Canning Presentation--Garden Club Meeting--November 10, 2009

Today's meeting of the Castine Garden Club featured a canning presentation by Sandra Oliver. She presented a practical way of canning and food storage of produce from one's garden or one's neighbor's garden! She offered up some great tips, a couple of recipes and a lot of good humor!

Today, she showed the process of canning beets in a vinegar, sugar and clove "brine" using a boiling bath. Another method for canning is using a pressure cooker for the bath.

Recipe: depending upon the quantity of cooked beets, bring to boil equal parts of sugar and cider vinegar (5% acid) with cloves (2 or 3 for 4 cups sugar and 4 cups vinegar). Sterilize the jars and fill the hot jars with beets, pressing them down into the jars, filling to the jar collar. Pour the brine into the jars covering the beets. Wipe tops and seal at once with sterilized lids.**see note about lids below. Process in a water bath for 15 to 20 minutes.

Also presented was non-bath canning using vegetables like cucumbers, zucchini, green beans, small white onions, (could include other veggies like cauliflower, green tomatoes, etc) and garlic cloves. Vinegar and water heated to boiling. The addition of a green grape leaf will keep the vegetables crisp. The brine was poured over the well packed vegetables with sugar and salt. No further boiling necessary. The hot brine will create the seal.
**Lids that are packaged on the ball jars should be discarded. The packaging process (shrink wrap of plastic) will create a groove in the lid, which may keep the lids from sealing properly.

Recipes were submitted by our members:

Green Tomato Pepper Relish
submitted by Diana B
1 gallon green tomatoes
2 medium onions, peeled
4 large green peppers (discard seeds)
2 large red peppers (discard seeds )
1 teaspoon mixed pickling spices
1/2 cup salt
3 cups vinegar
1 cup water
2 cups sugar

Wash, chop & mix vegetables; add salt and let stand for several hours or overnight. Drain, liquid and discard. Tie spices in cheesecloth and combine all ingredients and simmer 30 minutes. Ladle boiling hot mixture in hot sterilized jars. Seal at once. Precess in boiling water bath 5 minutes. makes 12 pints
From: Farm Journal "Freezing and Canning" cookbook; copyright 1963

Crisp Mustard Pickles
submitted by

6 (5") pickling cucumbers (1-1/4 lbs)
2 cups chopped onion
3 sweet red peppers, chopped
1 medium head cauliflower, cut into small pieces
2 cups small pickling onions (pearl onions)
1 cup canning/pickling salt
4 cups sugar
4 cups 5% acid strength cider vinegar
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup dry mustard
1-1/2 teaspoon ground tumeric
1 tablespoon celery salt

Wash cucumbers; cut 1/16" off blossom ends; chop. Layer cucumbers, onion, peppers, cauliflower, onions and salt in 1 gal. crock; cover with cold water. Let stand 12 - 18 hours in cool place. Drain; rinse.

Combine sugar, vinegar, flour and spices in 4-qt kettle blend well with wire whisk; gradually bring to boil, stirring constantly. Add vegetables; bring to boil; simmer, uncovered, 15 minutes.

Ladle into 6 hot pint jars, filling to within 1/4 of jar top. Wipe the jar rim; fit lids.

Process in boiling water bath 15 minutes. Start to count processing time when water in canner returns to boiling. Remove jars and complete seals unless closures are self-sealing type. makes 6 pints.
Secret of these pickles is the sauce.

Peach & Rum Preserves
submitted by Sue M

4 cups chopped peaches
1 3/4 package fruit pectin
5 cups sugar
1/4 cup light rum

Combine peaches and fruit pectin in a very large sauce pan. Place over high heat and bring to a full boil, stirring constantly. Immediately add all sugar and stir. Again bring to full rolling boil and boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, stir in rum. Skim off foam. Stir and skim for 5 minutes. Ladle into hot scalded jars, seal. Yield: 6 1/2 pint jars.