A simple dill pickle.. Cukes, vinegar water, canning salt, and of course dill both weed and seed. Add garlic and you have a decent canned product thats quite safe. Even for that there are also fermented pickles that should be refrigerated after a few days to weeks of fermentation at room temps.

Seasonality is kind of an issue. November isn't the most user-friendly of months for canning.

Do you have access to rosehips? If it's not too late in the season, I do have a recipe for rosehip syrup that would be fun.

Here's a cranberry salsa. It's a UGA-NCHFP recipe, so no worries about safety.

Spicy Cranberry Salsa

6 cups chopped red onion
4 finely chopped large serrano peppers
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups cider vinegar 5% acidity
1 T. canning salt
1 1/3 cups sugar
6 T. clover honey
12 cups ( approx. 2 3/4 cups) rinsed whole fresh cranberries
Wash and rinse six pint canning jars, keep hot until ready to use. Prepare lids according to manufacturers directions.

Combine all ingredients except cranberries in a large Dutch oven or saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat slightly and boil gently for 5 minutes. Add cranberries, reduce heat, slightly and simmer for 20 minutes.Stir occasionally to prevent scorching. Pour into jars, leave 1/4 inch headspace. Leave saucepot over low heat while filling jars. Remove air bubbles, adjust headspace if needed. Seal with lids, process in water bath canner for 10 minutes. Remove jars from canner and allow to cool undisturbed for 12-24 hours and check for seals.

This one has always intrigued me for its historical interest. I got it off Chef2Chef. It's an old English recipe but also made by the Shakers (though I doubt they used Certo, LOL).

Served as a condiment with pot roast, meat sandwiches, Plowman's lunch, that sort of thing.

Horseradish Jelly

1 cup grated fresh horseradish
1 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 tsp. minced fresh sage
3 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup liquid pectin

Place all but pectin in a heavy saucepan. Cook over high heat, stirring constantly, till mixture comes to a hard boil.

Add pectin & again bring to a full boil; boil for 1 minute.
Remove from heat & skim off foam w/a metal spoon.

Immediately pour into hot sterilized 1/2-pt. jars to w/in 1/4" from top. Prepare lids and rings....yadda yaddda.

Process for 10 min. in boiling water bath.

Carol

You got that right about Nov.! I doubt I could find canning cukes. I'm also dubious about using fresh herbs out of the garden. We've had a few frosts. They look sad but still green.

I found a recipe for Cranberry Chutney using sage. It's from the book "The Herbal Pantry" by Emelie Tolley. I dunno if it would be safe or any good. I'm not a sage fan, but we have lots of it in the garden. Anise hyssop too, and thyme. Just about all the herbs actually.

6 cups cranberries
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 orange, unpeeled, chopped and seeded
1 cup orange juice
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup slivered almonds
12 dried dates, chopped
1/4 cup crystalized ginger
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried mustard
3 TBLSP chopped fresh sage

I actually like a pickle idea, maybe pickled green beans (they usually have the fresh ones from somewhere out of season for Thanksgiving), with a mix of herbs. Or baby carrots. Or maybe a mixed pickle. I have a leftover jar of jardinaire I could then serve after the demo.

How about this one? It's surprisingly good!

Lavender Jelly

3 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup dried lavender flowers*
Juice of 1 lemon (approximately 1/4 cup)
1 (1 3/4-ounces) box powdered pectin or 1 pouch (3-ounces) liquid pectin
4 cups sugar
In a large saucepan over high heat bring water just to a boil. Remove from heat, stir in dried lavender flowers, and let steep for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, strain mixture into a deep kettle or pot, discarding the lavender flowers.
Stir in lemon juice and pectin; continue stirring until the pectin is dissolved.

Over high heat, bring the mixture to a boil; add sugar. When the jelly solution returns to a hard rolling boil, let it boil for 2 to 4 minutes (see below), stirring occasionally.

