Fall is the time to harvest, whether from your own vegetable garden or from a local pick your own. If you love fresh tasting food from the Garden all year long, then Canning your own food is for you. I enjoy the fall months because you harvest all your late crops and then get creative in the kitchen with all those veggies.
This was a busy week for me as I canned Kosher Dill pickles and Sweet Gherkin pickles and not to be outdone I also canned 7 pints of homemade Salsa. These recipes are so easy even a beginner can execute them. I have given simple easy to follow steps, so Bon Apetite'
Equipment
- 1 large pot;
Teflon lined, glass or ceramic. See notes below about metal pots.
- 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 many sizes and types of canners for all types of stoves and
needs - see canning supplies.
- Pint canning jars
(Ball or Kerr jars can be found at grocery stores, like Safeway, Publix,
Kroger, grocery stores, even online - about $8 per dozen jars including
the lids and rings). Be sure to get wide mouth jars to fit the
pickles in! Pint size works best!
- Large spoons and ladles
- Jar grabber
(to pick up the hot jars)
- 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.
- Pickling Equipment notes: The basic equipment used for pickling is similar to other types of canning. However, there are some differences:* Utensils made of zinc, iron, brass, copper, or galvanized metal should not be used. The metal may react with acids or salts and cause undesirable color and taste changes in the pickles or make pickles unfit to eat. Likewise, enamelware with cracks or chips should not be used.* Almost any large container made of stainless steel, glassware, or unchipped enamelware can be used.
- Lid lifter (has
a magnet to pick the lids out of the boiling water where you sanitize
them. ($2 at Target, other big box stores, and often grocery stores; and
available online - see this page)
- Jar funnel ($2
at Target, other big box stores, and often grocery stores; and available
online - see this page)
Kosher Dill Pickles
For
every 2 quarts of pickles:
Prepare Kosher Dill Pickles
Place jars in a canner filled halfway with warm (120 to 140 °F) water. Then, add hot water to a level 1 inch above jars
Heat the water enough to maintain 180 to 185 °F water temperature for 30 minutes.
·
Wash all jars, lids etc.
in the dishwasher.
- 3 1/2 lbs. pickling cucumbers (about 14 small to medium)
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup vinegar (5% acidity)
- 1/4 cup Ball® Kosher Dill Pickle Mix
- 2 Ball® Quart (32 oz.) Fresh Preserving Jars with lids and bands
Prepare Kosher Dill Pickles
1. Cut ends off cucumbers. Cut
into spears.
2. Combine water, vinegar, and ball® kosher dill pickle mix in a medium
saucepan. Heat to a boil.
3. Pack based on enjoy now or fresh preserve steps
below.
Enjoy now (Refrigerate up to 3 months):
1. POUR hot pickling liquid over cucumber spears in a large bowl. Cool to
room temperature, about 30 minutes.
2. PACK cucumber spears into jars. Ladle pickling liquid over
cucumbers. Place lids and bands on jars.
3. REFRIGERATE pickles. For best flavor, allow pickles to stand in
refrigerator for 3 weeks.
Sweet Gherkin Pickles
- 7 pounds
cucumbers (1½ inch or less)(100 for 6 jars)
- ½ cup
canning or pickling salt
- 8 cups
sugar
- 6 cups
vinegar (5 percent)
- ¾ teaspoon
turmeric
- 2
teaspoons celery seeds
- 2
teaspoons whole mixed pickling spice
- 2 cinnamon
sticks
- ½
teaspoons fennel (optional)
- 2
teaspoons vanilla (optional)
Wash cucumbers. Cut 1/16-inch slices off blossom ends and discard, but
leave ¼ inch of stem attached. Place cucumbers in large container and cover
with boiling water.
Six to 8 hours later, and on the second
day, drain and cover with 6 quarts of fresh boiling water containing ¼ cup salt. On the third day, drain and prick
cucumbers with a table fork.
Combine and bring to boil 3 cups vinegar, 3
cups sugar, turmeric, and spices.
Pour over cucumbers. Six to 8 hours later, drain the pickling syrup into a
saucepan.
Add 2 cups each of sugar and vinegar to the
syrup and reheat to boil.
Pour over pickles. On the fourth day, drain the syrup into a saucepan. Add
another 2 cups sugar and 1 cup vinegar.
Heat to boiling and pour over pickles. Six to 8 hours later, drain the pickling
syrup into a saucepan. Add 1 cup sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla to syrup and
heat to boiling.
1.
Adjust lids and process using the
low-temperature pasteurization treatment. This results in a
better product texture, but must be carefully managed to avoid possible
spoilage.
Heat the water enough to maintain 180 to 185 °F water temperature for 30 minutes.
Check with a candy or jelly thermometer to be certain that the water temperature is at least 180 °F during the entire 30 minutes. Temperatures higher than 185 °F may cause unnecessary softening of pickles.
·
30 -40 Tomatoes
·
2 lbs. onions (1/2 yellow, 1/2
red, I usually add 1-2 additional onions)
·
5 assorted red bell peppers, green
bell peppers or 5 yellow bell
peppers
·
3 -4 chili peppers
·
2 -3 jalapeno peppers or 2 -3 other
hot peppers like Serrano peppers, habanera peppers
·
1 cup lemon juice
·
2 teaspoons garlic powder
·
3 tablespoons salt
· 4 teaspoons pepper
· 5 tablespoons chopped cilantro, to taste
Directions:
·
Always wear gloves
while preparing salsa!
·
Prepare tomatoes by
soaking tomatoes in boiling water for 2-3 minutes to split and loosen skins.
Peel and chop all tomatoes, drain excess juices off in a strainer or colander
before adding to extra-large bowl. (I half or quarter the tomatoes, then
process briefly in a food processor before draining off juices, I like the
tomatoes kind of chunky).
·
Dice or cube all
onions and peppers into the same bowl. Add chopped cilantro. (I do all the
onions, peppers and cilantro in a food processor - I keep them kind of chunky
also).
·
Once all the vegies
are in the bowl, stir in the lemon juice, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
·
Taste to see if it is
as hot as you would like it - if not add 1-2 more hot peppers tasting after
each addition. Keep in mind as it sits for a while it will get a little bit
hotter.
·
Fill jars leaving
about 3/4 inch at the top. Wipe off tops of the jars before putting lids on.
Screw lids tight then turn back about 1/4 turn.
·
Process in steam
canner (not pressure cooker / steamer) or boiling water bath for 15 minutes.
·
Cool jars.
·
Before storing, test
each jar to be sure it has sealed by pressing down on lid, it should not move.
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