Tag: Canning

The Homesteading Tool I Didn’t Know I Needed
Homesteading · Urban Homesteading

The Homesteading Tool I Didn’t Know I Needed

Sarah

Kirk picked me up a hand tool on Amazon, and at first, I thought, “Why would I need this?” After trying it out, I wondered why I hadn’t had one for years.

The tool is so simple. It’s a metal mason jar opener that opens bottle caps and tight metal lids on jars as well.

I use it most to pop the lids on Mason jars. I no longer have to chip my fingernails or try to use a butter knife to pop under the lid.

Can openers used to have a metal tab I could use to pop mason jar lids, but in the past decade, I have noticed they don’t have it on heavy-duty can openers anymore. It works exactly as described. It’s nothing exciting, but it is a tool you will wonder how you got by without.

And you will save your fingernails (and fingernail polish as well).

For less than $10. It was a win and a great gift to recieve.

~Sarah

2 Bags of Cranberries: Canned Cranberry Sauce For The Year
Preserving · Recipes

2 Bags of Cranberries: Canned Cranberry Sauce For The Year

Sarah

Chances are you might be planning on making cranberry sauce from scratch this fall, for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. If you have a few more minutes, can a big batch of it instead. Then you have plenty to have on hand, but in small enough portions it won’t spoil in the fridge. And you’ll have plenty to use on turkey sammies this winter into spring.

And compared to commercial canned cranberry sauce, this is so much better. While fresh cranberries are not as cheap as in past years, you can find bags for $2.50 to 3.50 for each 12-ounce package. I spent $5.00 for 24 ounces, to make the batch. A commercial can is usually 14 ounces and retails for $1.50 to 4.00 a can, spending on brand (name or store brand) and if on sale.

So for my time I got 3.5 cans worth canned up. Where I shop the cans average $3 each, unless on sale as it is this week, for $1.99. So maybe I didn’t save a ton, but it was still cheaper.

And let’s be reeeeaaaaal honest here: Mine had less sugar, and there is ZERO corn syrup in mine. It is priceless to have food made with real ingredients.

“Cranberries, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Water, Corn Syrup.”

And while not calling out any specific company, due to the newer USDA guidelines on bioengineered ingredients, most cranberry sauce contains GMO’s, or as it’s known now “BE” (bioengineered) ingredients.

Now then……

This company doesn’t reveal it on their cans, if it contains bioengineered ingredients. It doesn’t have a QR code for Smart Label. Just a phone number.

And yes, I CALLED that hotline. And I hate making phone calls. I asked and was told that the HFCS makes it bioengineered by the company. I am not saying their name, as they have mean lawyers. But I did my work and got an answer.

The only one this store had that was corn syrup free was the private label “Wild Harvest” organic sauce, which uses sugar. The private label “Food Club” is corn and HFCS, and while they have Smart Labels, the labels are not complete when you click on the link.

I’d say right there that making your own cranberry sauce is priceless. Because if you want to avoid HFCS, and GMO’s, you need to make it yourself, and use only cane sugar. C&H carries the 3rd party Non-GMO Verified. 99% of all beet sugar is a GMO crop. So yes, buy brand name with sugar or use organic.

This recipe follows current canning methods and is not rebel canning. Cranberry sauce is nothing more than jam and is an easy intro into water bath canning.

Canned Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients:

  • 2 12-ounce bags fresh cranberries
  • 1½ cups water
  • 4 4″ cinnamon sticks
  • ½ tsp ground allspice
  • ¼ tsp ground cloves
  • 4½ cups granulated sugar

Directions:

Thoroughly wash the cranberries and drain well.

Place 7 8-ounce canning jars into a canning pot rack, place in the canning pot. Fill the jars with water, and fill with water to the top of the jars. Bring to a boil covered over high heat.

Place the lids and rings in a small pot, cover with water and bring to a simmer. Turn off the heat.

In a stockpot (stainless steel or non-stick) add the cranberries, water, cinnamon sticks and spices.

Bring the berries to boiling over hight heat, periodically mashing the cranberries with a potato masher to help break up.

Once boiling, stir in sugar (be careful as the cranberries are hot).

