If I Can, You Can!

Facebook CanningUSA Page

noreply@blogger.com (David Blackburn) — Tue, 15 May 2012 22:48:00 -0700

Hello, We have created a new Facebook page for CanningUSA.com. Please like the page and we'll keep you updated on new articles and formats at CanningUSA.com;

CanningUSA Changes

noreply@blogger.com (David Blackburn) — Thu, 26 May 2011 22:42:00 -0700

We are in the process of updating our website software. It's been very time consuming. We will start using the blog to inform you of changes.

Today, we added instructions on how to can pie filling without ClearJel by adding in the thickener after opening. The instructions are in each recipe at CanningUSA.com

Canning Processing Methods Follow-up

noreply@blogger.com (David Blackburn) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 22:49:00 -0700

I should have mentioned that canning low acid foods in a water bath canner is dangerous. The links in yesterday's post should answer any questions about this.

Canning Processing Methods

noreply@blogger.com (David Blackburn) — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 20:59:00 -0700

The canning season is in full swing now. I've canned cherry jam, cherry pie filling, infused cherries, blueberry jam and apricot jam. I'll be canning apricot pie filling this week. Now that tomatoes are good and cheap, I'll be moving into several tomato sauces in the next week or two. Tomatoes are really good here this year!!!

We've had a number of inquiries about when to use a pressure canner. One of which was from a user who had problems with applesauce batches that did not seal during processing. The applesauce should have been processed in a hot water bath, but she had thought that it would be better to do it in the pressure canner.

It's very important to process using the correct method (hot water bath or pressure canner) and headspace. Most of you know that things expand when heated. The hot water bath, used for high acid content foods, processes at 212 degrees Farenheit, while the pressure canner processes at 240 degrees. The additional heat of the pressure canner is what caused our inquirier's applesauce to expand beyond the allotted headspace, between the cap and the jar, inhibiting a good seal on the jar.

There are four easy to read pages at CanningUSA.com that explain the differences between the two methods and are highly recommended reading. For seasoned canners, you might find it helpful to review these pages at the beginning of each canning season plus your pressure canner manufacturer’s instructions.
Canning using the Hot Pack or Cold Pack Method
Processing with a Water Bath
Processing with a Pressure Canner
Altitude Time Adjustments

In addition, our free videos are designed to teach you how to can in a progressive manner in terms of canning difficulty. We highly recommend mastering Video 1 before moving onto Video 2, etc. Once you’ve mastered all six videos, you should be able to can just about anything that is safe to can at home.

Video 1, Canning Jams is the simplest and focuses on the use of a hot water bath. Videos 2 and 3 teach how to can fruits and tomato sauces, also using the hot water bath. Video 4 is the introductory video for the pressure canner and Videos 5 and 6 will teach you how to can more complicated foods with the same pressure canner method.

All recipes at CanningUSA.com refer back to the appropriate video and contain a link to the appropriate page with a reminder of the method.

Happy Canning!

Comment Reply - Infused Cherries

noreply@blogger.com (David Blackburn) — Sun, 31 May 2009 21:16:00 -0700

The following comment was posted yesterday:

Maria-Mercedes said...

Bonjour!
I have a question about the infused cherries. Do you serve them on their own or in alcohol? And what do you do with the left over alcohol?
I'm very interested in making some infused cherries once they come into season here in NY!

P.S.: I hope you post more recipes and canning videos! I have made your chili and pot roast and they were delightful, but I haven't been able to can your recipes yet.

Since it's difficult to view our responses to comments, I'm putting it in a new post. This comment has a couple of items for which we receive a number of e-mails so I thought I'd address it publically.

We receive a lot of e-mail at the address at CanningUSA.com. I read each one and try to personally respond. All e-mails are appreciated, we get some really kind ones and the ones that have questions help us build a better site due to items where we could have provided better information. We've been thinking about posting some of the questions and responses at the blog, to help everyone.

We removed infused cherries from the alcohol and serve them in lieu of a digestive after dinner or a luncheon. The can also be removed, pitted and used in cakes. The leftover alcohol can be used in cakes or served as a digestive.

Cherries are just starting to come into season here, so they are expensive. I’ll wait until the end of June when they are at their peak and least expensive. I’m on my last two jars of infused cherries and will need to make a dozen or so one quart jars which could last me a couple of years.

