Anyone here do any canning ? ~ what do you Can ?

I did Beets last night

No, it's one of the things, I've always wanted to try and never got into. That and making jelly.

What else do you can?

Nice picture!

I used to do tomatoes. Wish I still could.

As kids, my sister and I grew up on canning and jam-making and home preserving!! We even had our own honey untill all our bees caught a contagious disease and all died off!! We made our own pickled onions, chutneys, jams, u name it!!!

Now my parents hardly do anything like that cos they are senior citizens now and find it all too tiring 2 do now!!!!

TotalANXiousNESS said:

No, it's one of the things, I've always wanted to try and never got into. That and making jelly.

What else do you can?

Both are pretty easy to do hun ~ jump on board with it !

Jelly/Jams

Peppers

Tomatoes

Pickles

Relish

and so on ...

kewlschool said:

Nice picture!

Thanx

CuddlyBear said:

I used to do tomatoes. Wish I still could.

Why can you not ?

ActOfGod319 said:

As kids, my sister and I grew up on canning and jam-making and home preserving!! We even had our own honey untill all our bees caught a contagious disease and all died off!! We made our own pickled onions, chutneys, jams, u name it!!!

Now my parents hardly do anything like that cos they are senior citizens now and find it all too tiring 2 do now!!!!

So do you still do them then ? ~ it's not really hard specially if you do small batches

I've never canned, but my grandparents used to can like they thought a zombie invasion was imminent. They would can any and everything--beets, green beans, corn, pickles, soup starter (tomatoes, corn, butterbeans, green beans), almost any kind of preserves you can think of, apples, pears, peaches, you name it.

Poiple said:

I've never canned, but my grandparents used to can like they thought a zombie invasion was imminent. They would can any and everything--beets, green beans, corn, pickles, soup starter (tomatoes, corn, butterbeans, green beans), almost any kind of preserves you can think of, apples, pears, peaches, you name it.

Cool !

Oh, and one other thing Gramma used to can was chow-chow. Don't know if you're familiar with it, but it includes cabbage, green tomatoes, onions, and I think maybe okra and/or squash, and various spices. May sound disgusting, but it was fabulous as a relish.

I would love to can...but I am actually afraid to try it.

used to can raspberry and blackberry jam with grandma when i was younger..

I'd love to, but I just don't have enough storage space for preserved food.

I do make sauerkraut, though - just a couple jars at a time.

Poiple said:

Oh, and one other thing Gramma used to can was chow-chow. Don't know if you're familiar with it, but it includes cabbage, green tomatoes, onions, and I think maybe okra and/or squash, and various spices. May sound disgusting, but it was fabulous as a relish.

I love chow chows ~ so mant different wats to make and use it

MoniGram said:

I would love to can...but I am actually afraid to try it.

Oh GURL ~ it's NOT hard to do ~ small batches rock

so come on ova and we'll do a run of something

XxAxX said:

used to can raspberry and blackberry jam with grandma when i was younger..

Yum !

The 1st thing I ever did was peach jam ~ and omg it was amazing !!

Michael did some Mint ( fresh mint from my herb garden ) Jelly last year and it was YUM ~ still have 1 jar

Genesia said:

I'd love to, but I just don't have enough storage space for preserved food.

I do make sauerkraut, though - just a couple jars at a time.

I need to try sauerkraut ~ I LOVE it but have never done my own ... yet

Mach said:

XxAxX said:

used to can raspberry and blackberry jam with grandma when i was younger..

Yum !

The 1st thing I ever did was peach jam ~ and omg it was amazing !!

Michael did some Mint ( fresh mint from my herb garden ) Jelly last year and it was YUM ~ still have 1 jar

i'd do it again, and in fact think it would be really great to be one of those people who hand delivers those lovely little jars of goodies to people, with a bow and a flowery note. however, it's far more likely that i'll just accidentally kill a bunch of people via botulism.

XxAxX said:

Mach said:

Yum !

The 1st thing I ever did was peach jam ~ and omg it was amazing !!

Michael did some Mint ( fresh mint from my herb garden ) Jelly last year and it was YUM ~ still have 1 jar

i'd do it again, and in fact think it would be really great to be one of those people who hand delivers those lovely little jars of goodies to people, with a bow and a flowery note. however, it's far more likely that i'll just accidentally kill a bunch of people via botulism.

Mach said:

XxAxX said:

i'd do it again, and in fact think it would be really great to be one of those people who hand delivers those lovely little jars of goodies to people, with a bow and a flowery note. however, it's far more likely that i'll just accidentally kill a bunch of people via botulism.

well not on PURPOSE, of course.

Mach said:

Genesia said:

I'd love to, but I just don't have enough storage space for preserved food.

I do make sauerkraut, though - just a couple jars at a time.

I need to try sauerkraut ~ I LOVE it but have never done my own ... yet

It's super easy. Shred a cabbage, sprinkle in a tablespoon of salt, add 1/4 c. of whey (drained from a container of yogurt), and pound the living crap out of the lot. (You want the cabbage to release some juice.) Stuff the cabbage into a couple of clean quart jars (leave some headroom, the kraut will "grow" during fermentation) and screw on the lids (not too tight, you want some of the gas to be able to escape). Try to get the cabbage below the level of the juice - but you needn't worry if it isn't fully submerged. It's going to "heave" no matter what you do.

Just leave the jars on your countertop for a few days. No need to refrigerate - you need some warmth for the fermentation. You'll probably get some juice dribbling out around the lids - just put the jars on a kitchen towel or a couple layers of paper towels. After three days or so, just wipe the jars off, screw the lids down, and put the lot in the frig. The flavor will be mild to begin with, but will deepen for up to six months.

