What are you canning now?

[Tracydr]

Quote:
Have you ever been to the NCHFP website? They have a fantastic website with everything from the basics to charts on processing times to even recipes. I think they even have a free, online course, if I remember right. You can buy their book or DVD set but I think most everything is on the website. It's the National canning and Home Food Preservation site. I think it's through the University of Goergia Extension Office. I use this site more than I use my Ball Complete book. Even reread my instructions on using the pressure canner every time I go to use it if it's been more than a couple of weeks.
You could dehydrate or freeze your excess pumpkin. I made some delicious pumpkin butter, which cooks down to a much smaller volume, and froze it. Or, make it into pie filling and freeze it. Always nice to have ready-made pie filling on hand to throw into a frozen pie crust. Or, use it to make breads and freeze some breads.
I'm sure the canned pumpkin would freeze fine by itself, though, if you have the space. Do you have a dehydrator? You could make a delicious fruit leather with pumpkin pie flavoring.
Today, I'm cooking chicken stock from one of the chickens I processed last week. I'll can it tomorrow. Also, going to the produce market. Will see what specials I get. This is a great time of year there for killer deals so I'm sure I'll come home with something to can. Hoping for something to pickle, maybe mixed vegetable pickles or dillie beans. I need more pears if their still on sale. Two weeks ago, got them for 25 cents a pound and canned 35 pounds of sliced pears, along with a batch of fabulous but runny pear vanilla preserves.
Will also can apple pie jam this morning.

 

[vfem]

Busy day! Got 6 8oz pink watermelon jellies, 2 16oz pink watermelon jellies, 4 8oz orange watermelon jellies & 4 8oz rosemary jellies done!

 

[3goodeggs]

'orange watermelon' as in orange the fruit or orange the color?
I think watermelon and orange would be an interesting flavor.

 

[vfem]

Actually it's the orange-glo variety of watermelon we grew. But I am thinking Orange and Watermelon may be a nice flavor combo!

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

Making my first batch of muscadine grape jam today. Talk about a sticky mess!

 

[KDbeads]

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I totally concur! I really wasn't made aware how sticky these things were before I decided to can them

Working on another batch of juice today. Hopefully it'll stop raining long enough tomorrow for me to pick more for vinegar making.

 

[marymac]

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this site is so informative. I have learned as much about canning and cooking as I have chickens.
I was given three five pound cans of tomato sauce. I was going to re-can them into sizes that I could actually use, quarts or pints. I also have pumpkin paste... I figured I would re-pressure can that. As long as it is sterile to sterile, I should be fine right?
or... I could feed it to the chickens.
I need more can't can it rules, I went from thinking I would kill off my family to "It's been pressure canned, it's safe."

oh nuts, my spell checker disappeared. Now you know, I am lexicon intolerant.

There is no safe, approved method to can pumpkin paste at home that I know of. What instructions are you using to pressure can it? As far as I know, you can only can chunks of winter squash. I researched this about a year ago pretty thouroughly because I really wanted to can pumpkin butter and found out that I couldn't.
Also, you can rarely recan things that have been canned before, commercially or otherwise. There are only a few exceptions to this in tested recipes like Annie's Salsa and some recipes in good, tested books like Elle Topp's Small Batch Preserving.

I canned pumpkin butter many years ago with sucess. It kept for more than 1 year and was still good. In my opinion it is almost like apple butter. Here is a link for any one interested. I would make it again. It's a personal choice.
http://theneitherworld.com/pumpkin/canning.htm

 

[CherryChick]

Just got done canning some home made Marinara and stewed tomatoes!
Next is making some apple pie filling with all the apples from the orchard.

 

[Tracydr]

Quote:
There is no safe, approved method to can pumpkin paste at home that I know of. What instructions are you using to pressure can it? As far as I know, you can only can chunks of winter squash. I researched this about a year ago pretty thouroughly because I really wanted to can pumpkin butter and found out that I couldn't.
Also, you can rarely recan things that have been canned before, commercially or otherwise. There are only a few exceptions to this in tested recipes like Annie's Salsa and some recipes in good, tested books like Elle Topp's Small Batch Preserving.

I canned pumpkin butter many years ago with sucess. It kept for more than 1 year and was still good. In my opinion it is almost like apple butter. Here is a link for any one interested. I would make it again. It's a personal choice.
http://theneitherworld.com/pumpkin/canning.htm

At least she mentions on the website that it's not USDA approved. Personally, after reading some information on why pumpkin butter is no longer approved and how the density can cause it to be more likely to be a set-up for botulism I'm more than happy to freeze or refrigerate my pumpkin butter. Botulism isn't spoilage and you can't see, smell or taste it. It may look and smell just fine and kill you or your loved ones with one little taste. Soooo not worth losing a life over canned pumpkin butter!
If you want to can some type of butter, why not pear or apple butter? Plenty of perfectly safe recipes for that.

 

[Jamie_Dog_Trainer]

8 quarts of garlic-dills done today.