~~~~Small Batch Preserving~~~~

17 years ago

Hi,

I've only posted to this forum once, but I enjoy reading it and visit a few times a week. We are in a major remodel and I'm without my kitchen until maybe April so have a temporary kitchen set up in our basement. The temp kitchen is actually quite nice and convenient except I have no oven. I am really a baker not so much a cook and I miss my oven.

Although I have not done any canning in about 10 years, I thought maybe if I did it would help fill the void of baking. I went to the library last week and checked out some books on preserving and have been reading them. Last night I finally got to the bottom of the pile to the book Small Batch Preserving. This is one incredible book! I want to make at least 90% of the recipes!

I've got to dig out my canning supplies and jars from the barn and get busy!

Michelle

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Comments (7)

annie1992
17 years ago
Michelle, welcome to the dark side. LOLOLOL

I like Small Batch Preserving too, have fun and let us know what you've made!

Annie
msafirstein
Original Author
17 years ago
Hi Annie! I like the dark side!!

I'm very excited about canning again and I like that I can make only a small batch which is all we need at this point.

I am a bit confused with the sizes of canning jars as sometimes they are by cup or ounces or 1/2 pt to Gallon. Is there a chart somewhere that lists the equivalents?

OT but....I love making flavored oils and would like to make some vinegars too. But wondered if anyone had a good source for bottles with screw type tops. I can find bottles that require a cork but I'd like to see some of the other varieties too.

Michelle
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ksrogers
17 years ago
Half pint = 1 cup or 8 ounces
half quart = 2 pints or 4 cups
16 ounce jars = are pint jars or 2 cups
Gallon jars are not recomended to use in home canning, but are great for things like brine cured cucumbers.
Flavored oils are very difficult unless they are made with an added acid of some kind. Within this forum, there are several posts about making vinegar, as well as a source for a thin necked bottle from Kitchen Krafts and other sources. A cork stopper bottle would not be safe for using in home canning.
msafirstein
Original Author
17 years ago
thin necked bottle from Kitchen Krafts

ksrogers, Thanks, the bottle is perfect for what I need. And I printed out the conversions for the jar sizes!

I only make a bottle or two of oil at a time and they are kept in the refrigerator and used within probably 10 days or less. I usually just add walnuts, almonds or pine nuts, and/or an herb usually basil. Isn't oil okay if refrigerated and used in a short period of time?

Michelle
annie1992
17 years ago
Michelle, your flavored oil is fine in the refrigerator for that small amount of time. As for vinegars, I think Linda Lou had recipes for a whole bunch of those and they sounded really yummy. She sent them to me, I'll see if I can find them.

Yes, the dark side is lots of fun and you got here just on time for the big marmalade making season. (grin)

Ken forgot a couple of sizes of jars, though. Now Ball has a cute little tiny 4 oz. jar, perfect for jam for one or for babyfood. I do most of my tomatoes, sauerkraut and beef in quarts. The two quart or half gallon size is nearly never found and gallons aren't considered safe for canning anything but they are great for fermenting pickles or sauerkraut.

Right now I have:

4 oz. = 1/4 pint
8 oz. = 1/2 pint
12 oz. = 3/4 pint
16 oz. = 1 pint
32 oz. = 1 quart
64 oz. = 2 quarts or half gallon
128 oz = One gallon

In addition to canning I use canning jars for storage for rice, beans, barley, dried peas, dried fruits, chocolate chips, anything where I use part of a bag and then end up spilling the rest.

Gardengrl sent me some cute little squatty 8 ounce vintage jelly jars that don't take screw on lids. They are from the era when paraffin was used as a sealing agent and they just have metal lids that sit on top of the jars. They're cute and match my kitchen so I have sea salt in one, red Hawaiian salt in another, gray Fleur de sel in a third and packets of Equal in a fourth. Amanda wants a couple to use at her house for Equal packets and she thinks one would be a great butter dish!

Annie
ksrogers
17 years ago
I used to see wide mouth 24 ounce jars too. The half gallons fit in my fridge for the half sour pickles. There is also a very unusual shaped 8 ounce jar with a squat shape, its looks similar to a 4 ounce jar, but wider in the glass area. Probably good for very flavorful spreads. KK also has a single piece one use screw-on lid with the sealing disk as part of the screw-on lid. Some sources also sell smooth outsides on the glass, vs. the bumpy impressions Ball and Golden Harvest do to theirs. Oil in the fridge is just fine. I also like making an oil or vinegar infused with fresh rosemary sprigs. Another is adding some thyme and oregano to olive oil or a vinegar. White balsamic vinegar is great with sprigs of rosemary. I even made abatch of butter that was in a food processor that had oregano, thyme, rosemary, and garlic pureed, and mixed with a little olive oil. It came out as a paste, and was put in small rectangular molds and frozen for use later.
annie1992
17 years ago
Ken, you just reminded me, I have some of Ruthanna's Tomato Basil butter in the freezer that I made last summer when the tomatoes and basil were good and fresh.

I think I'll dig some of that out.

Annie