My basement has been torn up for over two years with some structural work and renovation we’ve been doing on our 150 year old house. It’s a big project. We had to tear out all the basement ceilings to run new electrical wires up the the ground floor, and pipes for radiators – it has never had central heating! It’s actually a half basement with nice windows and two separate outside entrances, so we’re putting in insulation, central heating there too, three rental studios, four bathrooms a nice pantry and wine cellar.

We’ve been doing as much of the restoration as possible ourselves. So far, it’s been a four year project and we’ve got about a year to go. I designed the kitchen on the ground floor myself and will be able to can in it this year! If you’d like to see exterior photos, please visit VillaHutton.com.

Due to the difficultly with storage during the construction, I haven’t been canning very much so I’m out of just about everything. We’re down to four jars of jam, so I’ll have to make several and am beginning to plan for it. I intend to make cherry jam in June, apricot and peach jams in July, blueberry and a couple of plum jams in August and finish off with fig jam in the autumn. I’ll also can some pears and figs poached in wine and perhaps put up some peaches and pears if they are good this year. I’ve still got to think about tomatoes and whole meals too.

Our canning videos were designed as instructional aides for the different types of canning processes. The notion was that if you view all the videos in sequence, you should be able to can just about everything that’s safe to can at home: the recipes change, but not the processes. So, if you want to can tomato sauce with meat in it, the process for canning is about the same as the whole meals video. Each canning recipe at CanningUSA.com is linked to the appropriate video to show the correct canning procedure. If you are a novice to canning, we recommend that you just focus on water bath canning the first year with videos 1, 2 and 3 and progress to videos 4, 5 and 6 the second and third year.

I have given a lot of thought to additional videos (if I survive this restoration project!) and believe there are some that could be eventually added; one for pickling and the second for meat confits and perhaps sausage making. For pickling, we never addressed it when we filmed the videos because the canning process is actually covered. Meat confits, or meats packed in lard, are very time consuming and diffiult; although, worth the effort. I’ve even thought about taking a whole pig and showing how to can all of it, my inspiration being from an elderly couple who do it every year.

Not to ramble, but I just returned from a two week tour of the northern lake region of Italy, plus Portofino, Lucca, Bologna and Milan. It was quite beautiful. If I ever get the opportunity to go back to the lake region, I’ll probably try to focus on Lake Como by spending one night in the city of Como and then working my way northward on the ferries visiting villas and gardens. I’d already visited Lucca a couple of times and would like to spend more time there visiting the surrounding villas as some have exceptional gardens.

The food in Italy is always good. I’d spent a month there before our restoration project began to learn how to make pastas, which would also make a super series of videos!!!

Fresh Asparagus Tips

noreply@blogger.com (David Blackburn) — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 21:35:00 -0700

Fresh asparagus is in season and at its lowest cost for the year. I like both white and green asparagus. The difference is that the white has been covered with soil and not exposed to light, so it doesn’t turn green. White asparagus is a bit milder in flavor and sometimes requires peeling. For recipes, I use both interchangeably depending on what seems to be the freshest and best value at the farmers market. Note: when choosing asparagus at the market, look at the bases to ensure they aren’t dried out. When storing asparagus, keep the base ends in water.

Fresh Asparagus Soup – for two.

Use one bunch for two people. Prep time - 2 minutes.

Cut the asparagus into 1/4 inch lengths and set the tips aside.
Bring the cut pieces to a simmer in 4 cups of chicken stock (or water with two chicken bullion cubes) and simmer for 15 minutes.
Add the tips and simmer an additional five minutes.
Salt and pepper may be desirable for taste, but the seasoning in the stock or bullion should suffice.
Add 1/4 cup condensed milk, or sour cream or crème fraîche. To avoid lumps with the latter two, it’s easiest to remove a bit of the stock from the soup into a coffee cup when the tips are added, let it cool while the tips are simmering, beat in the sour cream or crème fraîche, and then add it back to the soup at the end of the cooking time.

