ccaggiano,

I know what you mean! Every time we pass the fruit stand I look longingly at bushels of apples, but I promised myself not to buy one till I'm done with the tomatoes, lest one or both end up sitting neglected.... But the payoff is that the apples are getting better and better. And I finally saw some russets (one of my faves) the other day.

Zabby

Zabby

Bejay9,
FS Jars? Do you mean the jar adapter that fits over a Ball canning jar? They come in two sizes, regular and wide mouth, and use the jars and lids made by Ball, etc. If its a vacuum vessel like a canister, or the big round gallon sized one, these can be bought direct from Food Saver. I just noticed that they are now offering a 6 quart canister. Its taller than my 4 quart ones. The canister I use to brine soak my Canadian bacon is quite tall and narrow, and similar to the tall coffee canister. Its not shown on the web site, but is considered an 'open stock' item, where you need to call the company and describe its larger and taller size, compared to the coffee one. I don't use the square sided canisters as these crack at the corners under my stonger vacuum pump. Went through 3 square ones with the same cracking issue, so I don't use them anymore.

I checked the site - but don't see it. Mine is black, 4 qt. round and can be sealed with a vacuum. I don't care for the tapered side though. If I call the company, can I order that 4 qt. one - or even the 6 qt., but want it to be round - not tapered.

As always, thanks for the help? It's much appreciated.

Bejay

The ones I have are tapered, but are quite big around. the 6 quart one is taller and with more of a taper. The tall straight sided ones I use have a molded in the plastic code on the bottom. The numbers on the bottom- KY-136. One is clear and the other is slightly smoke color. They look similar to the coffee ones but bigger around and taller. That number I supplied will tell them the size you want- which is open stock. The tall round ones do NOT hold a gallon, more like 3 quarts or slightly more. I filled the tapered one with water to 1/2 inch from the top and poured it into tyhe straight sided one and it overflowed at the last quart. Thats the biggest straight sided one they offer.

The tapered 4 quart is 8" at top, and tapers down to 6.5" at the bottom. Its bottom is also concave as its designed for vacuum. I would expect they use the same size lid on the 6 quart model, but its taper may be a bit smaller as the height would also be taller. The straight sided ones have a small rubber button, and the vacuum hole. The tapered ones have a twist knob with 3 detents- closed, vacuum, open.

I have two of the tall round staright sided ones. Yesterday, I bought a whole boneless pork loin at $1.77 pound. I mixed part of a maple cure for ham and my Canadian bacon cure, as well as some pure maple syrup. The loin was cut down to fit in the two tall round canisters, and there was a 4-5 inch piece I put in a shorter canister. All three got injcted with the brine, at about 12 ounces each. Then the brine was poured into the canisters with the loin, pumped down for about 20 minutes each, with a little agitation for getting more bubbles out. Then stored in the fridge over night. Today, I pumped them down a bit more, then opened and drained each. They all get put in a big stanless steep pan and covered with foil. The offset temp is down 25 degees, so I can get a temp as low as 150 in my oven. That was raised to 190 after 3 hours, then 220 degrees for another 2 hours . Its still baking and I will soon add the thermometer to give me an internal temp. It would reach about 160 by tonight some time, but the oven would be set up to about 280 to 300 for the final amount.

My list grew a little:

2 quart bags smoked mixed hot peppers (some smoked and dried with a smoker, some smoked and finished drying with a dehydrator) - still more peppers on the plants and more pepper flowers, wow...

2 gallon size bags dehydrated zucchini - have never done this before but they came out really well (this is to make some camping/backpacking food, so I will be vacuum bagging it.)

2 quart size freezer bags lightly steamed Kentucky wonder green beans (in the freezer)

Mine grew just a little too, another 14 pints of collard greens from the pressure canner and about a pint of mixed hot peppers, that's all of the peppers this year.

Annie

7 quarts sliced apples
14 pints apple pie filling
24 quarts spaghetti sauce
14 quarts stewed tomatoes
7 pints tomato basil
7 pints mango salsa
7 pints mango tomato salsa
7 pints mango pineapple tomato salsa
12 pints strawberry jam
7 pints grape jelly
7 pints peach jam)peaches came from my 2 peach trees)
7 pints peaches)
12 1/2 pints of mango pineapple jam
I froze my corn (i went out to my deck one day and there was 72 ears of sweet corn) so this is how it all started! i was given most produce or was invited to go pick grapes, and apples and strawberries at different friends homes, i am waiting on the potato man now he sells 50 lb bags for 13 bucks so i am going to put up potatoes (at the price of them anymore!! ) its been years since i canned (used to can with my grandmother when she was alive) THANK GOD she made me go over her house when she canned, so i did have to invest in jars and pressure canner ect but it is well worth it!!