Fermentation isn't nearly as worrisome as canning in terms of safety because the lactic acid kills pathogens. If your kraut is unsafe, it will smell like the dickens. (Normal: a slight sulfur-y odor while it's fermenting. Shouldn't be objectionable.) You'll know if it's spoiled.

Mach said:

TotalANXiousNESS said:

No, it's one of the things, I've always wanted to try and never got into. That and making jelly.

What else do you can?

Both are pretty easy to do hun ~ jump on board with it !

Jelly/Jams

Peppers

Tomatoes

Pickles

Relish

and so on ...

...but don't you need special equipment for it? The process always sounds so intimidating, although canning is really popular here for fruits, jams, and pickles. I'm just starting to get back into baking my own bread , the idea of canning is completely daunting to me

Genesia said:

Mach said:

I need to try sauerkraut ~ I LOVE it but have never done my own ... yet

It's super easy. Shred a cabbage, sprinkle in a tablespoon of salt, add 1/4 c. of whey (drained from a container of yogurt), and pound the living crap out of the lot. (You want the cabbage to release some juice.) Stuff the cabbage into a couple of clean quart jars (leave some headroom, the kraut will "grow" during fermentation) and screw on the lids (not too tight, you want some of the gas to be able to escape). Try to get the cabbage below the level of the juice - but you needn't worry if it isn't fully submerged. It's going to "heave" no matter what you do.

Just leave the jars on your countertop for a few days. No need to refrigerate - you need some warmth for the fermentation. You'll probably get some juice dribbling out around the lids - just put the jars on a kitchen towel or a couple layers of paper towels. After three days or so, just wipe the jars off, screw the lids down, and put the lot in the frig. The flavor will be mild to begin with, but will deepen for up to six months.

Fermentation isn't nearly as worrisome as canning in terms of safety because the lactic acid kills pathogens. If your kraut is unsafe, it will smell like the dickens. (Normal: a slight sulfur-y odor while it's fermenting. Shouldn't be objectionable.) You'll know if it's spoiled.

Wow ~ sounds pretty easy

TY

I will try this when I return from my TX vacation

Mach said:

Genesia said:

It's super easy. Shred a cabbage, sprinkle in a tablespoon of salt, add 1/4 c. of whey (drained from a container of yogurt), and pound the living crap out of the lot. (You want the cabbage to release some juice.) Stuff the cabbage into a couple of clean quart jars (leave some headroom, the kraut will "grow" during fermentation) and screw on the lids (not too tight, you want some of the gas to be able to escape). Try to get the cabbage below the level of the juice - but you needn't worry if it isn't fully submerged. It's going to "heave" no matter what you do.

Just leave the jars on your countertop for a few days. No need to refrigerate - you need some warmth for the fermentation. You'll probably get some juice dribbling out around the lids - just put the jars on a kitchen towel or a couple layers of paper towels. After three days or so, just wipe the jars off, screw the lids down, and put the lot in the frig. The flavor will be mild to begin with, but will deepen for up to six months.

Fermentation isn't nearly as worrisome as canning in terms of safety because the lactic acid kills pathogens. If your kraut is unsafe, it will smell like the dickens. (Normal: a slight sulfur-y odor while it's fermenting. Shouldn't be objectionable.) You'll know if it's spoiled.

Wow ~ sounds pretty easy

TY

I will try this when I return from my TX vacation

It really couldn't be easier. I've also done a version called curtido that has grated carrots, thinly sliced onions, a little dried oregano, and some red pepper flakes.

[Edited 7/30/10 10:22am]

Mach said:

Genesia said:

I'd love to, but I just don't have enough storage space for preserved food.

I do make sauerkraut, though - just a couple jars at a time.

I need to try sauerkraut ~ I LOVE it but have never done my own ... yet

I was just thinking the exact same thing. Totally want to try it.

I don't can as much as I used to, would like to, or should, probably. Most of what is grown in the garden gets eaten by me, friends or family. I've done peppers a couple times, but that's really as far as it goes with whole vegetables. I do can sauces, though, because I have more dry storage space than freezer space. As a family we make apple butter (and sometimes apple sauce) CLOSE to every year (not always, but most). It's a family tradition back to at least my great grandmother when the whole clan lived in Washington and Oregon. I've got a ton of mason jars, but I just end up using them for dried herbs, rice, beans and other bulk purchased dry goods.

Ottensen said:

Mach said:

Both are pretty easy to do hun ~ jump on board with it !

Jelly/Jams

Peppers

Tomatoes

Pickles

Relish

and so on ...

...but don't you need special equipment for it? The process always sounds so intimidating, although canning is really popular here for fruits, jams, and pickles. I'm just starting to get back into baking my own bread , the idea of canning is completely daunting to me

Yes if you are doing larger runs ~ We have all the "stuffs" but when I do small batches I just use boiling water in a pot and a couple/few jars

Michael is into the larger runs with all the gear

Genesia said:

Mach said:

Wow ~ sounds pretty easy

TY

I will try this when I return from my TX vacation

It really couldn't be easier. I've also done a version called curtido that has grated carrots, thinly sliced onions, a little dried oregano, and some red pepper flakes.

[Edited 7/30/10 10:22am]

Ohhh that sounds good !

Mach said:

Genesia said:

It really couldn't be easier. I've also done a version called curtido that has grated carrots, thinly sliced onions, a little dried oregano, and some red pepper flakes.

[Edited 7/30/10 10:22am]

Ohhh that sounds good !

It does. Although I may leave out the dried oregano. Do you prepare it the same as you described above? Add the extra ingredients before or after pounding?