What a fun morning! Cae purchased a canning kit, and we used the directions that came with it to make our tomatoes. It was much easier than I expected, and I imagine that doing this with a friend makes it more fun.
We had a variety of tomatoes, all organic and local, which we dunked in boiling water until the skin peeled, then placed in a cold bath, making the skin easy to remove. From there, we cored and sliced them and added them to pint jars in which we’d put 1 tablespoon of bottled lemon juice. We packed in the tomatoes, then added a half teaspoon of salt. After removing any air bubbles with a spatula, we cleaned the rims and put on the lids. They processed in their boiling bath for 40 minutes, cooled for five minutes, and now we have to wait 12-24 hours to see if we got the lids right.
My head is spinning with possibility for putting up more local summer goodness. I’m afraid I might come off as a little precious to those for whom canning is a regular activity, but as I said in the last post, the relatives with whom I grew up didn’t do this. They were city folks who were bent on finding ways to make life easier. My dad’s mother, though, fed her large family on their farm in Ohio by canning every year. I wish I’d grown up closer to her so I could have learned at her knee.
I’m enjoying your stories about learning to can/preserve. Please keep them coming, along with any tips you want to share! Next I plan to investigate freezing corn. Isn’t picked-today corn just the best?
I know, isn’t it baffling to see how easy it is? I think I canned everything in sight for 2 Summers in a row. I’ve calmed down a bit now… Have fun!
I’ll write more to the rest soon, I hope. But I’m still tired of pickedtoday corn. My mum (and I) worked at a farm stand for a few summers. The only thing we got free was corn. The only thing we really could afford on the meagre wages was the corn….
I was hoping to do some corn this summer, but my freezer is too full of blueberries and baby food!
My college roommate who comes from the most experienced keeping family I know said just shuck the corn, put it in bags, suck out all the air, and freeze. She said that cooking before freezing just makes it tough and mushy.
I’ve never canned, but reading all about it intrigues me!
Good for you!
Happy blogoversary!
I had a grandmother who canned things and like you, I wished I had learned from her.
We’ve had loads of homegrown tomatoes this year but instead of canning, we just made batch after batch of yummy tomato sauces and froze a lot of it. Tonight, stuffed shells with tomato/roasted red pepper sauce!
I’ve missed you!
…mmm the tomatoes look heavenly! so vibrant and red! you are going to love popping open a jar in the middle of December to make fresh tomato sauce. looks like you did a fab job!
Since we have moved in the last year to Washington, I have froze Raspberries, Strawberries, made jam out of both and recently made Apricot jam when I bought them at a little fruit stand for only 69 cents per pound. I love that kind of thing! Keep at it, I love your pics!
Since we have moved in the last year to Washington, I have froze Raspberries, Strawberries, made jam out of both and recently made Apricot jam when I bought them at a little fruit stand for only 69 cents per pound. I love that kind of thing! Keep at it, I love your pics!
Since we have moved in the last year to Washington, I have froze Raspberries, Strawberries, made jam out of both and recently made Apricot jam when I bought them at a little fruit stand for only 69 cents per pound. I love that kind of thing! Keep at it, I love your pics!
Since we have moved in the last year to Washington, I have froze Raspberries, Strawberries, made jam out of both and recently made Apricot jam when I bought them at a little fruit stand for only 69 cents per pound. I love that kind of thing! Keep at it, I love your pics!
Oh my gosh! I’ve never done this myself, and now you’ve totally inspired me! Time to gather some goodies from the local farm and get going!