Canning Potatoes

Someone asked me recently when I said I was canning potatoes... "Why? Why would you want to can potatoes, they're so readily available, inexpensive, and they keep a good long while?"

Well, I'm glad you asked!

We grew our first crop of potatoes this year... and we are very proud of that fact! When potatoes are ready, they're ready and we dug them all in one day... almost 100 pounds of them. We don't have a cool, dark cellar or any other cool, dark place to store them and we certainly didn't want them to rot... we worked too hard growing them... AND while digging potatoes, there's always the likelihood that you'll cut or stab a few of them with your garden shovel or digging tools and potatoes don't typically last very long once they've been cut or stabbed (and we cut quite a few!)... so in order to prevent losing the cut potatoes, so we decided to can most of them... plus home-canned potatoes are delicious and will be so convenient to have on hand... just heat and eat, add butter, mash, drain and fry, drain and mix up a potato salad... the possibilities are endless. My brother began canning potatoes a few years ago and although he shares a lot of his canned goods with the rest of the family, he won't share his canned potatoes... he enjoys them THAT much!

Here's what I did...

The hardest part of canning that many potatoes is cleaning them (my plan was to can them with the skins on)... I don't know what the dirt is like in your neck of the woods, but in my garden there's mostly beautiful red clay... that stays moist even on the driest day... and clings to potatoes...

I started out by sorting out the ones I wanted to keep for eating on... the blemish free, good-sized ones to store in a basket in my kitchen...

Then the washing/scrubbing began... I started out with the spuds in baskets and spraying them with the water hose, then I filled the wheelbarrow with them and sprayed them some more... to get rid of most of the dirt before I even brought them inside the house...

I have no pictures of that part of the process... I got a fair amount of the wet, clingy dirt on me and it was NOT a pretty picture! I wouldn't even let myself in the house with those muddy clothes on! Straight into the laundry with those filthy pants... I'm sure someone with more finesse and grace than I have could have remained dirt and grime-free while washing a bushel of potatoes, but alas, I am who I am!

After the outdoor scrub... and a shower and change of clothes for myself... I dumped the taters into the sink and scrubbed them with a brush... then rinsed them... filling the sink several times and rinsing and rinsing yet again... until I had scrubbed them clean.

Once they were all scrubbed and clean, I began preparing them... I trimmed all the bad spots, rotten spots, and cut spots off... I cut them in large dices (maybe an inch to 1-1/2 inches?)... depending on the size of the potato... the tiny ones were left whole or cut in half. I cut them into a pot filled with cool water so they wouldn't turn brown. After I got a pot full, I drained the water out and gave them another little rinse and refilled the pot with clean water.

I brought them to a boil over medium high heat... and boiled them gently for about 5-10 minutes... heated through but not soft.

I then drained them and discarded the cooking liquid.

I packed the hot potatoes into hot quart jars...

...then ladled fresh boiling water to cover the potatoes, leaving a half inch headspace.

I added salt to my potatoes (this step is optional)... 1 teaspoon canning salt per quart jar.

I wiped the jar rims with a damp cloth...

I tightened the hot lids on to fingertip tightness.

Then processed them in my pressure canner at 10 pounds of pressure for 40 minutes (pints would be 35 minutes)

After processing, I removed the jars from the canner using my jar lifter.

...and set them on a folded towel on the counter to cool... and to listen for the PING! of each successfully sealed jar... Music to my ears!!!!!

A grand total of 26 quarts of delicious potatoes!

Lemony Pickles

“Reading is one form of escape. Running for your life is another.”  

–Lemony Snicket

When I found this recipe for Lemony Pickles, it made me think of Lemony Snicket... maybe I'll call them Lemony Snickets!

Here's what I did...

In my large stainless steel bowl, I mixed 14 cups of veggies (cucumbers and yellow squash this time... any number of combinations of fresh vegetables would work nicely... or just cukes)

4 red bell peppers, seeded and thinly sliced
and
2 Tbsp. canning and pickling salt

I mixed it all together well, covered the mixture with ice water and let it stand at room temperature for 3 hours.

In the meantime...

I made a spice bag using a square of cheesecloth... I added

1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp. black peppercorns
1 tsp. whole allspice

I tied it all up in the spice bag and set it aside.

