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In , on December 13, 2015 with 1 Comment

Canning 101: Homemade Horseradish

My husband likes to make homemade horseradish. He may not make it every year, depending on how quickly we go through it, but it’s something that’s easy to make, although it will “scent up” your kitchen if you work it up inside 🙂 He got his recipe from a co-worker, and it’s a good one to have on hand, especially if you grow your own horseradish like we do.

In the fall, dig up the horseradish roots – as much as you want to prepare. Kevin always digs in late fall, and this year he was able to wait until Dec. 11 as it stayed warm enough that the ground hadn’t frozen, and he could still get the spade in the ground. Here’s one of the largest roots he dug up this year:

horseradish root

After digging the roots, cut off the crowns, but don’t throw them away. You can save them and replant in the spring, or share with your family and friends so they can start their own horseradish patch in the garden. Scrape or peel the roots as you would a carrot.

horseradish scraped

Cube up the roots into manageable pieces, small enough that they won’t ruin a food processor. Believe me, these roots are tough, and we’ve gone through several commercial-grade food processors making horseradish in the past.

To each cup of cubed horseradish root you add to the food processor, add 1 cup of white vinegar and 1 teaspoon sugar. Pulse the ingredients until smooth and creamy. You’ll want to have an open window in the room you’re working – when you open up the lid to the food processor, you’ll understand why 🙂

Pour prepared horseradish into clean pint jars. Add lids and rings. Store horseradish in the refrigerator.

horseradish prepared all jars

When horseradish is fresh, it will be snow white in color, and as it ages, it turns creamy white in color. The intensity of the flavor will mellow as it ages, but this keeps for several months in the refrigerator. Use it as you would use store-bought horseradish: in cocktail sauce (add to ketchup) or add to mayonnaise and sour cream to make a tasty dipping sauce for prime rib or roast beef. I even use it in my barbecue sauce for a little extra kick. Enjoy!

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In , on October 15, 2015 with No Comments

Canning 101: Easy Applesauce

It’s apple season here in eastern Iowa, and I’ve already made some caramel apple pie filling, but I have scads of apples yet to work with. I haven’t made applesauce in years, so I thought it was high time I did. Our sons love it, as do our granddaughters, so I know I won’t have any problem getting rid of it.:)

 

Applesauce

20 pounds apples, cored and sliced
2 cups apple juice, apple cider or water
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Place cored and sliced apples and the 2 cups of liquid in a large stockpot, and cook the apples until they’re soft and mushy, approximately 20 to 25 minutes. Using a food processor or stick blender, blend the apples until you reach the consistency you want. I like smooth applesauce, so I blended for approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Add the brown sugar and cinnamon, and stir the apple mixture until everything is well combined.

Pour hot applesauce into sterilized, hot pint jars. Process in a water bath canner for 20 minutes.

Yield: 13 pints

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In , on October 11, 2015 with No Comments

Canning 101: Caramel Apple Pie Filling

Fall is apple season on our little homestead, and when we’re blessed with an overabundance of apples like this year, I make apple pie filling. I decided to change up my usual pie filling recipe by substituting brown sugar for half of the sugar in my normal recipe. This makes a delicious caramel filling that goes great with apples.

 

 

Caramel Apple Pie Filling

6 to 7 pounds apples, peeled, cored and sliced
Fruit Fresh or lemon juice to treat apples
2 1/2 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
1 cup ClearJel
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons white vinegar
10 cups water

Peel, core and slice apples. Treat with Fruit Fresh or lemon juice to prevent browning.

In a large stockpot, combine both sugars, ClearJel, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, vinegar and water. Stir until combined. Heat over medium-high heat until the mixture thickens slightly.

Pack apples into hot quart jars, and pour the hot syrup over the apples, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Process jars in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes.

Yield: 7 quarts

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In , on October 11, 2015 with 1 Comment

Canning 101: Mushrooms

Today my husband decided to take a little stroll in the timber, and he came back with a really nice hen of the woods mushroom. We forage both in the spring and in the fall for wild mushrooms, and hen of the woods can be found in late fall, usually right before frost, providing the conditions are right.

The one he found today is a really nice one at 10 pounds. Not the biggest he’s ever found, but also not the smallest. It will take a few jars to get this sucker canned. 🙂

 

These mushrooms are pretty much solid all the way through. You do need to trim off the bottom where it sits on the ground, and check for bugs and other critters as you cut it up and clean it. If you find them fresh like this one is, there’s a lot of good eating.

