Re: Canning (What about tomatoes?) | Page 2 | Golden Skate

Re: Canning (What about tomatoes?)

sk8er1964

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
That's pretty much the way I do it, A.H. Black :) . Don't use the pillow case, but that sounds like a good idea when doing large amounts. That's one of the reasons I like the Rutgers, though, because they are the perfect size to just plop in the jar whole and squeeze down. BTW, the sound of the lid popping is music to my ears! :D

gsk8 - it's really not as much trouble as it sounds, especially if you are not doing sauces. Go to a Wall-Mart or Target and get yourself a small canner and the tools, such as a jar grabber to take the hot jars out of the bath. I have a canner that just does pints, and takes no time at all to heat up. Keep a box of your jars and lids in an easily accessable place, and just do a couple of jars every few nights. Once you have a system in place, it will take only a few minutes to prep them and the water bath. An hour to hour and 1/2 at the most, including the boiling (where you don't actually have to do anything). I actually do pickles the same way, until the main crop comes in - then I use quart jars and my large canner.

Spanish rice made with your own tomatoes -- yum. I have a couple of jars left from last year - maybe I'll make that for dinner tonight!
 

gsk8

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Country
United-States
I would like to thank everyone for this insightful information! It appears Paula will not be doing any canning any time soon. I guess what I should have started was a thread for "tomato" recipees :)

I assume it's safe to "freeze" the broccoli that I grow?
 

sk8er1964

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
:laugh: Yeah, you sure can. However, you can't freeze them raw. Blanch them (I use a metal colendar (sp) in a large pot) then freeze them, making sure that you drain them well, and squeeze all the excess air out of the freezer bag. It avoids freezer burn. Make sure you pick them when they're "young and tender" so to speak - in other words, don't wait too long.

PS - you can freeze your tomatoes too - it works as well as canning, as long as you have the freezer space.
 

A.H.Black

Final Flight
Joined
Feb 1, 2004
Blanching is when you put food in boiling water for a short amount of time. If you are canning it means you want to loosen the skins but not cook the food. If you are freezing, it means you begin the cooking process so that the food can be frozen safely. You want to do it long enough to accomplish your purpose but not so long that you actually cook the food.

sk8er1964 It sounds like you are much more conscientious about this than I am. I am not diligent and just find a morning or night to do everything I can.

The pillow case is a life saver. I remember watching Martha Stewart giving a demonstration on canning peaches. There she was, blanching peaches one at a time, delicately putting them in the water with her spoon and then delicately scooping them out, again one at a time. My jaw dropped. I laughed and then I turned it off.

That is not what canning is like. For our grandmothers, canning was the way to preserve the harvest to have enough food to feed their families. These days, for some, it has become a chic thing to do. I guess I'm somewhere in the middle. I do it becuase I can. I've done it since I was a child and have wonderful memories of those days. I still love the taste of those foods. I would also say it saves me money by not having to buy those foods at the grocery store anymore but I'm not sure how much it saves me. On the other hand, I still know families that are able to survive family crisies because of the food they have put by.
 

Grgranny

Da' Spellin' Homegirl
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
We used dishtowels. Probably didn't have extra pillowcases. Had to make them out of sugar sacks. I don't remember but think we made the dishtowels out of flour sacks.
 

Lynn51

Rinkside
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
When blanching, after you've removed the veggies from the boiling water, you need to put them in very cold (icy) water to stop the cooking process. You can also blanch in a microwave too so check your owners manual for directions. Microwave blanching doesn't take as long and doesn't heat up your kitchen like using the boiling water method.

Lynn
 

PatC

Rinkside
Joined
Aug 28, 2003
I got this recipe from Harrowsmith years ago:


about 2-4 lbs of tomatoes
1/4 c. olive oil
maybe a cup of water


Core and cut up tomatoes and place in a pot. Slowly bring to a boil (appoximately an hour) and then let them simmer for another hour.

Let cool in the pot, skim off the skins, they will float to the top and then freeze the tomatoes.

You can add anything you want to it, ie onions, celery, and of course spices.

It freezes well, but use within a year.

Great for tomato sauces, stews, etc.
 
Top