Goodness, reading some of all y'alls lists wears me out LOL. Makes my list look tiny:
Canned:
10 quarts pears
6 quarts peaches + 6 pints pickled peaches (these are FABULOUS over ice cream!)
7 pints sweet pickles
6 quarts corn
4 quarts tomatoes (for some reason 2 quarts didn't seal so we ate them already)
10 pints mixed fruit jelly
10 pints candy apple jelly
12 pints vanilla/cinnamon pear jelly
In the Freezer:
17 quarts green beans
1 dozen ears of corn
8 gallon bags of rhubarb
4 gallon bags of blackberries
2 bags of peaches measured out for pies

I will be freezing pears this evening, probably about 2 gallon bags' worth. We will be picking green beans, hopefully, this next week so I can can them, also hoping to get a box of tomatoes from an Amish farm near here so I can can a bunch more of them, too. (Our tomatoes didn't do so well.) I think that will be it for the year. This is the first year I have seriously canned anything, and the first time ever that I have owned a pressure canner. Wouldn't trade it for the world now! A big thank you to all who gave me the courage to "go for it"!! :^)

Edie

Adding...
21 pints of Annie's Salsa
7 qts. plain tomatoes
6 pints of Roasted Tomato Garlic Soup
7 pints & 5 half-pints of applesauce
4 apple pies

On to the pears, grapes and more apples maybe!!!

Deanna

Have you called FS to get a price on the straight sided round containers? They are not 4 qt, more like 3 to 3.5 quarts. They are not shown on their web site, but an 'open stock' item, usually packaged with a few different sizes. I mentioned the number molded into the bottom.

I feel like I haven't had time to get anything done. So far

6 half-pints of Habanero Gold Jelly (big batch version)
12 half-pints of Peach Jam for Cold Mornings (helped a neighbor try this one)
18 half-pints of grape jelly (still syrup but giving it time)
3 pints of Chunky Basil Pasta sauce

This weekend it's more grape jelly, attempting rose hip jelly, and maybe apple jelly or apple pie filling (haven't decided yet). I still have to decide what to do with all of the peppers coming in and get all of the green tomatoes brought in before the freeze predicted for Sunday.

Jen

Ken - haven't called FS yet, as I'm involved in sorting the foods my GD and newcomer - grandson (re-locating) are bringing in. I try to cater to my family's special likes in foods, so now we are "into" fillings for burrito, enchiladas, tacos, and lots of nice fresh salads. He likes "healthy" and can't beat that. There's not enough fresh now from my small garden plots, so need a bit of cooperation, finding bargains, etc.

After reading "disaster" stories above - had 2 quarts of pinto beans that popped their seals, so froze them. Tried to thaw one for dinner in the micro - and cracked one of my precious canning jars. As mentioned, I froze several quarts of still to be canned beans that I didn't have room or time for in the initial canning (the recipe really blew me - as 9 lbs of beans gave a LOT of stuff to can, and - well - it was a bad day anyway. So lots of stuff got frozen until the day was better.

I guess you know what I mean. LOL.

Bejay

Since my last post

36 pints Salsa
30 pints Roasted Tom soup
72 quarts Plum tomatoes
16 8oz. Hot Dog relish
10 pints Chili sauce
6 pints Picante sauce
21 quarts Stewed tomatoes
46 quarts Veggie juice cocktail
Total jars of assorted 446

I still need Red pepper jam. Hope to get 2 bushel at the Farmer's market in the morning.

I posted this on Section II before I realized that there was a Section III. Please forgive my bragging.

