Garden Harvest

This has been a busy week!  I was asked to help with an Enrichment activity on Gardening (in particular, Harvesting) to be held in my yard this past week.  I have spent the several weeks putting together this spreadsheet with a lot of information on what to do with the yummy vegetables that we grow.  Hopefully this will be a good reference!  Note: This was made for my altitude (4000-6000 ft). If you use this as a reference, and live at a different altitude, you would need to adjust times, and pressures.
Garden Harvest 4000-6000 ft
Happy Harvesting!

Tips For Canning

Over the past couple of years, friends and neighbors have shared some great tips with me about canning. Hope they help someone else as much as they have helped me!

• If possible, have someone help you. For some reason, you get more than double the amount, and it is much more fun.
• If what you are canning requires you to remove the skin (peaches, tomatoes), this tip will save you a ton of time. Tie string TIGHTLY around the plug in your sink. Put plug firmly in place over drain. Fill sink up with peaches or tomatoes, leaving string visible (you can put it over your faucet). Pour boiling water over the fruit until all fruit is covered. Leave on for 30-60 seconds. Pull string to release the plug draining all the water out. Now you have a sinkful of fruit ready to be peeled and used. Much faster than doing several at a time in boiling water.
• To peel pears, do the step above. Then, instead of peeling with a knife, use a piece of nylon netting from the fabric store. It is sold right next to the toulle, but it has smaller holes and is softer. Simply rub the skins with the netting and it leaves a skinless, beautiful pear.
• Don't start until your kitchen is clean. This way the process is easier, less stressful, and easier to clean up.
• Buy a camp stove. I love having the 3 burner stove set up in my garage. It keeps my house cool, and I can do 2 or 3 canners at a time.
• Use multiple canners. It makes the process twice as fast! If a neighbor or friend has a canner, trade off, so you each can have two going at a time.
  
• Make sure you have all the tools that you need out, clean, and ready to go.
• Wash jars in dishwasher. Keep them hot until ready to use.
• Buy a package of latex (if you are not allergic) exam gloves. They are really inexpensive. I bought a box of 200 at Sam's Club for about $7.00. Well worth the money. They keep your hands from turning brown when doing peaches and tomatoes. They are wonderful to use when canning meats as well.
• Enjoy the work of canning. Each season it is very fulfilling to see what I have preserved for my family. We enjoy it all year round.
  

Canning/Freezing Corn

Last week my sister and I decided to preserve corn. After tasting the delicious corn at the local farmer's market, we decided to give it a go! Wow! We learned a few things:
1. It is a lot of work.
2. It is delicious! See the bottom of this post for our "taste test" of both.

The process of preparing the corn is the same for either canning (raw pack), or freezing:
1. Select fresh corn. The sooner you preserve it after it is picked, the better. The grower I bought the corn from said that is should be started within 6 hours of picking.
2. Remove the husk and silk from each cob.
3. Blanch in boiling water for 3 minutes.
4. Immediately put in ice water to stop the cooking process.
(The picture to the left is the corn after it has been blanched and taken out of the ice water.)





5. Cut kernels from cob. I thought an electric knife was easiest. TIP: If you put the cob in a bundt pan, the kernels fall directly into the pan.










For canning:

1. Put kernels in jar, leaving 1 inch headspace.
2. Add 1/2 tsp salt to pints, and 1 tsp salt to quarts.
3. Add boiling water to jar, once again leaving 1 inch headspace.
4. Put prepared lids and rings on jar.
5. Process in PRESSURE CANNER for 55 minutes for pints and 85 minutes for quarts. (Corn is a very low acid food, and must be canned in a pressure canner for the specified amount of time at the correct pressure!)

Use the pressure below:
0-2000 ft: 11 pounds pressure
2001-4000 ft: 12 pounds pressure
4001-6000 ft: 13 pounds pressure (Utah County)
6000+ ft: 14 pounds pressure

It took about 4 ears per pint. Each ear yielded approximately 1/2 cup of kernels.

For Freezing: (The grower gave me the recipe for the syrup to put on it. He said it would be the best corn you've tasted. After tasting it, I have to agree!)
1. After corn is off the cob, fill quart size freezer bags (I put 2 cups per quart bag, even though it could have held more. I wanted to pack it in portions my family would use for 1 meal).
2. Make a syrup of 1 cup water, 1 TB salt, and 1 TB sugar. Boil together.
3. Add 1/4 cup of syrup to each bag.
4. Freeze.
5. When you are ready to use the frozen corn, there is no need to add any additional liquid to heat it up. The syrup you put in gives it a wonderful flavor as well.

Taste comparison: The canned corn is better than any canned corn I have bought. With sweeter varieties of corn, the canning process tends to turn the corn a little brown. The frozen corn was even better than the canned corn, and kept its bright color. I want to have both in my food storage, but the frozen was definately the overall winner! It tasted like it came right off the cob.

Bottling Meats

I can't think of a better thing than canned meat in my food storage. Recently at Girl's Camp, we took bottled chicken to add to our Hawaiian Haystacks for dinner. Everyone commented on how yummy the meat was. I told them that we use our bottled meats at least 2 times per week! I buy the meat when it is at rock bottom prices (chicken breast .99-$1.49 per pound; pork .99 cents/pound; beef steak at $1.99-$2.49/pound; lean ground beef $1.49/pound) and I buy 50-100 pounds of it at a time. It makes for a long day of canning (I usually have 2 or 3 pressure canners going), but well worth it.

(Warning: Canning meats is NOT recommended on glass top stoves. I have a glass top stove and have used my pressure canner multiple times with no problems, but just so you know.... You may want to use a propane camp stove outdoors to bottle meats. The weight of the full pressure canner is very heavy and could crack or break your stove top.)

Having real meat in your food storage makes menu planning much easier. In addition, the ease of just opening a bottle and having that portion of dinner ready is awesome! The shelf life is at least 3 years, but the process is so easy, you may want to rotate your meats more often to be sure the nutritional quality is high. The problem you will run into, is that you will use your canned meats TOO fast! Literally any kind of meat can be bottled: ground beef, beef steak, turkey, pork, chicken, fish, ham, or any kind of wild meat. I have never bottled wild meats, but some friends who have canned venison said it is the best they have had.

Pressure Canners: You must use a pressure canner to bottle meats. Pressure cookers will not safely can meats. Canners come in quart sizes, meaning they hold a certain amount of liquid quarts, but don’t purchase anything smaller than a 15 quart canner, which will usually hold 7 quart jars. I think mine is a 21 quart canner. It holds either 7 quarts, or 20 pints stacked on top of each other. A good pressure canner is worth its weight in gold. It will be well worth the investment.

For used canners, check the internet. If you buy a used canner, be sure to have the gauge tested at your County Extension Center or buy a new gauge. This will ensure that you are cooking at the right pressure and your food will be safe. Some canners have a rubber gasket in the lid (mine does) that will need to be checked each year for cracks. Some people prefer a canner with a metal to metal lid, so they don't have to worry about the gasket. A canner is a great investment even if you’re not doing food storage because canning meat will save time (no need to pull out the frozen meat to thaw) money (shopping the sales) and a good canner will last forever. I have one that is over 40 years old that was given to my sister. Thankfully she is letting me keep it.

Canning Meats: A pint bottle will hold 1 pound of meat, a quart will hold 2 pounds. Be careful about using old bottles (those purchased at yard sales of the D.I.). Only use new jars, or jars that you purchased new. Old jars might crack under the pressure. Invest in some new jars when you first start canning and reuse them over and over. Every now and then the Sunday paper has great coupons to stock up on bottles. I buy the bottles in bulk at the grocery store when they go on sale. With a coupon it is about $5 a case.

In canning meats, you can either use the hot pack, or the raw pack method. With the exception of ground meats, I much prefer the raw pack method. It is faster, and I like the texture better. Put your raw meat and 1/4-3/4 tsp of salt into a clean jar. Jars do not need to be sterilized, but they need to be clean! Fill jars to ½” from the rim. No other spices should be added. With the exception of ground meats, no water is added to the meat. In a small pan, boil the lids for about 2 minutes to soften the rubber seal. Make sure the rim of the jar is completely clean before you put the heated lid and ring on. Tighten the ring down finger tight. Place your tray in the bottom of the canner, and then pour about three inches of water in. Place your jars in the canner on the tray (you can stack pints on top of each other- just make sure that they do not sit directly on one another- try to stagger them). Next, tighten the lid, making sure the top is even, and turn your stove on high. Don’t put the weight on the pressure valve until steam has spouted out of the valve for about 10-12 minutes. This expresses the air out of the jars and the canner. After expressing the air, put the weight onto the pressure valve. For Utah County altitudes, it is 13 pounds. For other altitudes, check your manual. If you have an older canner, there may not be a weight but there will be some kind of pressure release mechanism. Keep this mechanism open to express the canner then close it to begin your pressure. When the gauge gets to the correct pressure, (according to your altitude) begin timing...75 minutes for pints and 90 minutes for quarts (Fish is 15 min longer). This is the formula for all meats. You will need to immediately start turning down the heat to keep the pressure stable and continue turning it down over the allotted time. Keep the gauge at the correct pressure. When the pressure drops or increases, a vacuum effect causes the juices in the jar to be pulled out. Do not leave your canner. I have found that using a propane camp stove keeps the pressure more even than my kitchen stove. At the end of the 75 or 90 minutes your heat should be at a very low level and you will then turn the heat completely off. Move the canner off the heat, and just let the pressure go down on its own. When it’s back to zero, release the pressure valve (or remove the weight) take off the lid, put the jars on the counter away from cool drafts and wait for them to seal. You’ll hear a “plink” when the lids seal correctly. If a jar doesn’t seal, you can either refrigerate it for later use or re-bottle it using a new lid. When they are cool, wipe the bottles clean, remove the ring and put them back in the box for storage. Ground meats have a better texture if you brown them first, pack loosely in the jars, cover with broth and process. When canning cooked meats (like leftover Thanksgiving turkey), add a soup broth before canning. Ham makes very little juice, so don’t worry if the juice doesn’t cover all the meat. Don’t bottle spiral cut hams, use a shank cut and don’t add salt. Don’t bottle turkey hams or other processed meats like bologna or hot dogs.

Pressure Canning Vegetables

Yummy! Nothing like home canned vegetables from the garden. ALL VEGETABLES MUST BE PROCESSED IN A PRESSURE CANNER!

• Select the best quality vegetables at the peak of maturity for best results. Remember, the quality of the finished product will never be better than what you start with.
  
• Process as soon as possible after picking.
• Sort vegetables for size, and remove any that are under ripe, over ripe, bruised, or blemished.
• Wash thoroughly.
• Check jars to make sure there are no cracks or chips and check closure bands for dents or rust.
• Wash jars and bands in hot, soapy water and rinse well.
• Follow manufacturer’s directions for correct preparation of lids.
• Read and follow manufacturer’s directions for the canner you are using. If your pressure canner uses a dial gauge, have the gauge tested annually for accuracy.
  

Generally, correct pressure canner methods include:

1. Add two (2) inches of boiling water to the bottom of cooker.
2. Add jars (my pressure canner holds either 7 quarts or 19 pints that are stacked)
3. Put lid on pressure canner. Do not put pressure regulator on at this point.
   
4. Exhaust steam for 10‐12 minutes.
5. Close petcock and bring pressure to that recommended for your altitude.
6. Start processing time as soon as correct pressure is reached.
7. Check gauge often to make sure adequate pressure is maintained. If using a weighted gauge canner, listen for the jiggle or rocking of the weight that indicates correct pressure.
8. Remove canner from heat at end of processing time.
9. Allow canner to cool naturally. A pressure canner may take 30‐45 minutes took cool. Do not force cool a pressure canner.
10. Wait an additional two minutes before opening your pressure canner after the cooker has cooled sufficiently to decrease the pressure inside. Then, remove the weight or open the petcock to make sure there is no more pressure inside.
11. Carefully remove the canner lid by lifting the far side first. Using this method allows any remaining steam to vent away from the user.
12. Remove jars and place away from cold drafts on a rack or folded cloth where air can freely circulate.

Tip: Use care if you have a smooth top stove. It is not recommended to use this type of stove for canning, as the weight of the full canner can crack the stovetop. I have used this type of stove for years with never a problem, but just so you know.... This past year I purchased a "Kamp Kitchen" gas stove for canning. I keep it in my garage. What a difference! I will never use my smooth top again. The gas Kamp Kitchen was so much smoother. It brought it up to pressure faster, and kept it at the correct pressure really easily.

Click here to see how long to pressure can each vegetable.