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Preserving the harvest

Posted on August 20th, 2007 – 1:08 PM
By Robyn Dochterman

GGcanning2.jpg

This weekend’s rain made it very unappealing to be in the garden, but it was perfect for doing some canning in the kitchen. There are a lot of ways to preserve food — from freezing to drying to canning. I huddled over the Ball Blue Book (sort of the bible of home canning) and several other recipe books, and by the end of the weekend, the canner and I became pretty good pals.

Remember the wild plums I gathered up last week? Well, my partner and I actually did make plum jelly from the juice of them. It was a such a beautiful color and had such vivid flavor, I was inspired to pick wild grapes growing around my neighborhood (that sight raised a few eyebrows!) and make grape jelly too. And I had to do something with all those tomatoes, so pasta sauce was an easy answer. I even used the garlic, onions and basil from the garden in it. Before we were done, we’d also made pickles and apple maple jam, too!

I spent my childhood summers helping my mom and grandma can and freeze the harvest. To be honest, I didn’t think it was that much fun then. My friends were at the pool or going to movies, and I was blanching green beans. But now, I can think of few things more satisfying that saving some of the wonderful flavors of summer for fall and winter. I even get a little rush of pride knowing I did it myself.

How do you preserve your harvest? Have you used a canner before and had success?

If you’re new to canning, here are some sites (they include recipes) to get you started:

National Center for Home Food Preservation

Bella’s Successful Home Canning page

Consumer site of the manufacturer of Ball and Kerr canning supplies

This entry was posted on Monday, August 20th, 2007 at 1:08 pm and is filed under Preserving. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

13 Responses to "Preserving the harvest"

Jon says:

August 20th, 2007 at 1:48 pm

It’s been a bit more spread out over the summer for me, but I have filled much of my freezer and shelf space with jars of tomatoes, strawberry jam, chili and pasta sauces, spinach, corn and green beans (canned, frozen and pickled). I got a little carried away at the farmers market a time or two with the big basket deals.

I bought a canner last year and tried it out on corn. That turned out kind of bland, so this year I’ve tried freezing corn and will see how it compares.

I tried dehydrating tomatoes this year as well, which turned out nicely. Now it’s on to apples (and perhaps some plums if wild ones are still to be found).

Robyn Dochterman says:

August 20th, 2007 at 3:39 pm

Wow. You’ve been very, very busy! What are your plans for the dehydrated tomatoes, Jon?

sparklegirl says:

August 20th, 2007 at 3:40 pm

Jon, I’d like to try dehydrating tomatoes this year for the first time. Any tips?

Jon says:

August 20th, 2007 at 4:39 pm

I saw a few different descriptions on how to dehydrate tomatoes. One blanched them first, another reference pre-treating them a bit like apricots if I recall.

I took the easy way out though and just cut up romas crosswise about 3/8 inch thick.

sparklegirl says:

August 21st, 2007 at 6:47 am

Cool — thanks, Jon!

deb w says:

August 21st, 2007 at 7:27 am

When I dry tomatoes I also cut the romas in half then I squeeze out the seeds and goo before I line them up on the trays. They seem to dry a little faster and I don’t need the seeds. The big tomatoes I slice a half in thick and let the goo fall out before drying. Peppers are also a good thing to dry as I usually dry all the end of the season nerdy little jalepenos and powder it for a spice we call gunpowder. It will all a little zing to any bland thing.

mk says:

August 21st, 2007 at 8:45 am

Stayed up way too late last night canning romas from the Midtown Farmer’s Market. But, it’s always so satisfying to hear the pop of the lid letting you know that you did everything right. Also froze lots of corn and green beans from the Market. I was going to freeze the wild plums given to us by our neighbors, but would it be tastier to make jam? Some of the skins are a little tough and funny tasting, but the insides are delish. Any thoughts?

Connie Nelson says:

August 21st, 2007 at 2:33 pm

I’m just getting started putting things up. Last night I made two batches of pesto and roasted a couple dozen red peppers. (I freeze them and use them in pastas, soups and sauces.) I haven’t dried tomatoes yet, though. I usually do it in the oven, but I’m thinking the humidity will slow the process considerably. Anybody else having trouble drying veggies?

Annie says:

August 22nd, 2007 at 1:21 pm

Does anyone have a good tomato sauce recipe for canning that they’d like to share? I’ve been experimenting all month long with my tomatoes, and haven’t been satisfied with any of my concoctions. I’d be so grateful, a good tomato is a terrible thing to waste!

Bobbie says:

August 22nd, 2007 at 5:24 pm

Two books I recently purchased on eBay have some of the best recipes I’ve come across for canning, freezing and drying.
The Farm Journal Freezing and Canning CookBook Doubleday 1964, has the best instructions and illustrations for making sauerkraut and all the old-fashioned relishes & pickles.
The other publication A Garden Way Publishing Book called Pickles and Relishes 150 Recipes-Apples to Zucchini, is filled with great recipes as well.

Last week we purchased 2 bushels of Texas tree ripened peaches that got canned. What didn’t get canned for fruit this winter, got made into a couple of different chutneys…yum yum yum.
The lady we purchased this fruit from has a business that deals with fruit growers out of state.
Fantastic quality and she also sells berries, plums and other seasonal fruits.
Those peaches were bursting with juice and I can’t remember having peaches anywhere near this good.

Seza says:

August 23rd, 2007 at 4:21 pm

I’ve canned strawberry and raspberry jam. Last weekend I went for the plum jam and this week I canned pasta sauce. Tonight I’m on to chili. My husband and I are on our way to Yellowstone on Monday so I’m tryin to can as much as I can before the trip.

MSG says:

August 27th, 2007 at 12:40 pm

I am always either very busy or very lazy, so I haven’t taken on real canning yet. But I put a lot up in the freezer. Every time I grill I gather up all the “extra” tomatoes - those that are cracked, less-flavorful for eating fresh, have rotten spots, or are just more than I can eat or give away that week - core them, sometimes roll in a little olive oil and salt and grill until skins blacken and the flesh softens. Then I throw them back in the bowl or dish I carried them out in, let them cool, pull off their skins, and freeze them. They make instant roasted spaghetti sauce all winter, with or without the addition of frozen basil, garlic, etc.

laura says:

August 27th, 2007 at 5:22 pm

mmm, plum jam sounds good!
i picked strawberries earlier this season and made strawberry jam, strawberry rhubarb jam, and strawberry apple jam with my mom. we also canned peaches, pickles, and tried our hand at canning green beans. we’re aiming to can pears this coming weekend if we can find good lugs of them at the farmers market. i tried making my own tomato sauce this year, and while it turned out great, there wasnt much of it! (i only have 3 tomato plants) maybe next year i’ll plant more and try canning tomato sauce.

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