Here is an update on what is in the pantry. Some of the items I canned have been used and were removed from the earlier list. New items have been canned and added.
Currently, there are 373 jars of food and spices preserved for the winter of 2010-2011.
Please note, this does not include items in the freezer.
Apple pie filling 2-pint jars
Apples in red hot sauce 1-pint jar
Applesauce 5-pint jars
Banana peppers – 1 pint
Bayleaf – 1 pint
BBQ Sauce 6-pint jars
Bell peppers – 1/2 gallon
Blueberries 4-4 ounce jars and 1-half pint jar
Chamomile – ½ pint
Celery leaf – 1/2 gallon
Celery seed – 4-ounce
Cestrum nocturtum extract – 1 pint (preserved for perfume use)
Cherries 1-half pint jar
Cherry juice 2- half pint jars
Chicken broth 1 quart and 1 pint
Chicken wing sauce 1-pint jar
Chili peppers – 1 pint
Chives – 1 pint
Chocolate raspberry sundae topper 5-pint jars
Cinnamon pears 2-pint jars
Cinnamon sticks – 1/2 gallon + 1-quart
Cloves 4-ounce
Corn – 11 pints
Costmary – 2 pans
Dehydrated banana chips – 1 quarts + 1 vacuum sealed container
Dehydrated dandelion flowers – 1/2 gallon
Dehydrated celery – 1 pint
Dehydrated cranberries – 1 quart
Dehydrated pears – 1 vacuum sealed container
Dehydrated potatoes – 1/2 gallon
Dehydrated tomatoes – 1 vacuum sealed container
Dehydrated violets – 1 quart
Dill weed – 1 pint
Domestic Meat & Wild Game Sausage Seasoning & Cure – Cheddar Polish – ½ gallon
Domestic Meat & Wild Game Sausage Seasoning & Cure – Pepperoni – ½ gallon
Fennel – 1/2 pint
Grapefruit peel – 1 pint
Grape jelly 1-pint jar and 7-4 ounce jars
Grape juice 3-pint jars.
Green Beans – 3 quarts and 7 pints
Green Tomatoes 1 quart jar
Hole Mole hot peppers – 1 pint
Hot sauce – 7 jars, various sizes
Jalapeno peppers – 1 pint
Jerky Seasoning & Cure – Cajun Blend – ½ gallon
Jerky Seasoning & Cure – Pepper Blend – ½ gallon
Jon’s Pickles – 55 pints
Kosher Dill Pickles – 35 quart
Lavender flowers – 1 quart
Lavender flower spikes – 1 pan
Lemon balm and lemon verbena jelly 6-4 ounce jars and 1-cup jar
Lemon grass – ½ gallon
Lemon peel – 1/2 pint
Lemon verbena – 1/2 pint
Lemon verbena extract – 1 quart
Lilac flowers – 1 ½ pint
Maple syrup – 2 pints
Marachino cherries 5-4 ounce jars and 3-half pint jars
Marachino cherry juice 1-4ounce jars and 3-half pint jars
Mixed berry preserves 1- cup and a half jar
Mixed herb vinegar 4-4 ounce jars and 2- half pint jars
Mixed Raspberry Vinegar – 1 ½ pint
Mystical grape wine – 16 bottles
Orange peel – 1 quart
Oregano – 1 1/2 gallon and 2 quarts
Orris root – 1/2 pint
Paprika – 1 quart
Parsley – 1 ½ gallon and 2 quarts
Passion fruit mojito 1-quart jar
Paw paw extract – 1 quart
Peach juice – 13 quarts
Pear butter – 4 quarts
Pear juice 1-pint jars
Pear sauce 4-pint jars
Peppers for grilling – 1 quart
Perpetual cinnamon (cinnamon extract) – 1 pint
Pimento peppers – 1 pint
Pineapple, banana and orange fruit spread 1-cup jar
Pineapple, banana and passion fruit spread 1-cup jar
Pineapple mint – 1 pint
Plums 4-pint jars
Pomegranite juice 1-quart jars
Potatoes 4-quart jars
Powdered cheese – Cheddar – 1 pint
Powdered cheese – White – 1 pint
Raspberries in light syrup 5-half pint jars
Raspberry and Mulberry Vinegar 1-half pint jar
Raspberry syrup 4-half pint jars
