Homestead Acres

Archive for the ‘Canning’ Category

I’ll try to update this with photos tomorrow.

Pickled Carrots

• 5 pounds carrots
• 2 cups water
• 6 cups vinegar
• 1/2 cup pickling salt
• 1 tsp pickling spice per jar
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes per jar
  
• 1 sprig of dill weed per jar

Wash and peel carrots.  Slice into rounds 1/4″ thick or into sticks.  Combine salt, water and vinegar in a pot and bring to a boil.   Add spices and carrots to jars.  Top with pickling liquid.  Remove air bubbles, add lids.  Can for 10 min in a water bath canner, adjust to your altitude.

This week I decided to try making marmalade.  Now as I had mentioned before, my hubby and I don’t like the peels that in most marmalade.  So I knew my trusty food processor would be out to help me puree this creation.   We ended up with 5 half pint jars.  The verdict?  It’s delicious!

Smooth Marmalade

• 10 oranges (3 pounds)
• 1 lemon
• 4 cups sugar

Peal oranges and lemon leaving some of the white on.  Remove seeds if needed.  Discard peals.

Puree in a food processor.  Pour into a stock pot and add sugar.

Bring to a boil over medium heat.  Boil until it reaches the jelling point.  This was about 15 minutes for me.

Remove from heat, stir and skim.  Ladle into jars leaving 1/4″ head room.  Process in a water canner for 15 minutes.

Yield 2 1/2 pints.

Canning ground beef is so easy to do and very convenient to keep on hand!  I prefer to keep canned meat on hand rather then frozen for a few reasons.  It is always ready to use, no waiting for frozen meat to thaw out.  Yes, I know I could take it out of the freezer the day before but I always forget.  Canned meat keeps longer then frozen, and it never gets freezer burned! Also more then once I’ve had someone unplug my freezer with disastrous results. However a long power outage would have the same results.

A few years ago, I changed the way I canned ground beef.  Instead of pan frying it in small batches, then having to drain and rinse the fat off I started boiling it. I can place large amounts of ground beef in my stock pot, cover it with water and let it simmer until it’s cooked.  This saves me time, I no longer have to cook in small batches.  I can get it ready then go and attend to other jobs.  I no longer have grease splatting around my stove.  One of the best advantages is a nice large pot of soup stock!  After boiling the ground beef, I strain the broth and set it in the fridge to cool over night.  The next day skim the fat off the top.  You can now season the broth however you like.

How To Can Ground Beef

• Place meat in a large pot, cover with water and bring to a boil.   Simmer until cooked through.
• Drain off stock, reserving to use latter for soups.
• Spoon meat into jars and leave 1 inch of head space.  Cover with boiling water or beef stock.
• Wipe rims and add lids.  Tighten rings finger tight.
• Place into canner.
• Pressure can for 90 minutes.
• After canner depressurizes set on a towel to cool, let sit for 24 hour so the seal can harden.
• Take jar rings off, wipe the jars clean.  Label and store in a cool dry place.
  

I enjoy canning our own conveniences food.  Store bought soups are expensive and high in salt and other additives.  I love having  home cooked suppers on our pantry shelves.  Lets face it we ALL have crazy days that we are tempted to pick up fast food.  I try to keep a stock of home canned food available for times I’m just to tired or sick to cook supper.

How to can beef soup

• Place soup bones in a roasting pan and roast at 350F for 1 hour.  This doesn’t have to be an exact time, just until they are nicely browned.
• Remove bones from pan and place in a stock pot.  Cover with water and add chopped onions, celery ends, what ever you have on hand.  Bring to a boil.  Turn down and simmer until broth has cooked down into a nice dark rich tasting liquid.
• Strain the broth and place in the fridge to cool over night.
• The next day skim off the fat and reheat broth.  Season to taste.
• Peel and dice potatoes and carrots.  I use approximately half a cup per quart jar.
• Add vegetables to jars then add desired amount of meat.
• Cover with hot stock.  Run a spatula around the sides to remove any air bubbles.
• Wipe rims,  add lids and rings finger tight.
• Can at 10 pounds pressure for 90 minutes quarts, 75 minutes for pints.

Zucchini Relish

10 cups chopped zucchini
1/2 cup coarse salt
5 cup chopped onions
1 cup diced celery
2 med red bell peppers diced
2 tsp turmeric
1 tbs dry mustard
3 med green peppers diced
6 cups sugar
5 cups white vinegar
3 tbs corn starch

Prepare veggies.
Combine with 1/2 cup salt in a large pan. Let stand overnight. Next day drain and rinse thoroughly and drain again in a colander.
Press a bowl down on top of veggie mix to force out as much liquid as possible. In a large pot, boil remaining ingredients. Add veggies and bring to a rolling boil. Reduce heat and boil gently for 20 min. Ladle into hot sterilized jars and process in a water bath canner for 20 min.
Makes 8 pints.

We are starting to can our bean crop. This is so easy to do!

Simply wash your beans, trim the ends off. Then cut or break into pieces about an inch long.
Fill the jars leaving 1 inch head space.
Add 1/2 tsp salt per pint, 1 tsp salt per quart. The salt is optional but does help to keep the color and taste.
Fill the jars with boiling water, leaving an inch of head space.
Wipe rims, add lids.
Pressure can pints for 20 min, quarts for 25 min.

It is cherry season!! My favorite way to buy cherries for canning is prepitted in 5 kg buckets. Its cheaper and saves a lot of time.

CHERRY PIE FILLING

           http://web1.msue.msu.edu/msue/imp/mod01/01600844.html                          

                  Quantities of Ingredients Needed For       

                               1 Quart        7 Quarts       

Fresh or thawed sour cherries  3-1/3 cups     6 quarts       

Granulated sugar               1 cup          7 cups         

Clear Jel                 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp  1-3/4 cups       

Cold water                     1-1/3 cups   9-1/3 cups       

Bottled lemon juice        1 tbsp + 1tsp      1/2 cup        

Cinnamon (optional)            1/8 tsp        1 tsp          

Almond extract (optional)      1/4 tsp        2 tsp          

Red food coloring (optional)   6 drops        1/4 tsp        

QUALITY: Select fresh, very ripe, and firm cherries.
Unsweetened frozen cherries may be used. If sugar has
been added, rinse it off while the fruit is still frozen.

YIELD: 1 quart or 7 quarts

PROCEDURE: Rinse and pit fresh cherries, and hold in
cold water. To prevent stem end browning, use ascorbic
acid solution (see ascorbic acid). For fresh fruit, place
6 cups at a time in 1 gallon boiling water. Boil each
batch 1 minute after the water returns to a boil. Drain
but keep heated fruit in a covered bowl or pot. Combine
sugar and Clear Jel in a large saucepan and add water.
If desired, add cinnamon, almond extract, and food
coloring. Stir mixture and cook over medium high heat
until mixture thickens and begins to bubble. Add lemon
juice and boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Fold in
drained cherries immediately and fill jars with mixture
without delay, leaving 1 inch headspace. Adjust lids and
process immediately.

Recommended process time for CHERRY PIE FILLING
in a boiling-water canner

                      Process Time at Altitudes of           

Style    Jar    0-        1,001-     3,001-      Above       

of Pack:    1,000 ft  3,000 ft   6,000 ft    6000 ft     

Hot         30 min      35        40         45
Size:
Pints or Quarts