Bring back to a full rolling boil, that you cannot stir down, and cook for about 5 minutes, until the sauce starts to set (it will be thickened if you spoon up). Stir constantly as it cooks, lowering the heat as needed so it maintains a boil but isn’t spitting on your hand.

Take off the heat, remove and discard the cinnamon sticks.

Drain the jars, place on a clean kitchen towel.

Sterilize a canning funnel and a ladle in the hot water, stir the cranberry sauce again and ladle hot sauce into the jars, leaving a ¼” headspace. Use a bubble popper or a chopstick to stir each jar gently, to pop any bubbles. Wipe the jar rims with a new paper towel, dampened with hot water.

Place a new canning lid on each jar, screw on bands until finger tip tight.

Place jars into canning rack, lower into the water, place cover on. Bring back to a boil, process for 10 minutes, starting timing once water boils.

Turn off heat, take off lid, and let rest for 5 minutes.

Remove jars, place on a cooling rack covered with a kitchen towel. Let cool, listening for the pings of the lids. Once cool, check the lids by pressing gently in the middle. If any spring back, put in refrigerator and use within a week.

Made 7 8-ounce jars.

Store in a cool, dry area for up to a year. And enjoy knowing what you are eating. Truly.

~Sarah

Lower Sugar Plum Jam
Preserving · Recipes

Lower Sugar Plum Jam

Sarah

A good friend brought me a bucket of Italian Plums she gleaned and so I needed to figure out what to do with them. So it seemed jam was what I was focusing on this week. I had realized it was September and I had not canned a single jar of jam. Now I have 2 kinds, stored for the winter.

This recipe is lower sugar, calling for 3 cups of sugar. A traditional jam would have had 7 cups. The Ball pectin I used can also take less sugar or even use fruit juice if it is desired, it has recipes both on the container and online. It comes in a multi-batch bottle as well, where you can make 2 to 8 jars a batch, based on how much fruit you have. Great if you don’t have a lot, or have a smaller family. I did a full batch however as I have many to feed.

Most grocery stores sell this pectin in the canning section, look up high for it.

Lower Sugar Plum Jam

Ingredients:

Directions:

Place 8 6-ounce canning jars in a water bath canner. Fill the jars with water, then fill pot with water to cover the jars. Bring to a near boil, then let simmer, while you are working.

Pit and dice plums, then place in a large pot, stir in water and pectin.

Bring to full rolling boil over high heat (a boil that doesn’t stop when stirring). Stir in sugar quickly, return to a full rolling boil, cook for 1 minute after it returns to the boil. Take off the heat.

Drain jars using tongs, place on a clean kitchen towel. Ladle the hot jam into the bars, using a sterilized canning funnel. Leave a ¼” headspace.

Dip a clean paper towel in hot water, then run around the top of each jar. Place a lid on each jar, then a band, screw on finger tight.

Turn canner up to high, place jars in water bath rack, lower rack into water. Water should cover by 1 – 2″. Bring to a rolling boil, covered, and then process for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat, carefully remove jars, placing on a clean dry kitchen towel to cool.

Once cooled, check again that seals are down (you should hear the Ping! as each one seals). Gently remove bands (wash, dry and store for your next project. While they look nicer on, if they have water inside from processing, they can rust. If you are giving away your canned items, you can always slip one back on), note on jar or lid what is in jar with a date. Store in a dry/cool/dark area and use within a year.

As always, if you ever go to use a canned item and the lid is not sealed anymore, or bulging, discard it immediately! (I have only ever lost one jar in all my canning, so don’t fret!)

This batch made 7 6-ounce jars (42 ounces). I always add in another jar just in case there is extra jam – if not, just let it air dry and set aside.

~Sarah

Lower Sugar Pear Jam Recipe: A Homemade Healthier Spread
Preserving · Recipes

Lower Sugar Pear Jam Recipe: A Homemade Healthier Spread

Sarah

I had various pectin brands around the house, so I decided to make a quick batch of pear jam, that was lower sugar (if you make traditional jam with grocery store pectin, it can be 7 cups sugar for a batch, this way I only used 3 cups. Which was still high for my taste, but far better).

I did a dice of the pears, and while I mashed it a bit while cooking, I let most of the fruit stay intact, giving a lovely look to the jam. It turned out as a thick spread.

