Canning Nutty Plum Conserve - Suitable for any Canbassador Reception

 I recently was given the opportunity to serve as an Official Canbassador for the Washington State Fruit Commission... exciting! They contacted me via email and asked if I, as a canning blogger, would care to receive a box of Washington State fruit... they, in turn, asked if I would can it in any way I wished and then write about it in my blog. I was honored to do so. This is a part of a promotion to spread the word about delicious Washington fruit throughout the country. I was delighted to receive my box of fruit, containing nectarines, peaches, and plums, and searched for a special way to preserve this bounty.

The plums were used to create Nutty Plum Conserve... here's what I did...

I halved and pitted 5 pounds of plums

...and chopped 2 cups walnuts (pecans could be used, I had walnuts on hand)

Is this not the cutest little nut chopper!? It belonged to
Mr. G's mother and I am now proud to use it!

In a large, deep, stainless steel saucepan I combined the plums with

6-3/4 cups granulated sugar

4 cups raisins

2 Tbsp. orange zest

1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (the juice of one orange)

1/4 cup bottled lemon juice

I brought the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, then reduced the heat and boiled gently, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickened (about 35 minutes).

I then stirred in the 2 cups of chopped walnuts...

...and continued boiling gently for another 5 minutes. Then tested the mixture for gel.

To test for gel stage, you can do one of three things... 1) using a candy thermometer, cook soft spread until it reaches 220 degrees F. 2) The Sheet Test... dip a cold spoon into the mixture, lift it and hold horizontally so the syrup runs off the edge, it's ready when the syrup runs off in a sheet instead of drops. or 3) Chill a saucer in the freezer and place a teaspoonful of the syrup on the saucer and freeze for one minute. Remove from the freezer and push the mixture with your finger... if it is gelled, it will be set and the surface will will wrinkle when the edge is pushed. 

Once the mixture had reached gel stage, I began filling my hot, sterilized half pint jars, leaving a 1/4 inch headspace, removing air bubbles as necessary and adding more conserve as needed to adjust headspace. I wiped the jar rims with a damp cloth and tightened on my hot lids and bands to fingertip tightness.

I processed the jars of conserve 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 waited 5 minutes, then 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.

The recipe I used said it would make about 8 eight-ounce jars... I ended up with 10.

I took some jars of this soft spread to the ladies I work with... one of the ladies came in the next morning and told me she opened her jar to taste it... and "forget toast or a bagel! I ate about a fourth of the jar just with a spoon, it was so good!" I call that "success in canning!"

For a printable copy of this recipe click here.

Please feel free to check out the following websites and resources:

The Art of Canning - uga.edu

Culinary and Food Reception - ciachef.edu

Culinary Furniture and Reception Furniture - ucsd.edu

Reception Furniture - beyondtheofficedoor.com

Reception Furniture for Food Halls - maine.edu

For more information on the Washington State Fruit Commission go to www.sweetpreservation.com

Canning Pork N Beans

My garden is pretty much finished, still getting a little okra and peppers once in awhile, but nothing to can... so when I got the itch to can something recently, I headed towards my dry bean stock... Pork 'n' Beans!

Here's what I did...

I recently learned from a reader that there is an easier way to can beans than to soak overnight, cook part way and can... this is so easy and turns out so nicely, I'll never go back to the traditional way ever again!

For 8 pint jars of pork 'n' beans...

I used about 2 pounds (+ or -) of dried Navy beans...

In each hot, sterilized pint canning jar, I added

1/2 cup Navy beans (just dry, straight out of the bag! Well, actually, I DID rinse and sort through them)

I chopped two medium onions and divided them evenly among the 8 jars (something like 2-3 Tablespoons of onion per jar)

In a large stainless steel saucepan I mixed my sauce using...

2-15 oz. cans tomato sauce (you could use homemade)

1/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 teaspoons prepared yellow mustard

2 tablespoons molasses (you could use honey, corn syrup... or any other liquid sweetener)
3 cups water

I brought this mixture to a boil, stirring to make sure everything was dissolved.

I added one cup of the sauce to each pint jar of beans. At this point, 1/2 teaspoon of salt could be added to each jar, I chose to leave out the salt because I added, instead, a small piece of salt pork to each jar (fatback or bacon can be used)

Next I filled the remainder of each jar with boiling water, leaving a generous one inch headspace.

I wiped my jar rims with a damp cloth and tightened on my hot lids to fingertip tightness, then processed the jars in my pressure canner at 10 lbs. pressure for 75 minutes.