Red bud flowers – 1 pint
Roasted garlic Italian vinegrette 2- cup and a half jar
Rose hips – 1 pint
Rosemary – 1 quart
Rose petal extract – 1 quart
Rose petal jelly 5-half pint jars
Sage – 1/2 gallon
Sauerkraut – 3 pints
Scented geranium flowers – attar of rose – 1 quart
Scented geranium leaves – snowflake rose – 1 quart
Shitake mushrooms – 1 pint
Stevia extract – 1/2 pint
Strawberries 1-pint jars
Strawberry fruit spread 1-quart jar
Strawberry juice 1-pint jar and 1-4 ounce jar
Taco sauce 4-4 ounce jars and 1-pint jar
Tarragon – 1/2 gallon
Tea – raspberry leaf and spearmint – 1 pint
Tea – raspberry, spearmint and passion fruit – 1 quart
Tea- spearmint and chocolate mint – 1 pint
Tea- spearmint, lemon balm and lime balm – 1 pint
Thai hot and sweet dipping sauce 5-pint jars
Thyme – 1 quart
Tomato soup 5-quart jars
Tulip petals – 1 quart and 1 ½ pint
Vanilla bean apple cider vinegar – 1 pint
Vanilla extract – 1 pint
Vegetable broth – 4 quart
Wing Sauce – 1 pint
Filed under Food Preservation by on Jul 18th, 2010. Comment. 
The season to begin stocking up has began. New jars of food are already being added to the pantry, new herbs and edible flowers are being dried for use later in the season or extracted into alcohol. Some of the products extracted into alcohol will be used in perfumes or medicinally, other extracts will be used for flavoring.
The time has rolled around once again to begin taking inventory for another season.
Every year it seems I learn more, then come up with more interesting food combinations to preserve or simply learn how to utilize another edible plant I am growing. It is amazing what several Ball Canning books, a variety of old time stocking up books, a few herb books and a bit of imagination can do.
Here is what is in the pantry already in 2010.
Ancho chili pods – 1 quart
Apple pie filling 2-pint jars
Apples in red hot sauce 1-pint jar
Applesauce 5-pint jars
Banana peppers – 1 pint
Bayleaf – 1 pint
BBQ Sauce 6-pint jars
Basil – 1 pint
Bell peppers – 1/2 gallon
Black walnuts – 1 quart
Blueberries 5-4 ounce jars and 1-half pint jar
Camomile – 1 quart
Caraway – 1 pint
Celery leaf – 1/2 gallon
Celery seed – 4-ounce
Cestrum nocturtum extract – 1 pint (preserved for perfume use)
Cherries 1-half pint jar
Cherry juice 2- half pint jars
Chicken broth 1 quart and 1 pint
Chicken wing sauce 1-pint jar
Chili peppers – 1 pint
Chives – 1 quart
Chocolate raspberry sundae topper 5-pint jars
Cinnamon applesauce 1-pint jars
Cinnamon pears 2-pint jars
Cinnamon sticks – 1/2 gallon + 1-quart
Cloves 4-ounce
Dehydrated banana chips – 2 quarts + 1 vacuum sealed container
Dehydrated dandelion flowers – 1/2 gallon
Dehydrated celery – 1/2 gallon
Dehydrated cranberries – 1 quart
Dehydrated pears – 1 vacuum sealed container
Dehydrated potatoes 2 gallon jars
Dehydrated redbud flowers – 1 quart
Dehydrated scented geranium flowers – attar of rose – 1 quart
Dehydrated tomatoes – 1 vacuum sealed container
Dehydrated violets – 1 quart
Dill seed – 1 quart
Dill weed – 1 pint
Fennel – 1/2 pint
Frozen pizza dough – Italian herb – 3- 14″ crusts
Garlic – Chesnok red – 1 pint
Grapefruit peel – 1 pint
Grape jelly 1-pint jar and 7-4 ounce jars
Grape juice 3-pint jars.