Before I ever heard of Garden Web:
8 pints apricot jam
6 pints apricot preserve
12 half-pints sour cherry jam
14 pints and 14 half-pints strawberry jam
8 pints raspberry jam

After I found this discussion board:
3 pints mango chutney
5 pints plum chutney
4 pints plum sauce

After I bought Christine Ferber's Book on August 31 and a whole new world opened up to me:
12 half-pints green tomato with cinnamon
24 half-pints blackberry chocolate orange jam
15 half-pints raspberry chocolate jam
15 half-pints Vanilla bosc pear jam with pine nuts and walnuts
12 half-pints peach jam with black rum
5 half-pints peach melba jam
4 pints mango lime marmelade
5 pints plum jam with anise
12 half-pints Anjou Pear jam with Thai spices
5 half-pints spiced peach jam
4 half-pints of rhubarb jam with honey and rosemary
4 half-pints of white nectarine jam with rosemary
5 half-pints of quince jam with ginger
6 half-pints bartlett pear with balsamic vinegar and spices

I lay my obsession at the doorstep of anyone who ever mentioned Christine Ferber on this website. I haunt the Farmer's Market. I am trying to get my hands on crabapples even this late to try to make my own pectin. I have made my plans for all the jams I can make in the winter - after all, grapefruit, oranges, mangoes and coconut are never/always in season in Calgary.

I bought new wooden spoons to be used only in jam making. I went to Williams Sonoma on my way home from a nasty root canal one day in September and found a hand hammered copper confiture pan, imported from France. I'd never seen such a thing before. It has style and substance. I was feeling mightily sorry for myself, and thus, it now belongs to me.

Everyone I know is enabling me, because of course, they will be the recipients of all this bounty.

Is there a 12 step program? Anyone?

I added 2 Red peppers to each of 3 batches of Roasted tomato garlic soup. To my last post add on.

23 pints of Roasted tomato garlic soup.
29- 8oz. Red pepper jam.

12 four-ounce jars of strawberry margarita preserves
8 assorted jars of rose hip jelly
17 more half pints of grape jelly

Now I just need to find a place to store all of these until the holidays

If Joy Unspeakable is still reading this post, I'd be interested in hearing how she makes her vegetable soup starter. For that matter, I'd be interested in hearing it from anyone else who is doing the same thing.

As for me, our garden was a bust this year but we decided to invest in a freezer anyhow. At the end of the day, we bought a pretty big one with the thought that next year we'd fill it to capacity.

Well, it's almost full now. When produce goes down to $1 per pound, I'm buying it by the bucketloads to freeze up especially if it is locally grown. The freezer is full of salsa's, summer squash, apples, peaches, herbs (from my own garden), beets, butternut squash, and the makings for several casserole recipes.

There's not much room left, especially since I was able to buy whole roasting chickens on sale this summer too. I'm cooking several of those every weekend also.

I am so proud of myself and happy about it. We plan to eat well this winter. I pointed out to my husband that apples are currently 89 cents a pound; that's nearly $2.10 savings over what they are normally. We've already made back the cost of the dehydrator and some kitchen equipment that I bought and we're on our way to making back the cost of the freezer too.

Yes, a freezer is a great investment. My dad thought so too, years ago, so he bought a second one a few years after the first. One of them failed some years ago, as its defrost cycle was not working (built in timer issue). The freezer would build up way too much frost inside and then pushed the wire shelves out the front, causing the door not to close. Manual defrosing was necessary about every 8 months. Three years ago, I sold it for $25 to someone, only because it stilled worked. I figured I would just use the one freezer I had left. About 2 years ago, that working freezer suddenly started to thaw everything and I had noticed that it wasn't switching on. Luckily, I had a freezer alarm attached that signaled a beep sound. The alarm sound was quite low volume, and so I didn;t hear it until I went down to put out the trash at 6am one morning. I opened it up, and found lmost room temperature INSIDE! At that time I paniced and and unplugged a special 'power saving device' that was still attached to it. At the time, I moved as much food as I could to my upstairs feezer, which could hardly hold two shelves of frozen (and now thawing) stuff. I rushed out and headed to Home Depot at 6;30 am, where they were out of most freezers. There was another nearby Home Depot store that had just one display unit on sale. I drove up, and bought that for $330. Now, how do I get it home in a hurry?? My car is tiny and it wouldn't even fit on the roof, let alone be supported by heavy weight. I realized that Home Depot rents open bed trucks, so I rented one for an hour, drove the freezer to my house, and offloaded it without any help (was a bit heavy!). I was able to get it into my basement and plug it on as soon as it was in place. It stated that it should be running at least 4-6 hours before adding anything inside. It was now 7:30am. I drove back, returned the rental truck and drove home while the both freezers were running. After about an hour, I was curious to see if my older freezer was getting cold again, and it WAS! Without that power saving device attached it started to work again! I quickly moved all the frozen stuff back down stairs and into the colder older freezer, but placed most itmes on the top shelves, so they could chill the items below. After a day, the new frezer was running well enough that I moved most of the things over to the new one, just in case the older freezer was going to fail again. Also, added a new FREEZER ALARM to the new freezer. This one has a digital readout and a louder beeper. Now, both feezers are nearly full again with bargains, like my home mad Canadian bacon costing me $1.77 per pound, sausages, and pork fat for making sausages. I also have many bags of corn, peas, beans, and broccoli that I froze. ALL freezing vegetables MUST be blanched before they are frozen.

