What are you canning now?

[wyoDreamer]

Feed sack towels! that was actually part of the gimmick of selling their feed. At the end of the year, they would print a calendar for the next year on the back panel of the bag. We have some old feed sack towels still in use up at our cabin...

 

[sunflower4you]

currant events.

 

[Peep_Show]

What about a hand-crank food mill to remove the seeds? Or are currant seeds too small?

I use one of these for applesauce

...and making gooseberry jam

 

[rancher hicks]

Mom used dish towels made from cloth feed sacks . Grandma had saved a supply of them from when chicken feed came in cloth sacks . Muslin I believe they call it . I can still remember mom pouring blackberries into it and then squeezing it by twisting it while still very hot . Too hot to handle . She held the dry top and used a large wooden spoon to turn the bag . Old version of a jelly bag I guess .

Recipes say NOT to squeeze the cheese cloth but I do anyhow. Leaving it tied to the cupboard door over the bowl for the night using one sheet of cheese cloth. Then the next day I I warm up the juice and then strain it through two sheets of cheese cloth.

Now apple juice I squeeze and then let it sit in the fridge. The next day all there is sediment in the bottom and I pour it through two sheets.

With the concord grapes it said to let it sit for 24hrs cuz there will be crystals. This is all new stuff to me.

Back in the day, feed sacks were made of muslin and heavy. Not like todays' muslin I suppose. Much of the fabric we get today is thinner.

 

[Happy Chooks]

I did that and we shall see.

I don't recommend making jams with Currants they're way to seedy. Even if this hadn't burned I wouldn't have liked it.

Can I dump it in a pot heat it up and run it through some cheese cloth? I won't be giving this away with the smoky taste and all, but I'd like it better with out the seeds.

I don't see why not. I'd do it as you use it though, I wouldn't try to can it again.


For BBQ flare ups, you can use baking soda or beer to put it out. My brother told me about the beer one, and dang it really does work!

 

[hennible]

For BBQ flare ups, you can use baking soda or beer to put it out.  My brother told me about the beer one, and dang it really does work!

Beer?! Perfect always right there during a BBQ.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Quote:
Yep, I didn't believe him until I tried it. It puts the fire out instantly.

 

[AZ RT89A]

Fun fact: Some of the first dry chemical fire extinguishers used baking soda in them. It's still used in some extinguishers, but it's slowly going away.

 

[jomoncon]

How about BEER JELLY!!!

A few night ago, both DH & I were suffering from insomnia, and we were both cruising around on the web. All of a sudden he yells "Beer Jelly!!" Seems he found a link to a site that was selling beer jelly & thought we could try making that. we found several recipes. Some of them had a lot of extra herbs & spices, like this one: http://www.therecipeclub.net/2012/0...ation-kitchen-by-paul-virant-with-kate-leahy/ But I really was looking for something simple: beer, sugar, pectin. Well, after some searching around, we came upon this site: http://growitcookitcanit.com/2011/03/17/stout-beer-jelly/ And it looked like what we wanted.

We try to use local stuff in our jellies, so we tried a popular local beer, Abita Amber, that's described as "Munich style lager brewed with pale and caramel malts and German Perle hops.It has a smooth, malty, slightly caramel flavor and a rich amber color." 2 bottles of beer, sugar & a little pectin later, we had & 5 half-pints of the gorgeous colored beer jelly. And it tastes good. And I hate beer! It's a kind of honey/caramel flavor that doesn't taste like beer to me. Maybe a real beer drinker could tell what it is, but not me.

We''ll see how my farmers market customers like it this weekend.

 

[sunflower4you]

How about BEER JELLY!!!

A few night ago, both DH & I were suffering from insomnia, and we were both cruising around on the web. All of a sudden he yells "Beer Jelly!!" Seems he found a link to a site that was selling beer jelly & thought we could try making that. we found several recipes. Some of them had a lot of extra herbs & spices, like this one: http://www.therecipeclub.net/2012/0...ation-kitchen-by-paul-virant-with-kate-leahy/ But I really was looking for something simple: beer, sugar, pectin. Well, after some searching around, we came upon this site: http://growitcookitcanit.com/2011/03/17/stout-beer-jelly/ And it looked like what we wanted.

We try to use local stuff in our jellies, so we tried a popular local beer, Abita Amber, that's described as "Munich style lager brewed with pale and caramel malts and German Perle hops.It has a smooth, malty, slightly caramel flavor and a rich amber color." 2 bottles of beer, sugar & a little pectin later, we had & 5 half-pints of the gorgeous colored beer jelly. And it tastes good. And I hate beer! It's a kind of honey/caramel flavor that doesn't taste like beer to me. Maybe a real beer drinker could tell what it is, but not me.

We''ll see how my farmers market customers like it this weekend.

This intrigues me since boiling a couple bottles of beer sounds SO much easier than picking, pitting, chopping cherries for cherry jam that I usually make. If this stuff tastes any good, I could whip up a batch in no time. Did you add any acid to the beer/sugar/pectin mixture? Is it acidic enough to just hot water bath can it? What do you eat it with/on?