While I realize that the current edition of Ball Blue Book doesn’t condone canning wild mushrooms, older versions of this publication had no warnings against it, which is when I learned how to can what we would find. You have to know what you’re foraging for, as there are mushrooms out there that may look similar but are deadly, not so much the hen of the woods but especially other types of fall mushrooms that we like to look for. My husband and I have hunted wild mushrooms for decades, so we know what is good to eat and what will kill you, and we’ve researched all kinds of mushrooms in various publications. That said, if you’re going to hunt for wild mushrooms, if you’re a newbie take someone with you who has experience and knows what the good ones look like.

Mushrooms must be pressure canned because mushrooms are a low-acid food, and these aren’t being pickled (pickled mushrooms can be water bathed). A water bath canner doesn’t get the temperature high enough to kill off any potential bacteria (botulism). Again, this isn’t an approved Ball Blue Book recipe, so proceed at your own risk, but I’ve pressure canned mushrooms this way for over 20 years, and I’m still here. I found these instructions in my Mirro canner manual, which I purchased over 20 years ago. Use half-pints or pint jars only, as using quarts isn’t recommended.

For this 10-pound mushroom, I ended up with 25 half-pints of canned mushrooms. Nice return for a stroll in the woods. 🙂

Canning Mushrooms

Wild mushrooms
Water
Canning salt

Trim mushrooms of any debris, and soak in cold water for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse mushrooms. For hen of the woods mushrooms, dice mushrooms into bite-sized pieces.

In a large stockpot, cook mushrooms gently for 15 minutes.

Pack hot mushrooms into prepared hot jars, and cover with boiling water, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Add canning salt to each jar (1/4 teaspoon for half-pints, 1/2 teaspoon for pints). Adjust lids and rings.

Process jars in a pressure canner at 10 pounds of pressure for 30 minutes (same time for both half pints and pints).

After processing, remove jars from canner, and let sit undisturbed for at least 12 hours before moving.

To use: You can use these mushrooms in any recipe that you would normally use store-bought canned mushrooms.

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In on September 24, 2015 with No Comments

Elderberry and Rosehips Tincture

I’ve been reading blogs, Internet articles and books regarding herbal medicine. A majority of modern pharmaceuticals have their roots in some type of plant or plant property. We hear about nasty viruses on the news (H1N1, bird flu), but modern medicine is finding it harder to treat infections due to drug resistance, and medications don’t do anything to treat viruses. Being the avid medical nut that I am, I decided to do some research to see what types of herbs, plants and essential oils work to treat colds, flu symptoms and viruses.

I’ve found several places online to order quality dried herbs, and my orders have been arriving this week – it felt like Christmas 🙂 So far I’ve ordered from Bulk Herb Store and Apothecary Shoppe. Mountain Rose Herbs is another great source I’m looking forward to trying.

 

 

I’ve seen multiple different recipes on the Internet regarding elderberries and their benefits for cold and flu symptoms. WebMD talks about how elderberries can reduce flu symptoms by 50 percent and that the berries may have benefit against H1N1. The berries boost the immune system, fight inflammation and reduce swelling. Many varieties of elderberries are toxic, but Sambucus nigra is the variety used in medicinal remedies.

For my elderberry tincture, I also added dried rosehips. Rosehips contain vitamin C, which is always helpful during cold and flu season. Dried rosehips contain less vitamin C than fresh, but dried is what I had on hand. Making a tincture is really easy, although it takes time, so make sure you give yourself a few weeks to let the tincture develop before you need to use it.

Elderberry and Rosehips Tincture

1/2 pound dried elderberries
1 ounce dried elder flowers
6 ounces dried rosehips
Vodka (You can use rum, whiskey or even Everclear – must be 90 proof)

In a large glass jar, add the dried elderberries, elder flowers and rosehips. Add vodka to completely cover everything. Secure jar with a lid, and shake the mixture to completely soak the dried ingredients. Leave in a cool, dark place for 4 to 6 weeks to allow the tincture to develop.

After letting the tincture sit, strain the liquid through cheesecloth or a coffee filter, reserving the liquid and discarding all the dried berries. Pour into clean, sterile dark glass containers that have lids. Store in a cool place.

