7 Ways to Get Your Act Together for the Canning Season

http://www.simplebites.net/7-ways-to-get-your-act-together-for-the-canning-season/

They say if you don’t know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else, and this certainly rings true when it comes to home preservation. If you don’t have a game plan, the summer can easily pass you by with little or no canning accomplished, making for a fall scramble to put food up.

A plan of action for canning is also important for avoiding a physical -or mental- collapse during those short and hot summer months. Those softening strawberries and quick-ripening tomatoes really know how to put on the pressure. It is easy to take on too much, and canning really isn’t a project that can be rushed or accomplished under stress.

The alternate title for this post was How to Avoid Burnout During Canning Season, because I want to help you streamline your home canning efforts to be as efficient as possible, while yielding the personal satisfaction of a job well done – without burnout!

7 Ways to Avoid Burnout During Canning Season

1. Be Realistic.

Start the season with a practical assessment of what you will eat. Try and think realistically.

In chatting with Marisa of Food in Jars on this topic, she wisely advises:

“If you aren’t chutney people, don’t force yourself to put up a dozen jars thinking your tastes will magically change. Only can what you know you and your family will eat.“

At the beginning of the year, make a list of what you want to preserve. List only what you (and your family) love to eat and ask these questions:

• What was popular last winter?
• What is still sitting on shelves now?
• What was the family’s least favorite canned item last year?
• What was a pain in the neck to put up?
• What was best received as gifts?

A list will quickly form for this season’s canning projects. I could have made triple the amount of blueberry syrup. During the winter, a spoonful was a such refreshing reminder of summer – and friends loved receiving it as gifts.

What will I be dropping from my repertoire? Applesauce. I’ve got jars and jars of it that never got used. My former applesauce-loving two year old is now a ‘big boy’ who would far rather chomp down on a fresh apple. A changing, growing (or shrinking!) household are some good reasons to update your canning repertoire each season.

Also think realistically about what you can accomplish.
Take a good look at your list. These should be your ‘Must Have’ items. If you feel like you will be able to fit them in, add one or two new recipes or techniques that you’ve been wanting to try.

Here’s what’s on my ‘Must Have’ list this season:

• Salsa
• Peaches
• Tomatoes
• Pizza Sauce
• Cherries
• Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam
• Pickles
• Blueberry Syrup

Some of you can and preserve food all summer long to provide for your family’s basic needs year round, but most of us don’t can out of sheer necessity. We all have different reasons to preserve the harvest and I think making a list of our favorite items helps prioritize what needs to happen.

Photo by Elizabeth Nyland

2. Book the Dates

Are you hosting a family reunion like I did last June? Traveling for most of August? Start by taking a good look at the calendar and set aside one weekend morning or afternoon a month now for canning before it gets booked with birthday parties and barbecues. Then, stick to your guns.

Pencil in a few evenings, too, and think about asking a friend to come and work with you. But that is our next point.

3. Recruit Help

Many hands make light work, especially when canning at home. Enlist the help of your spouse, friend, or family member for the big projects. Often there are mundane tasks such as pitting cherries or peeling tomatoes that anyone can do, so previous kitchen experience is not required of a helper.

Perhaps a grandmother or uncle could play Uno with the little ones one afternoon a week while you make preserves. Thank them with a few jars of canned cherries and everyone will be happy.

Better yet, host a canning party, although this sounds like more of a social event than a hot and sticky canning marathon.

Photo by Mama’s Minutia

4. Pace Yourself

Can only the essentials, what is in season NOW. Even if tomatoes are plentiful in July, focus on berries and stone fruit. The tomatoes are not going anywhere just yet.

Only once the early summer fruit has passed its peak, then move on. Talk to growers to find out how much longer specific produce will be around the market and if prices are expected to lower anytime. I generally can my tomatoes in the last week that they are available at the market because they are incredibly cheap if I wait that long.

TIP: Don’t buy produce just because it’s a deal. Have a game plan before you go to the market — with a little wiggle room, of course.

5. Hire Help for the ‘Extras’

Gardening, dinner prep, household chore – these tasks don’t magically get done when we’re canning. They pile up and can become a stress if left for too long. We’ve talked about recruiting some help from family, but if you can afford it, get even more back-up.