The inexpensive freezer alarm is the most important investment yet, and it cost only about $15. I bet within the next year you may be looking towards another big freezer, if yours is filled now. A freezer alarm is a great way to prevent food losses.

Last night, we had a power outage here. I was a bit concrned as I could have used my gas powered generator, but it doesn't plug into my new circuit breaker box anymore, due to the fact I had the old fuses taken out. Luckily, the power outage was just 2 hours long. It knocked out cable and power all over the area, and must have been a person hitting a power pole.. The alarms didn't sound, so I felt it was fine not to check to see if they were doing their thing again.

One of the things I insisted on with this new freezer was an outside thermometer that I could easily see and an alarm. I had a similar experience with our old freezer just dying and we didn't find it until everything in it was ruined.

Your post is an excellent reminder on the extra precautions to take when using a freezer.

dogear -

The recipe is (way up) in this thread. It's about the eleventh post down. Hope you enjoy it - we surely do!

Thanks for pointing out the recipe to me! Sorry that I missed it before I posted earlier.

OK, I'm bringing this back up to the top!

Last night I canned 21 quarts and 10 pints of sauerkraut and it looks GOOOOOODDDD! My kitchen sure smells funny, though, LOL.

Tonight it's Habanero Gold and I just called with cutting instructions for the beef, so soon the freezer will be full again.

Annie

The fruit season is in full swing in the local moutains (where the bad fires were awhile ago), so made a trip to check on it.

Brought back pears - (wish it had been more - nice juicy Bartletts), a box of freestone peaches, and a WHOLE BOX of Northern Spy apples - whee!

So -- for the next 4 days - canned (approximately - as I lost count, and they are being eaten - fast!)

6 pints of pears in lt. syrup.

12 pints of sliced peaches - same syrup.

18 pints apples in lt. syrup.

4 frozen pie shells of sliced apples - for later baking.

15 bottles of apple juice - frozen.

4 half pints dry (squeezed) apple puree for adding to cakes or breads - frozen.

My - that box of apples really produced a bit. (I think I forgot - as I lost count after the 3rd day or so).

Ken - I called the company about the availability of that round sealable container - mentioned above, but they don't make them anymore. Too bad.

Oh yes - a few of the last red ancho peppers, being sun dried - in my butterfly screen set-up outside. This is the 3rd day and weather is cooperating. Will grind into powder for enchilada sauce later.

Bejay

Bejay9,

Sorry to hear that. It was an 'open stock' item, when I got my first one. The closest next size in length is the coffee canister. A bit narrower but still tall. For my Canadian bacon, the whole boneless pork loin would never fit one, so I cut it into two long lengths to fit two of the tall canisters, and the third portion is placed in a shorter one as its only about 5 inches thick. If I do beef in these, the brine must be left for 3 days, whereas pork takes less time to penetrate through.

When you called them, did you ask if they had that model number I gave you? Sometimes at off hours (temp help) they may not know much about a open stock items such as these. They are a little over the height of a 2 liter bottle of soda, and almost as big around. The dome lids are the same size as the shorter ones. I was planning on getting one of the biggest round ones (smoke color) with concave lid and knob. This would hold a nice big chunk of beef for pastrami. I made pastrami from eye of the round too.

I managed

15 one-cup jars of mixed apple/pear sauce
(plus about two cups that wouldn't fit in the canner that got eaten up over lunch & breakfast the next week---
YUM!!!)