To Use Tincture:  Take 1 teaspoon of elderberry tincture 3 times a day when you first start to notice symptoms of a cold or the flu, and continue to take the tincture until symptoms are gone. Dilute the tincture in 8 ounces of water for easy drinking, or mix the tincture with a bit of honey (preferably raw local honey).

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In , on September 20, 2015 with No Comments

Canning 101: Sweet Honey Corn Relish

On a visit to my stepdaughter’s a few years ago, I first tasted corn relish. That in itself is an amazing feat, considering I live in Iowa where corn is found everywhere in the summer. Since then, I’ve been on the hunt for a tasty corn relish that I could can and enjoy during the winter when fresh sweet corn isn’t available.

I found this corn relish in one of my canning books, The Pickled Pantry: From Apples to Zucchini by Andrea Chesman (available on Amazon in print and Kindle editions), where I’ve found several delicious pickle and relish recipes. This one is a hit too.

The recipe says you’ll end up with 5 pints. I followed the recipe exactly and got 7 pints.

 

 

Sweet Honey and Corn Relish

8 cups raw corn kernels (from 10 to 12 ears)
2 onions, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 to 1 1/2 cups honey
3 1/4 cups apple cider vinegar (5%)
1 teaspoon celery seeds
1 tablespoon pickling or fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon ClearJel

Combine the corn, onions, green and red bell peppers, 1 cup of the honey, 3 cups of the apple cider vinegar, celery seeds, salt and cayenne pepper in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the honey.

Stir together the ClearJel and the remaining 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar until smooth. Stir into the corn mixture, and boil gently until thickened, about 5 minutes. Taste and add more honey if desired.

 

Ladle the hot relish into clean, hot pint-sized canning jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Remove any air bubbles, and seal.

Process jars in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes. Let cool undisturbed for 12 hours. Do not open for at least 6 weeks to allow the flavors to develop.

Yield:  5 pints

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In , on September 19, 2015 with 3 Comments

Canning 101: Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage

When my sons were visiting their grandparents, they had dinner with friends of the family, and Shirley made a red cabbage salad. My boys were in hog heaven and asked if I could get the recipe (which I did – and it’s awesome).

When going through my canning books, I stumbled across a recipe for red cabbage with apples that is really close to Shirley’s recipe. This is an easy way to have a side dish ready to go when you’re making pork or lamb for supper – all you have to do is open the jar, heat it through and serve.
red cabbage
Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage
4 1/2 pounds red cabbage
1/3 cup pickling salt
5 1/2 cups red wine vinegar (5%)
1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 1/4 pounds (about 4 to 5 medium) tart apples
1 3/4 cups (2 medium) chopped onions
Remove and discard bruised outer red cabbage leaves. Quarter, core and slice cabbage 1/2-inch thick. In a large bowl, toss cabbage with pickling salt until well combined. Cover, and let stand in a cool location for 24 hours. Rinse cabbage, drain and dry thoroughly on several layers of paper towels for 6 hours.
In a large stockpot, combine red wine vinegar, brown sugar and black pepper. Cover, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat, and simmer gently for 5 minutes, or until the brown sugar dissolves. Keep liquid hot while filling jars.
Just before filling jars, peel, core and shred the apples; treat to prevent browning. In a large bowl, toss together the red cabbage, apples and the onions.
Pack into prepared hot pint jars, and pour the hot brine over the vegetables, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Process jars in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes.
Yield: 7 pints
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In , on September 19, 2015 with No Comments

Canning 101: Pickled Marinated Mushrooms

One of my goals with this blog is to keep track of recipes I’ve already tried or that I want to try but haven’t gotten around to yet. This marinated mushroom recipe is one I haven’t tried yet, but I love pickled mushrooms. I have so many different canning and preserving books and recipes, and I don’t want to try to remember where I put the recipe when I’m ready to make it.

This recipe comes from The Home Preserving Bible by Carole Cancler. This book contains multiple terrific-sounding preserving recipes that I’m itching to try, but this marinated mushroom recipe caught my eye first. The book is available on Amazon (both the print and Kindle versions), and it’s one I highly recommend to both newbie canners and seasoned canners alike, as it has a wealth of preserving information, not just canning but other various methods such as how to cure meats, fermentation, salt curing and more.

ETA: I made the recipe today, and while the recipe says it makes 7 half-pints, I ended up with 14 half-pints. I followed the recipe exactly, but perhaps the mushrooms I used were larger than the recipe author’s. Just wanted you to know you may end up with more than 7 half-pints.