Blanched Asparagus

Blanched green asparagus make a super appetizer or starter served with a horseradish sauce. It can also be served as a salad drizzled with a salad dressing of 1 part Dijon mustard, 1 part red wine vinegar, 1 part diced shallots, a dash of sugar and a little fresh sage, or roasted red bell pepper sauce.White asparagus can be served with red wine vinaigrette with finely diced shallots.

Bring salted water to a rolling boil and add trimmed whole asparagus. If you have a blanching basket, use it.
Once the water returns to a rolling boil, let the asparagus simmer exactly 3 minutes for fine, 4 minutes for medium or 5 minutes for thick asparagus.
Plunge the asparagus into the coldest water possible and let it remain until it is fully cooled.
Remove it from the water and pat dry with a lint-free towel. You may refrigerate it until serving.

See the following additional recipes at CanningUSA.com

Roasted Asparagus

Roasted Asparagus Quiche

Roasted Asparagus Risotto

Asparagus Omelet - follow the method for a basic mushroom omelet, substituting asparagus for the mushrooms covering the asparagus during simmering for about 20 minutes.

Exploding Pressure Canner

noreply@blogger.com (David Blackburn) — Tue, 7 Apr 2009 22:38:00 -0700

I had a friend who told me her old weighted gauge pressure cooker nearly exploded the other day. She went into the kitchen and noted that there wasn't any steam venting either from the steam valve or the safety valve (there was no safety fuse). She turned the pressure cooker off and gently opened the pressure cooker and had a burst of steam, which burned her. She had been cooking green beans (I don’t know where she got fresh green beans in early April), overfilled the pressure canner and there were pieces of green beans blocking both of the vents.

So, what could we do to avoid this?

Review often and strictly adhere to the manufacturer’s recommendations. I review them every year at the beginning of the canning season. If the manufacturer has a website, then visit it and make sure you have any updated information. If the manufacturer’s instructions aren’t available, then consider getting a new pressure cooker or pressure canner.
Don’t overfill a pressure cooker and following the manufacturer’s recommendations.
Stay close to a pressure cooker or pressure canner and monitor it often. I set my kitchen timer and check mine every five minutes during the first half hour and then every ten minutes thereafter. If you have a weighted gauge canner, this can be done by ensuring a mild and constant flow of steam is leaving the pressure canner. A dial gauge canner is a bit easier as it tells you the exact pressure within the canner. If the pressure increases beyond the desired pressure, reduce the stovetop heat setting. In the case of my friend Christine with a blocked gauge, the pressure reading would have dropped to zero; although the internal pressure was quite high, or I guess we should say explosively high. This should be remembered because a faulty or blocked gauge will give a false reading and not indicate the actual pressure.
NEVER open a hot pressure canner or pressure cooker. Let them cool down completely before opening. When canning, I normally just let it sit overnight and then open it the next morning - what's the hurry?
Only use a pressure canner or pressure cooker that is listed by Underwriters Laboratories (UL). UL develops rigorous and voluntary safety standards using their expertise and representatives from the industry for each product for which they publish safety standards. The manufacturers then send their products to testing laboratories to ensure they comply with the applicable standard. Once the product is approved, the manufacturer is permitted to apply the UL label. UL visits the factories, usually on a quarterly basis, to verify the products manufactured and labeled are identical to those that were tested.

Cherries

noreply@blogger.com (David Blackburn) — Wed, 28 May 2008 21:57:00 -0700

Today is the day to can cherries. I think they're at their peak where I live and the prices have dropped. I went to the farmers market on Saturday and asked the farmer to bring me two flats today and she negotiated the price due to the quantity.

I'm going to can cherry jam, three types of infused cherries in Armagnac, Grand Marnier and Cognac plus cherry pie filling.

Next week I want to can some cantaloupe jam. I need to dig up my recipe for it.

Basque Chicken

noreply@blogger.com (David Blackburn) — Mon, 26 May 2008 13:27:00 -0700

I'm making Basque Chicken this evening. A friend gave me a farm raised chicken yesterday and I gardened most of the day, so it was an easy solution that I can cook while I'm writing this blog.

I can Sauce Basquaise about every other year, so I'm due to can it again this summer. When you don't have it canned, there is dinner a recipe at the Basque Chicken webpage.

I got the recipe from a Basque chef from San Sebastian. A lot of the home cooks in the Basque region of France add sugar, but I prefer it without. It can also be served on the side with a baked chicken or with a grilled or poached fish.

