Canning and Preserving Tidbits

 August 2, 2012

Canning Basics

 Step one:

Gather your equipment after you make sure your kitchen is spotless—if you have animals, remove them and evidence of their existence ie. hair. If you have hair, tie it back or wear a hat. The last thing you need to do is include your follicles or your cuddly-wuddly’s with the preserves you give away at Christmas.

Arrange your work station to your liking. I think it’s best to lay out the equipment logically for my kitchen and my working habits so choose your own method of madness to suit your needs. There should, however, be a saucepan of water for the lids all ready to go on the stove—do not boil this water. You just want it hot enough to soften the sealer on the lid. As well, fill the canner or stock pot with enough water to cover the jars. You should also have your oven mitts at the ready.

 Equipment needed:

1.   Very large heavy-bottomed stock pot or large-sized canner

2.   Rack to fit canner/stockpot or old rings tied with butcher string, enough to fill the bottom of the pot

3.   Canning tongs—normal kitchen tongs slip too much for safety’s sake

4.   Ladle

5.   Funnel

6.   Rubber tipped tongs or magnet-tipped wand for lid removal from water

7.   Thick, flat-weave kitchen towels for absorbing moisture and heat of jars

8.   Easy-removal labels and a sharpie

9.   Skewer

10. Really good recipe

Step Two:

Sterilize your equipment by briefly boiling the water and jars for 3 minutes. Lower heat to lowest setting, removing lid. You want the jars to remain hot as you want to put hot food into hot jars, not cooled ones.

Step Three:

Make your jam or other acidic food to be preserved. While it is still hot, fill jars leaving the required headspace. This is where your canning tongs win over kitchen tongs. Splash that water once by dropping the jar back in the pot and you’ll see my point. Run a skewer up and down along the insides of the jars to remove any air bubbles. You may have to add more filling to top up the jar. Wipe rim of jar and threads clean. Any sugar left will turn into super glue and the manly person who opens your jars for you will curse you. Place lid on and tighten ring fingertip tight.

Step Four:

Place filled jars onto rack in bottom of canner making sure jars will stay upright. Top up the water in pot to cover jars by an inch above the lids. Bring to a boil and process for required time according to your recipe.

Step Five:

After processing, turn off heat and remove lid. Allow the jars to settle for five minutes. Using your trusty canning tongs, remove jars and place on folded flat-weave towels taking care not to up-end the jars or knock them together. Let stand for 24 hours without jostling. Don’t worry about the water on the lids, that will evaporate.

Step Six:

24 hours later check the snap lids for concavity. There should be no give in the lid and sucked downwards into the jar. Tighten lids if they have become loose. Some will tell you to leave them loose or even remove them but I always fear dropping them in transport to the basement. Label your jars and you are ready to store the goodies or give them away.

Storage

A cool place is always ideal but is not always available to every one. If you can get a small extra fridge this is a good substitute for a cellar or cold room. Jams and jellies can be stored for a year or more and pickled items for approx. 3 years. Always do the sniff test and look for evidence of mold before eating anything preserved, no matter the date it was made.

Canning and Preserving Recipes

Blueberry Mead Mustard                                   makes approx. 7/125ml jars

1c white vinegar

2/3 c mustard seeds

1c Blueberry Mead

2 ¾ c blueberries

½ c honey

¼ c dry mustard

2 ½ tsp ground allspice

Bring vinegar to a boil over high heat. Remove from heat and add mustard seeds; cover and let stand about 2 hours. Place mustard seeds with liquid and the mead into a food processor and chop. Add blueberries and process until chopped. Pour back into saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Add honey, dry mustard and allspice. Continue to simmer until volume is reduced by a third, about 15 minutes. Fill jar, removing air bubbles and leaving ¼” headspace. Process for 10 minutes.

Oktoberfest Beer Mustard                                             makes 5/125ml jars

found in Bernardin Canning Cookbook, I think….

                                    

1 ½ c beer—choose a good one as the flavour will be there after canning

1 c brown mustard seeds

1c water

½ c malt vinegar

½ c brown sugar

¼ c dry mustard

1 tbsp onion powder

Bring beer and mustard seeds to a boil; cover, remove from heat and let sit for 2 hours. Puree seeds and liquid. Boil with water, vinegar, sugar, mustard and onion powder, gently about 15 minutes. Fill jar leaving ¼ “ headspace and removing all air bubbles. Process for 10 minutes.

Pepper and Pear Salsa                                      makes approx. 3/500ml jars

1c white vinegar

8c chopped, peeled and cored pears

3 red peppers, seeded and chopped

3 green peppers, seeded and chopped

1c sugar

2 tsp salt

2 tsp dry mustard

1 tsp turmeric

½ tsp allspice

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

As pears are prepared and chopped, drop into vinegar in saucepan and stir to prevent oxidation. Add peppers and rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and boil gently until thickened, about 5 minutes. Fill clean jars, removing air bubbles and leaving ½” headspace. Process for 20 minutes.

Simple Tomato Salsa                                        makes approx. 5/500ml jars

1 ½ c chopped sweet onions

1 tbsp chopped garlic cloves

½ c balsamic and ½ c red wine vinegar or 1c cider vinegar

10 c chopped, seeded plum tomatoes

2 c chopped red and green pepper

1 c fresh parsley, chopped

1 ½ tsp cumin

1 tbsp dried oregano

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp hot sauce or hot peppers

1 ½ tsp salt

¾ tsp black pepper

Boil the onion and garlic in the vinegar. Reduce and boil gently for 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and peppers; simmer for 3 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients. Simmer 3-5 minutes until peppers are tender. Fill jars, removing air bubbles and leaving ½”  headspace. Process for 15 minutes.

Cherry-Chili Chocolate Jam                                        makes 3-4/500ml jars

2 ½ c sugar

2/3 c dark coca powder

3 c packed, chopped, pitted sweet cherries

2/3 c lemon juice

3 dried chili peppers

¼ tsp cayenne (optional)

Boil cherries, lemon juice and hot peppers until cherry skins burst and soften. Remove peppers. Combine cocoa, sugar and cayenne, if using, in separate bowl. Add to cherry mixture; boil gently until thickened. Fill jar, removing air bubbles and leaving ¼ “ headspace. Process for 10 minutes.

Mango/Raspberry Butter                                           makes 6-7/250ml jars

1 ½ c crushed red raspberries

3 c finely shopped, pitted, peeled atalfulo mangoes, approx. 4 mangoes

2 tbsp lime juice

1 c sugar  you can add more for a thicker, sweeter jam

Boil all ingredients over medium heat until thick. Strain out seeds, if you like and puree with stick blender. Fill jar leaving ¼ “ headspace. Process 10 minutes.