WHAT ARE YOU CANNING TODAY?

[Living the Simple Life]

On friday I discovered that 195# of tomatoes equals 65 quarts

 

[Farmfresh]

That's why I own a kevlar mesh glove. I can actually grab stuff and use the mandolin without risking my fingertips.

Oh WISE one I need to listen to you!

LOL.

My own smart-alec son bought it for me as a Yule gift a few years ago so I "would stop cutting myself". It's like this glove.

Thanks for the link! Now I have something for my Christmas wish list.

 

[Boogity]

8 pt of applesauce

Our applesauce never turns out as good as we would like. We can't figure out if it's our apples, our method, or our taste buds. Maybe it's all the above . How do you do yours?

 

[Boogity]

On friday I discovered that 195# of tomatoes equals 65 quarts

OMG! That's a lot of work.

 

[TanksHill]

I managed 20 pints of diced tomatoes. I still have a bunch of tomatoes to process but they will probably be sauce.

G

 

[k15n1]

8 pt of applesauce

Our applesauce never turns out as good as we would like. We can't figure out if it's our apples, our method, or our taste buds. Maybe it's all the above . How do you do yours?

Well, I did a test batch on the first 5# of apples and it was great out of the pot, even though it was too sweet. After I canned it (15 min, 10 psi) according to the USDA recommendations, it was a lot darker and the flavor was really different. The Wife approves and I like it, but it's not like the store-bought variety. I think they just pasteurize it (low heat for a few seconds) before jarring it up. Maybe I'll be able to squeeze some of it into the freezer...

Tonight I got 100# of apples from the same tree, so I'm going to be trying a few variations:

1) add spices so that I'm in control of the flavor,
2) use less sugar
3) use citric acid and ascorbic acid instead of lemon juice
2) try boiling water bath

I know adding sugar is a no-no for many of us, but these apples are very tart. Flavor is great, but a little sugar is needed.

 

[Boogity]

Ours always gets a little darker, too. I have tried lemon juice and dry citric acid and the apples still darken somewhat. But the color doesn't concern me as much as the taste. We have sweet apples for everything but baking and we have tart apples for baking. I usually mix the two for our apple sauce. Last year we added a little Cinnamon to one of the batches and it was better. But some folks don't like Cinnamon in their sauce. Oh well, we'll keep trying.

 

[Bimpnottin]

For my applesauce, I quarter the apples - that's it. I usually mix a couple of kinds together. Then, I cook it with a little bit of water, to start it. As full as the kettle will go. When they are soft, I run the whole thing through my Victorio strainer. I only use sugar if I have to, and that's only when it's cooked. The skin adds some great rosiness to the sauce.

The best sauce I have made, though, is when I had a batch of pears to take care of, too. So, I did a pear applesauce and didn't have to add any sugar to it and the kids love it.

 

[VickiLynn]

The taste of applesauce has a lot to do with the variety of apple. We have several different trees, and you can tell the difference in the sauce. I wish I could mix them, but they never seem to be ripe at the same time. For canning, I just use apples and lemon juice, and we add sugar when we open the jars if they need it.

 

[Living the Simple Life]

On friday I discovered that 195# of tomatoes equals 65 quarts

OMG! That's a lot of work.

Yep, about 13 hours worth!! Only lost two jars - one that cracked during processing and one that seal but lost a lot of liquid. Never had that happen before and didn't want to take a chance so I dumped it. I only had one jar that didn't seal so just stuck that in the fridge.