Boil Times:
2 minutes - soft gel
4 minutes - medium gel

Testing for "jell" (thickness - I keep a metal tablespoon sitting in a glass of ice water, then take a half spoonful of the mix and let it cool to room temperature on the spoon. If it thickens up to the consistency I like, then I know the jelly is ready. If not, I mix in a little more pectin (about 1 teaspoon to 1/2 of another package) and bring it to a boil again for 1 minute
After boiling, transfer the jelly into hot sterilized jars. Fill them to within 1/4 inch of the top, wipe any spilled jam off the top, seat the lid and tighten the ring around them. Process 10 minutes in BWB canner.
Makes five 1/2 pints.

Deanna

I like everything about that Cranberry Chutney except the sage, LOL. I don't mind sage, but it doesn't work for me in that chutney. It should be perfectly cannable, though. I don't see much risk in it. I'm guessing 15 minutes, but we'd need to find a comparable canning recipe to be certain.

There is a grape jelly with thyme recipe posted some time back by Robin.

-Robin

Grape Thyme Jelly

1 Cup Sauterne (a type of dessert wine)
1 1/2 Tbsp thyme leaves (or 1 tsp dried leaves)
3 to 4 Lbs Concord grapes
2 medium apples
4 1/2 cups sugar
1 pouch liquid pectin

Heat the sauterne in an enamel pot to the boiling point. Put the thyme leaves in a bowl and pour the wine over them. Allow the leaves to steep for 30 to 40 minutes. Then pour the mixture back into the pan and simmer it over a low flame until it reduces to half a cup. Stem the grapes and crush them in a large enamel kettle. Peel and cube the apples and add it to the grapes with 1 cup of sugar. Add enough water so the grapes are barely covered (too much water will dilute the flavor). Cook the mixture at a simmer until the fruit begins to lose color and becomes soft (about 1 hour). Pour the mixture into a damp jelly bag or through several thicknesses of cheescloth and allow to drain. Do not squeeze the cloth or the jelly will become muddy and the taste will be affected. You should have 2 cups of juice. Add the sauterne and thyme mixture, the remaining 3 1/2 cups of sugar and the liquid pectin. Bring to a boil and stir constantly and rapidly for 1 minute. Remove the mixture form the heat, skim if neccesary and pour into hot sterile jelly jars. BWB 10 minutes.

There's Emeril's Pickled Green Beans with Lemon and Rosemary posted by Annie. That's kind of a fun one. I have made these. I cut way back on the rosemary and still found them a bit too resinous for my taste. The rosemary I grow is really powerful. But overall it's a recipe worth fiddling with. In retrospect I think I would infuse the brine with rosemary (still use about half what he says) then pull it out and put only the lemon in the jars. Or for appearance put in just the tiniest sprig.

Lemon-Rosemary Pickled Green Beans:

2 pounds green beans
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
4 cloves garlic, peeled
4 (3-inch) strips lemon peel
2 1/2 cups water
2 1/2 cups white wine vinegar
3 tablespoons pickling salt
2 tablespoons sugar

Sterilize 4 pint-sized jars and their lids according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Evenly trim the ends of the green beans to fit the jars. Divide and pack the green beans, rosemary, garlic, and lemon peels among the jars.

Bring a large pot or canner of water to a boil.

In a medium pot, combine the water, vinegar, salt, and sugar and bring to a boil. Simmer for 2 minutes, stirring to dissolve the sugar and salt. Ladle the hot mixture into the jars, leaving a 1/2-inch headspace. Wipe the rims
with a clean cloth, affix the lids and seals, and seal tightly. Process the jars in the hot water bath for 15 minutes. Carefully remove with tongs and set aside to cool. Let sit in a cool, dark place for at least 3 weeks before opening.

Yield: 4 pints
(Emeril's Recipe) from Annie

Ellie Topp has a lovely pickled asparagus with tarragon and shallots, which normally I wouldn't even put out there for canning this time of year. But our stores have just put asparagus on special in anticipation of the holidays. With her small batches and hydroponic tarragon, it is doable.

