Canning Season!

It is that time of year again to begin canning! As promised I said I would post some quick canning recipes for everyone!

First off I use both a pressure canner and a water bath canner. 

For canning pickles or anything pickled I use the water bath canner. 

For canning tomatoes or beets I used the pressure canner. 

-When canning tomatoes:

--- Get a pot of water boiling

--- Add the tomatoes

--- Boil about 2-5 minutes or until the skins start to split

---Transfer them to an ice cold bowl of water

--- Peel the skins off 

--- Dice or chop or puree or leave the tomatoes whole

--- Put them into some mason jars with a bit of salt (make sure they are sterilized-- sterilization techniques can be easily googled)

--- Wipe of the rim

--- Put the lids and rings on

--- Once you have filled all of you cans put them in the pressure canner

--- Put the lid on the canner and be sure that it is sealed

--- Allow the pressure to build up to the 10 mark then let it be there for about 10 -15 minutes

--- Turn off the burner and let the pressure slowly make its way out of the canner

-To Can Beets

--- Peel a bunch of raw beats

--- Slice, dice, or leave the beets whole

--- Place them in the mason jars (sterilized) with a bit of salt

--- Add water leaving about 1/2- 1 inch of head space

--- Put them in the pressure canner

--- Allow the pressure to get to about 10 and let it boil there for about 15-20 minutes

--- Turn the burner off and allow the pressure to slowly work its way out

To make pickles!

--- First get yourself some good pickling cucumbers (I got mine from the farmers market)

--- Wash them really good in cold water, scrub the little suckers down

--- Chop some fresh garlic 

--- Add about 1 tsp - 1 tbsp of pickling spice (blend you can find in the canning section at the stores), 1 tbsp pickling salt, garlic, and some fresh sprigs of dill to the containers (I use 1/2 gallon mason gars)

--- Layer in the pickles (think of a the game jenga here)

--- Make a mixture of 2 parts water and 1 part vinegar and pour them into the jars over the pickles

--- Place the lids and rings on the containers

--- Put them in the water bath canner (that is already boiling) for about 15 minutes

--- Let them sit in your pantry for about 6 month to a year for the best flavors!

^^^ if you want to make other pickled veggies...

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