I finally worked up courage to attempt some CANNING. Wish me luck!

[Richard Steele]

I have 7 widemouth 1/2 pint jars of homemade Salsa boiling on
the stove right now- my first attempt at home canning.

I have been wanting to learn this for quite awhile,
but just never got around to it. Circumstances finally came
together yesterday when we found the PERFECT little salsa
jars on sale for half price, discontinued stock.

So I've got a nice salsa made up w/ all organic tomatos and onions,
and some homegrown garlic from one of Sweeties friends, fresh cilantro...
and the little basil plant on the windowsill is no more.

I won't really know how it went till tomorrow, when I find out
if the jars sealed during cooling.
But hey, if any of them didn't, it just means I have to
eat them right away- failure bonus!

Ultimately, if this goes well, I'll be able to start canning
my awesome chicken soup and sending some up home to Mom.
And anything that makes Mom happy is worth the effort, right?

[sendero]

1. Excellent..

... we bought a canner a year ago and my wife has done salsa, pickles and okra pickles. The okra pickles came out salty, but everything else was great.

We're going to can some "hot mix" here pretty soon!

Someday, we will grow and can most of our own food.

[Richard Steele]

2. Yeah, I have some big plans for some pickling down the road.

The soil in our little garden isn't the best for a lot of things,
but the jalapeños do really well. Lots of them, and they're much
hotter than storebought.
So I have a lot of ideas for pickling things with them.
Spicey Jalapeño garlic, spicey cucumbers, spicey pickled eggs...
Maybe even pickle a few jars of Jalapeños by themselves,
if I'm feelin' REAL crazy!

[sendero]

19. Cool!..

... yes we are faced with crappy dirt also. We had the soil tested and it needs a lot of ameliorants.

We have already started adding stuff (not chemicals!) to try to help. It will take time, but you can build up the soil with repeated additions of plant materials and certain minerals.

We have blackberries, they seem like they'd grow in beach sand :) And other things we've tried do ok, just not as well as they'd do in good dirt!

We also bought a food dehytrator - but we only want to use it in the cooler months, it's practically a room heater :)

[tuvor]

3. Nothing better than a hobby you can share.

My wife canned some peaches and peach chutney a couple of weeks ago, and after that it was her homemade relish.

Good luck!

[Richard Steele]

6. Yup. I've been sharing my cooking with our friends for a few years...

Like the Salsas- I always make really large batches, and then
send sweetie off to work with tupperware containers full, to
distribute amongst her pals.
But as time has gone by, some of our old friends are now far away,
so tupperware won't cut it anymore.

Plus the SHARING goes both ways- some of our friends are avid gardeners,
so there are always surplus organic veggies for the asking
during the summer.

[likesmountains 52]

4. One of my favorite sounds...the "pop" of the lids sealing....

[Richard Steele]

8. Sadly, I seem to have missed the popping...

I just took our supper dishes into the kitchen,
and all the lids have inverted already.
I never heard a thing! :cry:

[FedUpWithIt All]

5. Excellent....

it really is rewarding. Something about knowing you can do it.

One word about canning mixed things, particularly with meat or stock. Check each ingredients cook time and cook for the longest duration and pressure. ;) Oh and although starches are a no-no i have been canning vegetable beef soup with potatoes for years with no problems. I just use already cooked potatoes so they do not break down during canning.

:hi:

[Richard Steele]

7. Yes, definitely.

Tomatos were recommended as a good "first attempt" project,
due to their limited cooking time and natural acidity.
(I gave it an extra helping of lemon juice for good measure.)
I intend to be a lot more experienced before I try anything with meat.

[FedUpWithIt All]

9. With pressure cookers it is hard to go wrong....

Seal, temp and time.

Let us know how it worked out. There are few things better than home canned tomatoes. ;-)

[Richard Steele]

11. I may have to distribute some homemade canned goods to certain people...

...and drop a few hints about how much MORE I could do with a
pressure cooker. Christmas will be here before long, y'know!:evilgrin:

[mad-mommy]

10. that's very cool....

I remember my parents doing tomatoes, smelled so good. My dad hasn't done it last or this yr. , and the stock is running low. I hope it all turns out well for you.

[Richard Steele]

12. Yes, canning was a regular ritual when I was a kid.

Feeling that connection to the past, to tradition,
is a big part of the appeal for me.

[mad-mommy]

15. everything in my grandparents home...

wss canned. there were no store bought canned goods. we went shopping in the basement. they also cooked everything in lard, and re-used lard. they lived to their 90's.

[Richard Steele]

16. Yes, that was still pretty much standard procedure where I grew up.

EVERYONE had a garden; it was just a given. And while
not everyone did fancy stuff like fruit preserves, EVERYONE
canned produce.
And I'm really starting to realize just how smart that was.