On days that you’ve slotted a major canning undertaking, hire a babysitter or the neighbor’s pre-teen daughter to play with the kids outside or at the park. If you’re really serious about canning, book a sitter for the same time every week and make that your designated canning time.

No kids, and still no time? Hire someone to come in a help with other household tasks that are a major time suck so you can hit the kitchen.

6. Organize a preserve swap.

Two seasons in a row I have coordinated to have between 15 and 20 people come together and swap home canned goods in the fall. It’s an extremely practical way of garnering a wide assortment of jam, jelly and preserves if you don’t have a whole lot of canning experience (or time) yourself.

You can read about my first event and take a peek at my extremely well stocked pantry if you are curious about how it went. Both events were such fun and another swap is in the works for this coming fall.

7. Be Prepared.

It’s almost too obvious to be mentioned, but organize yourself well before beginning a canning project. Brush up on canning basics and double check your equipment.

Here’s a list of everything you’ll need. Don’t be the knumbskull who is all set to jam – only to discover the pectin is past its due date. Yep, that was me.

Get ready, get set, go! Happy Canning!

 Pickling Tips and Recipes

http://www.almanac.com/content/pickling-tips-and-recipes

Pickling is a way to preserve the bounty of the season's harvest, and keep many vegetables and fruits. See tips, pickling measures, and pickling recipes.

In pickling, the process is about adding acid (vinegar or lemon juice) to a low-acid food to lower its pH to 4.6 or lower. Acid foods include all fruits except figs, most tomatoes, fermented and pickled vegetables, relishes, and jams, jellies, and marmalades.

Pickling Tips

• Produce must be fresh when pickled. Avoid using waxed supermarket produce.
   
• Select the most uniform, unspoiled produce.
   
• Scrub food well. Be sure to remove and discard 1–1/16-inch slice from the blossom end of fresh cucumbers. Blossoms may contain an enzyme that causes excessive softening of pickles.

• Use canning or pickling salt (not iodized table salt!). Pickling salt has no additives. Iodized salt makes the brine cloudy and may change the color and texture of the vegetables as well as possibly leave sediment at the bottom of the jars.
   
• For the best results, use white distilled or cider vinegars with 5 percent acidity. Use white vinegar when light color is desirable, as with fruits and cauliflower.
   
• For crisper pickles, put the vegetables (whole or sliced) into a wide bowl and spread a layer of pickling salt on tip. Cover and let sit overnight in a cool place. Discard the liquid, then rinse and dry the vegetables before pickling or canning as usual. The salt helps to pull the moisture out of the vegetables and makes them crisper.
   
• Measure or weigh carefully, because the proportion of fresh food to other ingredients will affect flavor and, many times, safety. Here are pickling measures:

Pickling Measures

• See our Measuring Vegetables and Measuring Fruits charts to translate pounds to cups (in Related Articles above).
   
• Sterilize your empty jars. Do not use recycled commercial jars or old-style home-canning jars. They can break in the canning process.
   
• Use new jar lids for a tight seal. To avoid rust, screw bands should be removed from processed jars that are stored. They can be easily removed after the jars have cooled and sealed, and then reused.
   
• Always wipe the rim of the jar clean for a good seal after filling and just before putting the lid on.
   
• Process jars in a boiling-water canner for the correct amount of time (a canner is a large standard-size lidded kettle with a jar rack, designed for heat-processing 7 quart jars or 8 to 9 pint jars in boiling water).
   
• Label and date your jars and store them in a clean , cool, dark, dry place such as a pantry, cabinet, or basement. Don't store in a warm spot!
   
• To allow pickles to mellow, wait at least 3 weeks before using.

Pickling Recipes

Dilled Green Beans

Pumpkin Pickles

Jane's Zucchini Bread-and-Butter Pickles

Tomato Jam

Pickled Green Beans

Verna's Beet Relish

Sour Mustard Pickles

From a Reader: Refrigerator Dill Pickles

 

"Plum Jam (How To) "

How to Make Plum Jam - Easily! - Homemade, With Step-by-step Directions

Yield: 8 to 10 eight-ounce (half-pint) jars



Making and canning your own Plum jam, Damson jam, Pluot, "Dinosaur Egg" plums, Gage jam or Nectarine jam  is so easy. Here's how to do it, in 12 simple steps and completely illustrated. I'll discuss plums below, but you can substitute peaches, plums or nectarines! Any variations will be spelled out in the directions inside the pectin. This stuff is awesome; if you never had plum jam, you don't know what you're missing!