Green Tomatoes 1 quart jar
Hole Mole hot peppers – 1 pint
Hot sauce – 7 jars, various sizes
Jalapeno peppers – 1 pint
Lavender flowers – 1 quart
Lemon balm and lemon verbena jelly 6-4 ounce jars and 1-cup jar
Lemon peel – 1/2 gallon
Lemon verbena – 1/2 gallon
Lemon verbena extract – 1 quart
Maple syrup – 3 pint
Marachino cherries 5-4 ounce jars and 3-half pint jars
Marachino cherry juice 1-4ounce jars and 3-half pint jars
Mixed berry preserves 1- cup and a half jar
Mixed herb vinegar 4-4 ounce jars and 2- half pint jars
Mystical grape wine – 16 bottles
Orange peel – 1 quart
Oregano – 1/2 gallon
Orris root – 1/2 pint
Paprika – 1 quart
Passion fruit mojito 1-quart jar
Paw paw extract – 1 quart
Pear juice 1-pint jars
Pear sauce 4-pint jars
Peppers for grilling – 1 quart
Perpetual cinnamon (cinnamon extract) – 1 pint
Pimento peppers – 1 pint
Pineapple, banana and orange fruit spread 1-cup jar
Pineapple, banana and passion fruit spread 1-cup jar
Pineapple mint – 1/2 gallon
Plums 4-pint jars
Pomegranite juice 2-quart jars
Potatoes 5-quart jars
Raspberries in light syrup 5-half pint jars
Raspberry and Mulberry Vinegar 1-half pint jar
Raspberry syrup 4-half pint jars
Raspberry wine – 1 bottle
Roasted garlic Italian vinegrette 2- cup and a half jar
Rose hips – 1 pint
Rosemary – 1 quart
Rose petal extract – 1 quart
Rose petal jelly 5-half pint jars
Sage – 1/2 gallon
Sauerkraut – 4 pints
Seasoned tomato sauce 1-quart
Shitake mushrooms – 1 pint
Stevia extract – 1/2 pint
Strawberries 1-pint jars
Strawberry fruit spread 1-quart jar
Strawberry juice 1-pint jar and 1-4 ounce jar
Taco sauce 4-4 ounce jars and 1-pint jar
Tarragon – 1/2 gallon
Tea – raspberry leaf and spearmint – 1 pint
Tea – raspberry, spearmint and passion fruit – 1 quart
Tea- spearmint and chocolate mint – 1 pint
Tea- spearmint, lemon balm and lime balm – 1 pint
Thai hot and sweet dipping sauce 5-pint jars
Thyme – 1 quart
Tomato sauce 2-quart jars
Tomato soup 5-quart jars
Vanilla bean apple cider vinegar – 1 pint
Vanilla extract – 1 pint
Wing Sauce – 1 pint
Filed under Food Preservation by on Apr 19th, 2010. 1 Comment.
There is nothing that tastes quite as good as something you make from scratch in your own kitchen. This is true rather it is special meal, a dessert or something as simple as homemade ketchup.
This recipe, which can be canned for use throughout the winter months, is simply outstanding. Once you have a taste of this, you will never go back to store bought ketchup again!
To make a really thick ketchup you need to remove the tomato juice from the tomato paste. The easiest way to do this is to use a steamer juicer such as the Mehu-Liisa.
When the steamer is finished extracting the juice, bottle it and can it. This is tomato juice in its purest form.
The tomatoes that are left in the top of the steamer juicer are what you want to use. You can remove the seeds or simply blend the mixture until it is smooth, whichever you prefer.
Begin with 24 pounds of whole tomatoes. If you do not have that many, simply put the tomatoes you have on a scale to find out how many pounds you do have, then do the math to change the rest of the ingredients in the recipe.
While the tomatoes are juicing add three cups cider vinegar to a large saucepan. Cut a piece of cheesecloth and put 3 tablespoon celery seed, 4 teaspoons whole cloves and 2 cinnamon sticks into it and then tie it up. Put the spice bag into the pan with the vinegar. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat and cover. Allow this to sit for 25 minutes then remove the spice bag.
