Carrots

It was a good year for carrots.  After the greens were removed we had 61 lbs.

Carrots - Sliced or Diced

Quantity: An average of 17-1/2 pounds (without tops) is needed per canner load of 7 quarts; an average of 11 pounds is needed per canner load of 9 pints. A bushel (without tops) weighs 50 pounds and yields 17 to 25 quarts – an average of 2-1/2 pounds per quart.

Quality: Select small carrots, preferably 1 to 1-1/4 inches in diameter. Larger carrots are often too fibrous.

Procedure: Wash, peel, and rewash carrots. Slice or dice.

Hot pack – Cover with boiling water; bring to boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Fill jars, leaving 1-inch of headspace.

Raw pack – Fill jars tightly with raw carrots, leaving 1-inch headspace.

Add 1 teaspoon of salt per quart to the jar, if desired. Add hot cooking liquid or water, leaving 1-inch headspace.

Adjust lids and process following the recommendations in Table 1 or Table 2 according to the method of canning used.

Table 1. Recommended process time for Carrots in a dial-gauge pressure canner.
			Canner Pressure (PSI) at Altitudes of
Style of Pack	Jar Size	Process Time	0 - 2,000 ft	2,001 - 4,000 ft	4,001 - 6,000 ft	6,001 - 8,000 ft
Hot and Raw	Pints	25 min	11 lb	12 lb	13 lb	14 lb
	Quarts	30	11	12	13	14

Table 2. Recommended process time for Carrots in a weighted-gauge pressure canner.
			Canner Pressure (PSI) at Altitudes of
Style of Pack	Jar Size	Process Time	0 - 1,000 ft	Above 1,000 ft
Hot and Raw	Pints	25 min	10 lb	15 lb
	Quarts	30	10	15

Tomato Sauce 2017

We picked the first round of tomatoes and for lack of time they were made into just tomato sauce.

We ran the tomatoes through the fruit strainer on our kitchen aid mixer.  Thicked in batches in a heavy stainless pot they finished thickening in the oven on the crock pot setting overnight.

Pint:
• ¼ tsp Citric Acid or 1 Tbsp bottled lemon juice

Quart:
• ½ tsp Citric Acid or 2 Tbsp bottled lemon juice


Ladle hot sauce into prepared jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding hot sauce. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip-tight.
Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process pint jars for 35 minutes and quart jars for 40 minutes.

Pears 2017

From Ball

PEARS IN SYRUP

Makes about 8 (16 oz) pints or 4 (32 oz) quarts
Bartlett pears are considered best for canning. Kieffer pears and similar varieties are satisfactory if properly ripened and cooked in water instead of syrup until almost tender, drained and then packed in jars with a light syrup.

PRESERVING METHOD:Waterbath Canning

YOU WILL NEED:
8-12 lb ripe but firm pears, peeled, cored, halved, treated to prevent browning and drained (about 24-36 medium)
1 batch hot light or medium syrup
8 Ball® (16 oz) pint glass preserving jars with lids and bandsPears is syrup (from Ball Blue book)

PREPARE pears by peeling, coring and halving them. To prevent browning, use Fruit-Fresh or submerge pears in a mixture of 1/4 cup lemon juice and 4 cups water and drain. To prepare syrup, combine 2-1/4 cups granulated sugar and 5-1/4 cups water for light and 3-1/4 cups granulated sugar and 5 cups water for medium in a stainless steel saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Reduce heat to low and keep warm until needed, taking care not to boil the syrup down.

PREPARE boiling water canner. Heat jars in simmering water until ready for use. Do not boil. Wash lids in warm soapy water and set bands aside.

WARM pears, one layer at a time, in a large stainless steel saucepan, over medium-low heat, in syrup until heated through, about 5 minutes.

PACK hot pears , using a slotted spoon, cavity side down and overlapping layers, into hot jars to within a generous 1/2 inch of top of jar. Ladle hot syrup into hot jar to cover pears, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding hot syrup. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Apply band until fit is fingertip tight.

PROCESS pint jars in a boiling water canner for 20 minutes and quarts for 25 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours. Lid should not flex up and down when center is pressed.

Best Bread and Butter Pickles

Best Bread and Butter Pickles
Servings: makes 6-7 pints

Ingredients
5 lbs. pickling cucumbers, sliced 1/4" thick (16 cups when sliced)
2 lbs. onions, halves and thinly sliced (6 cups when sliced)
2 Cups red bell pepper
1/3 cup pickling salt (or 1/2 cup kosher salt)
3-1/2 cups vinegar; use white or cider or half-and-half combination
4 cups sugar
10 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons mustard seeds
1-1/2 teaspoons celery seeds
1 teaspoon red chili flakes
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon turmeric
optional: 3/4 teaspoon Pickle Crisp granules
Directions
Combine sliced cucumbers, onions, peppers and salt in large bowl; toss to combine; cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours (or as long as 12 hours). Drain in colander, rinse well under running water for 2 minutes, tossing vegetables as they are rinsing. Drain.