Also, she offers a spiced orange slice recipe for canning. Perfect for the season. But the emphasis is spices - cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and peppercorns, so I don't know if you're interested in that one.

Carol

LOL Carol, great minds think alike, I couldn't imagine sage going with that recipe either. I'm wondering about lemon thyme or reguar thyme, or pineapple mint which we have.

I have made herbal jelly, I was just wondering about the time factor. Again, I'm wondering if I can heat up the water and lemon juice, steep the herbs, and then add the sugar and pectin to the mix the next day. I made lemon thyme jelly that was nice one year. We also have scented geraniums but I don't think any lemon or rose ones, just the perfumey kind. Also wondering about set up, I had luck when I made the lemon thyme jelly but that must have been beginners luck because I've never had any luck with Certo since that first year. Could I make apple lemon thyme jelly? Rose hips too much of a pain, that I know from last year! Unless you have the rugosas, which we do not.

Would dill, thyme and sage be too much for a pickle? Those are the herbs they have learned, other than sweet woodruff and artemesia.

Certo is . . . mostly reliable. I find I end up cooking the mixture after adding it a bit longer than instructions indicate.

I don't see any reason why you can't do the water and lemon juice herbal infusion ahead of time. In fact, if you heat the water with a bag of lemon seeds and membranes that will boost the lemon flavor and the pectin level (help with the Certo). Remove, infuse the herbs in warm water, strain, cool and stir in the lemon juice. (One option anyway).

Apple? I'd make an apple jelly with scented geraniums. (Since you mention them.) But thyme would be fine.

If it weren't a canning class I'd make mini-pound/bundt cakelettes with a scented geranium leaf in the bottom of each pan. Sprinkle the cups with sugar over the butter coating instead of flour. Sugary crunch and the scented geranium leaf becomes the "decoration" when the cakes are unmolded from the pans.

Or mini-poundcakes with rosewater, the standard colonial flavoring pre-dating vanilla.

But I digress.

I'll think more on the pickles. Carrots with dill pickled would be good. At the moment nothing comes to mind pickled with sage and all three together I think would be warfare in the jar. Just my 2 cents.

Carol

You mentioned that you have pineapple mint. Pineapple-Mint jelly is very, very good. Especially with pork roast or short ribs or turkey. ;)

Wife makes it every year with small bits of pineapple suspended in it. It's just the normal mint jelly recipe but made with the P.mint, 1/2 pineapple juice and 1/2 water, and some diced fresh pineapple.

Dave

I'd suggest good old classic Dilly Beans. They feature heavily one of the herbs they've studied, the ingredients are all easy to find even at this time of year (you can buy fresh bunches of dill if none left in garden), and they're fast and easy to do.

Good for you for spreading the word on canning! Have fun!

Zabby

OK, I think I'm either going to do dilled something or other--probably green beans, or maybe apple lemon thyme jelly. But would my garden thyme still be viable for a flavoring? I could buy the dill.

I'll also have to check on the mint. Sometimes the grounds crew gets over enthusiastic with the cutting back/cleanup.

Yeah, the class asked specifically for canning. It will be the last class before Thanksgiving and I'm doing Edible Landscaping/Permaculture and canning on that day. But I'm thinking I should maybe bring some already done wares for sampling. I have a ton of rosehip jelly and strawberry jam from last year, and ONE last jar of salsa. I hate to share it, as I did not make ANY this year. :(
I don't know what would be easy to do with the jelly though--I will not have time probably to make my jelly filled cookies. Maybe mini scones? I have a relatively small class--11 students.

Scones could be made ahead, frozen unbaked and then pulled out of the oven and baked the day of.

That might save you some time.

Carol

For me, its Pomona pectin is the most reliable, especially if I can't have any sugar. It can even gel tap water!

I think I'm going to have to make the pickles, since they can be cold packed. I'm going to have to find a burner to do the BWB and jelly would take two burners to do right. What I may do is serve the scones anyway with my rosehip jelly, just as an example.