Canning Season.

[Worth1]

Canning Season, just what is it to you?
To me it is all year long almost every week.
I make stuff in huge kettles and can it instead of small kettles many times.
It is easy and fun, at least it is to me.
If you follow rules and get over the fact you aren't going to die from your own canning it gets much better.
The main reason I thought this thread up is just how much and how many jars do you really need to can.
If you find yourself buying more jars and you still have food in the pantry that is old you might want to consider what your are doing and adjust.
I am not a hoarder.
What I have found out for me at this time is I dont need anymore jars.
Most of the time I have just enough for the next project from the jars I have eaten from.
What I do find myself doing is buying more lids and occasionally more rings.
If you find yourself going to the store for the next canning session and you have old stuff in the pantry something is wrong.
Either eat it or toss it out.
I cant count how many pantries growing up I have seen old food in the cellar and yet more jars more food.
This is ((NOT)) what home food preservation is about.
That is home food hording.
The salsa I made today was from jars from the last two weeks I have eaten from and cleaned ready for the next project.
Most of the time these jars never get stored away but are at the ready on the counter.
Worth

[taboule]

I'm making a batch of salsa now, the second one in 2 days. DW left for a long trip, so i get to use the kitchen as I please -the first time since we moved in these new digs. Tomato production wasn't great this year due to sick plants and not having time to baby them due to being super busy with the move. Still, I managed a few things, + some sweet peppers because I planted them in pots and was able to move them to the new house and look after them -same with eggplants, I doubt I'll ever grow these again in the ground. They so much prefer warm feet.

Worth, depending on what I run out and what I have in stock, it happens that I can new foods, while I still have others. I did pick up a couple cases of jars today ;-) Always can (pun intended) use a few, it is NOT hoarding It's like preppers buying ammo. One never has enough ;-)

I also cooked a big batch of chicken cacciatore, the first time in years. Excuse me while I go savor some, I'll be back once the pressure cooker cools down.

[taboule]

This is what happens when i don't have enough supplies, unmatched jars and lids ;-)

The horror.

[taboule]

Tried the leftovers, tastes as good as it looks.

[greenthumbomaha]

My season started very slowly and I didn't think I would have anything to preserve (I use the roast and freeze method.) I did have to go out and buy more ziplock type freezer containers, which I was happy to do. Canning week is usually the first and second week in August but it came early this year. Fruits still coming in slowly but consumed fresh. Many that set after the first heat wave are not ripe yet. With temps going into the 50's at night soon, they'll taste like supermarket fare.

In my climate you have only one chance to get a crop in. If I lived where I had a second season as an insurance policy like you do Worth, I might not have to grow and preserve as much all in the beginning. In a one growing season area having the good fortune to have too much is much better than an empty pantry come winter. Hoarding would be something like 4 years worth (I am not getting near that, am I?)

Tomatoes, 2-3 jars of sauerkraut, 3-4 jars pickled peppers, a few large bags of frozen peppers for chili in winter, maybe 4 jars of pickled cucumbers, and in a good year peaches are all that I preserve. I eat a lot of the other vegetables and fruits as they are harvested and share with the neighbor.

BTW I have two freezers stacked with primarily tomato sauce in ziplock plastic freezer jars, so yeah maybe a little excess but none ever wasted.

- Lisa

[greenthumbomaha]

Looks ...verrrry...good <salivating>.

- Lisa

[taboule]

Thanks Lisa.

I too have been using these ziplock quart containers, easy to use and they stack nicely. I discovered canning only last year, as I no longer wanted to put all my eggs in one basket, depending on power for the freezers. I also ran out of space -that is 2 freezers full ;-) With canning, I have unlimited shelf space :-)

You also made a great point about some of us having a single, very short canning season -basically a few weeks around this time. We don't have the luxury of canning year round and reusing the containers more than once per year.

[Farmette]

So far this year, I have canned 21 pints of salsa, 14 quarts of chunky applesauce, 7 quarts of bread n buter pickles and 7 quarts of dill pickles. Haven't canned anything with meat this year. I used to do all the canning, but then my husband and I have been canning for together for the past 5 years. Now, there are times I have to leave and go to my part time job and he can just take over.

If I had more small cukes, I would put up more pickles, but the season is just about over here for that. I will be making some peach habanero jam in the next week or two. And I plan on taking some of my late season tomatoes and freezing them as I didn't can any whole tomatoes this year.

I've been buying those very large cans of Italian Plum tomatoes in sauce with basil. I make spaghetti sauce for dinner with one third to one half of the can and then freeze the rest in storage bags. Works out great!

Past years, I have also canned spaghetti sauce, peaches and tomato juice.

Chris

[coronabarb]

Chris, have you tried pickled peaches? I did NOT think I would like them but decided to try some a friend served with lunch. They were pretty good.

[Farmette]

No, I haven't tried pickled peaches. I wouldn't imagine they could possibly taste good, but I'll have to take your word on it. Were they sliced and what else was in the brine or was it just brine without any visible seasonings?

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by Farmette

No, I haven't tried pickled peaches. I wouldn't imagine they could possibly taste good, but I'll have to take your word on it. Were they sliced and what else was in the brine or was it just brine without any visible seasonings?

No they are good.
Spiced with sugar cinnamon and cloves.

[Farmette]

Originally Posted by Worth1

No they are good.
Spiced with sugar cinnamon and cloves.

I thought the term "pickled" meant vinegar, etc. Yes I would like the spiced too. One thing about my canned peaches was, I think they were too soft. So, maybe I need to can them just at the early stage of ripeness.

[Farmette]

Tab, that looks like some pretty good salsa. Peppers, tomatoes, onions and corn?? Looks nice and thick. Old family recipe or?

[taboule]

Originally Posted by Farmette

Tab, that looks like some pretty good salsa. Peppers, tomatoes, onions and corn?? Looks nice and thick. Old family recipe or?

Tomatoes (diced in this batch, i also use pressed), onions (2 kinds), scallions, peppers (a mix), garlic (those are the white bits, not corn), cilantro, lemon juice (or vinegar, i use both), cumin and salt. We didn't know about salsa when I grew up, I made this one up ;-)

[clkeiper]

canning "season" to me is when you have a batch big enough to can you do it even if it is left overs from supper so it doesn't go to waste. it is feeding my family from one season to the next... without buying everything at the store. which I couldn't, as it is, since we seem to have sensitivities to onions and dyes. it is the security of knowing there is food prepared enough to make something without going to the store for even one ingredient if I don't have to. I hate Winter and snowy roads. I don't go out if I don't have to. If I do it is so early that no one is open yet... not enough to justify a stop at a big box store with only one cashier there on their 30 registers, grrrr!, I think this year with the hurricanes it is leaving what is there for someone who can't or doesn't grow their own and it would be wasteful to not can/freeze what is still out there to get us through the seasons until it is growing again next Summer. grapes for making grape juice today. I have 2 bushels of them. there is a bushel of beans in the cooler. I wish I could give them to one of you as I canned 3 bushels last week. I don't really need them.I think I have 40 quarts in the pantry.