WHAT ARE YOU CANNING TODAY?

[Corn Woman]

Applesauce, lots of applesauce and the house smells wonderful.

I didn't have the money to buy the organic sprays for my peaches or apples this year but we gleaned a few good fruits.. I canned a few peaches this year finally( was surprised how nice the peaches were even without spraying.. only succumbed to powdery mildew.. gonna spray next year for sure as I got my organic sulfur already.)
The apple sauce has been working here too.. and I saw that my applesauce swelled in the jar too.. I know that I left a good amount of space at the top but still it swelled a bit so that it is more like 1/2 inch from the top now.
and I made and canned about 9, 8oz jars of apple pie jam. but instead of using water to top off the apple chunks I used apple sauce that I was making and well it gelled very well and the flavor is fantastic.. tastes like a super sweet version of apple pie filling.. I think I will use the low sugar version pectin next time as it could stand to be a bit less sweet for us.
I think I just used a recipe off the internet. (I think I bookmarked it). gonna give some away before holidays and if it has good reviews then I will make more for gift giving.
Side note here. I thought my family didn't like my home made gifts and last year we didn't make much due to some ongoing health issues and all I have heard this year is that they want the home made stuff back. sure they thought they only wanted "store bought stuff" but figured out that they really did like the home made stuff.. like my soaps and jams and other things like bottles of home made chili powder.
I bought a huge hunk of glycerin soap(melting and pour stuff) and gonna get the niece and grand daughter to help me melt and pour some fancy small soaps with essential oils for smell.. .. nice to see that my hard work about making thing from scratch is kinda paying off.. This year.. I have small fancy bottles(like about one cups worth) for my home made vanilla extract. plus gonna give them several vanilla pods too..
So that went off topic again with me..

Do you have a recipe for the apple pie jam? It sounds wonderful Emerald, what a nice gift for me to add to my holiday giving.

 

[Emerald]

Applesauce, lots of applesauce and the house smells wonderful.

I didn't have the money to buy the organic sprays for my peaches or apples this year but we gleaned a few good fruits.. I canned a few peaches this year finally( was surprised how nice the peaches were even without spraying.. only succumbed to powdery mildew.. gonna spray next year for sure as I got my organic sulfur already.)
The apple sauce has been working here too.. and I saw that my applesauce swelled in the jar too.. I know that I left a good amount of space at the top but still it swelled a bit so that it is more like 1/2 inch from the top now.
and I made and canned about 9, 8oz jars of apple pie jam. but instead of using water to top off the apple chunks I used apple sauce that I was making and well it gelled very well and the flavor is fantastic.. tastes like a super sweet version of apple pie filling.. I think I will use the low sugar version pectin next time as it could stand to be a bit less sweet for us.
I think I just used a recipe off the internet. (I think I bookmarked it). gonna give some away before holidays and if it has good reviews then I will make more for gift giving.
Side note here. I thought my family didn't like my home made gifts and last year we didn't make much due to some ongoing health issues and all I have heard this year is that they want the home made stuff back. sure they thought they only wanted "store bought stuff" but figured out that they really did like the home made stuff.. like my soaps and jams and other things like bottles of home made chili powder.
I bought a huge hunk of glycerin soap(melting and pour stuff) and gonna get the niece and grand daughter to help me melt and pour some fancy small soaps with essential oils for smell.. .. nice to see that my hard work about making thing from scratch is kinda paying off.. This year.. I have small fancy bottles(like about one cups worth) for my home made vanilla extract. plus gonna give them several vanilla pods too..
So that went off topic again with me..

Do you have a recipe for the apple pie jam? It sounds wonderful Emerald, what a nice gift for me to add to my holiday giving.

I winged it. took many recipes and my pectin recipes and did this.. 4 cups of finely chopped apples(good firm ones like granny smith or yellow delicious) and added two cups of applesauce(that I was making anyhoo) and heated them up till the apple chunks were just tender(I figured it would cook more in the canner) and added the cinnamon(ceylon type.. you have to try that stuff.. addicting for sure) cloves and nutmeg and then added the pectin and stirred til it was mixed in well and starting to bubble again and then put in 2 cups sugar and one dark brown sugar(it is almost too sweet for me so next time I am gonna trim some of that white sugar with the apples I am sure it will still jell.. then bring back to almost roiling boil and let it boil for almost 2 or so minutes(each pectin is different on time).. then put in jars and process according to canning directions for your area.. I used boiling water bath.. 15 minutes for my small jelly jars. There are many recipes online tho. and most are close to the same as what I did except for the apples/apple sauce-the recipe called for 6 cups of apples with water to cover.. I have to say it is very tasty and tastes like a sweeter version of my apple pie filling.. I used the original yellow jonagold apple(there are red ones too)and rome.. the jonagold is a harder greenish yellow with tinge of red blush apples that ripen very late in season.. very good out of hand eating and for adding firm texture to pies. the Rome apples just fall apart into luscious creamy goodness.

 

[Emerald]

10 quarts of Turkey Veg Soup with broth I made from our (Canadian) Thanksgiving turkey.

Can't wait to crack those open over the winter months

Reading this made my tummy rumble.. it is saying .. you have a turkey in the freezer from last year.. do a trial run for this years thanksgiving haha..
one of our favorite soups is turkey with wild rice and regular rice and cream and mushrooms and all kinds of veggies. I wish I had been healthier this fall. I wanted to go harvest some of the wild rice in our area. but it will still be there next year.