 

 

 

Pickled Marinated Mushrooms (raw pack only)

5 1/2 pounds small, whole button mushrooms
6 tablespoons bottled lemon juice
2 quarts water (or as needed)
1 1/2 cups olive or salad oil
2 cups white vinegar (5%)
6 tablespoons finely chopped onions
3 tablespoons diced red bell pepper or hot chilies
2 3/4 teaspoons oregano leaves
2 3/4 teaspoons dried basil leaves
2 3/4 teaspoons pickling salt
21 black peppercorns
2 garlic cloves, cut in quarters

Select fresh, unopened mushroom caps less than 1 1/4 inches in diameter. Wash in several changes of water until no more grit remains. Trim stems, leaving 1/4 inch attached to the cap.

In a saucepan, combine mushrooms, bottled lemon juice and water to cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Drain mushrooms.

In another saucepan, combine mushrooms, olive oil, white vinegar, onions, red bell pepper or chilies, oregano, basil and pickling salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and keep mixture hot while filling jars.

 

 

Before filling a hot jar with mushrooms, add 3 black peppercorns and 1 piece of garlic to each jar. Evenly distribute mushrooms and oil-vinegar brine between the jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.

Process mushrooms in a boiling water canner for 20 minutes.

Makes 7 half-pints

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In , on September 18, 2015 with No Comments

Canning 101: Vanilla Bourbon Peach Jam

After making some peach pie filling, I still had quite a few peaches left, so I decided to make some jam. Last year I made a peach honey jam, which was delicious, but I like a variety of different jams in my canning cupboard. I found this recipe on Sarah’s Joys blog, so I thought I’d give it a try. Delicious!

The recipe calls for 8 cups of peaches. I had 12 cups of peaches left after making pie filling, so I made 1 1/2 the recipe below – with the exception of the bourbon. I left the bourbon at 1 tablespoon, as it’s added simply to enhance the flavor of the vanilla, not to have a strong bourbon presence.

 

 

Vanilla Bourbon Peach Jam

8 cups peeled and chopped peaches
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 vanilla bean (or 1 to 2 teaspoons good vanilla extract)
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon good bourbon (optional)

Put the peaches, lemon juice and 2 cups sugar in a heavy-bottomed pot. Slice the vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Scrape out the seeds, and place in the pot along with the empty pod halves. (If using vanilla extract, add this to the peaches instead.)

 

 

Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. If using, add the bourbon. Simmer for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally, or until thickened to desired consistency.

 

Ladle hot jam into prepared jelly jars, discarding the vanilla bean pods. Process jam in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes.

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In , on September 18, 2015 with No Comments

Canning 101: Peach Pie Filling

Our four peach trees are overloaded this year with beautiful white peaches. They didn’t produce any peaches last year, and the year before that a wind storm destroyed our other peach trees, just before the peaches were ready, of course. Usually these peaches are fairly small (the size of a large chicken egg), but we must have gotten rain at just the right times this year, because these are the largest peaches we’ve gotten. I picked a 5-gallon bucket of these beauties today.

I’d already canned peaches earlier in the year when I bought a couple lugs of Colorado peaches from the grocery store. The boys love to eat peaches straight from the jar, and that’s what these are for. With our own peaches, however, I like to make jams and pie filling, so that’s what I set out to do with these I picked today.

The recipe I used says it makes 7 quarts of pie filling, but I only got 6 quarts, probably because our peaches are smaller compared to what you normally find in the grocery store. They still make great pies, though.

 

 

Peach Pie Filling

6 quarts sliced peaches
7 cups sugar
2 cups plus 3 tablespoons ClearJel
5 1/4 cups cold water
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 3/4 cup lemon juice
Additional 1/4 cup lemon juice or Fruit Fresh pectin

Place peaches in boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds. Remove and place in ice cold water. Remove skins and pits, and slice peaches. To keep peaches from turning brown, mix in 1/4 cup lemon juice or Fruit Fresh pectin.

Combine water, sugar, ClearJel and cinnamon in a large stockpot. Stir and cook over medium-high heat until the mixture thickens and begins to bubble.

Add the 1 3/4 cup lemon juice, and boil the sauce for an additional minute, stirring constantly.

Add the sliced, drained peaches, and cook for 3 additional minutes.

 

Fill quart jars within 1 inch of the top. Place filled jars in a boiling water canner, and keep them covered with at least 1 inch of water. Process for 30 minutes.

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