What are you canning now?

[mickey328]

For around here, that would be a great price! We got ours for $15 a box and figured we'd done well

 

[sonew123]

I stumbled on them !! Wasnt looking for them and was going to buy them at 8$ a box but saw the sign for 3/20$ Had my girls grab them and we were off!!! 90+ lbs of romas turned into 27 qts of pasta sauce and 30+ pints of salsa!!!

Well worth it!!!

 

[CarolJ]

I bought two boxes of Romas for $12 each - and a half bushel of green beans for $15 - and I canned all day today! However - it was worth it because I ended up with 17 quarts of tomatoes, 11 pints plus 3 quarts of green beans and 17 half-pints of salsa. The Roma tomatoes were so much easier to prep than the tomatoes out of our garden! I still have apples in the freezer that I need to use for apple sauce, apple butter, and apple jelly. But that's for another day. Once the apples are done, I think I am done for this year! This was my first year with a pressure canner - and I love it!

 

[mickey328]

Wow, awesome! I wonder if we've got any end-of-season deals like that around here. Y'all will be eatin' good this winter!

I spent the day cutting and grinding...ended up with 8 pints of canned stewing beef, 7 lbs of freshly ground burger, 1 nice chuck roast and about 12 6oz sirloin steaks. The sale is still on, so I think I'm going to head back to the store after work and get some more for stewing beef and hamburger. They've also got a really good sale on salmon, so I'll pick some of that up and get it canned tomorrow. I have 3 bags of pears and about 10 lbs of sweet potatoes left to do and need to get some more regular potatoes and then I do believe I'll be done for the season and can finally get my kitchen cleared of all the equipment..

DH brought in a pantry sized cupboard and it's already full. I still have 3 cases of canned goods and more to come, so I dunno where we're gonna put it all! LOL

 

[PuffyChick]

Quick question for all you Canning Vets.

I got the most awesome tart/sweet apples at the store. They were super big so I baked them. While I was eating the warm mushyness I thought man this would rock as apple sauce.

Chunky apple sauce ,with plump fat raisins.

So ..my question is ...do I water bath or pressure can?

Basically I baked the apples, stuffed with brown sugar/raisins/butter/cinnamon, with a bit of water in the bottom.

Once they were fininshed baking I plopped them into a bowl and mashed them up real good to get a lumpy chuncky apple sauce.

I then put this in jars and water bathed for 15 minutes. All jars sealed ..but I am now wondering if I should have done it different?

 

[mickey328]

Apples do beautifully in a water bath. In general, they have enough acid to not have to worry about pressure canning them. I've never used the pressure canner for anything apple, but then I do generally add a bit of lemon juice as well...even tart-ish apples can use a little extra, IMO.

 

[PuffyChick]

Okay, found the answer to the apple delema, I am fine with the water bathing. I was worried because of the raisins.

Noow ..HELP!

I am wanting to do a meat spaghetti sauce ..with chunks of veg ..one of the veg I like to use is Zucchini or courgette some call it.

I cannot find anywhere anyone using these veg in anything so I cant find a time table to pressure it at?

Does no one can zucchini not in a sweet vinegar syrup? LOL (I am feeling like a freak now)

What about adding Zuces to soups? Or making that cold Zucchini soup?

 

[galanie]

Summer squashes like that tend to turn to a mush when canned, so you generally don't see instructions for it. BUT, on the USDA veg. canning guide (http://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/usda/GUIDE 4 Home Can.pdf), page 4-12, they give directions for "mixed vegetables" which includes Zucchini. So I'd use that recommendation.

 

[mickey328]

I grate and freeze my zucchini in 1 cup containers. When I'm making a soup or stew or chili, I just take toss it in. I've never found that zucchini does well other than freezing or dehydrating. I'd go ahead and make the soup without the squash, then add it separately when you're preparing it.

 

[PuffyChick]

Thanks guys.

I will add it to my sauce. My point in doing that is hiding it from my very picky kids who actively search out mysterious chunks in sauce to complain about what they are. LOL

Them just turning to mush is all the better.