2010 Canning Summary

Looking back, I neglecting posting about my canning in 2010. In fact, I hardly photographed it. Here's a list of this year's canning exploits. Much of this was given as gifts during our Christmas travels.


Strawberry Rhubarb Compote 5 (1/2 pints)
Strawberry Preserves (4) 1/2 pints
Strawberry Lavender Jam (2) 1/2 pints - More of this next year
Strawberry Juice (3) pints
Cherry Marmalade (8) 1/2 pints
Cherries in Syrup (2.75) qts,
Asian Pickles (4) pints (These were an experiment and I over-cooked them. Mushy pickles are not so good)
Bread & Butter Zucchini (2) pints
Crock Cured Dill Pickles (3 quarts) This was an interesting experience. I canned half of them and put half in the fridge. My mom says they are too salty so I didn't give any away. I also haven't opened the ones canned to compare the texture. My husband doesn't eat pickles so these are going very slowly.
Bread & Butter Pickles (9) pints
Blueberry Lime Jam (11) 1/2 pints
Lime Juice 1 (1/2) pint
White Grape Juice (4) pints
Dilly Beans (7) pints
Annie's Salsa (22) pints - I was very happy with this recipe. I used only the added tomato paste, not tomato sauce. We made it spicy and with the acid used 1/2 c. cider vinegar 1/4 c.lime juice, 1/4 c. lemon juice for a balanced flavor.
Tomato Sauce (3) quarts
Tomato Juice (2) quarts
Cider Jelly (15) 1/2 pints (pictured above)
Apple Sauce (7) pints

This comes to a total of (49) 1/2 pints, 62 pints, and 8.75 quarts, for a grand total of 51.25 quarts, or 12.8 gallons. Now to work on enjoying what we haven't given away, as well as to eat up the fruit and tomatoes we have stored in our freezer.

Blueberries & Pickles

Last Thursday I picked 13 lbs of blueberries at a local farm. I canned 3 quarts and 9 1/2 pints. We also enjoyed two blueberry cobblers over the next week (my husband and I have different family traditions about cobbler :) and a blueberry pie.

On my way to pick the blueberries I stopped in a local quilt store for some thread. The owner was giving away zucchini and pickling cucumbers so I took 3 1/2 lbs from her and used them to make bread & butter pickles. One cucumber from my garden made it into the batch. I need a much bigger garden if I'm going to put up my own pickles in the future. I made 6 pints of bread and butter pickles. My Blue Lake beans made one pint jar of dilly beans.

This week I made some more pickles. With over two pounds of cucumbers from the farmers market and over three pounds of green beans from a farm stand, I made 7 more pints of dilly beans,
and 5 more pints of bread & butter pickles.

Blueberries

I took advantage of the break in the rain today to pick blueberries this afternoon. At first it was my intention to just pick for us to eat and make a cobbler, but I just kept on picking and decided that I'll go ahead and can my blueberries for Christmas gifts. I make them blueberries in their own syrup. Basically you add 1/2 cup sugar for every quart of berries and cook them over high heat until they glisten. Place in 1/2 pint jars with any liquid they make and top with hot water if needed. Leave 1/2" head space. Process in the canner for 15 minutes. The berries tend to float on top after processing. I just make sure to give the jar a good shake before opening, and once they are stirred in, and the seal is broken they mix in the syrup again. They're great on pancakes or waffles or with vanilla ice cream.
Growing up, Blueberry Cobbler was the quintessential summertime dessert. We'd go pick some blueberries from the bushes in the back yard and this would be for dessert. The recipe's easy and is from an old Southern Living anthology. Here's the cobbler after we served ourselves some.

Blueberry Cobbler

Ingredients:
3 cups blueberries
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 stick butter, melted
cinnamon and nutmeg

Pour the blueberries into a 10" x 6" baking pan. Sprinkle the lemon juice on top.
In a bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, and egg until it resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle on top of the berries and drizzle the butter on top. Sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg on top.

Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes.