Jamboree!

Guess what sis & I been doing?   We kicked off the fruit season with a medley of jams - sweet grapefruit, strawberry rose, strawberry lemon verbena and just plain ol' strawberry.

With all the wonderfully fragrant roses and herbs growing in the garden, I pick a few hand fulls and infuse them in with the fruit preserves.    Turns ordinary jam into extraordinary!

What sorts of canning activity are you doing?  Do you like to go beyond the same old and experiment with adding herbs, flowers and spices?

Here's one of my favorite "outside the jar" canning blog

Sorry for such a short post, love to write more but we have a BIG produce (edible flowers, salad and lots of greens) order to fill this morning and major world news outlet coming at noon to do a story about our urban homestead.

More later!

There's a jamboree of sorts going on here on the urban homestead kitchen.

Whipping out preserves sweet and savory for customers at our Front Porch Farm Stand.   On the preservation front this week: sweet grapefruit marmalade, meyer lemon vanilla marmalade, apple butter, jalapeno jelly (you haven't lived till you had this jam slathered on cream cheese with crackers - oh man!) key lime and roasted pepper glaze.

These home preserves make great gifts.

Psst, there's handcrafted artisan bread coming soon to the farm stand.  Bread & jam?  Ooh lala. What more could a person ask?

Here's a sneak peek

If you are local, stop by our front porch farm stand.  It's open Sun - Fri, winter hours are 10 am - 5 pm.

I highly recommend you sign up to our email list so you'll get weekly updates on what's available.  Sign up by emailing us at info@dervaesgardens.com

Now enjoy some snapshots from our recent canathon.

Meyer lemon peels

Meyer lemon wedges

Farmers market apples

Cooking till soft

Using our hand cranked food mill to process the apples

Sweet grapefruit ready for the pot

Hungarian hot wax peppers

Roasted!

Key lime and roasted pepper glaze

:: Resources ::

Stock up!   You like that nifty hand cranked mill ?  Well, then don't forget that our Urban Homestead Store has canning and kitchen supplies

Where I go for inspiration (though I have to warn you that you'll never look at fruits, veggies and the likes the same - ever!)

Tigress in a Jam

Food in Jars

Now that the summer harvest is coming in, it's time to put up!

On the preservation front this week: pickling beets, apple pie filling, apple butter, elderberry jam, peaches in syrup, zucchini pickles and pumpkin butter (going to use those gorgeous pumpkins!).  Next preservation round should be tomato sauce and pickled peppers.

We love to listen to all sorts of music (folk, country, Celtic, etc) while canning.  Well, not all the time, sometimes we like the "sounds of silence."  Hearing the birds sing outside, the water trickle into the aquaponics pond, bubbling of the boiling water, pleasant popping of the jars sealing, or the rhythmic chopping sounds of the knife.   While other days we need to get rocking in the kitchen and belt out some good hard tunes.  Of course we are the kind to sing along and you may even catch us dancing too.

So we are curious, what's your favorite tunes that you gets you in the canning mood.  Care to share your "Canning Soundtrack"

The canning season here on the urban homestead has started with gusto!   Though I have to admit I got a bit too enthusiastic and that caused the pickled garlic to turn a out of this world green/turquoise - not to mention turning me slightly red with embarrassment!  Not to mention a bout with excessive mutterings to my self.    You know that little joke you did as kids?  Where you told the other person to point to their heads and say the abbreviation for 'mountain.'"  Ha, well, here's my "MT" story!

You see, I over confidently thought, "I'll get a jump on things.  Peel the garlic tonight and pickle them in the morn."

Yeah, well my brain must have been slightly cooked (due to all that time spent over the hot water canner that day) because one thing you know (or should know) that if you expose food to light you get oxidation.  As I said, my brain cells must have evaporated along with the steam because I just learned that prepping ahead of time-- well doesn't always work out in the long run.

Though I have been assured that the garlic is safe to eat, every time I look at the funky looking green garlic I'll remember NOT to do that ever again.  Kinda bummed that I won't be looking at pearly white garlic in the pantry.  A little voice instead my head keeps telling me "you garlic is green, your garlic IS GREEN, your GARLIC IS GREEN!"  I know, I know.  Am I not tortured enough just seeing it?   No pearly whites for me. Sniff.