Canning Cherries and Apricots

noreply@blogger.com (David Blackburn) — Sat, 17 May 2008 21:48:00 -0700

This is a reminder that it's time to start thinking about canning cherries! Cherries are in season and the prices get attractive when they are most abundant at the height of the season. I usually can them at the end of May or the beginning of June.

A week or two after canning cherries, you might think about canning apricots. They typically follow cherries by a couple of weeks.

Recipes for canning cherries and apricots can be found at the fruits menu of CanningUSA.com

Problems with Stove tops and Waterbath Canners.

noreply@blogger.com (David Blackburn) — Sat, 10 May 2008 20:26:00 -0700

A user e-mailed me with the following question today:

I would like to purchase your bathwater canner but it says that it is not recommended for the kind of stove I have. Any suggestions as to what I can do besides buying a new stove?

Some flat surfaced cook-tops don't conduct heat evenly or aren't perfectly flat. This can make the temperature in the waterbath canner fluctuate.

To resolve this, I recommended she try one of the coiled single electric burners that are at this link, or a propane burner or cook stand. One of those large pots and burners that were used for deep frying turkeys will work well too, but they need a canning rack or fine pebbles at the bottom.

I have one of the propane burners for my waterbath canner that I only use outside for security purposes. Propane burns a lot hotter than natural gas, so the water heats up a lot faster. If you are canning a large batch, you might set up a couple of them.

Canning Asparagus

noreply@blogger.com (David Blackburn) — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 21:22:00 -0700

Late April and May is the time to can green or white asparagus. See Canning Green or White Asparagus. It is very nice served with grilled or broiled salmon and a hollandaise or Bearnaise sauce.

We eat a ton of asparagus when it is in season. Canned asparagus can be served as a starter with a red wine and shallot vinaigrette. Fresh asparagus is nice roasted and served with a horseradish dip as an hors d’oeuvre – see roasted asparagus. You may also serve roasted asparagus as a starter with a mustard vinaigrette topping it with roasted red bell peppers and/or caramelized onions or shallots.

To make asparagus soup with fresh asparagus, sauté asparagus cut into 1/2 inch pieces in olive oil until tender, add chicken stock, salt and pepper to taste, and then simmer for 30 minutes. To augment the color of the soup, you may add 1/4 – 1/2 cup of cream for each quart of soup before serving. If using canned asparagus do not sauté and add the canning liquid to the chicken stock.

An asparagus quiche may be made using canned asparagus by cutting the asparagus into 1/2 inch pieces and then substituting the canned asparagus for the roasted in our asparagus quiche recipe. You may do the same for an basic omelet.

Lasagna

noreply@blogger.com (David Blackburn) — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 11:14:00 -0700

I haven't been very diligent with this blog. I spent the winter working on the restoration of our house; refinishing floors, sanding plaster walls, cleaning up the dust, stripping wood, hauling trash to the dump, refinishing wood, getting my kitchen cabinets installed plus working in the garden. I've also been working on a concept for a new website, which I'll share later.

This evening, I am making lasagna. It's about the easiest thing to make, if you have the tomato sauce on hand. Tonight, I'm using Tomato Sauce with Mushrooms.

There are differing opinions about whether or not to cook the lasagna noodles before making lasagna. I have done it both ways, but can't tell the difference in the final product. However, I have found that precooking the noodles makes a tremendous difference in the preparation time so I don't do it. If not precooking the lasagna, you will want your tomato sauce to be a runny, so that the noodles have liquid to absorb while cooking.

When making lasagna for a family meal, I want clean-up to be as easy as possible. I line my baking dish with wax paper by cutting it larger than the baking dish and then folding the edges so that the wax paper comes up the sides.

To make lasagna, start with a bottom layer of lasagna noodles. Spoon over some cooked ground beef mixed with tomato sauce and then a little shredded cheese. If your tomato sauce already has salt and pepper, you may not want to add any additional. You may want to add some finely diced fresh sage, if you have it in the garden. Continue two to three layers of sauce and noodles, depending on the depth of your baking dish and finish off the top with additional tomato sauce, shredded cheese and a little shaved Parmesan.

