In Colombia we don't do home canning. Stuff is available all year round and we eat whatever fruit is in season. We freeze and smoke and of course buy canned foods but no home canning.
It was one of those fascinations I had but never had been brave enough to try it. DH plants a garden every year, with just the two of us there is always a lot of waste. About a week ago he came in with a load of tomatoes and I said: Oh dear! I wish I could save those.......20 minutes later he came in with a pressure cooker-canner from the shed! Now what?!
I knew I needed jars, and maybe salt and..... the instructions. My faithful Better Homes and Gardens recipe book and a call to the Presto 800 number did the trick.
So far I have:
30 lbs of tomatoes
Chili sauce (a lot of that)
1 bushel of peaches
6 lbs of apples
3 lbs of pears
There are still more tomatoes in the garden and bunch of three different kinds of squash.......I am sure he is totally convinced he has created a monster!
I wonder if there is anything else around here I could possibly can?
6 comments:
You are braver than I. Freezing stuff is my limit.
Yarn?
You might warn the husband that around here, my Amish neighbors can meat. Usually pork, or chicken, or venison, or beef...but...8-)
Isn't it fun? I love canning. Pickles are easy, especially bread & butter. Sometimes it's hard to keep dill pickles crunchy. Dilly beans are easy and popular (green beans, dill, a little garlic or a lot, and a hot pepper if you like spicy food). I can a lot of jams & fruit butters and am thinking of branching out to jelly; most of those don't need pressure canning but it keeps the kitchen cooler than an open kettle method. I haven't tried meats yet but wonder if I could can stock so it wouldn't take up so much room in the freezer.
It's a blast, isn't it?
You brave woman!
I'm afraid to can anything. Goes back to my Mom and an exploding canning pot and lots of tuna fish, everywhere. Phew.I was about 5 or 6. More power to you. Freezing is my limit too.
Have fun and those tomatoes will taste great this winter.
Give the Yorkies a scratch for me.
j
I don't can (my mother does it lots, but I tried, and got freaked out by sterilizing the jars, LOL). I use a dehydrator though...not all the same foods though, but some stuff works great for drying.
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