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!

Storing Onions

I think one of the best ways to save money on my food budget is to not let food go bad!  Obviously when it goes bad, it must be discarded, therefore throwing money away.  This fall, I harvested about 100 onions from my garden.  Although we love onions, we can't eat that many in the very near future, nor do I have fridge space for them.  A great way to store them to last through the winter months, is to put them in old nylons!  This keeps the air circulating to the onions, as well as keeps them from touching one another.  Simply cut the old nylons in half, so the legs are separated.  Put an onion in, working it to the very toe of the nylon.  Tie a knot.  Put the next one in, etc.  I then tie the two legs back together and hang them in my garage. When you need an onion, just cut the bottom one off!  Stored this way, they will last through the winter months.  Note:  when you are putting the onions in the nylons, make sure you don't put any in that are soft, or that the stems are growing.  They won't last!  Just use them up.

This is also a great way to stock up when onions go on sale.  I saw yellow onions at the grocery store on sale for $3.99 for a 25 pound bag!  Fabulous!  much better than paying .69 cents per pound!

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.

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.