In a large stainless steel saucepan, I combined

3/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

1-1/4 cup granulated sugar

1-1/3 cup white vinegar

I added the spice bag to the brine mixture and brought it to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. I reduced the heat and boiled gently for a few minutes (recipe said 7 minutes, I think I went a little longer).

Then (after the 3 hour ice water soak) I drained the vegetables in a colander...

I added the veggies to the brine mixture and brought it all back to a boil, then discarded the spice bag.

After heating my pint jars and lids I added to each hot jar...

1 slice of lemon
1 bay leaf
1 clove garlic

I packed the vegetables into the hot jars to within a generous half inch headspace. I ladled the hot pickling juice into the jar to cover the veggies, removing air bubbles and adjusting headspace as necessary. I wiped the rim with a damp cloth and tightened the lids on to fingertip tightness.

I processed the jars in a boiling water bath... ensuring they were completely covered with water, I brought the water to a boil and processed for 10 minutes.

After processing, I removed the jars from the canner using my jar lifter and set them on a folded dish towel on the counter to cool, and to listen for the PING of each successfully sealed jar!

According to the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving... "If you find traditional pickles too astringent, try this refreshing alternative. Lemon juice provides a unique flavor, and a touch of sugar takes the bite out of the vinegar. For best flavor, let these pickles 'mature' for 4-6 weeks before using."

For a printable copy of this recipe, click here.

Zesty Zucchini Relish

I came across a tasty sounding recipe for Zesty Zucchini Relish... "it makes a great accompaniment to bratwursts hot off the grill"... I had zucchini from the garden so I made it... here's what I did...

I shredded all the zucchini I had on hand after eating it for days and sending some to work with Mr. G for his work pals...

The recipe called for 12 cups finely chopped zucchini (I shredded it using my shredder attachment on my KitchenAid)

There wasn't quite enough...

So I shredded enough yellow squash to make 12 cups

Then I shredded

4 cups onions

I added

2 red bell peppers, seeded and diced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced

In my big stainless steel mixing bowl, I combined the squash, onions and peppers with

1/3 cup canning and pickling salt

I covered the bowl and let it sit in a (relatively) cool place (70-75 degrees) overnight (12 hours)

Next morning, I transferred the mixture to a colander and drained it.

I rinsed with cool water, and drained it again, thoroughly... using my hands to squeeze out the excess liquid...

In a large stainless steel saucepan, I combined the drained zucchini (squash) mixture with

2-1/2 cups granulated sugar

2-1/2 cups white vinegar

1 Tbsp. ground nutmeg

1 Tbsp. ground turmeric

4 Tbsp. prepared horseradish

and 1 chili pepper, including seeds, chopped (I used a jalapeno pepper since it was what I had on hand from the garden)... When cutting hot peppers, wear rubber gloves to keep your hands from being burned!

The recipe recommends using cayenne or Holland (Dutch) chili peppers if you prefer a hotter relish. If you like a milder relish, use varieties such as yellow wax or New Mexico.

I brought the mixture to a boil over medium high heat, stirring occasionally. I reduced the heat and boiled gently, stirring frequently, until the liquid reduced and the mixture became the consistency of a thin commercial relish (about 45 minutes).

I ladled the hot relish into hot pint canning jars, leaving a half inch headspace.

I removed any air bubbles by running a butter knife between the inside of the jar and the contents, adding more relish if needed.

I wiped the jar rims with a damp cloth.

I tightened the hot lids on to fingertip tightness.

I placed the jars in my canner, ensuring they were completely covered with water. I brought the water to a boil and processed the jars for 15 minutes in the boiling water bath.

After processing, I removed the jars of relish using my jar lifter and set them on a folded dish towel on the counter to cool... and to listen for the PING of each successfully sealed jar.

The recipe said it would make about 5 pint jars... I only got 4 pints with some left over, which I put in the fridge for us to eat... VERY yummy! Can't wait to try this zesty relish on hot dogs, brats... or with a big bowl of pintos!

Remember, even if you're just getting started with canning you don't need high end tungsten carbide bowls, kitchenware, utensils or anything like that. Just your basic supplies, some garden fruits and vegetables and a good recipe and you could be canning today.

For a printable copy of this recipe, click here.