Place tomatoes into the spiced vinegar, add one teaspoon of cayenne pepper and boil. Reduce the heat once the mixture begins to boil and cook for thirty minutes. The mixture should begin to thicken. Add ¼ cup canning salt and 1 ½ cups sugar. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook for about 45 minutes. The mixture will reduce by half and be about the consistency of store bought ketchup. While it is cooking, add garlic powder, chili powder and black pepper to taste.
To preserve, ladle into hot, sterilized pint jars leaving ½ inch headspace. Wipe jar rim, place sterilized lids and bands on making sure they are snug. Process in a cold pack canner for fifteen minutes, remove canner lid, let the jars sit for five minutes, then remove them.
When the jars are completely cooled, check to make sure they are sealed. If not, use immediately or put on a new lid and reseal.
When you open a jar, be sure to keep it refrigerated. The open jars will last quite a while kept in this fashion.
Filed under Canning, Canning Condiments, Food Preservation by on Jan 16th, 2010. Comment.
When picking plants from the wild be sure you have the identity correct. Many plants look so much alike that you may think you are harvesting one plant when in fact you are getting something totally different. Take for example the common Queen Anne’s Lace or wild carrot. Daucus carota resembles the poisonous water hemlock which is deadly if ingested. If in doubt, take the plant to a local botanist or your local extension agent for a positive ID before eating it.
Once you are sure you have the true Queen Anne’s Lace, here is a recipe for jelly.
Fill a glass jar full of clean flower heads. You can use straight Queen Anne’s Lace flowers or use a combination of edible flowers such as violet, lilac, roses, carnation, peony or elderberry.
Once the jar is full, pour boiling water over the flowers making sure to cover all of them. Put a non-metallic lid on the jar and sit aside for up to 24 hours. The infusion should be allowed to sit for at least five hours minimum.
When you are ready to proceed, prepare a strainer lined with cheesecloth. Pour the water through the strainer making sure to remove all the flowers from the first jar. Squeeze the water out of the flowers in the cheesecloth. Then measure the amount of water you have.
You will need a minimum of 2 ½ cups flower water for one recipe. Put the flower water into a stainless steel pan, add the juice of one lemon and one package of pectin. Bring this mixture to a boil then add three cups of sugar. Stir and continue boiling until the sugar has dissolved.
If you prefer using honey in place of the sugar, remove the mixture from the heat and add 1 ½ cups honey. Stir just until the honey is dissolved.
Remove the foam scum that forms on top of the jelly, then pour the jelly into sterilized canning jars. The smaller 4 ounce or half pint jars work well.
Wipe jar rims, put lids and bands on making sure they are fingertip tight. Process for ten minutes in a cold pack canner, remove and tighten lids.
Set the hot jars on a secure surface. I lay an old towel on top of my table and set the canning jars on it. Remember these jars are hot so use hot pads and jar lifters.
Tighten the bands as tight as possible.
Allow the jars to cool overnight. When the jars are completely cool, remove the bands and check the lids to make sure they are sealed.
To check the lids, simply try to lift them up with your fingers. If they come off, set the food in the refrigerator and eat it within a week. If they do not come off, the cans are sealed. Replace the band and store in a cool, dark place.
Be sure to label the jars with the name of the food in them and the date.
Filed under Canning, Canning Jams & Jellies, Food Preservation by on Jan 15th, 2010. Comment.
Once your harvest starts coming in, rather it is flowers, herbs, vegetables or fruits, you will want to preserve it for later use. The most common methods of preserving are freezing, canning and drying.
Drying may be the simplest method and certainly requires the least monetary investment. Fruits and herbs can be cut up, laid on screens or racks and dried right out in the sun. Flowers and herbs can be bunched up into little bouquets of four to six stems, have a rubber band put around the stems so it is tight and hung in a dark, airy place to dry. If you want to invest in a dehydrator, herbs, vegetables and fruits can be put into that to dry. Flowers can be dried in silica gel and will retain their shape and most of their color.
