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Canning

6/12/2016

I've learned that canning is not only a way to provide your family with wholesome and chemical free food, but the doing of it can be fun. "In any job that must be done, there is an element of fun. You find the fun and <snap> the job's a game" Mary Poppins. Canning is most fun when you do it with someone. Usually that's my husband but in the last several years I've also shared my joy of canning with my daughter and with a few of my friends. If I'm canning alone, I play my favorite music ... loudly and dance around the kitchen in between process steps. Silly? yes, but fun.
A few canning tips:

read the recipe through before you start. It's important to know that you have the correct ingredients as well as what to add, when to add them and the cooking/process time at each step.
get all your equipment (jars, lids, rings, canner etc. together before you start.
make sure you are using the correct and safest process (waterbath or pressure canner) for what you are canning. Jams, jellies and fermented foods can safely be processed in a waterbath canner. Low acid foods (all vegetables except for most tomatoes, soups, stews, stocks, meats, poultry, and seafood MUST be processed in a pressure canner. Two great resources for proper canning methods are The National Center for Home Food Preservation (nchfp.uga.edu) and the Ball canning site (www.freshpreserving.com) USE THEM

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Making Sauerkraut

6/1/2016

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Yesterday I picked up two glass crocks and eight heads of cabbage at Walmart. You guessed it, sauerkraut! It is perhaps the easiest vegetable to ferment and, if you like sauerkraut, there is no comparison between homemade and store bought. I used the 4mm slicer with my Cuisinart and ended up with 16 pounds of sliced cabbage. I took a minute to pat myself on the back. Wow! 16 pounds of cabbage AND two loads of laundry washed and hung out on the line in the span of an hour. Then I thought of my grandmothers and great grandmothers who did it all by hand, including the laundry while doing even more household chores. It was a humbling experience.
Silently thanking my grandmothers (and my mother for passing on the knowledge and the desire to follow in their footsteps, I finished prepping the cabbage. I added 3 and a half Tablespoons of sea salt per 6 pounds of cabbage,tossed it to mix, and divided it evenly between the two crocks. For the next hour, I periodically pushed the cabbage down with a wooden spatula as it made it's own brine. Fermenting cabbage needs to be completely covered in brine for the process to work correctly. In the event that enough brine is not made, you can make additional brine by adding 3 Tablespoons of sea salt to a quart of water, bringing it to a boil and then cooling to room temperature. Add ONLY enough brine to cover the cabbage. Cover the mixture with a clean linen cloth (or cheese cloth, overturn a small plate and add a weight to keep the cabbage submerged. I use a rock...a very clean rock.
Much to my family's chagrin, the crock will sit covered in a dark corner of my kitchen counter fermenting for the next three weeks. For some reason, that corner of the kitchen works best. As long as you don't uncover it, there is no odor. At the end of three weeks, I'll taste it and if ready, can in pint jars using the water bath method. As soon as I figure out how, I'll post a pic. Thanks to my son.... and resident IT this website and everything I do in it exists.

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Canning

Making Sauerkraut

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