People today are paying EXTRA for 'all-natural organic' produce;
paying EXTRA for 'preservative/additive free' canned goods...
and we used to have all that for practically FREE when I was
a kid. A few cents for seeds and a few hours of labor was all it
took, so long as the sun rose and the rain fell.

Heck, it was real 'cow country', so even that fancy all-natural
fertilizer was free for the hauling!

Just didn't realize how good we had it back in Polecat Hollow.

[texanwitch]

13. I learned now to can from my Grandparents.

This is a good skill to have in this day and age.

I think there isn't as pretty as a roll of glass jars filled with homemade goodies.

I had a garden this year and canned alot of stuff.

[Richard Steele]

14. We didn't plant anything this year.

But we'll definitely be doing the garden again next spring.
One small step towards becoming more self-sufficient!

Not only do you get great organic produce for almost FREE,
instead of paying a premium...there's just a special kind
of satisfaction that comes with making a meal from ingredients
you raised yourself.

And the canning will allow us to actually plant some QUANTITY
next year. Peppers for sure, some nice onions and garlic...
heck, maybe I'll figure out how to keep tomatos alive!

It could happen!

[freethought]

17. You should be fine with the Salsa

My mom and dad used to have a kind of phobia when it came to canning, until they figured out how to do it right from someone who did know. After that they were canning tomatoes, jams, beans, relish, and all sorts of other stuff.
If the jars were good and clean everything should be fine. Tomatoes are naturally acidic, and that acidity helps to preserve them when they are canned.

Personally, I think you should put salsa in BIG jars. I tend to really pile my chips up heavy with salsa.

Good Luck!

[Richard Steele]

18. Yeah, tomatos were recommended as a good 'starter' project....

...they are alot more FORGIVING because the acidity
is a natural preservative. I gave the mix a good shot
of lemon juice just to play it safe (and because it makes yummier salsa!)

I was very careful with the jars; I kept them in boiling water for an hour
until the moment I filled them.

I agree with your 'big jars' sentiment; that's how I plan to do it
for my PERSONAL use. If I like something enough to eat it, I like
it enough to eat A LOT of it!
But this batch is destined to be given away
to some friends and coworkers, and these little jars are just
the cutest little single-serving snack-size you ever did see.

When I first laid eyes on them, my brain flashed "Makes a great gift!".
And when I saw they were half-price discontinued items, that was
just icing on the cake. Because I'm frickin' THRIFTY..(cough coughCHEAPcough...)

Plus, this was my first attempt at canning, so I didn't want to make
a HUGE amount of salsa for an experiment that might not have succeeded, y'know?

[Bunny]

20. Good luck. Seems I'll be doing some of that myself, probably this

weekend. The ex-SO decided he wants to try his hand at canning, which is something that neither of us has ever done. His birthday was yesterday, so I got him a canning kettle, some jars, racks, books on basic canning, etc. for a present.

Anyway, he decided he wants to do this at my house because my kitchen is bigger, I have a better stove, and plenty of room in the basement to store the finished product. If he was doing this at his own house, I'd just leave him alone, but since he's doing it at my place I'll have to get involved. I've been searching on the internet for recipes, and actually I'm kind of looking forward to it.

I think we'll start with saurkraut-stuffed banana peppers, some gardiniera, and probably a few jars of pickles. Salsa sounds good, too. Good thing it's a three-day weekend coming up!

[Richard Steele]

22. "saurkraut-stuffed banana peppers"? Oh my.

That's something I never would have thought
to make on my own, but now that you've given
me the idea, what can I say but "Oh my"!
That sounds like a fantastic item to can.

I may just have to try that.

[Bunny]

23. I've had them before, they're delicious.

Here's a recipe I pulled off the internet:

Pickled Sauerkraut Stuffed Banana Peppers

3 lbs mild yellow banana peppers
2 cans sauerkraut, drained well
1 cup sugar
3 cups white vinegar
4 tsp salt, divided
8 tsp pickling spices, divided
8 dashes turmeric, divided

Wash, cut tops off, and core out the peppers.
Pack each pepper with as much sauerkraut as possible.
Put peppers into clean jars.
Have ready a solution of sugar and vinegar that has been heated to boiling.
Place 8 jars in hot pan, or sink, of hot water.
In separate pot, heat plain water to boiling and pour over peppers.
Let stand a few minutes, then pour off water.
Add 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp pickling spice, and dash turmeric to each jar.
Pour sugar and vinegar solution over peppers.
Seal jars, process in water bath for 15 minutes.
Let stand at least one week before eating.
Best when eaten cold.
You could use whatever type of peppers you wanted and if you don't want the pickling spices or turmeric, then omit. It is safe to add other dried spices to this according to your tastes.

[xmas74]

21. Good luck!

It's something I've been planning on learning soon.