In 8-quart pot, combine vinegar, sugar, garlic, mustard and celery seeds, pepper flakes, cloves, and turmeric; heat over high heat until boiling. Add cucumber/onion/pepper mixture, stir, and return to boil. Turn off heat.


(Optional: Before filling jars with other ingredients, add 1/8 teaspoon pickle crisp granules to each heated jar.)

Use tongs or a slotted spoon to fill hot pint jars with cucumber/onion mixture, filling to just below where the jar rim begins, pressing down with tongs/spoon to fill in any gaps in jars. Ladle hot vinegar liquid into jars, allowing 1/2 headspace.

Insert chopstick or bubble remover down sides of jars, drawing it towards the center to release any trapped bubbles; refill jars, if necessary, to restore 1/2" headspace. Clean jar rims with wet paper towel. Add lids to each jar; screw on rings just until finger tight.

Bring water to a boil in water process canner, add jars making sure there is at least 1" of water over top of jars. Cover canner, return water to a boil, and process jars for 10 minutes. Remove lid and turn off heat, leaving jars in water for 5 minutes. Use jar lift to remove jars vertically from water and rest on towel undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours.

Chinese Plum Sauce

Chinese Plum Sauce

Make About 8 Half-Pint Jars

1 Cinnamon Stick
2 pieces star anus
1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon Fennel seeds
4 pounds plums pitted and chopped (about 8 cups)
1 medium onion copped
4 cloves garlic chopped
1/4 cup chopped peeled fresh ginger
1/2 coup rice vinegar (4%)
3 tablespoons soy sauce more to taste
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup pitted prunes
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper


Put spices in a cheesecloth for spice bag.

Put the bag and all remaining ingredients in a pan and bring to a boil

lower the heat and simmer stirring occasionally until the onion is soft.
(about 30 min)

remove spice bag.

With a stick blender puree and bring to a summer stirring until thickened and a shade darker (about 10 min)

Taste and adjust soy sauce and brown sugar accordingly.  It should be sweet and salty.

ladle into jars leaving 1/4 in headspace

wipe rims and fit lids

process 1/2 pint for 5 min pints for 10 min in water bath

From Canning for a new generation

Plums

Plums-Halved or Whole

Quantity: An average of 14 pounds is needed per canner load of 7 quarts; an average of 9 pounds is needed per canner load of 9 pints. A bushel weighs 56 pounds and yields 22 to 36 quarts – an average of 2 pounds per quart.

Quality: Select deep-colored, mature fruit of ideal quality for eating fresh or cooking. Plums may be packed in water or syrup.

Please read Using Pressure Canners and Using Boiling Water Canners before beginning. If this is your first time canning, it is recommended that you read Principles of Home Canning.

Procedure: Stem and wash plums. To can whole, prick skins on two sides of plums with fork to prevent splitting. Freestone varieties may be halved and pitted. If you use syrup, prepare very light, light, or medium syrup.

Hot pack – Add plums to water or hot syrup and boil 2 minutes. Cover saucepan and let stand 20 to 30 minutes. Fill jars with hot plums and cooking liquid or syrup, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.

Raw pack – Fill jars with raw plums, packing firmly. Add hot water or syrup, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.

Adjust lids and process.

Processing directions for canning plums in a boiling-water, a dial, or a weighted-gauge canner are given in Table 1, Table 2, and Table 3.

Table 1. Recommended process time for Plums, halved or whole in a boiling-water canner.
		Process Time at Altitudes of
Style of Pack	Jar Size	0 - 1,000 ft	1,001 - 3,000 ft	3,001 - 6,000 ft	Above 6,000 ft
Hot and Raw	Pints Quarts	20 min 25	25 30	30 35	35 40

Table 2. Process Times for Plums in a Dial-Gauge Pressure Canner.
			Canner Pressure (PSI) at Altitudes of
Style of Pack	Jar Size	Process Time (Min)	0 - 2,000 ft	2,001 - 4,000 ft	4,001 - 6,000 ft	6,001 - 8,000 ft
Hot and Raw	Pints or Quarts	10	6	7	8	9

Table 3. Process Times for Plums in a Weighted-Gauge Pressure Canner.
			Canner Pressure (PSI) at Altitudes of
Style of Pack	Jar Size	Process Time (Min)	0 - 1,000 ft	Above 1,000 ft
Hot and Raw	Pints or Quarts	10	5	10

Rain

The rain this year is relentless more than 5 in of rain in 24 hours.