After processing, I allowed my canner to cool naturally and the pressure to drop to zero... then waited 10 more minutes before removing the weighted gauge and taking the lid off the canner.

Then I removed the jars from the canner using my jar lifter... setting them on a folded dish towel on the counter to cool and to listen for the PING of each successfully sealed jar. Yay!

Pork 'N' Beans! Great with so many things... an easy side dish for an easy quick meal!

For a printable copy of this recipe, click here.

Canning Chicken Wing Sauce

 Down to the last tomatoes in the garden and I was looking for something yummy to make when I came across a recipe for Chicken Wing Sauce... Hmmm... sounded delicious and could be used for more than just wings... it would make a great baking sauce for chicken pieces. On with the project!

Here's what I did...

I chopped and cored

10 cups of tomatoes

and added...

2 cups chopped onion
1/3 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

 I brought the mixture to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Then reduced the heat and boiled gently, stirring occasionally for 30 minutes. I removed it from the heat and let it cool slightly, then put the mixture through a food mill to remove the seeds and peels.

I returned the pureed mixture to my stainless steel saucepan and added...

1-1/2 cups white vinegar
4 tsp. salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. ground allspice
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. ground ginger

I brought the mixture to a boil over high heat, then reduced the heat and boiled gently, stirring occasionally until the mixture was the consistency of a thin commercial sauce (it reduced by about half), about an hour.

I ladled the hot sauce into my hot sterilized pint jars, leaving a half inch headspace. I removed any air bubbles and adjusted the headspace if needed by adding more sauce. I wiped the rims with a damp cloth, then tightened the lids on to fingertip tightness.

I processed the jars in a boiling water bath, ensuring the jars were completely covered with water, brought the water to a boil and processed for 15 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. Yummy!

The recipe I followed stated it would make 8-8 ounce jars... I canned it in pints and ended up with 5 pints.

For a printable copy of this recipe, click here.

I Made the Front Page! (with my Palm Fruit Jelly)

We jammin' in the front yard

Here I am in front of the Columbia Star office building underneath the
Pindo Palm, with what's left of a jar of Palm Fruit Jelly.

From the front page August 31 edition of The Columbia Star 

By Warren Hughes

Pam Staples remembers the long ago warmth of the country kitchen where she and the women of her family gathered for the annual ritual to preserve the summer fruits and vegetables.

The yearly practice in her grandmother’s mountain kitchen in western North Carolina was not only a culinary joy, it was also an economic habit that would ensure the large and extended family would have an abundance of vegetables, soups, and preserves from the gardens and orchards nearby to savor and sustain them in the long winter months to come.  

The resilience and resourcefulness of her grandmother, Annie Jackson Smith, are a pivotal and lasting influence in Pam’s life. When she and her husband, Hugh, set up housekeeping in Ridgeway, those memories of what a home should be served as an inspiration. Ridgeway might not have the mountain views, but the nurturing nature of her grandmother’s gardening hand and the inspired flavor of her table offerings are the same. 

“She was the best cook and homemaker I have ever known and the total pillar of the family,” Pam recalls. “She could always do absolutely everything from drying tears to milking cows, and everybody called on her for whatever the need was from a baby’s birth to a serious illness.”

 Pam also reflects her grandmother’s genetic stamp of practical thrift and economic resourcefulness. When the economy took a downward turn, and food prices rose with the price of farm to market transport, Pam was undaunted and stepped up her pace with her natural frugality to keep the pantry full of delectable offerings that would last.

One evening, when Pam was about her tasks, her husband affectionately called her “Canning Granny” in deference to her grandmother’s influence and Pam’s own natural talent. Recognizing that his wife’s gift was special and her skill a dying art, he suggested  she ought to start a computer blog to share her knowledge with others. “Hugh is my biggest supporter,” she fondly observes, and he no doubt is a most appreciative beneficiary of her efforts,  

As her devoted fan, one could say a star was born that night. Following her husband’s advice, she shared on Facebook she was starting a blog on canning and preserving. Almost immediately, there was an enthusiastic cadre eagerly accessing her posts. The numbers quickly grew into the hundreds, and today there are some 17,000 from across the world including followers from Europe, South America, and Australia as well as in the United States. 

While she reveres the values of the past, Pam, like most women, recognizes the necessity of staying on the cutting edge and possesses an impressive array of modern technology and computer skills. When she entered the job market in Columbia, she brought journalistic experience with her as a former employee of the Tryon, N.C, Bulletin, a talent quickly recognized by The Columbia Star publisher Mimi  Maddock, who hired her as assistant editor.  

