What are you canning now?

[Raech]

My husband has canned a dozen quarts of white pickles this year. We still have canned tomatoes from last year, so the birds are getting most of them. Over half our garden is chicken treats!

Are tomatoes not good after one year? I have a jar or two left I had planned on using. I know they say jelly is only good for one year, but I thought tomatoes were one of those couple year shelf life.

 

[donrae]

Do the zucchini chips come out like pickles (crunchy)? I'm inundated with zucchini, and have 20+ gallon freezer bags put away already.. I just got home from a business trip, and have got bunches more to use up and preserve. I looked into canning cubed zucchini with tomato chunks, but these zucchini chips sound like a nice alternative!

They do come out crunchy. It's a bread and butter pickle recipe, basically same as the ball blue book but with sliced zucchini instead of pickles. My sister just told me she adds about a teaspoon of red pepper flakes per pint for a hot and sweet pickle, my son really likes those.

I also dehydrate my squashes, it's a good easy way to store them. I love being able to pull them out and put in soups or tomato-sauce dishes in winter or spring. It takes a while, since they have so much water in them, but I just put the dehydrator in the garage so it doesn't heat the house up and let 'er run til they're brittle-ish.

 

[PlaidBattleAxe]

Are tomatoes not good after one year? I have a jar or two left I had planned on using. I know they say jelly is only good for one year, but I thought tomatoes were one of those couple year shelf life.

Mine are usually gone before I worry about them going bad (I've got a serious tomato addiction!), but I've used 2-3 year old tomatoes before. If it doesn't hiss or spit when you open the jar, or have any weird sediment/growth, aka clear signs of spoilage, I use it. My grandfather was a biologist and he always said if you boil it for 7-10 minutes, botulism and other harmful organisms were killed by the heat. That's my own opinion, and I know it's not what most people would do, but I've not had any problems.

 

[PlaidBattleAxe]

They do come out crunchy. It's a bread and butter pickle recipe, basically same as the ball blue book but with sliced zucchini instead of pickles. My sister just told me she adds about a teaspoon of red pepper flakes per pint for a hot and sweet pickle, my son really likes those.

I also dehydrate my squashes, it's a good easy way to store them. I love being able to pull them out and put in soups or tomato-sauce dishes in winter or spring. It takes a while, since they have so much water in them, but I just put the dehydrator in the garage so it doesn't heat the house up and let 'er run til they're brittle-ish.

Oooh. I hadn't thought of the dehydrator. Good idea!

 

[donrae]

I guess the official guidelines are all canned goods are only good for a year, but I've used things much older than that with no ill effects. Like Plaid said, as long as they're decently stored and not icky when you open them, you should be good to go.

 

[Raech]

So I guess Grandma's 20+ year old stuff is really iffy.

Some of it has changed colors, so I know that is bad, but I am flat out scared to even open the lids on them. They look pretty, it is supposed to be beets so it is purple, with white fuzzy stuff on top.

 

[wyoDreamer]

White fuzzy things is not good at all!

Don't eat it!!

And boiling will kill the botulism and other organisms; however, it is the toxins that they produce that is a big problem and those are not broken down by the heat and stay in the food to make you sick.

However, I do the same as you do Plaid; listen, look, and sniff before trying it out. It is pretty obvious when something is spoiled, but if in doubt, throw it out.

 

[kittydoc]

@Raech I should have been more clear. Since we have so many canned tomatoes (which are good for more than a year, for sure--we have used ones up to 3 years as long as the seal holds), we are giving most of our garden tomatoes to the chickens. Sorry for the confusion! It wasn't the most clear sentence I've ever written.

 

[Raech]

@Raech I should have been more clear. Since we have so many canned tomatoes (which are good for more than a year, for sure--we have used ones up to 3 years as long as the seal holds), we are giving most of our garden tomatoes to the chickens. Sorry for the confusion! It wasn't the most clear sentence I've ever written.

It is ok, I am new to canning, this is my second? year canning. I just gave my bunny scraps to the chickens today because I keep forgetting to go to my friends and give them the scraps. I think the scraps made it maybe 5 minutes, they swarmed me so quick I didn't get to see the third handful hit the ground.

 

[3goodeggs]

You want to have some fun?
Go into the run with a carrot and a potato peeler.
I think they think the are golden worms from heaven.