4 half-cup jars & one one-cup jar
Autumn Fruit Jam (from Ellie Topp--I always call it "October Jam")

This last was slightly overcooked, so is a bit gluey, which is annoying but in the end I'm kind of happy about it. Here's why: while cooking it down, after about 15 minutes, it started to feel right to me. But the recipe said about 30 minutes, and in the past I've sometimes jumped the gun and not been patient enough to wait for a jam to set up properly, so I told myself, no, you can't be right, let it cook more before even plate-testing it. Well, I tested it at 25 minutes and it was sure enough overdone. So, while my jam is a bit sticky, I feel good that my instincts were RIGHT. I don't make a lot of jam, but it seems I've made enough now to have an idea when it's ready. I'll trust my gut next time!

irenecalgary,

I don't know if 12 steps would be enough for you! My, you've fallen hard! ;-) Congratulations, and welcome to the forum of cannity insanity....

Zabby

Zabby,
That cooking time can be very misleading as it would also depend on the amount of heat, the size of the pot, the amount of the batch and how much water is in it. Here, I saw soft globs forming on the spoon when I lifted it out of the boiling pot. The spoon also had a coating of the jelly that didn't run off. That told me that it was ready for the jars. Then I turn down the heat to a simmer, and start filling. I LOVE my flat bottom ladle that holds a pint when full. Its all stainless and has a long handle, as well as a lip for pouring out the product. Its used in most every canning thing I make. The cold plate test is always a good method to use as well. Next year, if I get enough Asian pears, I plan to either can some, or extract the juice. The two I recently ate were about 70% juice, and very tasty with a mild flavor!

Zabby - Your "instinct" remark gave me a - "know that feeling" thought.

I've had trouble with keeping nice firm apple chunks in my canning effort. I think it is - not only too much cooking -even when the recipe gives a longer time, but in the type of apple as well thats being used. (that's obvious isn't it?)

My own low-chill apples are great taste-wise, but definitely won't stand up to the cooking length recommended.

So - this session - a LARGE box of apples that I bought in the local mountains - taught me something, that might be useful.

I cooked my apples per the recipe - but kept out some of the juice in a separate pan set to boil.

Then - when I felt the apples were just right - still firm -and almost to the "mushing" point, I hurriedly filled my jars, and then used the hot syrup that I had set aside in another pan.

Those apples have a tendency to reach a certain point, then any amount of manipulating can further the breakdown problem. This was my best result, and apples stayed firm and without the foaming juice.

I didn't try making jam.

Just my 2 c's.

Bejay

Again, as mentioned, apples are not all the same when it comes to heat exposure. Some types will hold up very well to heat, cooking, and baking. I chose two types for my apple trees which are well suited for baking and cooking. Granny Smiths, for instance, would appear to be a well suited apple type for cooking and baking, but they are not, as they quickly soften. Macoun apples, which are later ones work quite well in heat. Macs and Cortlands are both going to soften quickly too. Ideally, it would be good to use several types of apples in each jar for a more well rounded taste and texture. If I were to evaluate apples for holding up to heat, I would try each type individually to see which stays together and which will turn to mush. For the added syrup, it would be cooked down cider. Many times I cook down cider and it will gel right in the pan!

Zabby: Thank you for the welcome. It's good to be among my own kind. I continue to make jam. A friend asked me if I could make a garlic jam. I googled two recipes and cobbled them together. The garlic/onion jam it made is amazing - the smell of the garlic knocks you back when you open the jar. Which is what garlic should do. And it kept Vampires away on Hallowe'en.

I look forward to a long and happy association with this discussion group.

Irene

watching election results roll in, I put up

apple-pear sauce
4 pints
11 half-pints
(made this batch two nights ago & reheated it tonite; it is good, but not as phenomenally yummy as the last batch of apple-pear---different kind of pears, thicker, a tad overcooked (there was some scorch on the bottom of the pan, and while the sauce doesn't taste burnt, I think it has lost a bit of its sweetness maybe from that)

apple-blackberry sauce
5 half-pints
my favourite combo. Froze two cups of blackberries in early September for just this purpose.... beautiful colour!

plain applesauce
6 pints
8 half-pints
(plus another 5 or 6 cups that wouldn't fit in the canner)
made from Cortlands, as was the apple-pear sauce above; they did very well this year, some are HUGE, and I like their taste both for fresh eating and in sauce; bought a half-bushel on the weekend

This should keep me in applesauce for the year. I may do a small batch of apple-cranberry.

Irene, that garlic jam sounds great! I made garlic jelly once, and was disappointed---it was pretty mildly garlic flavoured and more vinegary than I really liked. Your jam sounds like the real deal!

