Canning!

[HouseofWool]

I know I am not the only one out there canning/preserving, what has everyone else put up?

Yesterday I finished up 12 pints of spaghetti sauce using this recipe. I added a bit more sugar and a green pepper and didn't add the canned tomato paste.

This year, a bunch of my family will be getting together to make apple cider and can it. One of my cousins made a cider press last year. If nothing else, we will be picking apples to dehydrate for snacks and I will be putting my juicer to use with all of the apples!

[scrub-jay]

I really want to get into canning, but I've heard it is a huge PITA when you live at high altitudes. I may have to pick it up when we move back to sea level. Am I mistaken?

[HouseofWool]

A quick google search showed that all you have to do is increase the time of the water bath because the boiling point is lower.

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/foodnut/p41.html#can

[scrub-jay]

A quick google search showed that all you have to do is increase the time of the water bath because the boiling point is lower.

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/foodnut/p41.html#can

Ahh, I see. A local canner here told me that when she moved here, she had to figure out the pressure cooker canning style. I assumed that it was for everything, but from the above article, it is only really necessary for some types of foods. And yes, I obviously didn't look into it much after my conversation with her. Thanks Kris, maybe I'll dabble this year.

[spotty_dog]

Here's the guide from Ball for altitude adjustments: http://freshpreserving.com/guides/AltitudeCharts.pdf

DH has made Rainier cherry jam from some overripe cherries we got cheap; I have made plum preserves from free plums, blackberry jam from roadside blackberries, plain tomatoes in water, mild and medium tomato salsas, spiced peach jam, blueberry-lime jam, green plum jam from the tree in our yard. There's 24 half-pints and 8 pints of jam, 7 pints of salsa, and 3 quarts of tomatoes in the pantry now. Today I'm picking up some more tomatoes (for bruschetta and maybe sauce and more plain in water), maybe some green beans for dilly beans, and I might call the blueberry place to see what's the price per pound on u-pick. We've also got to get cracking on the plums in our yard and the roadside blackberries, all of which are peaking and are going to start getting icky soon.

OK, here's my question, what kind of tomatoes do you use for canning? I've mostly used Romas, because they've got fewer seeds and are less juicy. But they're a PITA to peel and I think some of my recipes actually expect them to be juicier? I'm thinking of getting slicers for the bruschetta. I dunno.

Oh, and a friend recommended this pizza sauce recipe, where the tomatoes are roasted and not peeled! Winning! http://www.simplebites.net/how-to-ma...three-recipes/

[HouseofWool]

Here's the guide from Ball for altitude adjustments: http://freshpreserving.com/guides/AltitudeCharts.pdf

DH has made Rainier cherry jam from some overripe cherries we got cheap; I have made plum preserves from free plums, blackberry jam from roadside blackberries, plain tomatoes in water, mild and medium tomato salsas, spiced peach jam, blueberry-lime jam, green plum jam from the tree in our yard. There's 24 half-pints and 8 pints of jam, 7 pints of salsa, and 3 quarts of tomatoes in the pantry now. Today I'm picking up some more tomatoes (for bruschetta and maybe sauce and more plain in water), maybe some green beans for dilly beans, and I might call the blueberry place to see what's the price per pound on u-pick. We've also got to get cracking on the plums in our yard and the roadside blackberries, all of which are peaking and are going to start getting icky soon.

OK, here's my question, what kind of tomatoes do you use for canning? I've mostly used Romas, because they've got fewer seeds and are less juicy. But they're a PITA to peel and I think some of my recipes actually expect them to be juicier? I'm thinking of getting slicers for the bruschetta. I dunno.

This year I have 3 paste tomato varieties in my garden (actual type unknown as the seedlings were purchased from the Amish). I will not do them again, they are too big of a pain to peel. I would rather deal with the big slicers. My sister swears by Early Girls. I would like to try an heirloom slicer next year. I had picked up about 25 pounds of toms at the farmers markets to make the sauce, adding to it roughly 5 pounds from my garden.

[spotty_dog]

This year I have 3 paste tomato varieties in my garden (actual type unknown as the seedlings were purchased from the Amish). I will not do them again, they are too big of a pain to peel. I would rather deal with the big slicers. My sister swears by Early Girls. I would like to try an heirloom slicer next year. I had picked up about 25 pounds of toms at the farmers markets to make the sauce, adding to it roughly 5 pounds from my garden.

So it's not just me that finds the paste/sauce varieties hard to peel! I'll try slicers today.

[HouseofWool]

So it's not just me that finds the paste/sauce varieties hard to peel! I'll try slicers today.

Do you blanch them first? It was so fun, I had DS9 helping me blanch the toms this weekend. I took the basket from a FryDaddy deep fryer and put in a layer of tomatoes and he was responsible for boiling them and dropping them into the ice water afterwards.

[ides]

I haven't done any this year yet with the move & all. Last year I did peach jam, lime marmalade (with my sisters mil) and blackberry jam. I would like to do some fruit & vegies and maybe some apple sauce.

[HouseofWool]

I still have some applesauce and apple butter left from last year, so I won't be doing it this year. (Need to call the folks and see when we can stop out to get the apples from them for juice.)