What are you canning now?

[MiniCoop]

Hi Rancher Hicks, Thank you for responding. I'd love the recipes for the Fig/Strawberry jam with balsamic vinegar and the Fig and vanilla jam. They both sound wonderful. The figs are combined with my favorite ingredients, especially vanilla.

 

[rancher hicks]

Now for why I dropped in.

DW and I picked what came out to be 12 cups of Red currants last Sunday. I didn't have time for them so I put them in the egg fridge. (the fridge I keep my eggs for sale in).

Anyhow today I got to them and this is what I wanted to share. My method of cleaning them. If you've ever done currants you know they can be a pain. I will admit DW is much better at picking and pulling the stems while she picks than I am.

Well I wanted to share my method , which is to fill the pan with water and scoop off any leaves or whatever floats to the top. Then I take one of those Oriental bamboo strainer scoops and reach in and take out a small amount of currants and rinse them. This allows me to pick out any bad currants and the crud to be strained through. The design of the strainer allows the berries or currants to fall into the center. Then I dump the lot into a screen collander and rinse them again. After that I dump them into a 1 cup measuring cup.

When I get a 1 cup full I dump that into a 4 cup measuring cup.

Stirring the currants as I scoop them out of the pot with the oriental strainer allows any leaves and stems to float to the top and any dirt to fall to the bottom. Doing small amounts this way makes it easy to pick out the dried out currants if they don't fall through the oriental strainer. It also allows me to triple rinse the currants.

I marked freezer bags with the amount and what recipe they are for so when I look at the bag and can see that I need X amount of whatever other berries are needed. Then I just dig out that premeasured and bagged fruit and make the jam, jelly or whatever.

Maybe someday I'll only need to go to the back yard to pick currants and berries.

I'll finish with this question. Two of the currant bushes lost their leaves. For some reason they turned yellow and brown and fell off. I thought it might be the wet weather or soil. Two others seem okay. They are planted in a row.

One I took up and replanted with a manure/top soil/peat moss mix. It didn't improve but still lost all it's leaves.

So this past week I took a snip on some branches to see if they were still alive. Checking for green under the bark and they are.

What could be the problem and will they grow new leaves next year? My black currant got defoliated by the chickens and it did come back. Anyone know if these red currants will? There doesn't seem to be any fungus or bugs on them.

 

[jab91864]

Put up 14 pints of zucchini relish today, should hold us for a while.

 

[Hillbilly Hen]

12 pints of blueberry syrup

 

[sonew123]

12 pints of blueberry syrup

Ooooh nice! Recipe please?

 

[rancher hicks]

FIG STRAWBERRY JAM W/ BALSAMIC VINEGAR.

3 cups crushed strawberries (for 3 cups crushed you'll need about six cups)
2 cups finely chopped fresh dark figs ( you'll need about 1 lb. figs for this recipe)
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar or to taste
1 tbsp lemon juice
5 1/2 cups sugar

1. In a large, deep heavy bottomed pot combine strawberries, figs, vinegar and lemon juice. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly.

2. Add sugar in a steady stream, stirring constantly. Bring to a full boil, stirring constantly to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat to medium and boil gently, stirring often and reducing heat further as mixture thickens for 18 - 22 minutes or until thickened. Use a potato masher to further break down figs. Test for setting point.

3. Remove from heat and skim off any foam.

4. Ladle into sterilized jars to within 1/4 inch of rim; wipe rims. Apply prepared lids and rings; tighten rings just until finger tip tight.


5. Process jars in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes. Transfer jars to a towel - lined surface and lets rest at room temperature until set.

dded note: You can fine "white" balsamic vinegar if you'd prefer it to the dark stuff.

I also have a "Fig Jam" too.

 

[rancher hicks]

FIG AND VANILLA JAM

1 1/2 lbs ripe figs with soft skins, trimmed and cut into quarters

Zest and juice of on organic lemon, washed

1 small cooking apple peeled, cored and coarsely chopped

1 vanilla bean, sliced lengthwise

3 1/2 cups granulated sugar


1. Put the figs in a preserving pan or a large heavy - bottomed sauce pan with the lemon zest and juice, chopped apple, and vanilla pod. Cook over low heat for about 20 minutes or so, stirring occasionally , until the figs have softened and broken down.

2. Add the sugar and cook over low hear, stirring continuously, util the sugar has all dissolved. Then bring to a boil and cook at a rolling boil, stirring occasionally, for about 15 - 20 minutes or until it reaches the setting point. Skim away any residue as it cooks. Remove the pan from the heat while you test for set.

3. Carefully remove the vanilla bean, then ladle into warm sterilized mason jars, leaving 1/4 in head space. Process in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes then cover, seal with a two part top, and label. Store in a cool, dark place and refrigerate after opening.


( note if you choose to print from this site and have trouble, switch to Explorer and cut and paste to Word. I'm using Google Chrome. I cut and past using Ctrl C to cut and Ctrl V to paste. )

 

[rancher hicks]

did 7 4 oz and 3 8 oz. of the Sweet Cherry jam

Tomorrow the plan is to do Black Currant Rhubarb.

 

[MiniCoop]

Rancher hicks, thank you so much for the recipes. I'll let you know how they turn out.

 

[bachbach1]

Do you guys have any idea how hard it is for a diabetic to read all of this, LOL. I do remember the days though, I can get away with just a little fruit, sugar, I cant do. I think I am going to have to quit looking at all of this delicious stuff, or I am going to break down and wind up in a diabetic coma. It do look great, and probably tastes better.