Even with her daily professional responsibilities and newspaper deadlines, Pam, like her mountain forebears, always has her eye out for those environmental features she can appropriate for some practical and desirable use. The pindo palm tree at the entrance of The Columbia Star’s Shandon office did not escape her observant eye. Linda Sosbee, the financial manager, pointed out to the staff how sweet the plum-like fruit smelled. Pam’s mind immediately started spinning wondering how the fruit  would taste and what she could do with it. 

Her research revealed the fruit was non-poisonous and considered edible. If it could be done, Pam could do it. If marooned on an island as shipwrecked castaways, the survivors could only hope that someone with Pam’s resourcefulness would be among them. As Pam’s colleagues will attest, the jam that resulted from her experiment with the palm’s fruit is a sweet but tart prizewinner worthy of a blue ribbon at the State Fair.

Country biscuits brought to the office topped with the creation made for a great coffee break treat.  

With school starting, her recipe for Sloppy Joes is enticing and with cold winter nights on the horizon. Her vegetable soup mix makes for some real comfort food just like granny used to make. Find her on Facebook, her blog at http://canninggranny. blogspot.com/ or pinterest at http://pinterest.com /source/canninggranny.blogspot.com/.

And if you'd like the recipe... here 'tis...

Palm Fruit Jelly

3 quarts ripe palm fruit

6 cups water

Simmer fruit in the water in a large saucepan until fruit is softened, about 30 minutes, crushing fruit with a potato masher as it cooks to release juices.

Strain fruit through several layers of cheesecloth, discard fruit, measure juice collected.

In a large stainless steel saucepan mix:

5-1/2 cups fruit juice

1 box powdered pectin (Sure Jel)

Bring mixture to a boil over high heat. When liquid reaches a full, rolling boil add all at once...

7-1/2 cups sugar

Bring back to a full, rolling boil and boil, stirring constantly, for one minute. Remove from heat and fill hot, sterilized half pint jelly jars to within 1/4 inch of the rim. Tighten hot, sterilized lids and rings on to fingertip tightness.

Process jars in a boiling water bath... ensure jars are completely covered with water, bring water to a boil, reduce heat to a gentle boil and boil, covered, for 10 minutes. After processing, remove jars from water using a jar lifter and set on a folded dish towel or cooling rack on the counter to cool and to seal.

For a printable copy of this recipe, click here.

Canning Carrots

This year we planted and harvested our very first crop of carrots... we didn't get very many and they were pretty small... but we are proud of them just the same!

I pulled the rest of them recently and decided to can them even though there weren't many...

Here's what I did...

I scrubbed and peeled all my little carrots, then sliced them up.

I prepared my pint canning jars by boiling them in water and kept my lids simmering and hot until I was ready for them.

I raw packed the carrots (packed them without cooking them!) into the hot pint canning jars.

I added a half teaspoon of canning salt to each jar.

Then filled each jar with boiling water, leaving a half inch headspace. I checked for air bubbles, removed them with a plastic chopstick and added more boiling water if needed to adjust the headspace.

I wiped the jar rims with a damp cloth, then tightened the hot lids on to fingertip tightness.

I processed the jars of carrots in my pressure canner at 10 pounds of pressure for 25 minutes.

When the jars completed processing, I allowed my pressure canner to cool down on its own and allowed the pressure to drop to zero before opening the canner and removing the jars with my jar lifter.

I set the jars of pretty orange carrots on a folded dish towel on the counter to cool... and to listen for the PING of each successfully sealed jar.

Canning Sloppy Joe Sauce

For a quick meal on a busy workday, Sloppy Joes can't be beat... What if you could have your own homemade Sloppy Joe Sauce on hand to mix with a pound of ground beef for a tasty, nutritious meal. And you know exactly what's in it! Sounds yummy and when a reader posted her recipe for Sloppy Joe Sauce I had to make it.

Here's what I did...

I cored and quartered

1 gallon of tomatoes

Then chopped...

2 cups celery

2 cups onions
1-1/2 cups bell peppers

I put all the vegetables into my big stainless steel stock pot and brought the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Once it was boiling, I reduced the heat and boiled gently for about 30 minutes until all the vegetables were soft.

Then, working in small batches, I ran the mixture through a food mill...

I cooked this mixture down until it was reduced by half.

