Today is all about being able to can and preserve foods for future use!
What is canning?
-Canning is where you take a fruit or vegetable and
put it into a mason jar, seal and preserve the fruit or vegetable for future
use.
Can you do the can can!?
-Anybody can can!
What to can?
When I
get ready to can I look to see what in the ridge is going out. I personally do
not can broccoli, cauliflower or anything that is similar to lettuce. It just
does not can well and becomes mealy. What I look for are the things
you see on the store shelves, such as:
o
Corn
o
Green Beans
o
Pickling cucumbers
o
Cucumbers
o
Carrots
o
Onions
o
Bell peppers
o
And more….
Last night when I was looking through my fridge I noticed I
had some pickling cucumbers and decided that I better can them before they are
no longer edible. So, here is how I did just that:
Ingredients
for Bread and Butter Pickles (makes approx. 2-3 jars)
1.
6 pickling cucumbers
2.
Salt
3.
Ice
4.
Pickling spices (usually found at
Winco for less than $1)
5.
Jars and lids
6.
Onions
7.
Sugar
8.
Cider Vinegar
How
to can them properly:
1.
You take the cucumbers and wash
them. Do not scrub with a sponge. You need to make sure that they are as clean
as possible in order to avoid things like botulism, E. coli and other icky
things that could make you sick.
2.
After they are clean make sure to
slice them into thin slices or to the thickness that you would prefer and put
them into a bowl.
3.
After they are in the bowl put in
a whole slices yellow onion and add 3-5 Tbs of salt. Depends on how salty you
like your pickles. More or less the salt acts as a preservative so you want to
use the salt wisely and not be too frivolous at the same time.
4.
Mix up the cucumbers, onions and
salt. Then you have 2 choices. If you don’t have a whole lot of time then cover
the bowl with about 4-6 cups of ice for 4 hours then they will be ready to can
OR you can cover them with cold water and leave them standing in the fridge overnight.
Both of these processes help the pickles to be preserved by the salt and water.
5.
While those are sitting, get a
stock pot and fill it up almost to the top with water and set it on the stove
to boil. This usually takes about 15-20 minutes because the pot is so big. When
the water is boiling stick in your jars of choice, the lids or two-part lids
and stick them into the water for 15 minutes in order to sanitize them. Regular
washing will not sanitize them completely. (Note: If your jars aren’t sanitized
properly you will end up wasting the product that you put inside the jar)
6.
After the jars are sanitized put
them on a towel on the counter for when you are ready to put the pickles in.
(note: Do not sanitize them the night before and leave them out overnight. This
should be done at least 20 minutes before you are going to use them.)
7.
In another pot pour the water
that the cucumbers are sitting in into the pot and add 3 cups of Cider Vinegar,
1.5 cups of your pickle seasoning, ¾ of a cup of sugar and bring to a boil for
15-20 minutes. When the water has changed to a brownish color and your house
smells AMAZING then the mixture is ready to be poured into the jars.
8.
Put the cucumbers and onions into
the jars and then pour your pickle cider water into the jars making sure to
leave at least 1 inch of room from the top of the jar.
9.
Wipe the rim of the jars to make
sure they are not in any way wet. This is to prevent unsealed jars.
10. Put
the lid/two-part lid on but not all the way tight and drop the jars into the
stock pot again making sure that the water covers the tops of the jars. You
will start to see the lids create bubbles in the water. This is a good thing! J Leave them
in the boiling water for 5 minutes, pull them out and set them on a towel on
the counter to cool overnight.
11. The next day, push on the top to see if they
sealed. They will not be able to be pushed down and will not make a popping
noise.
12. Let them sit in the jars for 5-6 weeks and you
will have FRESH bread and butter pickles! YUMMY!
Today, my son, a few friends and I went out to Sauvie Island for the first time and found it to be a little slice of heaven within a few miles outside the city! They had farms EVERYWHERE with all kinds of vegetables and fruits. IT WAS A BLAST! The plus side to going to farms in the summer is you find the weirdest and strangest things you would never think to see......like.....A BLOOMIN' ARTICHOKE!
Next on the list to can……….3 pounds of green beans!!!! BRING……..IT……ON!
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