This year we had a great pear crop on our one tree in the orchard. The tree produced very nicely.

I picked the pears a little early, I didn’t want the hornets/wasps getting into them, and let them ripen inside. A solid choice. They eventually turned a pale yellow and were ready.

Lower Sugar Pear Jam

Ingredients:

Directions:

Place 7 6-ounce canning jars in a water bath canner. Fill the jars with water, then fill the pot with water to cover the jars. Bring to a near boil, then let simmer while you are working.

Peel, core, and dice pears, then place in a large pot and stir in lemon juice. Add ¼ cup of the sugar to the pectin, then stir into the pear mixture. Bring to full rolling boil over high heat (a boil that doesn’t stop when stirring). Stir in sugar quickly, return to a full rolling boil, and cook for 1 minute after it returns to the boil. Take off the heat.

Drain jars using tongs and place them on a clean kitchen towel. Ladle the hot jam into the bars using a sterilized canning funnel. Leave a ¼” headspace.

Dip a clean paper towel in hot water, then run around the top of each jar. Place a lid on each jar, then a band, screw on finger tight.

Turn the canner up to high, place jars in the water bath rack, and lower the rack into water. Water should cover by 1 – 2″. Bring to a rolling boil, covered, and then process for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat, carefully remove jars, placing on a clean dry kitchen towel to cool.

Once cooled, check again that the seals are down (you should hear the Ping! as each one seals). Gently remove bands (wash, dry and store for your next project. While they look nicer on, if they have water inside from processing, they can rust. If you are giving away your canned items, you can always slip one back on), note on jar or lid what is in jar with a date. Store in a dry/cool/dark area and use within a year.

As always, if you ever go to use a canned item and the lid is not sealed anymore, or bulging, discard it immediately! (I have only ever lost one jar in all my canning, so don’t fret!)

This batch made 6 6-ounce jars (36 ounces). I always add in another jar just in case there is extra jam – if not, just let it air dry and set aside.

~Sarah

Instant Pot Apple-Pearsauce
Preserving · Recipes

Instant Pot Apple-Pearsauce

Sarah

Instant Pot Apple-Pearsauce

Ingredients:

  • 3 pounds apples
  • 3 pounds pears
  • 1 cup water
  • ¼ cup bottled lemon juice
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • sweetener (see recipe)

Directions:

Wash, dry off and peel, then quarter and core apples, and then chop up.

Add the apples, water, and cinnamon to the Instant Pot. Put on cover and seal according to directions. Set “manual” (or “pressure cook”) for 5 minutes.

Once done, let pressure release naturally for 20 minutes. If your Instant Pot has the “keep warm” setting on, hit “cancel” to turn off.

Place a clean kitchen towel over the steam valve and hit release to let any leftover steam out (the pot must release naturally or the applesauce will bubble up into the valve).

Take off the lid, turn onto “saute”.

Using a potato masher, mash up the applesauce.

Let cook down for a few minutes, until it is bubbling and mounds on a spoon. Stir often while doing this to avoid scorching.

Taste for sweetness.

I added 1/3 cup of Sucralose sweetener to counter the apples and lemon juice. Use your favorite sweetener as desired, both granulated and brown sugar work well. If using the applesauce for in baking later on, leave unsweetened.

To water bath can:

Add 5 pint mason jars to a canning pot, fill jars with water, then the pot about half full. Bring to a boil while applesauce is in the steam release period.

Place the lids and rings into a small saucepan, cover with water and bring to a simmer.

When applesauce is ready, drain jars and place on a clean kitchen towel.

Sterilize a ladle, canning funnel and air bubble remover in the boiling water.

Fill jars with hot applesauce, leaving a ¼” headspace.

Run the bubble popper in each jar.

Wipe the rims with a new damp paper towel.

Place a drained lid on each jar, then finger tighten the rings.

Place the jars into the kettle, lower the rack in. Make sure the jars are covered with water.

Bring to a boil, process for 10 minutes.

Remove the jars, let cool on a towel covered rack.

Remove rings, check that each lid is flat and sealed.

Mark contents on lid, use within a year. If any do not seal, refrigerate and use up within a week or so.

Makes about 4 pints. (I always add an extra jar just in case there is more.)

~Sarah