Freezing herbs, fruits and vegetables may be the next easiest way to go. Get a good book on freezing so you know which ones need blanched and how long. A good book will also tell you how long the storage life is. Freezing takes energy and if your harvest is substantial, you may need a chest or upright freezer. The Ball Canning books generally have some information on freezing in them, especially the Ball Blue Book.
Canning is the next most popular method of preservation. There is cold pack canning which is used for most fruits and pressure canning which is used for most vegetables. This method does require a monetary investment. Even if all the canners, jars and bands are given to you, lids must be bought. The lids, which contain the rubber seal, are only good for one use. Get a good book on canning, such as one from Ball Canning, if you are going this route.
Filed under Food Preservation by on Jan 13th, 2010. Comment.
The summmer of 2009 we received a Shiitake Mushroom kit from Fungi Perfecti. I set up the Shiitake mushroom kit in the corner of the kitchen and grew a few mushrooms.
Several months later I moved the Shiitake Mushroom kit to the greenhouse, setting it in a corner that was partially shaded. I refilled the saucer the kit sat in with rain water and waited to see what would happen. We noticed more Shiitake Mushrooms were beginning to form. Yesterday we removed those mushrooms noticing more were forming underneath of the ones we were removing.
Once the Shiitake Mushrooms were removed, we brought them inside and rinsed them under cold running water, then set them aside on a plate while we researched different methods of preservation such as canning, freezing and dehydrating. We decided dehydrating them would be the best choice for us.
The next step in the process involved cutting them into either 1/8 inch slices or 1/4 inch slices and removing any of the stem pieces that were tough.
My initial concern was that these slices looked pretty big and I was not sure they would dry quickly. The instructions I found on dehydrating mushrooms said they should dry within 6 to 8 hours.
Once all the Shiitake Mushrooms were sliced, it was time to put them onto the dehydrator tray. I have several dehydrators, some with fans, some without fans. I chose to use one without a fan that simply used a gentle heat only. Jerry felt this method would be the one that most resembled drying in natural sunlight.
I laid the pieces of the Shiitake Mushrooms onto the drying rack, making sure there was plenty of space around each piece so the heat could easily circulate and they would dry evenly. Every hour I would go in and turn the Shiitake Mushrooms over so the heat could heat both sides equally. Within about six hours, the mushrooms were dry.
I left them sit on the trays in the dehydrator overnight so they would cool and I could check to make sure they were done. I checked them for dryness by trying to bend one. It snapped easily, so I knew they were done.
From the dehydrator tray they went into a glass jar with a screw on plastic lid. The jar was labeled with the contents and the date, then put into a cool, dark cabinet for storage.
The Shiitake Mushrooms can now be rehydrated by soaking them in water or another liquid or simply tossed into a soup base where they will rehydrate on their own.
Filed under Dehydrating, Food Preservation by on Jan 6th, 2010. 2 Comments.
These cherries are delicious and easy to make. You can buy sweet cherries at the store if you do not grow them. This recipe calls for 1 pound of sweet cherries.
Pit one pound of sweet cherries.
Make a brine out of 1 pint water and ¼ tablespoon pickling salt. Bring this to a boil so salt will dissolve. Allow to cool for ten minutes, then pour over the cherries.
Cover the bowl and let it sit overnight.
The next day, drain and rinse the cherries. Combine 1 pound of sugar, ¾ cup water and ¼ teaspoon lemon juice. Bring this to a boil and continue boiling until the sugar dissolves. Pour it over the drained cherries and let stand for 24 hours covered.
Drain the cherries taking care to save the juice. Pack the cherries into 4 ounce or half pint canning jars. Bring the juice to a boil, then remove from heat. Add 1/8 ounce almond extract and 1/8 ounce homemade vanilla extract, stir well. Pour juice over cherries.
Wipe jar rims, put lids and bands on making sure they are fingertip tight. Process for twenty minutes in a cold pack canner, remove and tighten lids.
Set them on a secure surface. I lay an old towel on top of my table and set the canning jars on it. Remember these jars are hot so use hot pads and jar lifters.
Tighten the bands as tight as possible.