Ingredients

    * Fruit: Plums, Gages, Damson's, Pluots or Nectarines - 4 pints of prepared fruit (which is: 8 cups, or 2 liters, about 3 lbs, almost 1.50 kg) fresh, or frozen prepared fruit.
    * Lemon juice - either fresh squeezed or bottled. 1/4 cup.
    * Water - 1/2 cup
    * Sugar - About 4.5 cups of dry, granulated (table) sugar. It is possible to make low-sugar,  fruit juice-sweetened, or Splenda-sweetened fig jam; I'll point out the differences below.
    * Pectin - get the "no sugar needed" type - (it's a natural product, made from apples and available at grocery stores (season - spring through late summer) and local "big box" stores. It usually goes for about $2.00 to $2.50 per box. See here for more information about how to choose the type of pectin to use.

Equipment

    * Jar funnel ($2 at Target, other big box stores, and often grocery stores; and available online - see this page) or order it as part of the kit with the jar grabber.
    * At least 1 large pot; I prefer 16 to 20 quart Teflon lined pots for easy cleanup.
    * Large spoons and ladles
    * 1 Canner (a huge pot to sanitize the jars after filling (about $30 to $35 at mall kitchen stores, sometimes at big box stores and grocery stores.). Note: we sell canners and supplies here, too - at excellent prices - and it helps support this web site!
    * Ball jars (Grocery stores, like Publix, Kroger, Safeway carry them, as do some big box stores - about $7 per dozen 8 ounce jars including the lids and rings)
    * Lids - thin, flat, round metal lids with a gum binder that seals them against the top of the jar. They may only be used once.
    * Rings - metal bands that secure the lids to the jars. They may be reused many times.
    *

      Jar grabber (to pick up the hot jars)- Big box stores and grocery stores sometimes carry them; and it is available online - see this page. It's a tremendously useful to put jars in the canner and take the hot jars out (without scalding yourself!). The kit sold below has everything you need, and at a pretty good price:
       

      Optional stuff:
          o Foley Food Mill ($25) - not necessary; useful if you want to remove seeds (from blackberries) ormake applesauce.
          o Lid lifter (has a magnet to pick the lids out of the boiling water where you sanitize them. ($2 at big box stores or it comes in the kit at left)

Plum (and/or peach, plum or nectarine) Jam-making Directions

This example shows you how to make jam from plums (and other stone fruits)! The yield from this recipe is about 8 to 10 eight-ounce jars (which is the same as 5 pints). You can make any one, or mix fruit.  Some people seem to like plum-pineapple or plum-raspberry, plum-blackberry combinations, also. Even plum-pineapple (crush the pineapple)

Step 1 - Pick the Plums! (or buy them already picked)

It's fun to go pick your own and you can obviously get better quality ones! (Damsons are shown in the photo at left)

I prefer to grow my own; which is really easy - but that does take some space and time.As mentioned in the Ingredients section; you may use frozen Plums (those without syrup or added sugar); which is especially useful if you want to make some jam in December to give away at Christmas!

 
Step 2 - How much fruit?

Jam can ONLY be made in rather small batches - about 6 to 8 cups at a time - like the directions on the pectin say, DO NOT increase the recipes or the jam won't "set" (jell, thicken). It takes about 8 cups of raw, unprepared Plums per batch. For mixed fruit jam, I use 4 cups of mushed (slightly crushed) Plums, 1 cup of raspberries and 1 cup of strawberries or blackberries. That makes a nice combo-plum jam.  Raspberries and plums seem to go very well together, blackberries add a nice flavor, too.

Step 3 - Wash the jars and lids

Now's a good time to get the jars ready, so you won't be rushed later. The dishwasher is fine for the jars; especially if it has a "sanitize" cycle, the water bath processing will sanitize them as well as the contents! If you don't have a dishwasher with a sanitize cycle, you can wash the containers in hot, soapy water and rinse, then sanitize the jars by boiling them 10 minutes, and keep the jars in hot water until they are used.

