Canning, Smoking and other methods of food preservation
| Primary Author: Diane Zirger |
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Preserving
Tomatoes
Easiest to preserve! Needed:
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Electric skillet or comparable that will contain 4 to 5 quarts
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Clean tomatoes diced into pieces
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Clean quart jars
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Canning lids in saucepan of boiling hot water
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Rings
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Funnel (I use a cut-in-half plastic milk jug)
Bring to a gentle boil (foam will form on
surface) tomato pieces, spooning and folding gently to evenly
distribute heat. When tomatoes remain at a gentle boil with
stirring, they are ready to spoon into jars. Using a funnel,
fill quart jars to one inch from the top surface and wipe rim
of jar with clean, wet cloth. Cover jar with lid from boiling
hot water. Screw on firmly ring. Turn quart jar upside down on
throw rug that will absorb the heat generated from the hot jar
and allow to completely cool. Turn right side up and store.
I have tomatoes that are three years old and they taste like I canned them yesterday.
Preserving Salsa
More effort than tomatoes, but worth it! Needed:
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“Salsa maker” or comparable such as Magic Chef chopper and sharp knife for tomatoes
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Clean tomatoes, sweet bell peppers, jalapeños, onions
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Fresh Cilantro cut into pieces with scissors
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Table or favorite salt (I use Himalayan Rock Salt)
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Clean pint jars
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Canning lids in saucepan of boiling hot water
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Rings
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Pressure canning cooker (I use a 22 quart Mirro pressure cooker with canning system)
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10 PSI pressure control
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White vinegar
Chop tomatoes, green bell peppers, onions and jalapeño peppers (it doesn’t matter what amount of each of these four ingredients you enjoy—but I would strongly recommend you include all four). Add Cilantro and salt to taste, and mix thoroughly. Spoon into clean pint jars, either regular or (preferably) wide mouth. Fill to one inch from top.
Add 2.5 quarts water and ¼ cup white vinegar to bottom of pressure canner to prevent staining. Place cooking rack on bottom of canner.
Clean rims of
jars; add lids from boiling hot water and hand tighten rings.
Place on cooking rack so that jars do not touch each other or
the sides of 
the canner. If depth
of pressure cooker will allow, place cooking rack on top of
first layer of pint jars and do another layer of pint jars,
again not touching each other or the sides of the pressure
cooker.
Place cover on pressure cooker. With pressure control off, heat on high until steam comes out of vent tube; wait 10 minutes and then place 10 PSI pressure control on vent tube. Wait another 15 to 25 minutes (depending on size pressure canner being used), and when pressure control jiggles vigorously, reduce heat to point where pressure control agitates gently and time 35 minutes. Turn off heat and leave alone overnight or until completely cold to the touch.
Wipe jars dry, mark with year and put on shelf.
Preserving Hot Peppers
Almost as easy as tomatoes, these don’t require a pressure cooker. What you need:5-Quart Dutch oven or comparable that will contain 4 to 5 quarts
Clean hot peppers with tips cut off and stems removed, cut in half (I retain the seeds)
Clean quart jars
Canning lids in saucepan of boiling hot water
Rings
5 cups water, 5 cups apple cider vinegar, 1 cup honey, 1 teaspoon salt
“Cold pack” the hot pepper pieces in quart jars. Bring to a boil the water, vinegar, honey and salt. Pour this “brine” on the peppers and fill quart jars to about one inch from the top surface and wipe rim of jar with clean, wet cloth. Cover jar with lid from boiling hot water. Screw ring on firmly. Do NOT turn these jars upside down – you’ll have a mess if you do! Cluster your jars touching each other in a tight circle and cover with two or three blankets to retain heat for three to four days or until completely cold to the touch. Store on shelves.
Similar to tomatoes, I have peppers that are dated 2007 and they have retained their flavor and integrity. The parts of the peppers exposed to the air have darkened slightly, but they taste fine. I used to bring the brine to a boil, add the peppers, bring to a boil again and then fill the jars. “Cold packing” gives me the same result but with crunchy instead of soft peppers, so I no longer cook the peppers. You can do either – your call.