To cook the lasagna, do so in a 350 degree oven (180 centigrade) for 45 – 50 minutes, until the cheese on top is lightly browned. Cooking time may be a little longer, if it’s a large lasagna.

Since there are already ample calories in the lasagna, I usually serve it with a simple green salad with balsamic vinaigrette. This should never be tossed until the last minute. Romaine lettuce goes very well with lasagna.

For company, I like to add Bechamel Sauce (low fat version). I layer this in after each layer of cheese and then over the top of the noodles (omitting the final layer of tomato sauce on top) before the final layer of cheese. If serving family style to company, you may not want to use the wax paper as it doesn't always make a nice presentation at the table.

Pumpkin Soup and Leeks

noreply@blogger.com (David Blackburn) — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 12:24:00 -0700

Pumpkins are in full season, so I canned pumpkin soup today. I can enough of it that I can serve it at a few dinner parties during the winter. My favorite way to serve it is with grilled scallops. I also like to bring it to a simmer and add mussels and steaming them in the soup on occasion.

Leeks are back in season too and they will remain in season until late winter or early spring. They are a vegetable that I don't think we eat enough of and are an excellent substitute for onions in many, many recipes. I substitute them for onions in stuffing and sauces as they produce such nice color and texture. Because they have a lot of dirt in them, I recommend cutting off any wilted darker green, slicing them lengthwise and then crosswise. They can then be easily washed in a salad spinner, but be careful not to overload the spinner as it won't remove all the water due to their heaviness.

Leeks can also be slowly sautéed in a little extra virgin olive oil, course salt and ground pepper and then served with any steak or beef patty. Or, the sautéed leeks can be added to Bechamel sauce and served with poultry. Or, if you are really decadent add a little sour cream and serve them with fish or on a cracker as an hors d'oeuvre. They also good in an omelet or with some beef or chicken broth as a soup.

Cast Iron

noreply@blogger.com (David Blackburn) — Tue, 2 Oct 2007 22:38:00 -0700

There is a very good interview focused on cast iron in last Saturday's Good Food podcast, 'Table Manners; Four Star Hospitality; Jitlada' with Chris Kimball of America's Test Kitchen. The interview begins 31 minutes and 35 seconds into the episode, if you want to skip the beginning.

I have spent a lot of time researching and testing different cookware. I have some All-Clad, Mauviel, Staub, Le Creuset and good ole cast iron. The expensive cookware can cost about $100 for a pan and $150 for a Dutch oven. I've paid up to $250 for a good, copper roasting pan, but now do most of my roasting in cast iron skillets - see our Video 2.

The bottom line is that I have found cast iron to be superior to most cookware. I specifically like the Lodge pre-seasoned cast iron and I especially like the price. They are available at under cast iron products at our canning store.

I'm putting in a new kitchen for entertaining and canning, keeping my family kitchen on a different floor. The new kitchen will require new pots and pans, the majority of which will be cast iron. I've purchased several cast iron skillets, two grill pans, a couple of cast iron Dutch ovens, a cast iron wok (by Staub) and three heavy (5mm) copper saucepans with stainless lining and a non-stick omelet pan.

My cast iron tips are:

Have a designated cast iron skillet(s) and/or grill pan for fish. The fish flavor will absorb into the seasoning of a cast iron pan and can leach into other meats and food - yuck.
Never use any products that may stick, such as milk products. Gravies should be made in a stainless lined pan.
Never use soap for cleaning. Lightly scour with a metal pad and warm water. If you see something has stuck to the skillet, run water in it immediately after removing the food, being careful not to scald yourself.
Season cast iron every time you use it. After cleaning, put cast iron onto the stove and heat until all water is evaporated. If there is a lid, place the lid on, slightly askew to allow steam to escape.
Rub a tablespoon of olive oil into the hot skillet (again being careful not to burn yourself,) using a paper towel.

For a perfect steak, hamburger, pork, lamb or veal chop; sprinkle coarse kosher salt into a cast iron skillet and heat until it begins to smoke. Place the meat in the skillet. If the meat sticks to the skillet, it isn't yet seared and ready to turn. Cook until desired. For cheesburgers, add the cheese after turning and cover - I turn the heat off 1 minute after adding the cheese and let it continue cooking until the cheese is completely melted.