NOTE: If unsanitized jars are used, the product should be processed for 5 more minutes. However, since this additional processing can result in a poor set (runny jam), it’s better to sanitize the jars.

Put the lids into a pan of hot, but not quite boiling water (that's what the manufacturer's recommend) for 5 minutes, and use the magnetic "lid lifter wand" to pull them out.

Leave the jars in the dishwasher on "heated dry" until you are ready to use them. Keeping them hot will prevent the jars from breaking when you fill them with the hot jam.

Lids: put the lids into a pan of boiling water for at least several minutes; to soften up the gummed surface and clean the lids.  I just leave them in there, with the heat on very low, until I need them!


Step 4 -Wash the fruit and sort!

I'm sure you can figure out how to wash the fruit in a colander of plain cold water.

Then you need to pick out and remove any bits of stems, leaves and soft or mushy fruit. It is easiest to do this in a large bowl of water and gently run your hands through the fruit as they float.  With your fingers slightly apart, you will easily feel any soft or mushy fruit get caught in your fingers.

Then just drain off the water!

Step 5 - Peeling the Plums

Plums and nectarines should be peeled, as their skins can be tough / chewy in jam.  If you do want to leave the skins in, you might want to run the fruit through a blender to chop them up (after you remove the pits, of course).  I prefer peeled (both for texture and pesticides are concentrated in the skins, so with store-bought plums, this helps eliminate more of the bad stuff!)

For those you want to peel, here's a great trick that works with many fruits and vegetables with skins (like tomatoes): just dip the fruit in boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds.  

Remove from the water using a slotted spoon and put into a large bowl or pot of cold water and ice.

 The skins will easily slide off now IF the plums are ripe! The more unripe they are, the longer you'll need to heat them.

 
Step 6 - Cut up the plums

Cut out any brown spots and mushy areas. Cut the plums in half, or quarters or slices, as you prefer! Remove pits!

 Step 7 - Prevent the fruit from darkening!

Now, to keep the fruit from turning brown, when you get a bowlful, sprinkle 1/4 cup lemon juice or Fruit-Fresh (which is just a mix of citric acid and vitamin C, perfectly natural).  Then stir the plums to make sure all the surfaces have been coated.

Step 8 - Measure out the sweetener

Depending upon which type of jam you're making (sugar, no-sugar, Splenda, mix of sugar and Splenda or fruit juice) you will need to use a different amount of sugar and type of pectin. The precise measurements are found in directions inside each and every box of pectin sold (every brand, Ball, Kerr, Mrs. Wages, etc. has directions inside).

Type of pectin to buy

Sweetener

Step 9 - Mix the dry pectin with about 1/4 cup of sugar or other sweetener

Keep this separate from the rest of the sugar. If you are not using sugar, you'll just have to stir more vigorously to prevent the pectin from clumping.   Be sure to use a "No sugar needed" pectin rather than the regular pectin.  It works with any amount of any sweetener and ensures a better set.

Notes about pectin: I usually add about 20% more pectin (just open another pack and add a little) or else the jam is runnier than I like. With a little practice, you'll find out exactly how much pectin to get the thickness you like.
Is your jam too runny? Pectin enables you to turn out perfectly set jam every time. Made from natural apples, there are also natural no-sugar pectins that allow you to reduce the sugar you add by half or even eliminate sugar!

Step 10 - Mix the Plums with the pectin and cook to a full boil

Stir the pectin into the Plums and put the mix in a big pot on the stove over medium to high heat (stir often enough to prevent burning). It should take about 5 to 10 minutes to get it to a full boil (the kind that can not be stirred away).


Step 11 - Add the remaining sugar and bring to a boil

When the berry-pectin mix has reached a full boil, add the rest of the sugar (about 4 cups of sugar per 6 cup batch of Plums) or other sweetener, and then bring it back to a boil and boil hard for 1 minute.

Step 12 - Testing for "jell" (thickness)

I keep a metal tablespoon sitting in a glass of ice water, then take a half spoonful of the mix and let it cool to room temperature on the spoon. If it thickens up to the consistency I like, then I know the jam is ready. If not, I mix in a little more pectin (about 1/s to 1/2 of another package) and bring it to a boil again for 1 minute.
 

