What are you canning now?

[GPN]

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I am knee deep in hungarian peppers and have no idea what to do with them all - I have never frozen peppers - they don't get too mushy?


I want to can beets but apparently need a beet growing lesson first!

So far this year, I have canned beans, carrots, and pickles.

Where are you located? I just planted a late crop of heirloom chioggia beets, one cause they are diferrent and two I wanted to know if I could get anything this late!!

 

[BC Gal]

RockyToggRanch, you can hungarian peppers? Do you make salsa, just chopped, or how?

GPN, I am in British Columbia, Canada. There is no reason why I cannot grow beets, I am just doing something wrong. They are always small, too much on top of the ground, and sparse to come up (3rd year, even tried different locations). The variety you are growing I have not tried; let me know if they grow well (I could try them next year) or maybe just some beet growing advice

 

[RockyToggRanch]

Quote:
We pickle them. They're yummy.

If your beets are all foliage you're probably using too much nitrogen fertilizer. On your fertilizer bag there are 3 numbers. Root crops benefit from a higher 2nd number. Or if you use manure fertilizer it's also high in nitrogen. Just cut back.

 

[RockyToggRanch]

 

[Kim_NC]

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They look lovely! Is that garlic cloves in the bottom of some jars?

 

[vfem]

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oooooooh....ooooooooooh.... where do I enter dear? Am I late already? Where do I go? The NC State Fair right?

 

[OutInTheStiks]

Our pumpkin and cushaw vines are beginning to die back so it's time to start thinking about putting some in the freezer. I plan on just putting a few in the basement whole, but I was also like to have some ready made from the freezer for making pies, breads, cheesecakes and such. I did a bit of research and found that some people roast theirs then puree and freeze while others cook then puree and freeze. What is your preferred method? Thanks in advance for your responses.

 

[Patchesnposies]

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This summer I decided to make some pumpkin custard, from fresh pumpkins, but I didn't want to heat up the house as I did it. So, I seeded and cut up a couple of sugar pumpkins and put them in my crock pot on high for half an hour and then turned it on low for another hour or so. They cooked wonderfully and browned just enough that they had that slightly roasted flavor.

After it cooled I took an ice cream scoop and took all of the flesh off of the rind. Then I took my immersion blender and pureed it. I added everything I would to make a pumpkin pie and poured it back into the crock pot and cooked it on low until it was set. (I did spray the CP with pam so it wouldn't stick.)

I plan to do all of my pumpkin like this, only I will can the chunks or puree and put them on the shelf for the winter. I end up not having enough freezer space for too many veggies. I have six kids and I tend to fill my freezer with MEAT when it is on sale. LOL

 

[bockbock2008]

This weekend I got in 3 quarts and 3 pints Clausen style pickles and 9 pints of salsa (one got eaten before I got a picture

)

This week its on to apples. Apple jelly, candy apple jelly, carmel apple jelly, pectin, applesauce and a few pies for the freezer Hopefully if I get all the apples done I can get some grape jelly in too.

 

[biddyboo]

Not specifically about something I am canning, but a canning question nevertheless, so I turn to you seasoned canners. When pressure canning quarts of tomato-pepper-onion soup base this morning, I noticed that as the pressure was going down, my pressure dial gauge developed condensation within the dial. This has never happened before. The canner lid has never been dropped or used roughly. I always store it on the canner in the cardboard box it was in when I purchased it (2 summers ago) when I am finished with a day's canning. Is this serious? Will the condensation disappear? Do I need to send it off to be checked? Right in the middle of canning season-argh!!! Thanks for any information you can send my way. ~G