Allow the jars to cool overnight. When the jars are completely cool, remove the bands and check the lids to make sure they are sealed.
To check the lids, simply try to lift them up with your fingers. If they come off, set the food in the refrigerator and eat it within a week. If they do not come off, the cans are sealed. Replace the band and store in a cool, dark place.
Be sure to label the jars with the name of the food in them and the date.
Filed under Canning, Canning Fruit, Food Preservation by on Jan 3rd, 2010. 4 Comments.
If you are like most gardeners or canners, you will find that after making your recipe there is extra produce left. Not enough mind you for another batch, but too much to eat fresh before it goes bad. Here is a recipe to use up some of your extra summer fruit or to combine some of the fruit you have already preserved to come up with something a little different.
2 cups water
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup spun cinnamon honey
6 cups peaches
3 cups pears
2 cups seedless grapes
1 cup drained maraschino cherries, halved
10 fresh chocolate mint sprigs
Before you begin, wash your canning jars, lids and rings. Be sure to dip them in boiling water to sterilize them.
Fill your cold pack canner with water and begin heating it up. You will want the water in the cold pack canner to be about ready to boil before you begin making the sauce.
Prepare a bowl of water and add in Fruit Fresh or another preservative meant to prevent browning of the fruit.
In the meantime, peel the peaches and pears. Cut the larger fruit into bite size chunks. Make sure you remove all the seeds and pits from the fruit.
As you cut up the fresh fruit, put it into the bowl filled with the fruit preservative.
When the water in your canner is about ready to boil, put the 2 cups of water, the sugar and the honey in a stainless steel sauce pan.
Bring this mixture to a boil over medium high heat. Be sure to keep it stirred so it does not burn.
Once the mixture is boiling and the sugar and honey are melted, add the peaches, pears and grapes to the pan.
Return the mixture to a boil, being sure to continue stirring.
Once the mixture begins to boil, reduce the heat and simmer for five minutes.
Add the cherries.
Put two clean chocolate mint springs into each jar.
Using a ladle, add the fruit to the jar, then top the jar off with the liquid.
Leave 1/2 inch headspace. Be sure you use a knife to remove any trapped air bubbles from the jar.
Wipe the jars rim with a damp paper towel making sure to remove any spilled syrup.
Center the sterilized lid on the top of the canning jar.
Screw the band down so it is finger tight. You do not want to over tighten the band, just make it tight enough to hold the lid in place.
Place the jars in the canner filled with boiling water. The water should completely cover the top of the jar lids.
Put the lid on the canner and cook for 20 minutes.
Remove the canner lid, wait for 5 minutes, then lift the jars from the canner.
Set them on a secure surface. I lay an old towel on top of my table and set the canning jars on it. Remember these jars are hot so use hot pads and jar lifters.
Tighten the bands as tight as possible.
Allow the jars to cool overnight. When the jars are completely cool, remove the bands and check the lids to make sure they are sealed.
To check the lids, simply try to lift them up with your fingers. If they come off, set the food in the refrigerator and eat it within a week. If they do not come off, the cans are sealed. Replace the band and store in a cool, dark place.
Be sure to label the jars with the name of the food in them and the date.
Filed under Canning, Canning Fruit, Food Preservation by on Jan 3rd, 2010. Comment.
As most goat owners know, goats only milk a few months out of the year. If you are really lucky, and have a good milker, you may be able to get milk for up to ten months. Some goat farmers alternate the breeding times of their goats to make sure they get milk for most of the year, however, if you have just a couple of goats, or limited space, alternating breeding times may not be the answer for you.
Here at Exotic Gardening Farms & Wildlife Habitat, we have three dairy goats, Sugar, Spice – pictured above and Darla. The first year we bought them, they were in milk. We did not buy the babies, so we were able to keep all of the milk. We bought Darla in March, Sugar in May and Spice in June. We milked until late August, then decided to dry them up due to a lack of time to milk. During that time we milked twice a day, every day. We had plenty of milk, butter, buttermilk, cheese, ice cream and other dairy products. However when we quit milking, there was no reserve.