Bejay, it really is AMAZING how different apple types are in how they hold up, eh? I had the opposite problem from you last year---I dont' put up pieces of apple, but sauce. I was making a batch of applesauce all from Russett apples, as a gift for a friend of mine who loves Russetts. These are SERIOUSLY firm and DRY apples, and it took FOREVER for them to soften, and a HUGE amount of added water.

What is the sturdier kind you got?

Zabby

Instead of adding water, the use of frozen apple juice concentrate (undiluted), or apple cider would work better than water, plus give more apple taste.

Zabby - I learned a bit more about apples this year. Thanks to the great hints from the great folks in this forum.

First off - I usually buy McIntosh or Winesaps from the mountain fruit stand every year. This year, a new manager, had Northern Spy - which I had not heard of before. But as there was a big box of windfalls, I decided to give them a try at a reasonable price.

Normally, I like Grannies for pies - and am a bit serious about my own way to make them - as I don't like the apples to start turning brown before baking.

I think it was Readinglady who posted the idea of mixing pie crusts in individual portions - leaving out the water - then freezing. I tried it - and am really pleased with how fast that pie was in the oven. The apples were sliced and frozen in a pie form then re-packed in a freezer bag. They did turn a bit brown, but not bad. Perhaps a bit more lemon/citric acid soak next time.

Anyway - Outside of a bit of drying as the juice had a tendency to drain out - the pie tasted almost as good as fresh baked - and a lot less hassle. I will see if I can remedy the problem of juice loss - but it was minor.

As mentioned in my previous postings, I live in the "lowlands" and the ocean climate hasn't been the best place for apples - but I do have 2 low-chills dwarf trees that are showing great potential.

Bejay

Adding a bit of flour or clear jel to the apples will help thicken the juices. My grandmother would sprinkle flour on top of the apples once they were in the pan and were being covered with the top crust. Assume you use cinnamon, which can give off brown color. My apples don't seem to turn brown when they are peeled and sliced. If they did, I would sprinkle a bit of ascorbic acid on them, or dunk them in ascorbic acid mixed with some water. I dislike fruit pies that leak watery liquid out once cut open. Two things I do, thicken the filling by partially cooking it prior to adding to the pie, also, I smear margerine on the inside of the bottom crust to help stop the crust from getting soggy. Cutting up raw apples and then baking in the pie will shrink the filling down quite a lot, leaving a 'dough sandwich' once baked.

So far this year I've "put up":
48 pts. pinto beans
7 containers frozen strawberries
8 pts. strawberry jam
6 1/2 pts plum jam
11 1/2 pts plum jelly
20 qts dill pickles
9 pts. green beans
9 containers frozen blackberries
10 pts apple butter
1 pt pickled okra
45 qts tomato sauce
15 qts picante sauce
13 qt V8 juice
6 bags frozen peppers
4 bags frozen hot peppers
6 half pints tootie fruitie marmalade
5 pts orange marmalade

zabby-

I just re-read your post about mixing other fruit with apples. Great idea. I have some boysenberries in freezer containers, and will try mixing with the new batch of apples.

My last canning as mentioned - was so successful, that I made another trip to local mountain fruit stand - before the apple season was over. They still had pears - so bought a lug and apples. Purchased the Northern Spy again -as was impressed with them - but the nice peaches - I think, Elbertas - were gone. The pears this time are Lincoln, so will see what difference they are from the last - which were Bartlett.

Another 6 pts. of pears on the shelves, with the apples and the last of the lug of Lincoln types to do today.

The first of the Mandarin oranges are ripening - a bit early, as they take a bit of cold to do so. They will be frozen in light syrup, as I don't care for the altered taste of them when canned.

P.S. I need a bigger freezer and more shelves, Santa.

Bejay.

Last week I did that little batch of apple-cranberry sauce --- six one-cup jars. A mix of apple varieties, with maybe 3/4 a bag of cranberries thrown in.

I loved it as was, but since I'll be eating it for breakfast with DH, whose taste runs a bit sweeter, I added just a bit of a lovely local honey. Mmm!

The produce stands are shut down, there is snow on the ground, and the bottle of Diet Coke we forgot to bring in from the car last night was frozen solid. I think Harvest season has ended around here while I wasn't looking.

On to Holiday Preserve season! ;-)

Zabby

Ah, but Zabby, you have to look at the glass as half full. With the holidays upon us, it's helpful to be able to use the back of the house as a walk-in cooler, and the car for extra freezer space! It one of the (very) few perks of winter in the North Country! ;-) Tee hee.

