[Ag-eq] Preserving

Fri Sep 6 11:49:00 UTC 2013

Little Homestead in the Suburbs, now that sounds like the book for me! 
Thanks.
Tracy

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "James Konechne" <jakon22 at gmail.com>
To: "Agricultural and Equestrean Division List" <ag-eq at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, September 05, 2013 6:11 PM
Subject: Re: [Ag-eq] Preserving

>I have made sauerkraut with my mom.
> We also did lots of canning and made lots of pickles when growing up.
> Canning really isn't as bad as people make it out to be.
> You also might read Little Homestead in the Suburbs that you can find
> on bookshare.
> It has good tips for canning and preserving as well.
>
>
> On 9/5/13, Susan Roe <dogwoodfarm at verizon.net> wrote:
>> Tracy,
>>
>> Pickle canning is one of the easiest canning to do because the processing
>> times are very short and the use of vineagars and salts in pickling or
>> brining, makes for nearly spoil proof canning.  The most important thing 
>> to
>>
>> remember is do all of your prep work before hand and have all of your 
>> tools
>>
>> ready to go.  Before I cut the first vegetable, I wash all of my jars and
>> rings in hot soapy water.  You can also do this just fine in a 
>> dishwasher.
>> Then I take my canning kettle and wash it up as well.  If I'm using pint
>> jars, I fill my kettle with the empty clean jars that have their rings
>> loosely fitted on top.  Let's say my kettle will hold 12 jars, but not 
>> too
>> snugly.  Even if your recipe does not fill all 12 jars, keep the empty 
>> ones
>>
>> inside because they will hold the other jars in place and make heating 
>> the
>> water more evenly.  I fill the kettle with hot water a couple of inches
>> above the open jars and then on top of the jars, I lay out my ladle, 
>> tongs
>> and jar lifter.  Put the lid on and bring it to a boil.  This will 
>> sterolize
>>
>> everything while you prep your vegetables and heat up your pickeling
>> liquids.
>>
>> Once the water has come to a good boil, I turn it off and let it sit 
>> until
>> I'm ready to fill the jars.  When that time comes, I have another set of
>> tongs that I use to remove my tools.  I take the first pair of tongs and
>> lift out an empty jar and dump the hot water in the sink.  Place the jar 
>> in
>>
>> a bowl, remove the ring, put a sterolized widemouth funnel in the jar and
>> fill each jar up until it reaches the neck or the screw ridges at the 
>> top.
>> This is about 1 inch from the lip of the jar.  Place the lid, which I had
>> been sokeing in hot water on top, take a cleanpaper towl and gently wipe 
>> the
>>
>> lip of the jar and screw the metal ring down tight.  Take the jar lifter,
>> fit it securely on the top of the jar and place it back in your kettle. 
>> Do
>>
>> this until you have used all of your vegetables up.
>>
>> Your water level should be only an inch above your jars.  Place the lid 
>> on
>> the kettle and turn your heat up to at least medium high and bring it 
>> back
>> to a boil.  Start your timer then.  When time is up, turn off kettle and 
>> let
>>
>> cool down a bit.  I don't like handling the jars right after the boiling
>> because there is too much heat over the water to feel comfortable with my
>> hands that clost to the boiling water.  Use the jar lifter or even your
>> tongs and a potholder for your other hand and safely bring the hot jar to
>> your counter next to your stove.  I always put a cup towel down on the
>> counter first.  When the filled jars are out, check that the rings are 
>> still
>>
>> tight and put another towel over them.  As they finish their sealing
>> process, you may hear the jar lids as they ping or pop when the seal is
>> complete.
>>
>> We have somewhere an outstanding recipe for sauerkraut that uses about 5
>> pounds of cabbage and makes about 7 pints.  It is not a quick recipe,
>> actually taking about 10 days, but it was the best sauerkraut I had ever
>> had.  I do have sighted help in the kitchen, but I still think that a
>> totally blind person could handle pickeling without too much problems.
>>
>> Susan
>> dogwoodfarm at verizon.net
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Tracy Carcione" <carcione at access.net>
>> To: "Agricultural and Equestrean Division List" <ag-eq at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Thursday, September 05, 2013 9:16 AM
>> Subject: [Ag-eq] Preserving
>>
>>
>>>I just found a book on Bookshare called Preserving, which explains how to
>>>preserve a whole lot of foods, divided up by season.  I am going to have 
>>>to
>>>
>>>study it carefully.
>>>
>>> I've been reading recipes for pickling and fermenting, particularly 
>>> making
>>>
>>> my own sauerkraut.  It sounds good, and easy.  Has anyone had experience
>>> with home pickling?
>>> How about canning?  I know Susan talked about dry canning, which sounded
>>> easy, but other kinds sound complicated.  My husband and I are always
>>> afraid something will go wrong, and we'll die of terminal food 
>>> poisoning.
>>> Tracy
>>>
>>>
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>>
>>
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>
>
> -- 
> James K
> cell 410-925-0707
>
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