Then we failed to find a buck to breed the girls with, so we went a year without milk. Then in July 2008 we bought our buck Leonardo, a colored angora which can be seen in the photo above. Our grandaughter Trinity is petting him.
So, the late spring and early summer of 2009 bought baby goats and milk!
However with the babies we did not get as much milk as we did the first year! We still had plenty though, with a little left over. So, I decided to figure out if there was a way to preserve the milk without it taking on a “goaty” taste.
Several ladies on a list I belong to suggested freezing the milk. Now there is a trick to this. First, as soon as you are done milking, either pasterurize it or if you drink raw milk, go ahead and cool it. The best way is to strain it, then pour the strained milk into several small canning jars. I use pint jars that I fill 1/4 of the way full of milk.
I leave this in the freezer for half an hour, uncovered. I open the freezer door every ten minutes and swirl the milk in the jars. Once cooled, pour the milk into a larger canning jar such as a half gallon jar. Do use a canning jar as they will freeze and thaw just fine. Other types of glass may break.
I then put a plastic lid on the canning jar. You can buy these in the canning section of most stores. They are designed to be used on canning jars.
Once the jar of cooled milk is sealed with a lid, put the jar into a large storage or freezer bag and seal. Be sure to write the contents and date on the jars, bag or both.
Put the bags filled with the canning jars on the bottom of a chest freezer making sure they will not easily tip over.
Now, here is the rest of the trick. Do not thaw the milk at room temperature or in a microwave. When you are ready to use some of the milk, sit the frozen jar in the refrigerator and let it thaw naturally. This may take two to three days depending on how cold your refrigerator is.
Once the milk is thawed, use it as you would fresh milk. I had some on cereal and it tastes just like it came from the goat, the only difference is it was ice cold. Delicious! What a great way to preserve goat milk and have it year round!
Filed under Food Preservation, Freezing, Freezing Fresh Milk by on Jan 1st, 2010. Comment.
This homemade BBQ sauce can be made when tomotoes are in season or it can be made from canned or store bought tomato paste. Keep in mind you may need a bit of tomato juice if the sauce is too thick for your liking.
Here is how you go about making homemade BBQ sauce with fresh tomatoes.
To make a really thick BBQ sauce you need to remove the tomato juice from the tomato paste. The easiest way to do this is to use a steamer juicer such as the Mehu-Liisa, although this is not the only way.
When the steamer is finished extracting the juice, bottle it and can it. This is tomato juice in its purest form. You can also squeeze the juice from the tomatoes, set the tomato pulp aside and can the juice.
The tomato pulp that is left in the top of the steamer juicer is what you want to use. If you removed the juice by hand, then you will still use the tomato pulp. You can remove the seeds or simply blend the mixture until it is smooth, whichever you prefer.
Begin by putting 20 cups of fresh chopped tomatoes into your steamer juicer or into a foley mill or chessecloth.
When the tomatoes are juiced, remove the pulp and put the pulp in a stainless steel sauce pan. Add:
1 ½ cups brown sugar
1 tablespoon hot pepper flakes
3 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon celery seed
1 cup white vinegar
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoon salt
1 ½ tablespoon ground mace
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ cup of honey - optional, used to thicken the sauce
Stir well, bring to a boil and cook for thirty minutes. Taste it to see if you prefer to add other ingredients such as fresh ground black pepper.
When the sauce is the consistency of store bought sauce, ladle it into hot, sterilized pint canning jars. Wipe the jar rims, lid and band until fingertip tight. Place the cans in a cold pack canner and process for twenty minutes. Remove the lid, let the jars sit for five minutes, then remove and let cool.
When the jars are completely cooled, check to make sure they are sealed. If not, use immediately or put on a new lid and reseal.
Feel free to spice the BBQ sauce to your personal taste. The ingredients listed above are only a starting point. Homemade BBQ sauce is different in consistency than store bought. Using pure tomato paste will give you a thick sauce. To thin it down, add tomato juice.
When the BBQ sauce is opened, store the extra in the refrigerator.
Filed under Canning, Food Preservation by on Dec 31st, 2009. 1 Comment.