--Gina

Before I forget - my list of "creative effort" for this year - as follows:

Canned stuff:

18 pints apple sauce.
10 pints pears
6 pints freestone peaches
6 half-pints blueberry jam

Frozen stuff:

4 pie tin-shaped sliced apples for pies
20 bottles apple juice
10 bottles plum juice
6 half pints apple sauce

Hydrated:

3 small spice jars dried ancho peppers.
1 quart dried cherry tomatoes.
1 pint dried potato flakes (soup thickeners)
1 spice jar dried garlic salt
1 spice jar dried lemon pepper salt

Many small ice cube trays of frozen lemon/lime juice for whatever.

Whee - I think that's all -

So - it's on to planting time here in the balmy south - the bok choy is planted but looking good. The celery, snow peas, and - perhaps perennial peppers - looking healthy. Lemon tree producing a few more this year. A 2nd planting of lettuce - hopefully will escape the white butterfly invasion - now that weather is cooling. Still one more area left to plant, and have seedlings of cabbage, Chinese cabbage - red onions, in their little cups, just waiting until strong enough to brave the coming cooler nights - around 50's. The garlic and green onions are up and scallions are great for salads, and such.

Thanks to all of you on this forum that helped to make it all possible.

Bejay

White moths (butterflies) maybe cabbage loopers..

OK, I'll finally post what I've done, and I am nearly through. I might do some more soups with frozen veggies, and more stews with venison and beef since we have both, but this is most of the year's hard work.

Canned
Peaches (7 qt)
Chocolate Raspberry Preserves (7 x 4oz.)
Applesauce (6 pt)
Salsa (10 pt)
Dilly green beans (13 pt)
Pickled Peppers (4 pt + 4 x 8oz)
Basil Pasta Sauce (6 pt)
Peach Habanero Preserves (3 x 8oz + 6 x 4oz)
Seasoned Tomato Sauce (5 x 8oz)
Strawberry/mint/pepper jam (4 x 8oz)
Strawberry lemon marmalade (6 x 8oz)
Dill pickles (6 qt)
Red currant/raspberry preserves (2 x 8oz + 2 x 4oz)
Gooseberry jam (5 x 8oz + 2 x 4oz)
Red currant jelly (4 x 4oz)
Strawberry/raspberry/balsamic preserves (2 x 8oz + 4 x 4oz)

Frozen
Caponata (5 x 0.5 C)
Eggplant Parmesan (1 large, 2 small)
Dried herbed cherry tomatoes (lots)
Potato Leek Soup (16 servings)
Cream of tomato soup (10 servings)
Puttanesca sauce (4 x 2 C)
French onion soup (16 servings)
Carols Roasted Veggies (9.5 C)
Vegetable broth (18 C)
Corn (42 C)
Raspberries
Strawberries
Juneberries
Peppers (Corno di Toro, Anaheim, poblano, Serrano, jalapeno, habanero)
Leeks
Tomatillos
Eggplant slices
Parsley sauce for pasta (2 C)
Zucchini, shredded (7 x 2 C)
Green beans (12 C)
Tomatoes
Mediterranean Venison stew

Here I am again, with beef, LOL.

292 pounds of beef, packaged and in the freezer
8 pints of beef stock from soup bones
8 pints of beef vegetable soup, great for lunch at the office. (I had 9 but one didn't seal so I ate it, LOL)
7 half pints of Lime Chipotle marinade while limes were cheap.

I don't suppose the espresso brownie chunk ice cream I just put in the freezer for Thanksgiving dessert counts, since I'm going to eat it in two days? (grin)

Annie

Zabby:
I am taking the liberty of posting the recipe for the Garlic Jam. People eat it out of jars with a spoon. I believe that if kept very long, you'd have to refrigerate it. The first time I made it, I sauteed the garlic and onions in oil. The second time, I didn't because I don't want anything to go rancid.

Ingredients:
600 gm garlic chopped fine
600 gm onion chopped fine
3 3/4 cups of sugar
2 cups of wine
2 tbsp of lemon juice
1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar
1 tsp salt

1. Sautee the onion and garlic in the butter and vegetable oil for ten minutes.
2. Add 1/2 cup of sugar and stir until dissolved.
3. Combine the garlic sauté, wine, lemon and half the sugar in a pan and let stand for 1 hour.
4. After 1 hour, add the remaining sugar and place the pan over a medium-high heat; stir constantly until the sugar dissolves.
5. Bring the mix to a boil for two minutes.
6. Remove the pan from the flame and skim foam
7. Cook until it sets

It's very sweet with a killer aroma and taste of garlic.
I'd be interested to know if this jam is safe or should I have pressure canned it?