Dessert Mint Pesto

Garden mint is taking over my little corner of the world! I've been on a quest to find new ways to use this wonderfully aromatic herb. Happened upon a recipe while looking for different pesto recipes and had to give it a try.

2 cups mint leaves
1/2 cup walnuts
1/3 cup honey
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

So out to the herb bed I went and I snipped and snipped, hardly making a dent in the abundance of mint (I think that just rhymed somehow!).

I rinsed my mint and shook it dry...

Then stripped all the leaves off into a measuring bowl...

I had four cups of mint leaves if I pressed down on them.

Pay no attention to all the squash in the background...
it is also trying to take over my world!

So, I doubled the recipe... In my blender I combined the mint leaves...

With the walnuts (any nut will do... Mmmmm Macadamia would be yummo! But I had walnuts... which are yummy too!

I added the honey...

And the vanilla extract (which I made last year, by the way, and it's wonderful! I'll never go back to storebought vanilla! Never!)

Then I blended it all up! This took a little doing and I almost grated the handle of a wooden spoon in there a time or two... but at last I got it all blended and smooth... Oh the SMELL!!!! I wish you could smell the smell!!!  Too bad we don't have smeller-net!

Then I poured (and scraped) it into a couple of freezer cups to store in the freezer (kept some out for eating NOW!)

My imagination is going WILD thinking of things to do with this stuff... I'm thinking sandwiched between two chocolate cookies... stirred in chocolate ice cream... as a filling between two layers of chocolate cake... (am I seeing a chocolate theme here or is that just my imagination?) or just with a spoon right out of the cup (well maybe not, but it's really really good!)

Canning Pickled Beets

Mr. G says that when he lived in Australia, many times instead of tomato slices on hamburgers, they put a slice of sugar beets. When our beets got big enough to harvest, I cooked a few. He seemed a little disappointed since he remembered them being sweeter than the ones I cooked. I decided to pickle some and one variation of the recipe I found was a sweet pickled beet... after consulting with my dear husband, we chose the sweet variation to pickle our first batch of home grown beets...

Here's what I did...

I cooked the beets, leaving the root end and an inch or two of the tops on to prevent them bleeding out.

Once they had simmered for about 30 minutes, I drained them and rinsed in cool water until I was able to handle them comfortably.

I sliced of the root end and the tops and the peels slid right off.

I had every size beet imaginable... some as large as a tennis ball, down to some no bigger than a large marble... the big ones I sliced in 1/4 inch slices, some I left whole, and some I halved or quartered.

I gathered my ingredients together...

The recipe I used said 7 pounds of beets (I only had a little over 3 pounds, so I halved everything)

7 pounds of beets (about 10 cups)
10 whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
Allspice (didn't measure the allspice, I just put a few in)
2-1/2 cups white vinegar
1 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
3 cups sliced onions (optional)

(Like I said before, I halved everything)

For a variation that is not a sweet beet, 3 Tbsp. pickling spice would replace the cloves, cinnamon sticks and allspice... another variation, caraway beets, substitutes 2 Tbsp. caraway seeds and 2 tsp. whole black peppercorns for the pickling spice. And there's always the variation of adding thinly sliced onions to any of the above... I chose to add some onions to mine as well.

I tied my spices into a square of cheesecloth, creating a spice bag.

In a large stainless steel saucepan, I combined the vinegar, water, sugar, onions, and the spice bag. I brought the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. I reduced the heat and boiled gently for 15 minutes, until the spices infused the liquid.

I added the beets to the saucepan and returned the mixture to a boil.

Using a slotted spoon, I ladled the beets and onions into my hot pint jars, leaving a generous 1/2 inch headspace.

I ladled hot pickling liquid into the jars to cover the beets. I removed any air bubbles by running a butter knife between the inside of the jar and the contents, adding more pickling liquid if necessary.

I wiped the jar rims with a damp cloth...

... then put the lids and rings on, tightening the rings to fingertip tightness, and processed in a boiling water bath for 30 minutes... (Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered in water. Bring to a boil and process for 30 minutes)

After processing, I removed the jars from the canner using my jar lifter and set them on a folded dish towel on the counter too cool... and to listen for the PING of each successfully sealed jar.

(since I only had 3 pounds of beets and halved the recipe, I only got 3 pint jars... the entire recipe as it's written above should make about 6 pints)

Pretty Pickled Beets!