Experimental Prickly Pear Syrup

In addition to a fondness for making jams and jellies, I also have a fondness for Cacti. Don't ask me where I got it from. I don't know. I just happen to think that cacti are very attractive plants.

The photo of the prickly pear fruit is one from my own garden. I don't know what variety of opuntia (the scientific name for prickly pears) it is. I didn't get it from a green house. I took cuttings from somebody else. The fruit are not as big as the prickly pear fruit that you sometimes see in the grocery store, but hey, at least it is a variety of opuntia that will survive Iowa winters. After all everything tastes better when you grow it yourself.

I had been looking at those fruit longingly for about a week wishing that I had enough to make jelly. Eventually, my cacti should spread enough that I will be able to make jelly.

When I don't have enough of some type of fruit, I have been known to fill in with apple juice, However in this case, the amount of apple juice that I would have to use would be so much that I was afraid that you wouldn't be able to taste the prickly pear.

I decided to make syrup instead. The method that I used was loosely based in this recipe. I used clear jel rather than corn starch. Then I canned it in 4 ounce jars with 1/4 inch headpace, using the waterbath method. I processed it for 10 minutes.





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Banana-Lime Jam Tips

I had sort of lost interest in making jams that have bananas in them just because they seem to burn so easily. Then Retrogal sent me a recipe of her mother's. Naturally I was curious. I had never had a banana jam with lime in it before, so I had to try it.

It also had the interesting instructions to "boil until bananas turn pink." Well I cooked it down until it was the consistency of fruit butter, but the bananas still didn't look pink to me. I ended up deciding to change that to "cook until thick."

Of course if the goal is to cook it until it is thick like fruit butter, then I couldn't help but wonder if it would thicken faster if I simply started with less water. I didn't try it with less water, so I don't know. In any case, I definitely liked the taste.


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Secret Chicken Salad

I love canning chicken and use it for so many things but mostly . I did an experiment, I added two heaping teaspoons of sweet relish to quart jar and then processed for 90 minutes at 11 lbs.....it is so good! I drained it and then shredded it into hunks and used it. The relish flavor is good, not overpowering and since I run out of relish all the time, its great to have that part of the ready to go. Next time I am going to also add some dried cranberries and see if its' good too...

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Canning Errata

I just found a bunch of unpublished . Some are old, I never saw them. I get a lot of spam too, from Viagra to shopping so maybe my inbox sorts them and throws all into spam. I will be answering all the that are not spam.

I also get mails asking why I used frozen corn or canned tomatoes. I use what I have on hand.
I watch the grocery bill carefully. My husband also likes to shop and buys in bulk when things are on sale. I hate grocery shopping so at times I get have to use what he bought. I am grateful he likes grocery shopping. "Use what I have in the pantry" is my motto. So far even the frozen and canned corn in recipes has come out nicely. I have been happy with the results.

I live in California and fruit is abundant in my area, vegetables are not.
I also work, so canning has to be done around our schedules. Summertime is when I have grandkids, and I just want to enjoy them.

I use thickeners when I am ready to eat the food. I thicken the sauce then when heating. Not when processing. It is easier to thicken on the stove.

My biggest regret is not knowing how to pressure can when my kids were at home. Three teen boys, wow this would have saved so much time.

If you are new to this, get books on canning, Ball has several. Join the amazing, friendly, canning groups in Yahoo Groups. These groups inspire. Experiment within safe guidelines. I experiment a lot, trying to still follow the guidelines. Know your altitude so you can safely pressure can. Know the timing for low acid foods. Canning is fun. Storing the jars has been not-so-fun. Having meals to heat and eat when exhausted is worth it all.Posted byCynat12:52 PM

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Experimental Meatballs - Try at Home?

Two years ago I canned some meatballs in some watered down Yoshida's sauce. I opened it Monday evening and served it as a side for dinner. I hated the texture of the meatball and choked one down. Just as I was going to apologize for serving that to my DH, he says "Wow the sauce is a bit strong but I love the texture of the meatball". I then had another to see if I had the same reaction....I did. Loathed the texture. In fact, it was a lot like the canned meatballs in a can of spaghetti. Chef Boyardeeze nasty. BTW I have grandkids who LOVE that stuff.

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Carrot Cake Jam - Great Homemade Gift Idea!

I thought this would be a fun jam for Christmas gifts.
This recipe is all over the internet, I got this at
http://oldfarmhousecooking.blogspot.com/2010_07_01_archive.html.
She has a great site!



Makes about six 7 - 8 ounce jars

1 ½ cups finely grated peeled carrots
1 ½ chopped, cored and peeled pears
1 ¾ canned pineapple, including juice
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp ground cloves
1 package (1.75 oz) powdered fruit pectin
6 ½ cups granulated sugar

•Prepare canner, jars, and lids. (See a canning manual for more info if you are new to canning.)
•In a large, deep stainless steel saucepan, combine carrots, pears, pineapple with juice, lemon juice, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently. Reduce heat, cover and boil gently for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and whisk in pectin, until dissolved. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently. Add sugar all at once and return to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Remove from heat and skim off foam.
•Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding hot jam. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip-tight.
•Place jars in a canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes. Remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars, cool and store. Remember to label the jars.

I used the coarse setting to grate the carrots......next time I will definitely use the fine setting. We liked it on toast spread lightly with cream cheese.Posted byCynat9:27 AM

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Warning - Experimental Tomato, Sausage, Veggie Sauce

The reason this sauce is experimental is because about two years ago I purchased one of those huge #10 can of crushed tomatoes at Sam's Club. (it was $1.89) It sat in the garage until this weekend. I had leftover sausage and carrots from my other canning. I decided to can this, knowing the tomatoes would be double processed. I used lemon juice to tarten up the flavor a bit. I love fresh tomatoes, I love canning fresh tomatoes. I hate paying over $3.00 a lb for tomatoes, and those barely taste like real tomatoes. I used carrots because I had them and had no plans to use them in anything else. I did not want to use any other veggies because I was not sure I would like this. We do like it! We decided to do this again, next time with meat and green chilis and onions. DH also wants to make some with a lot of italian seasonings.

1 #10 can crushed tomatoes
2 cups shredded carrots
1 lb sausage
1/4 cup lemon juice
salt and pepper as desired


I processed for 90 minutes because it had meat in it. 11 lbs pressure for my altitude.

This feels like cheating, I cheated once and made apple butter out of a #10 can of applesauce using my slow cooker and extra lemon juice and no one could tell. After all those times peeling the apples, no one noticed. Next time I am at Sam's Club or Costco, I am going to be sure and check out those huge cans, after slowly turning and looking to see if the canning police are watching LOL.

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