What canning calamities have you experienced, encountered - care to commiserate?

Here's what we've been up to for the last couple days and we aren't done yet!   Up next: dilly carrots, more apple butter and pickled beets.

Oh, and just remember-- lots of the goods you see in the pics (wire harvest basket, scale, canning book/kit )are all sold on our online store where you can stock up on goods and supplies for your urban homestead.  Your patronage helps keep this site going and growing!   Thank you for your support.

Kitchen ready for canning action

Jars all washed

Rims hanging at the ready

Summer squash

All cut up

Pickled squash

Red rose petals

Rose petal syrup

Jalapenos

Jalapeno jelly

Elephant Garlic

Peeling garlic the night before which WASN'T a GOOD idea at the time because...

Adding vinegar solution and then....

The garlic turned GREEN. Sniff

A days worth of canning efforts

Apples

Apple butter

Care to share what you've been canning these days?

]]> http://urbanhomestead.org/journal/2010/06/23/canning-at-the-urban-homestead/feed/ 67 http://urbanhomestead.org/journal/2010/06/22/eat-what-you-can-can-what-you-cant-2/ http://urbanhomestead.org/journal/2010/06/22/eat-what-you-can-can-what-you-cant-2/#comments Tue, 22 Jun 2010 14:03:00 +0000 Anais Dervaes http://urbanhomestead.org/journal/?p=21154

Old canning posters

Like to thank our dear New Zealand friend, Charley, for the catchy title. If I remember correctly, he said his granny used to say that. Wise woman!

Another friend of ours just passed along this Canning Song

If that doesn't get you in the canning mood, there's this wonderful DVD from the West Ladies (this DVD and the entire Homestead Blessings collection are sold right here at our online store)

When we started growing full time, every summer it came down to too many vegetables and fruits and something needed to be done with the surplus.  So about 7 or so years ago I took the plunge into preservation and haven't looked back.  During the fall and winter we rely heavily on  what we put up during the summer.   We are proud to say there are not many store bought canned goods that line our shelves.

Learning practical food preservation has been something I’ve looked forward to every year and have come to enjoy. Looking at the colorful jars that are stocking the cabinet you get a real sense of food security and a connection with the past – something Grandma would be proud of I am sure.

Canning is easy, you just have to know a few basics. One of the most important aspect is the difference between low and high acid foods. Here on the urban homestead we use a simple water bath method to preserve our foods. With low acid vegetables like beans or peppers without a pressure canner we’ll just pickle instead.

SAFE CANNING METHODS

There are two safe ways of canning, depending on the type of food being canned. These are the boiling water bath method and the pressure canner method.

Boiling Water Bath Method: The boiling water bath method is safe for fruits, tomatoes and pickles as well as jam, jellies and other preserves. In this method, jars of food are heated by being completely covered with boiling water (212 °F at sea level).

High-acid foods contain enough acid (ph of 4.6 or less) so that the Clostridium botulinum spores can’t grow and produce their deadly toxin. High-acid foods include fruits and properly pickled vegetables. These foods can be safely canned at boiling temperatures in a boiling water bath.

Tomatoes and figs have ph values close to 4.6. To can these in a boiling water bath, acid in the form of lemon juice or citric acid must be added to them.

Pressure Canning Methods: Pressure canning is the only safe method of canning low-acid foods (those with a ph of more than 4.6). These include all vegetables, meats, poultry and seafood. Because of the danger of botulism, these foods must be canned in a pressure canner. Jars of food are placed in 2 to 3 inches of water in a pressure canner and then heated to a temperature of at least 240 °F. This temperature can only be reached in a pressure canner.

Can All You Can

Helpful links

Canning Guide

Home Canning

Canning Low Acid and High Acid Foods PPT

An Introduction to Home Canning

Quality for Keeps: Preserve Your Garden Delights — How to Can Fresh Vegetables

Resources

Art of Canning DVD

Supplies

Canning Kit w/ utensils with Ball Canning Book

Preservation Supplies

Collection of Preservation Books

Are you capturing time in a bottle? Let's show those canning hands - are you a veteran canner, newbie? What's your latest canning adventure?

Coming up...

Let the harvest and fun begin! Latest pics of our can-athon here at the urban homestead...