Then I added...

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup corn syrup

1 clove minced garlic
1Tbsp. paprika
1 Tbsp. canning salt

1/2 cup vinegar (white or apple cider... I chose apple cider, I like the flavor!)

I brought the mixture back to a boil, then reduced the heat and boiled gently until it was the thickness I desired, (took about an hour) stirring frequently to keep from scorching.

In the meantime, I prepared my pint canning jars and lids... boiling the jars and keeping them hot until I was ready to use them... and keeping the lids simmering and hot until I was ready for them.

I filled the hot pint jars with the hot mixture, leaving a half inch headspace.

I wiped the jar rims with a damp cloth, then tightened the hot lids on to fingertip tightness.

I processed the jars in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes (quarts would be processed for 35 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, of course, to listen for the music of the PING! of each successfully sealed jar.

Yummy! Sloppy Joe night will taste better than ever!

I got 5 pints of sauce with this recipe.

For a printable copy of this recipe, click here.

Canning Peach Salsa

According to the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving, peach salsa is "a refreshing change... and can be a nutritious topping for ice cream. For something quite different, try it on graham crackers, pancakes, or waffles, or rolled up in a crêpe with a dollop of whipped cream." It has some heat to it, so I'm sure it would be wonderful with a bag of tortilla chips as well!

Here's what I did...

I peeled, pitted, and diced 6 cups of peaches, then in my large, stainless steel saucepan I combined...

1/2 cup white vinegar

... and the 6 cups diced peaches

I added 1-1/4 chopped onion

4 jalapeño peppers, finely chopped (I left the seeds and veins in the peppers because I was going for HEAT! If you prefer a milder salsa, remove the seeds and veins from the peppers before chopping)
AND... always remember to wear gloves when chopping hot peppers!

1 seeded and chopped red bell pepper

1/2 cup loosely packed, finely chopped cilantro (I might have used a little more than half a cup)

2 Tbsp. liquid honey (that's what the recipe called for, LIQUID honey, that's the only honey I know!)

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1-1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

I brought the mixture to a boil over medium high heat, stirring constantly. I reduced the heat and boiled gently, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened (about 5-10 minutes).

In my previously prepared, washed, sterilized and heated pint jars, I ladled the hot salsa mixture, leaving a half inch headspace.

I wiped the jar rims and tightened my hot lids on to fingertip tightness.

I placed the jars in a boiling water bath canner, ensuring they were completely covered with water. I brought it to a boil and processed for 15 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 music of the PING of each successfully sealed jar!

This recipe makes 4 pint or 8 half pint jars.

For a printable copy of this recipe, click here.

Canning Muscadine Juice (Mama's Easy Way)

Muscadines are a wild grape (for you who are not familiar with them) that grow all over the Southeast. Growing up in Western N.C., we picked muscadines in September and Mama made juice... really more like a "juice cocktail" that was so easy to make and SO good to drink!

Here in the Midlands of S.C., at least in my yard, we have a muscadine variety that ripens earlier than I'm accustomed to... last summer was our first summer in our new home and we missed the muscadines (birds ate well!) because I was in denial that they could be ripe in July! Well they are and we picked a few recently (many are way to high up and I haven't found a way to get to them just yet... birds may beat me to them again, but I'll get the lower ones!)

Anyhow, here's how I made my juice

I heated my quart jars and lids and boiled a big pot of water...

Then...

In each hot quart jar I put...

One cup of grapes (rinsed well)

And...

One half cup of sugar

Then...

I filled each jar to within a half inch of the top with boiling water.

I tightened my hot lids and rings onto the jars (I gave them a little swish and shake to make sure the sugar dissolved)

Then I processed the jars in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes.

Mama always canned this juice in half gallon jars (so if you're fortunate enough to have half gallon jars, double the amount and go for it!) My brother still cans this juice every September, and in the same tradition as Mama, he doesn't let anyone open a jar until Thanksgiving! We always have Muscadine Juice on Thanksgiving.

The juice does need to sit for at least two months so the juices and sugar can blend... it starts out a pale barely pink color, but within a few weeks begins to darken to a gorgeous deep ruby red. And it's so yummy!

When it comes time to drink the juice, we strain out the grapes and enjoy the yummy juice!

We have always made this from our local wild muscadines, but the same method can be used with any grape... and maybe other fruits. Dunno, never tried it!

Muscadine Juice after sitting for a week... it will continue to
darken and strengthen the flavor.