As a preperation for homesteading, we are getting ready to learn how to do home canning of food. I've been researching everything I can find about canning on the internet. Canning seems like it would be alot of fun...alot of work too. I guess we'll start off with canning some easy jelly from unsweetened fruit juices. Well, they say it's easy. I remember when I was a kid, my mother would do some canning. I remember the sound of the preassure cooker letting off steam and all of the jars and lids. Mom would do this all weekend.....from the time she woke up saturday until the time she went to bed sunday evening. Mmmmm. Homemade ketchup, tomato juice, jams and jellies, greenbeans.
I'm also interested in food dehydration. home dried apples, jerky, grapes, bananas and strawberries. I f you know of any good recipes or websites with canning or dehydration let me know.
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The first thing I canned was applesauce, and it's super easy.
ReplyDeleteTo wit: peel, core, and chop several pounds of apples (5 lbs of apples roughly equals one pint of sauce). Cook the apples, adding sugar and cinnamon (optional) to taste and just a bit of water to keep everything from sticking to the pan. When the sauce is cooked to the consistency you like (we like ours a bit on the chunky side), ladle it into sterilized jars and add the lids (be sure to wipe off the rims with a damp cloth, because if there's anything between the lid and the jar it won't seal). Put the jars into a pan that's large enough so that there is about an inch of water above the tops of the jars. When the water begins to boil, set your timer for 20 minutes. After twenty minutes remove the jars and let cool. Label the jars, and voila! Home canned applesauce.
Just one word of caution - once you've had your own home-canned sauce, there's no going back to the store-bought stuff ;).