 

[Corn Woman]

I didn't have the money to buy the organic sprays for my peaches or apples this year but we gleaned a few good fruits.. I canned a few peaches this year finally( was surprised how nice the peaches were even without spraying.. only succumbed to powdery mildew.. gonna spray next year for sure as I got my organic sulfur already.)
The apple sauce has been working here too.. and I saw that my applesauce swelled in the jar too.. I know that I left a good amount of space at the top but still it swelled a bit so that it is more like 1/2 inch from the top now.
and I made and canned about 9, 8oz jars of apple pie jam. but instead of using water to top off the apple chunks I used apple sauce that I was making and well it gelled very well and the flavor is fantastic.. tastes like a super sweet version of apple pie filling.. I think I will use the low sugar version pectin next time as it could stand to be a bit less sweet for us.
I think I just used a recipe off the internet. (I think I bookmarked it). gonna give some away before holidays and if it has good reviews then I will make more for gift giving.
Side note here. I thought my family didn't like my home made gifts and last year we didn't make much due to some ongoing health issues and all I have heard this year is that they want the home made stuff back. sure they thought they only wanted "store bought stuff" but figured out that they really did like the home made stuff.. like my soaps and jams and other things like bottles of home made chili powder.
I bought a huge hunk of glycerin soap(melting and pour stuff) and gonna get the niece and grand daughter to help me melt and pour some fancy small soaps with essential oils for smell.. .. nice to see that my hard work about making thing from scratch is kinda paying off.. This year.. I have small fancy bottles(like about one cups worth) for my home made vanilla extract. plus gonna give them several vanilla pods too..
So that went off topic again with me..

Do you have a recipe for the apple pie jam? It sounds wonderful Emerald, what a nice gift for me to add to my holiday giving.

I winged it. took many recipes and my pectin recipes and did this.. 4 cups of finely chopped apples(good firm ones like granny smith or yellow delicious) and added two cups of applesauce(that I was making anyhoo) and heated them up till the apple chunks were just tender(I figured it would cook more in the canner) and added the cinnamon(ceylon type.. you have to try that stuff.. addicting for sure) cloves and nutmeg and then added the pectin and stirred til it was mixed in well and starting to bubble again and then put in 2 cups sugar and one dark brown sugar(it is almost too sweet for me so next time I am gonna trim some of that white sugar with the apples I am sure it will still jell.. then bring back to almost roiling boil and let it boil for almost 2 or so minutes(each pectin is different on time).. then put in jars and process according to canning directions for your area.. I used boiling water bath.. 15 minutes for my small jelly jars. There are many recipes online tho. and most are close to the same as what I did except for the apples/apple sauce-the recipe called for 6 cups of apples with water to cover.. I have to say it is very tasty and tastes like a sweeter version of my apple pie filling.. I used the original yellow jonagold apple(there are red ones too)and rome.. the jonagold is a harder greenish yellow with tinge of red blush apples that ripen very late in season.. very good out of hand eating and for adding firm texture to pies. the Rome apples just fall apart into luscious creamy goodness.

Yummy Thank You. I have Granny Smiths, Cameos and Fuji apples that should make a nice mix.

 

[KnittyGritty]

I've been having a problem lately with my jars sometimes cracking when I fill them. I've been doing broth - I bring my broth to boiling, take a jar out of the 250* oven where they sit to stay hot while waiting to be filled, and when I pour in the hot broth, they sizzle and crack. Logic would tell me that the jars aren't not enough for the hot broth, but it doesn't always happen. Maybe 20 minutes in the oven isn't enough to get them hot enough? They are very hot to the touch; I have to use a hot pad to take them out. Any ideas or help?

 

[baymule]

I fill my jars with boiling water, placed in the sink. Then I dump out the hot water and fill with whatever I am putting up. Maybe the hot "dry" then hot "wet" is what is cracking your jars. I have never had a jar crack using my method. Hope this helps.

 

[KnittyGritty]

Hmmm, interesting. Sounds like a good method - looks like I'll have to switch to that. SO discouraging to hear those jars crack - I lost 3 quart jars! Thanks!!

 

[k15n1]

If you're getting sizzling, the jars are too hot. Hot water on a cold surface doesn't boil. Is your oven gas? Is the temp right? 25 oF may not be noticed while baking but it could, possibly, put you over the limit for these jars. Still, even if they're 275 and you're loading food at 212 oF.... The temp difference isn't much. Doesn't quite make sense, does it?

Sometimes I fill mine with hot tap water, then load directly. Sure, 150 oF to 200 oF is a temperature difference. But it's a lot smaller than 60 to 200.

The point is to minimize the temp difference between the food and the jar. Glass and ceramics have a temperature coefficient---they expand when heated. But they also have poor heat conduction, which means one spot gets hot and expands before the heat goes to the neighboring areas. So if you put hot food in a jar, it cracks around the bottom because that part gets bigger before the sides have a chance to expand. Plus, bends are natural places for problems in most materials---wood, glass, metal, etc. (That's why drop-forged tools really are stronger. The process allows the metal grains to align with the curve of the die.)

If I'm not sure that the jar will hold up, I put some hot food in there and slosh it around until the sides of the jar are hot. But you shouldn't have to do that... it'd take forever to get the canner filled.

 

[KnittyGritty]

Thanks! With smaller jars, I usually just keep them in a hot pot of water after boiling, but with these quart jars, there's just no room on the stovetop. I thought the oven idea was a great solution, but not if I'm going to lose so many precious jars. I think I can manage the boiling water in the jars in the sink idea. Worth a try!

My range is gas. Maybe my broth had cooled a little and wasn't hot enough for the hot jars.

 

[Britesea]

I usually fill the jars with hot water and place them in the canner with some of the water I will be using for processing, and turn up the heat. While they are getting hot, I proceed with getting everything else ready. I take the jars out of the canner one at a time, dump the water (either into the canner if it is going to need more, or into the sink if not) then fill and put the lid and ring on and put the jar back into the canner. This way, the jars are very close to the same temp as the food and broth, and I've only had one jar break (and I think I over-filled it)