What's in season is citrus and what's on the stove top is marmalade!   Thanks to a local, organic supply of citrus from Sergio's farm we gals are back in the kitchen - jammin.

With the versatile meyer lemons, juicy tangelos and sweet navel oranges we made a batch of "Three Citrus Marmalade" substituting tangelos for the grapefruit.

It was so deliciously tangy we were licking it out of the pan after we had filled the canning jars.

Kitchen ready for canning action.

Monday was such a gorgeous day that we put up a table out on the back deck to be able to enjoy the sunshine (not to mention less clean up in the kitchen with all that juicy fruit)

Sunshine and citrus - what a lovely mix.

All cut up and ready to go.

Boiling down.

All done!  Now waiting to for the marmalade to set.

Even Fairlight got in on the action (after the canning was done of course!).  She's funny sometimes she'll turn her nose up at oranges and then like this time she wants one!

Jordanne cuts up some orange slices.

Fairlight getting her dose of vitamin C.

Ginger Soda

Then Jordanne got a hankering for some soda and made a huge batch of ginger soda.  Yummy!

Jordanne adds sugar to the cut up ginger.  I spot an ear (to the left)!  Wonder who could that be?

Fairlight smells the sweet sugar and looks up with a pathetic pleading look. How can you turn down that face?

Yeah, we are suckers.  Suckers for a cute face that is.

In goes the ginger syrup, add yeast and presto - easy, natural soda!

Ginger soda bottles.

This time around we made up a batch of peach jam and spiced apple sauce.

Peeling and cutting the apples.  I told the girls they should get extra credit for peeling and chopping the apples with an eco-plastic knives!

One piece for the pot, one piece for me, one for the pot....

Mashing the peaches then putting the peach jam into sterilized jars.

Out come the peach jam from their water bath.  Next round is the apple sauce.

Yesterday's batch of strawberry jam gets some trimmings which read "Happy Holidays!  Homemade from Westridge School"

Apple sauce and peach jam.   They jars will get nifty trimmings tomorrow and then off the jars go to a local food bank

The girls proudly show off their work.

Group shot with the girls and their teacher.

All in all a good time and a good day's work.  The local food bank is going to be surprised and what a joy it will be for these girls to give such a homemade blessing.

The girls chop up the strawberries they got from the local Farmer's Market

Using the handcranked food processor

MASH!  MASH, MASH! Mashing the strawberries is fun.  Everyone wanted to try.

Gathering 'round the table to work and chatter.  We made a point to tell the girls that canning not only opens new food adventures but also brings about a togetherness when friends and family are involved.

Stirring the strawberry jam mixture, while I go about explaining the basics of water bath canning method

Jordanne womans the water bath pot while the girls ladle out the jam mixture into the jars

Of course the girls can't pass up a chance their canning creation - yummmmmmmy!  I grab a spoon and get in on the action.

Into the water bath the jars go

And there's a bit extra to enjoy on some warm muffins

Strawberry jam!

You gals were great students and the fun times aren't over yet!

Jordanne & I will be back again tomorrow to finish with the canning class.   This time around we'll be making peach jam and apple sauce. 

Stay tuned for more lip smackin' canning photos.

Come into the urban homestead's kitchen this time of year and there's blood splattered everywhere - pomegranate "blood"

Getting to their tangy delicious fruits sometimes causes some uncontrolled spurts (got a direct hit in my eye the other day, stung for a bit) - not to mention staining one's hands a lovely red color (wonder if they used pomegranates in the old days for makeup) so learned not to wear any good clothes or you'll have natural tie dye.

While most will be put up (canned or frozen) others will top salad, pancakes and few (er many) handful of these juicy fruits will be munched raw.  MMMMMM

I started canning over six years ago and I've been a canning addict ever since.  Well you gaze on a well stock pantry of food that you put up, it is food security at it's best!

Canning has grown from something only grandma did to a popular pastime.

Putting Up Produce: Yes, You Can

Pots are boiling on every burner and the kitchen counters are covered with a jumble of bowls, measuring cups and jars. Steam fills the house with the scent of vinegar and caramelizing sugar.

We're canning.

This two-century-old technique of preserving food—or "putting up," in canning-speak—is making a big comeback.

Read full article via the Wall Street Journal