Preserving Green Pole Beans
Similar to canning salsa, you need a pressure cooker:
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Clean beans with stems and strings removed
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Filtered water
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Choice of salt (my preferred is Himalayan Rock Salt)
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Clean pint (or quart) jars
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Canning lids in saucepan of boiling hot water
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Rings
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Pressure canning cooker
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10 PSI pressure control
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Tap water and white vinegar
Add 2.5 quarts water and ¼ cup white vinegar to bottom of pressure canner to prevent staining. Place cooking rack on bottom of canner.
Remove stems and “strings” from green pole beans, then slice approximately one inch in length, tapping jars periodically while filling to settle the contents, “cold packing” into pint (or quart jars). Add approximately half a teaspoon of salt to pints (full teaspoon to quarts), and fill to about ½ inch from the rim with filtered water. Clean rims of jars with clean wet cloth; add lids from boiling hot water and hand tighten rings. Place on cooking rack so that jars do not touch each other or the sides of the canner.
Lock cover on pressure cooker. With pressure control off, heat on high until steam comes out of vent tube; wait 10 minutes and then place a 10 PSI pressure control on vent tube. Wait another 15 to 25 minutes (depending on size pressure canner being used), and when pressure control jiggles vigorously, reduce heat to point where pressure control agitates gently and time 20 minutes for pints (25 minutes for quarts). Turn off heat and leave alone overnight or until completely cold to the touch.
Wipe jars dry, mark with year and put on shelf.
Addendum: This year, the garden did not produce sufficient quantity of green pole beans to warrant heating up a pressure canner for three pints. I had a LOT of salsa left in the refrigerator, substantially more than my household would be interested in consuming before going “sour.” Solution: preserve three pints of green pole beans with additional pints of salsa to fill the canner. Although green beans only require 20 minutes for pints, salsa requires 35 minutes. The result was a 35 minute processing time. My “Bible” for canning vegetables is “Canning & Preserving for Dummies” by Karen Ward; Chapter 10 covers vegetables, and I recall instructions of going with the longer time for processing when combining different vegetables in processing a single batch in a pressure canner. Hence, the 35 minutes requirement for salsa translates into a 35 minutes processing time for a combination of green pole beans and salsa in one canning batch.
Making Blueberry (and other types of berries) Jam
Needed:
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4 cups blueberries
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2 tablespoons butter
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Lemon juice
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Concentrated apple juice (or any concentrated apple juice blend)
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4 cups white granulated sugar in bowl
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5-quart Dutch-oven type pan
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Wire whisk
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Two glass 2-cup measuring cups
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Canning lids in saucepan of boiling hot water
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Rings
Put 2 tablespoons butter in 5-quart Dutch-oven size pan.
In glass two-cup measuring cup, add 1/8 cup apple juice concentrate. Fill glass measuring cup to the 2-cup level with blueberries and empty measuring cup into pan containing butter.
Add 1/8 cup lemon juice to the 2-cup measuring cup and fill to the 2-cup level with blueberries, and empty measuring cup into pan. You now have 4 cups blueberries, 1/8 cup lemon juice, 1/8 cup apple juice concentrate and two tablespoons in your 5-quart pan. Add one package of fruit pectin.
On high heat, constantly stirring mixture with a wire whisk, bring to a boil.
Add your sugar and continue constantly stirring; bring to a “foaming” boil, and continue stirring for one minute on high heat.
Turn off heat and using the other 2-cup glass measuring cup, pour the jam into clean jars. (This recipe for 4 cups of blueberries makes three pints of blueberry jam.)
Clean rims of jars with clean wet cloth; add lids from boiling hot water and hand tighten rings.
Place upside down on heat resistant surface such as a wooden cutting board for 5 to 10 minutes.
Turn right side up, shaking contents gently to move the “air pocket” from the bottom of the glass jars to the top under the lids.
Allow to completely cool, then store.
Instead of using lids and rings, melted wax can also be used in substitution, sealing the jam and providing a barrier to oxidation, thereby preventing spoilage. My grandmother used wax for her jellies and jams when I was a young girl.
To make Blackberry, Boysenberry, Dewberry, Loganberry, Raspberry, Strawberry, or Youngberry jam, increase the fruit to 5 cups with 5 cups sugar. The process is the same.
