least, 2 water bath canners and a pressure canner peeking out at me.

I need to take a better look next time I am back there, hopefully for good next time.

There is a small shed in the front yard. DH is talking about making it my canning kitchen - so I can do all my canning out of the house and save on the humidity and air conditioning costs.

Chicken was on sale last week. I am all out of canned chicken meat. I even had two 5+ pound packages in my cart before I wised up and put them back. When this house is sold and I move to Wisconsin, I will raise some meat birds and can up some chicken. I love that stuff.

I am out of Plum Sauce, my neighbor is sad about it. I will have to make a triple batch when plums are ripe in WI and mail some to her. They loved it so much and since she gave me the pressure canner, that is my way to say thanks.

 

[jomoncon]

DH is now working in WI, the house in Wyoming is for sale - so no canning for me right now.  Trying to keep the house clean and tidy for someone to buy soon! 
We purchased an old farmhouse on 25 acres.  I haven't been able to explore too much, I was only there for the closing (needed to sign the papers) and had to come back 2 days later.  Those two days were spent emptying DH's apartment.  I did notice that there was a cupboard in the basement with a door ajar.  Looked like a couple of shelves of jars at least, 2 water bath canners and a pressure canner peeking out at me.     I need to take a better look next time I am back there, hopefully for good next time.

There is a small shed in the front yard.  DH is talking about making it my canning kitchen - so I can do all my canning out of the house and save on the humidity and air conditioning costs.

Chicken was on sale last week.  I am all out of canned chicken meat.  I even had two 5+ pound packages in my cart before I wised up and put them back.  When this house is sold and I move to Wisconsin, I will raise some meat birds and can up some chicken.  I love that stuff.

I am out of Plum Sauce, my neighbor is sad about it.  I will have to make a triple batch when plums are ripe in WI and mail some to her.  They loved it so much and since she gave me the pressure canner, that is my way to say thanks.

I'm sure you'll enjoy life on your new property. And I hope that cupboard in the basement yields lots of goodies for you! An outside kitchen is so wonderful for canning!! We recently got one installed for me. So far, just a stove and a sink, but we're going to complete it as money allows. I did get a high pressure jet burner installed separately. It can bring a huge pot of water to boil in about 20 minutes.

Which plum sauce recipe do you use? I've tried a few in the past and I wasn't completely satisfied with them.

Good luck with the new property!

 

[wyoDreamer]

I used the recipe out of the canning book that I bought new in 2012. It is this one: Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving in paperback
But of course, I had to make some little changes to the recipe, like I can't eat really hot stuff, so I changed the heat content. I believe that I made notes in the book on what I did. One thing I did was put it into the crockpot and cooked it down to the thickness I wanted with the lid ajar and the crockpot on low. Right now the cookbook is packed in a box somewhere in WI.

My neighbor made the same recipe, but she tried to cook it down on the stovetop. Hers turned out kind of yucky brown, I think she may have burnt just a little bit and she added food coloring to try to make it red, which almost made it worse, and then she added something to thicken it.

Hubby is excited about me being able to can a lot of fresh foods. His mom did some canning, his grandma did a lot. My mom did a lot of gardening and canning when we were little, I don't think she does much at all anymore. Maybe she will come over and we can make pickles together.

 

[Blooie]

I'm getting ready to put up this year's supply of strawberry/rhubarb jam. I live in Northern Wyoming (WyoDreamer is a friend of mine, even if she is abandoning us!) so I have nothing ready except the rhubarb, but since I use frozen strawberries and had a glut of them last year I'm still all set. I'm just waiting for my granddaughter to get here for a visit the end of this month. It's her favorite, and by golly this year instead of just eating it she's gonna learn to make it! We raised her for several years, so she KNOWS what she likes when she's here.

 

[wyoDreamer]

Train them as young as you can, Blooie! It is a gift that keeps giving. My mom had us scrubbing cucumbers at 5 years old.

My mom made Blueberry/Rhubarb jam one year. She really liked it and it was good, but my dad just whined about all the pies she could have made with all the blueberries he picked.

Have fun with your granddaughter, Blooie. Making memories is so important. It is one of those things that families seem to fail at now a days.

 

[2jsbabyfarm]

There's probably some on here but by George there's a lot of content to sift through!! I could use a good recipe for canned apple butter! My husband loves the stuff!