Canning recipes, food preservation and food sales

[TheGrey]

Hi all!

I hope this isn't a repost. I know there are several people that can (both water bath and pressure) on this forum, and there are some that are just starting out. I was hoping that this could be a thread in which we swap recipes, discuss means and options of food preservation (pickling, canning, dehydrating, smoking, etc) as well as give a heads-up for sales going on in the grocery stores.

This is the time of year that I can pineapple. King Soopers has pineapples on sale for .99/each, through the 28th. I buy a minimum of ten. Ten may seem like a lot, but not when you think about it long-term. Jalapenos are also usually on sale for @ .99/lb.
Together, they make Hawaiian Cowboy Candy.

Here's the recipe:

Hawaiian Cowboy Candy

1 lb jalepenos
2/3 c. apple cider vinegar
1 cup chunk fresh pineapple, without juice
2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons mustard seed

Slice jalepenos. Mix cider vinegar, sugar and mustard seed and bring to a low boil. Reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes. Add jalepenos and simmer for 5 minutes more. Loan hot sterilized jars with 4-5 chunks of pineapple. Using slotted spoon, add jalepenos first and then add the liquid, leaving 1/4 " heads[ace. Remove air bubbles with a rubber spatula or a chopstick and refill to headspace if needed. Wipe rims with damp towel. Add hot lids/rigs and place in water bath canner. Process at a full boil for 15 minutes, plus one minute per 1000' above sea level.
Makes 2 pints and 1 half pint, or 5 half pints.

Let these mellow in a cool, dark place for a minimum of two weeks. The peppers get a nice sweetness to them, and the pineapple gets a bit of heat to it.

[Irving]

Good thread idea, nothing to contribute yet.

[TheGrey]

I made some Hawaiian cowboy candy last year and really liked it. They were great on brats and dogs. I'm gonna use crushed pineapple and dice the peppers and make a relish next time.

Great idea! I've got a friend that uses them for homemade pizza topping. I give a lot of jars for Christmas gifts.

[TheGrey]

Good thread idea, nothing to contribute yet.

Thanks! I look forward to sharing lots of recipes and ideas.

[Irving]

I guess we're having a green chili vs red chili cook off next weekend. I'd like to can half of each. Just need to get the canner already. If I can't find one on craigs, I'm going to break down and buy one from Walmart.

[TheGrey]

I guess we're having a green chili vs red chili cook off next weekend. I'd like to can half of each. Just need to get the canner already. If I can't find one on craigs, I'm going to break down and buy one from Walmart.

Awesome! So, now I have questions. I've read that when you can chili, if it has both meat AND beans in it, you can't safely do quarts- only pints. Does your chili have beans in it? Good luck with finding a PC...the end-of-season sales wiped out the Walmart and Target near us. You might get lucky and find one at Kohls. I've found Ace to be ridiculously overpriced.

[Madeinhb]

I just canned some pineapple chunks. We will see how they come out. Was my first time.

[rbeau30]

Awesome! So, now I have questions. I've read that when you can chili, if it has both meat AND beans in it, you can't safely do quarts- only pints. Does your chili have beans in it? Good luck with finding a PC...the end-of-season sales wiped out the Walmart and Target near us. You might get lucky and find one at Kohls. I've found Ace to be ridiculously overpriced.

I have canned chili. (Pressure canner) I use dry beans and meat (because the dry beans hold up the the extended pressure processing time of quart jars. I soak them overnight according to directions and then make the Chili then process them. The processing time is like an hour an 45 or 50 minutes or something like that for quarts though if I remember right.

There are many layers to "preserved food security":
Do you sanitize everything? (I put EVERYTHING in my dishwasher in the "sanitize" cycle.)
Follow a reputable recipe? (USDA, Ball, Kerr, SureJell, etc.) (For example, here is one from the NCHFP for Chili with meat and beans.)
Is the Acid content right? (If boiling water bath canning) Acid keeps the spores dormant.
Is the Sugar Content right? (If boiling water bath canning) High sugar keeps the spores dormant.
Did you keep it at the right pressure for the right length of time? (if it dips below the pressure I always restart the clock)
Store it well (I do not leave rings on or stack jars... reportedly this could prevent or delay spoiled food to "pop" the lids when they really should have due to spoilage.)
When you eat it inspect it. (Lid Popped? Smell Bad?)
When practical, heat it. (Heat destroyes toxins if they are by chance present after all of the above)


What i like to do with "Reputable recipes" for preserving my own food is use MY recipe for Chili con Carne for example or Spaghetti sauce, or green chili, and process it using the NCHFP processing instructionsor the processing instructions in the Ball Blue Book for the same type of food and I feel fairly confident it will be safe.

[clodhopper]

Anything with lower acid content, containing meat or otherwise unsure, use a pressure canner. Yeah, it takes longer to cycle through, 'sokay. I own two pressure canners to cut down on time. I wouldn't can soups or chili in a water bath canner as it just doesn't get hot enough. Make sure the canned food is hot (like boiling hot for several minutes before canning), and everything that touches it is prepped in boiling water (jars, lids, ladles, everything).

Watch your recipes. If you are making soups to can, leave out the milk, butter, cream ingredients. The soup will look strange, but that is OK. The milk products will likely go rancid during storage. When you pop the top months later to eat it, add the milk products then. It will taste just fine. I will put the left out ingredients and quantities on a sticker on the jar, or tie a tag to it. That way, a year later when you cannot find the original recipe, you can still make the soup.

If you are unsure on what should be left out, follow a canning specific recipe book as suggested earlier.

[rbeau30]

...

Watch your recipes. If you are making soups to can, leave out the milk, butter, cream ingredients. The soup will look strange, but that is OK. The milk products will likely go rancid during storage. When you pop the top months later to eat it, add the milk products then. It will taste just fine. I will put the left out ingredients and quantities on a sticker on the jar, or tie a tag to it. That way, a year later when you cannot find the original recipe, you can still make the soup.

...

I have also read in many reputable recipes to leave out stuff like Beans and noodles and add them when you are ready to eat the canned food. Pressure canning these things can make them mushy etc.