Canning Virgin Tells All

Sep 30th, 2011by Jeanne.
Honestly, if I had been this nervous about sex, I would still be a virgin. I can proudly say that I am a canning virgin no more. In contrast to other such firsts, this time I was very anxious before, but deeply satisfied later.
This inaugural journey into canning was not pretty. You might say the journey of a thousand tomatoes begins with a single slice. In my case, I was about… oh… maybe, THREE tomatoes in when it happened. That’s three tomatoes in — to the FIVE pounds of tomatoes my first canning recipe called for. When I sliced my finger, I sliced it well. A beautiful u-shaped cut that supplied copious blood. I contemplated a trip to the ER, weighing it against the loss of the produce and against the concept of a failed canning adventure.
I recalled the time a nurse told me that 20 minutes is the point at which the bleeding should stop and if it hasn’t by that time, you go get stitches. In that case, as I recall, it was more like 40 minutes and a roll and a half of paper towels…but this time, I had a mission. And, I had a bunch of fresh tomatoes from the farmers’ market...


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The Verdict on Pickled Carrots

A couple of weeks ago I made pickled carrots for the first time. Now that they have had time to soak up some of the flavor from the spices, I figured it was time to give them a try. I also asked several other people to try them so that there was more than just the opinion of one person who doesn't care much for carrots in the first place.


First let me say that they were much crisper than I had expected. The processing in the water bath really didn't turn them mushy.

The second recipe in the post (the one with cinnamon and sugar in it) definitely went over the best. The reaction to that one ranged from, "that is not bad," to, "that is good." It was definitely my favorite, between the two recipes.

The general reaction to the first recipe (the one with parsnips in it) was that it was too sour. I figured that everyone was just trying them plain when they gave that opinion, so I decided to see how they tasted in a salad. It was an improvement to have a big bite of lettuce and some dressing with them, but I still felt that they were too sour.

As a person who does not like carrots much to begin with, I am not sure if I will try pickling them again. Still I am glad that I started blogging because it lead me to try something new and I think it is good for me to try new things.

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Canning Pear Butter

I was looking at the recipe for pear butter in The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving and pondering why they would give instructions that seem to me like the hard way of doing things. It actually took awhile for it to occur to me that people who don't do much canning might not even own a food mill. I was a little slow to figure things out, but I did finally realize that perhaps I should write both instructions.


My recipe for pear butter is reall basically the same as apple butter, except that I use a little less sugar.

Pear Butter
(Yield is about 4 half-pint jars for every dozen pears used)
(Printable Recipe)

Use one of the following methods to prepare the pulp. As always, I recommend using Fruit Fresh when cutting up the fruit.

Method 1: To prepare the pulp, first quarter the pears. Cook pears until they are soft (about 20 minutes) using just enough water to prevent sticking (enough to cover bottom of pan). Run the pears through a food mill.

Method 2: Peel, quarter and core pears. Cook pears until they are soft (about 20 minutes) using just enough water to prevent sticking (enough to cover bottom of pan). Process in a blender or food processor.

Measure pulp. For each quart of pulp, add 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp cloves, and 1/4 tsp nutmeg. Cook slowly until thick. At first you only have to stir occasionally, but as it thickens you will have to stir more often. The pear butter is ready when it will mound up on a spoon.

Fill hot canning jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Add lids and process in a water bath for 10 minutes.

High altitude instructions
1,001 - 3,000 feet : increase processing time by 5 minutes
3,001 - 6,000 feet : increase processing time by 10 minutes
6,001 - 8,000 feet : increase processing time by 15 minutes
8,001 - 10,000 feet : increase processing time by 20 minutes

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Delicacies at Revel Restaurant - the Fermented Kind

National Can it Forward Day has come and gone but that doesn’t mean the pickling action is over in the Pacific Northwest. In addition to working with Canning Across America I have the great privilege of working with amazing chefs and farmers at Seattle area markets and culinary events. Through this connection I’ve become involved with the Seattle’s Chef Collaborative chapter and therefore am afforded the opportunity to enjoy an amazing array of educational events offered up at area restaurants and farms.
Most recently I was invited to one of my favorite Seattle restaurants headed by Chef Rachel Yang, Revel, to partake in all things fermented. And while we didn’t eat everything you can ferment there was a pretty overwhelming array of preserved delicacies to try. Chef Yang and her co-conspirator and husband, Seif Chirchi have had a very healthy fermenting pantry going for years at their restaurant, Joule, in Wallingford and they favored us with an incredible dose of what they’ve been up to in that magic pantry...

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Apple Pie Filling

I honestly still consider myself to be a newbie at canning pie filling. I use to just can the fruit in syrup and then add the remaining ingredients for a pie later. Though I have seen sites on the internet that say to can it with cornstarch, the USDA doesn't recommend this (see post on ClearJel) and I don't do it. Even after ClearJel can along I still just kept canning fruit in syrup for awhile. I guess I can be quite a creature of habit some times.


When I first tried canning , I followed the USDA instructions exactly. However I had problems with getting too much liquid in some jars and too little in other jars.

This year I decided to fill the jars the way I fill them if I am canning them with syrup. That is, use a slotted spoon to put the fruit in the jars, and then ladle liquid on top. This is pretty easy to do because the ClearJel actually doesn't thicken until the jar is cooling. It is still thin when you are filling the jars.

This worked much better for me. I am happy with the results and look forward to enjoying a tasty, hot pie when the snow is piled high outside.

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The Line in Winter

It’s hard to conjure green in January. While it dominates the landscape for most of the year, in mid-winter it is a fugitive from the cold, hidden beneath a thick blanket of snow. We’ve just had our third major blizzard of the season here at Stonegate Farm, and only the fence lines now mark the faint contours of productive land.

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Tomato-Palooza

It’s been quite a star turn for tomatoes on the farm this season.  No blight, no gummy end rot, just loose, far-reaching tangles of sweet fruit splattered across the fencerow in the orchard.  Their indeterminate sprawl has been almost unseemly, shaming the rest of the farm with an insatiable appetite for sun and sweetness.

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