Edibles '10 - Part 3

It's no big deal IF you have the equipment. If not, it would be!

I have a canning set up if you want to borrow it Jen

Is it a pain to do?

no... boil water... with the caps rings & jars... forget how long.. but I still have the directions... fill the hot jars... seal them... and boil again.. I did pickles ... it was easy.. after they cool you have to test to make sure the seal took... pop pop pop.. eat that one first

Ok, I'll have to pick up supplies then, because if it's easy you know I'll be canning everything.

I picked mine up at walmart... just let me know if you want to borrow the pot... get tongs with silicone on them... makes it easier to pick up the hot jars... esp when full... the last thing you want to do is have the jar slip back in and splash water on you (know from experience) and the pot I have has a holder you can pick up 4 jars at once... when Randy and I did the pickles.. we worked it like an assembly line... take the jar out.. I filled... he got the caps out...capped and put them back in... and repeat a zillion times

If you dont have one, get a Ball canning book.
1. Wash jars/lids/rings - dry rings set aside.
2. Get what your going to can ready.
3. Give the Jars a Boiling Water Bath. Put lids in water and heat - Do Not Boil Them
4. Fill the jars with ?? head space (dont know about jelly) its usually 1/2 to 1/4" depends.
5. Moisten a paper towel a bit and wipe each jar on the top edge. Lid and ring hand tight
6.Boil what your canning.
7. Set jars aside and let them cool till the next day. Do not tighten the rings again. Its strange but after the lids are sealed you dont even need the rings on to store them. If the seal is going to break it will with ring or not.

Dont jelly/jam need the parafin wax on the top? I never have lost a jar except - Carrotts. They need a pressure cooker, not a hot water bath. I did the bath. A waste of time.

Thats my book for the morning.





This message was edited Sep 7, 2010 5:01 AM

thanks for speaking up Sherrie

There is other things - depending what your canning that are important. Like tomatoes, dont know about jelly/jam. Is you need to take a non-metalic spatula/wooden spoon or what ever and take the air pockets/bubbles out.

Another with tomatoes - why in the heck do you need to add citric acid/ lemon juice?! If you look on any of your canned tomatoes you bought, look at the ingredients - citric acid!

It is to keep the ph low (acid) so that nothing can grow inside the jar. I've always just added a little balsamic vinegar to my tomato sauce and then water bathed the jars for 10 mins for pints and 15 mins for quarts and haven't poisoned myself yet. I also put my jam/syrup through a water bath for 10 mins even though it is probably not necessary.

Ball canning??? Ewwwwwww.

if you dont ball can you get Golden Harvest :-)

LOL!!!!!!

You used to be able to can jelly/jam just by using parafin on top...but the rules changed many years ago.....I boil jelly/jam jars for 10 min. You should always add a teaspoon of vinegar ( I use white) to tomatoes you're canning, because many new varieties of tomatoes don't have enough acid in them. I canned dilly beans & pickles this year....froze the peaches.

You boil the jars for 10 minutes? I just bring them to a rolling boil and then start.

LOL When they're filled with the jam, Sherrie....the empty ones I bring to a boil, then keep at a simmer.

I do the jars in my dishwasher with the sani setting then pop them into a 200 degree oven until I use them. Just did elderberry jelly - or maybe elderberry syrup - I did follow directions exactly so it should be jam. I have a wealth of figs right now - I might try fig jam this weekend, but I have to get the jelling part of the process worked out.

i did (not we) three more jars of t's last night and then quit have at least enough for 6 more jars and ton's of green ones on the vine!

I have no canning jars left, & I'm not buying any more....if I do use my son's tomatoes, I'll make sauce or stewed toms & freeze them.

For our grape jelly, we don't use the parafin. We boil them in the water bath using the Ball canning book....it's really not hard to do if you have the canning stuff. Be careful about using the canning water bath on a ceramic top stove. You aren't supposed to do it, but I did last year. :)

I'm big on the dishwasher method for the jars too. I am on a dill craze right now. Peanut butter peach dill cookies is my most original idea so far ^_^ The dough was a little liquidy so formed one giant cookie on the pan so I am renaming it Giant Peanut Butter Peach Dill Cookie. It tastes weird but yummy.

Dahlia - you aren't going over the edge on us, are you???????? Sure you can't make it for some choco-mania at Bill's?????? We'll let you add some dill to the chocolate if you'll come! lol

I will see if my mom or dad can pick up some chocolate from the place that makes it homemade in there town

Does everyone realize that our Dear Dahlia actually mailed some special chocolate to Bill's for our RU???? Incredibly thoughtful.......and imagine Bill actually saving it for the RU???? In other words, don't count on it, anyone! Just the thought alone is amazing, Dahlia!

5 more jars of t's were canned tonight - no chocolate eaten

not even one????!!!!!??????

Whoa, Louise....I had no idea you couldn't use a water bath canner on a glass cooktop....I plan to, so I hope the stove holds up!

Are they filled chocs?

it is a new recipe we are trying tomato sauce and chocolate :)

I bet a little bittersweet chocolate would taste great in tomato sauce......

We have a glass cooktop so maybe I won't attempt this.

I did it on my glass one Jen.. didn't know I shouldn't have.. just a pot with boiling water... what's the big deal???

IDK maybe because the vibration of the jars in the larger pot ?????

Potatoes and a watermelon from the garden........

Orange peppers grown from seed.

Very nice, Pixie.....that watermelon looks yummy!

ooooo luving the taters. LOL DonnieB. Methinks my Giant Peanut Butter Peach Dill Cookie would make a better Peanut Butter Peach Dill Smoothie ^_^ mmmmm chocolate tomato sauce mmmmm.

Took fresh figs to work today to share.

Yum!!

Dnut....you're not going to sell a lot of those smoothies! The fresh figs sound good.....my art teacher has a fig tree, but she's house sitting in Boulder right now, & hopefully far from the fires!