Step 13 - Fill the jars and put the lid and rings on

Fill them to within ¼-inch of the top, wipe any spilled jam off the top, seat the lid and tighten the ring around them. Then put them into the boiling water canner!

This is where the jar tongs and lid lifter come in really handy!

 
Step 14 - Process the jars in the boiling water bath

Keep the jars covered with at least 2 inches of water. Keep the water boiling. In general, boil them for 5 minutes.  I say "in general" because you have to process (boil) them longer at higher altitudes than sea level, or if you use larger jars, or if you did not sanitize the jars and lids right before using them.  The directions inside every box of pectin will tell you exactly.  The directions on the pectin tend to be pretty conservative.  Clemson University says you only need to process them for 5 minutes.  I usually hedge my bets and start pulling them out after 7 minutes, and the last jars were probably in for 10.  I rarely have a jar spoil, so it must work.

Note: Some people don't even boil the jars; they just ladle it hot into hot jars, put the lids and rings on and invert them, but putting the jars in the boiling water bath REALLY helps to reduce spoilage! To me, it makes little sense to put all the working into making the jam and then not to process the jars to be sure they don't spoil!

 

Step 15 - Remove and cool the jars - Done!

Lift the jars out of the water and let them cool without touching or bumping them in a draft-free place (usually takes overnight) You can then remove the rings if you like. Once the jars are cool, you can check that they are sealed verifying that the lid has been sucked down. Just press in the center, gently, with your finger. If it pops up and down (often making a popping sound), it is not sealed. If you put the jar in the refrigerator right away, you can still use it. Some people replace the lid and reprocess the jar, then that's a bit iffy. If you heat the contents back up, re-jar them (with a new lid) and the full time in the canner, it's usually ok.

Once cooled, they're ready to store. I find they last up to 12 months. But after about 6 to 8 months, they get darker in color and start to get runny. They still are safe to eat, but the flavor and texture aren't as good. So eat them in the first 6 months after you prepare them!

Canned Pineapple In Syrup

I use the recipe in the Ball's Blue book. Take 3 pounds of pineapple per quart. Scrub pineapple. Peel, remove "eyes" and core. Cut into 1/2 inch slices. You can also cut lengthwise into wedges or 1 inch chunks (I do this). Make a light syrup. To that, use 2 1/4 cups sugar and 5 1/4 cups of water and cook syrup until it is hot. Simmer pineapple in s...yrup until tender. Pack hot pineapple into hot jars, leaving 1/2inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust two piece caps. Process pints 15 minutes, quarts 20 minutes in hot water canner.

Pickled Asparagus

Pickled Blueberries

• 3 (3 inch) cinnamon sticks
• 1 teaspoon whole cloves
• 1 teaspoon whole allspice berries
• 1 1/2 cups red wine vinegar
• 2 quarts fresh blueberries, washed and picked over
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar

Chili “Bucket” Soup 

2 T Paprika

2 T Chili Powder

4 T Brown Sugar

½ tsp. Salt

½ tsp. Celery Seed (or fresh celery may be used)

2 Lg. Onions

1 Lg. can of green beans

1 Can French green beans

1 Can Corn

2 Cans Navy Beans (white)

3 cans kidney beans

2 quarts Canned Tomato Puree

4 0r 5 lbs hamburger (browned)

Or use garden fresh veggies!

Dump the ingredients into a food-safe 3 or 5 gallon “bucket”

(or large stockpot big enough to stir the ingredients).

Stir to mix all of the ingredients together.

Fill quart jars leaving ½ inch headspace.

 Process pints 1hr 15 min, quarts 1hr 30 min at 10 lbs pressure in steam-pressure canner. 

Hints: You can add whatever you would like to this recipe and use up those garden leftovers. If using dried beans get them ready as you normally would. This recipe is to fill bucket 2/3 full- double to make larger quantity. Makes approx. 7 quarts

Home Canned Strawberries

National Center for Home Food Preservation | How Do I? Can Meats

http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/can_05/chicken_rabbit.html
 

BALL FACEBOOK PAGE

http://www.facebook.com/BallCanning?sk=app_7146470109
 

Pickl-It: Is fermented food safe?

http://www.pickl-it.com/faq/273/is-fermented-food-safe/