Irene in Calgary

Irene,

Mmmm--sounds very fine! I'll have to try it when the garlic festival comes in spring....

Zabby

Adding........
9 pints of tomato sauce from the toms I froze.
About 2 quarts of Turkey stock -- frozen.
That's what I did rather than Black Friday shopping!

And about a month ago:
Sugar free grape and apple cider jellies.
Pumpkin butter, pumpkin puree, pear butter. All frozen.

Ahhh.......ready for winter.

Deanna

Turkey Pies for the freezer.

12 lbs Italian sausage ground from a special on pork for the freezer.

4 pumpkins in oven steaming for puree.
2 lbs. macadamias drying in the dehydrator.
Several half-pints mandarins in lt. syrup - freezer. More as they ripen and are picked. Tree loaded.
Limes sqeezed - as they fall for frozen juice.

Why can't I can my own lime and lemon juice? I know some folks who would love to have "canned" juice as a gift. (sure beats that "other" stuff they sell.

Bejay

Sure you can freeze the citrus juices, and I would expect canning is OK too. Only issue is that heat causes it to lose some of the fresh taste, as well as it darkens with age. My commercially bottled lime juice (from concentrate) also turns slightly grayish color with sediment. I have to shake it to remix. Its doesn't seem to lose any flavor though. I would bring it just to a boil, pour into half pint jars and process for about 10 minutes ina BWB. Also, you might want to add a bit of ascorbic acid so that will help to prolong color a little. Its naturally acidic, but it shouldn't be used like commercially bottled juice (in things like canned tomatoes) due to its varied acidity.

Well - no I wouldn't use it as a replacement for the bottled kind - or change any of the recipes that require it. But - as many posts mention - the freezer gets a bit full during harvest times. It would seem to me that it would be a great time saver - such as when apples, and other summer fruits are coming in. The lemon/lime crops are later in the year, after fruit is harvested. My lemon/limes are now in full harvest - a bit late to use for apples, peaches, pears, etc., which is where most of my use is.

Also, I checked the National Center for Home Preservation - and only found reference for canning grape juice. This prompted my posting above.

Wonder, also, if dried zest could be added to the juice - to make it a bit stronger longer, if canned or would this compromise the processing time?

Comments?

Bejay

I think the zest could be added to the juice and frozen. No need to dry it first. Make some frozen juice with and without the added zest. Mix lime zest with lemon juice and lime juice with lemon zest too. As mentioned this cannot be used in the same way as bottled lemon or lime juice as the acidity can vary greatly in fresh juices, while the commercially bottled product is measured for a specific acidity.

Sneaking in under the wire for 2008 is my holiday gift activity:

Sugared Cranberries
- three cups

Carol's Sweet 'n Hot Confetti Jelly
- two one-cup jars and eight half-cup jars

Madras Pickled Eggplant
Indian Cucumber Relish
Thai Chili Sauce
- four one-cup jars of each of the above, for putting into gift baskets for four couples I usually exchange gifts with at New Year's

Indonesian Satay Sauce
- eight one-cup jars (also for the gift baskets-- I was bummed not to have leftovers of the last three recipes for myself, so I made this one a triple batch, and it came out even more than expected)

Carol, the Hab jelly went over particularly well. I canned one of the cups in one of those low, sturdy wide-mouth jars called a "salmon jar," and gave it with a matching jar of Roasted Red Pepper Spread to my 22-year-old nephew and his girlfriend, who is in pastry chef school. I packaged them with a box of nice crackers, some cream cheese, and a couple of little dip bowls and spreading knives.

This went over VERY well; these guys are in their first-ever apartment together, and I think liked getting the same kind of homemade food package I gave my middle-aged siblings, as they are feeling very grown up in their own household these days. My nephew is in one of those stages young men seem to go through of exploring Hot Sauces (loves to boast about how many scoville units he withstood yesterday, etc.), so he was thrilled with the hab jelly, especially since I told him it was made a little extra hot with him in mind, and he should be careful what guests he served it to. (Nothing like a hint of danger to perk up a Christmas gift when you are 22!)

;-)

Zabby, wondering if she can squeeze in one more little batch of cranberry sauce before the new year.....