Leon County Cooks: more canning

All you need to can is a large pot and a little time. Be sure the air conditioner is working. Sherry’s Shots Blessings have been many in my life and one of them is to have a history in the sand fields of Leon County. Of course, at the age of 12 living without indoor plumbing, it was difficult to see the blessings in that situation. The kitchens were always hot. The Flo community was rather late getting electricity, but even then no one even knew what air conditioning was. Some of my most precious memories are of summertime and my mother and grandmothers canning. Grandmother Barnett was short and rather rotund, with a fairly large nose. I remember her plowing, hoeing, picking and canning when the temperature always seemed to be above 100 and the sweat dropping from her nose. She probably complained about the heat, but that is not in my memory banks. She probably thought, “Lord, it is hot today, I think I’ll forget about canning in that hot kitchen and let the stuff go to waste.” As far as I know she always took care of business no matter what the temperature.

Canning is a method of preserving food in which the food is processed and sealed in an airtight container. The process was first developed by a French military discovery by Nicolas Appert during Napoleon’s reign in order to keep the solders fed. Napoleon said “An army marches on its stomach.” A true statement and at the time of the Napoleonic Wars there was no way to preserve foods for the large armies, limiting military campaigns during the summer and fall months. Once Napoleon had met his “Waterloo” the canning process was gradually spread throughout the rest of the world.

Last week’s article was on the Canning and Freezing seminar in Centerville. Response was encouraging so I thought this week would be a follow up with more detail on the processes.

Freezing: This is proba- bly the easiest way to preserve fruits and vegetables. Start with good quality gardenfresh products. Equipment needed is a colander plus a large pot, kettle or saucepan with a wire basket. A variety of freezer containers are available. Whatever you choose be sure it is moisture proof and able to withstand temperatures of 0 degrees. Some vegetables should be “blanched” before freezing, so be sure to read your directions.

Boiling Water Canning: This method is used for fruits, tomatoes, pickles, relishes, jams and jellies. Use a large kettle with a lid and a rack designed to hold canning jars. Any large cooking pot can be used if it has a rack and a tight-fitting lid and is deep enough for briskly boiling water to cover the jars by one inch.

Pressure canning: This method is used for vegetables and other low-acid foods. A canner is a large heavy pot with a rack and a tight-fitting lid that has a vent or petcock, a dial or weighted pressure gauge, and a safety fuse. It may or may not have a gasket. Pressure canners allow foods to be heated to 240 or 250 degrees and to be held at that temperature as long as necessary. Each type of pressure canner is different.

Although reaching for a jar of canned goods that you have put up is a satisfying experience, be sure to always inspect the product before you serve. If the jar has leaked, shows patches of mold, or has a swollen lid, or if the food has a foamy or murky appearance, don’t take a chance. Throw it away!!

Bread and Butter Pickles 4 quarts sliced medium cucumbers 8 medium white onions, sliced 1/3 pickling salt 3 cloves garlic, halved Cracked ice 4 cups sugar 3 cups cider vinegar 2 tbsp mustard seed 1 ½ tsp turmeric 1 ½ tsp celery seed

Combine cucumbers, onions, pickling salt, and garlic. Add 2 inches of cracked ice. Refrigerate for 3 hours. Drain well. Remove garlic.

In a large kettle combine sugar, vinegar, mustard seed, turmeric, and celery seed. Heat to boiling. Add cucumber mixture. Return to boiling. Pack cucumber mixture and liquid into hot, sterilized pint jars, leaving a ½ inch headspace. Wipe jar rims; adjust lids.

Process in a boiling-water canner 10 minutes (start timing when water begins to boil). Makes 7 pints (70 servings).

Pepper Jelly 2 to 4 jalapeno peppers, halved and seeded 1 ½ cups cranberry juice cocktail 1 cup vinegar 5 cups sugar ½ of a 6-oz package (1 foil pouch) liquid fruit pectin 5 tiny hot red peppers

In a medium saucepan combine jalapeno peppers, cranberry juice cocktail, and vinegar. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Strain mixture through a sieve, pressing with the back of a spoon to remove all the liquid (you should have 2 cups). Discard pulp.

In a 4-quart pot combine the 2 cups liquid and sugar. Bring to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in pectin and tiny hot red peppers. Return to a full rolling boil; boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Quickly skim off foam with a metal spoon.

Ladle at once into hot, sterilized half-pint jars, leaving a ¼ inch headspace and making sure each jar contains one tiny red pepper. Wipe jar rims; adjust lids. Process in a boiling-water canner for 5 minutes (start timing when water begins to boil). Remove jars and cool on a wire rack till set (2 to 3 days). Makes 5 half-pints.