What are you canning now?

[Olive Hill]

Because wiping the rim with your finger is not very sanitary. I know that it doesn't really touch your food, but by not warming up the lids, you are also not killing any of the germs on the middle of the lid. IMO, warming the lids up is a small/easy task that greatly increases the sanitaryness (not sure if that's a word)

Warming the lids does not kill any germs on the middle of them, nor does it kill any germs that would be between the seal and the rim of the jar. Pre-heating lids should never be done in boiling water, only simmering and simmering water is not hot enough to sanitize anything. That's the canner's job and the reason the jars, once assembled, are run through either a boiling water bath or a pressure chamber depending on the contents.

That said, you're right that it's not a good idea. Not because it won't work immediately or that it isn't sanitary, but because it doesn't offer the best seal longterm and stored jars can more easily lose their seal months down the road. If you've ever taken a jar from your pantry and discovered the lid was no longer attached, you know the disappointment of that wasted food -- and if you have kids you can imagine the danger in having that happen in your pantry. Kids are not always the most observant and could easily consume tainted food without noticing that the lid had lost its seal.

 

[jab91864]

Anyone doing anything with eggplant ? I'm looking for ideas please and thank you.

Canning tomatoes today =0)

 

[Olive Hill]

Ratatouille freezes well. So does Caponata. Noodless Lasagna is tasty with Eggplant, just slice them thinly the long way and use the slices in place of the noodles. Assemble the whole thing in a tray and pop it into the freezer for winter. Quick easy meal there. You can also use Zucchini.

If you want to can them, they can be pickled.

 

[CarolJ]

I am never using liquid pectin again!

Every single time I do my jelly NEVER sets ..I use a box of dry and boom it's setting befor it hits the jar.

Go figure.

I agree! My pear jelly that didn't set was made with liquid pectin - the first time I ever tried it. I followed the directions exactly, too. Going back to dry pectin!

 

[vfem]

I made a large batch of roasted tomato & pepper lime salsa. YUM! I didn't have time to can it though, so I ladled it into some tupperware and into the fridge to can tonight. I'll just reheat it when I do it.

Someone showed me on one of BYC sister sites. She did it on a stove top griddle, but I did it under the broiler.

I put several sheet pans (one at a time) of the cored tomatoes under the broiler until I got some nice burn spots on the tomato skins. Then put into a sink full of cold water to peel and squeeze the seeds and extra liquid out. I then did the same thing in the oven to the green/red bell peppers & a couple of chilies. I then put those into a paper bag to steam the skin off. Peeled those, and squeezed the seeds out (left seeds in the chilies).

I threw all of them in the food processor with 1 whole onion, 6 cloves of garlic, a handful of parsley (I hate cilantro, but you can use it), 3 Tbsp of salt, zest and juice of 3 limes and 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar. So very yum! That roasting really was a lovely flavor boost.

 

[CarolJ]

My husband helped me prep our pears this morning. This is the first year we've gotten more than a few pears off the trees we planted several years so. So we picked all the pears from our trees. It was AMAZING how much easier it was to have someone helping.

So I've got two pots of peelings boiling - and I'll make jelly from that. Then I've got another pot of the cores boiling - plan to strain that and make pear butter from the pulp.



Then I've got two pots of cut-up pears. I'm going to can a few for use in salads, I'll make pear preserves from some, and I'll make pie filling from some. My pear tarts always sell well at our church's fall festival each year.


And the parts that weren't suitable for any of those uses went to the chickens who loved the special treat. I feel so good that we used every single part of every single pear. And the house smells wonderful with all those pear parts cooking on the stove!

Next project - apples from our apple trees!

 

[PuffyChick]

That roasting really was a lovely flavor boost.

I wish I could can my "Roasted Veg"

Man that would be divine! I love roasted veg and onions and garlic .. I could can a ton of nummy num's.

I just dont have a clue as I am a beginner canner.

 

[PuffyChick]

Oh wow your pears look georgous!

I was up at a neighbors tree the other day and managed to 'glean' a 5 gallon bucket of green hard pears.
I am currently ripening them off so I can make a ton of pear jelly/butter/canned pears.

I wish people who had fruit tree's locally and werent going to do anything with the fruit would let folks come clean up.

I would love to go round to the different tree's and clean up for the fruit.

 

[CarolJ]

Thanks. I'm thrilled with our pears this year. Our tomatoes have stopped producing. I'm looking for a recipe for green tomato relish to use up the final ones. I keep reading of people picking up baskets of tomatoes from farmers markets for great prices. So, I may try that the middle of next week. Don't you think the prices would be highest on weekends - then in the middle of the week they'd try to get rid of what didn't sell on the weekend? I canned about 20 quarts of tomatoes from our garden - but I use lots and lots of tomatoes in my cooking. So I'd love to get more.

This thread is inspiring to me!

 

[redneck4life27]

Anyone doing anything with eggplant ? I'm looking for ideas please and thank you.

Canning tomatoes today =0)

eggplant parmesan is the best all we do is cut the eggplant into round slices dip in egg and bread with bread crumbs and fry then layer with sauce and mozzerella cheese do like 3 layers oh its so amazing.