What are you trying new and what old favorites are you going to put up

food_lover

3 years ago

I am looking forward to (and also a bit nervous about) trying a couple of new things this year.

1. Greens--one canner load needs 28lbs! Wow!

2. soup--any recommendations or tips? I am concerned that I will put in all that effort and then we might not like it.

Old favorites:

Peaches

Plums

Tomatoes (Ball Complete 376)

Green Beans

Pickled Beets

Salsa (Annie's)

Pickles (cucumber) (my recipe and Joy of Pickling 97)

Pickled Green Beans w/ Lemon (Small Batch 145)

Escabeche (Joy of Pickling 100)

Giardiniera (Joy of Pickling 100)

Pickled Jalapeños

Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Herbed Vinegars (purple basil, lemon herb)

Pesto (frozen)

Tomato Sauce (Ball Complete 364)

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Comments (4)

luski
3 years ago
We moved last year and this place has concord grapes. Didn't use them last year except for baking, and they are such a pain to clean. This time around I ordered a steam juicer and plan to make jelly. I don't like store bought grape anything, but I've heard homemade grape jelly is a whole different animal. We'll see!
annie1992
3 years ago
luski, homemade grape jelly IS completely different. It tasted like grapes. The store bought stuff mostly tastes like sugar and.....purple, LOL.

I canned some hot pickled asparagus this year and half of the family loved it, the rest of the family is afraid of it. (grin)

Other than that, what I can will depend entirely on my harvest. Right now I'm trying to determine what to do with bok choi, I'm thinking I could maybe dehydrate it and them make a powder to add to things like meatloaf or soup.

Annie
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food_lover
Original Author
3 years ago
@Lusky, I have never made jelly. I usually make jams. I can imagine homemade grape jelly tasting wonderful. I may have to try it this year, too! It would be with grapes from a local orchard, though because I don't grow them. However, I usually do end up with tons of mulberries and raspberries.

@Annie, the hot pickled asparagus sounds delicious! Can you share the recipe? About the bok choi powder, have you done that before with other greens? What do you use to make the dried greens into a powder? OS there a link with more information about it? It sounds like a great space efficient way to put up greens. I am planning to can them for the first time this year and the thought of blanching 28 lbs of is overwhelming!
annie1992
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
food_lover, I tried dehydrating kale for "kale chips", but no one in the family liked them, so I gave them a "whiz" in the food processor and made powder, which I added to meatballs. It worked well with kale, so I believe it will work with bok choi. It might even make a good addition for those who like "green" smoothies...

The hot asparagus? I used this recipe and just halved fresh peppers and added a couple to each jar. I used habaneros because my husband likes stuff really hot, but milder varieties would work just as well, depending on preference and availability. The recipe came from the Ball Blue Book, available at their on-line site:

https://www.freshpreserving.com/blog/pickled-asparagus

I just used fresh chilies instead of the dried peppers called for in the recipe.

Happy canning!

Annie

What are you trying new and what old favorites are you going to put up

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luski

annie1992

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What are you trying new and what old favorites are you going to put up

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luski

annie1992

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