For roasted red potatoes; heat oven to 400 degrees. Add unpeeled potatoes cut into 1-1/2" pieces to skillet, mixing with a little olive oil directly in the skillet. I mix with my clean hands. Sprinkle with desired amount of salt (I use coarse kosher) and pepper. May add dried rosemary and/or thyme. Roast about 45 minutes, or until golden brown, shaking the skillet every 15 minutes to turn the potatoes.

For chicken or turkey breasts; place a well seasoned skillet over high heat until it slightly smokes. Add the breast(s) and cook for 4 minutes (3 minutes for small breasts). Turn the breasts and cook for 3 more minutes, cover and turn off the heat. Leave the breasts to steam for 15 minutes.

For braising vegetables such as endives or fennel, preheat the oven to 180 degrees, bring a cast iron Dutch oven to a medium high heat on the stove top with a little olive oil. Add trimmed vegetable with a little salt and pepper and brown on one side for about 5 - 6 minutes. Turn the vegetable, place the cover onto the Dutch oven and put it into the oven. Do not open the oven or the lid and let braise for one hour. After braising, you may serve them as is, or chop the vegetables and add them to a Bechamel sauce for a delicious side dish. Do not add salt and pepper to the Bechamel, as the braised vegetables are already contain them.

Remember you may remove meat from the pan and make a brown gravy direct in the skillet. For a white gravy, I make a Bechamel in a stainless lined saucepan and then add the meat drippings.

Bread and Butter Pickles

noreply@blogger.com (David Blackburn) — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 22:39:00 -0700

A friend gave me a load of fresh onions Friday that are delicious! I bought some cucumbers at the market today and made bread and butter pickles. They are very easy to make and I love to snack on them.

Autumn has settled in and I'm beginning to see nice squash at the market. I will begin thinking about canning some squash soup, but need to wait until the season is in full swing and the prices drop. I did some work this week on a turkey pot pie filling recipe and hope to get it posted soon.

Waterbath Canner verses Pressure Canner

noreply@blogger.com (David Blackburn) — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 22:33:00 -0700

The most frequently asked questions from our readers are “Do I really need to use a pressure canner for this recipe?” or “Can’t I use a waterbath canner for this recipe?” So, let’s address the differences between the two.

A waterbath canner processes canned goods submersed in boiling water. Water boils at 212F or 100C at sea level. A pressure canner, at 11 pounds of pressure, processes foods at a higher pressure and reaches a temperature of 240F or 115C at sea level. This represents a 15 percent increase in the processing temperature!

Some foods are more acidic and some are less acidic or non-acidic. We can typically taste acidic foods on the sides of the tongue, not to be confused with bitter tastes on the back of the tongue. Sweets are tasted with the tip of the tongue. You can test this by tasting consecutive spoonfuls of lemon juice (acidic,) tonic water (bitter,) and a sugar cube (sweet,) and then noting the area of the tongue that becomes sensitive upon tasting each one.

Common acidic foods are citrus fruits, apples, berries tomatoes and peaches. At the opposite end of the spectrum, low-acid foods include meats and vegetables with the exception of some peppers. Although we can taste these on our tongue, a more accurate measurement of a food’s pH, or level of acidity can be made using pH strips or a pH meter. Both can be found at our canning supply store.

In canning, the magic number for determining high-acid verses low-acid foods is 4.6. Foods with a pH of 4.6 or below are considered high in acid and are generally safe for processing using a waterbath canner. Certain bacteria exist in low-acid foods, with a pH above 4.6, that cannot be eliminated at 212 degrees Fahrenheit. Low-acid foods must be processed at the higher temperature of 240 degrees Fahrenheit. Please note there are certain dense foods that should never be processed at home such as pesto.

If you intend to process a lot of low-acid foods, we highly recommend an investment in a good pressure canner. We prefer the All-American pressure canners, which can be quite expensive. You might start making hints that one would make a great holiday or birthday gift! Waterbath canners and pressure canners may be found at our canning supply store.

More information about high-acid and low-acid foods can be found in our five dollar technical guide available at the CanningUSA.com.

More Figs and Zucchini

noreply@blogger.com (David Blackburn) — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 21:20:00 -0700

I picked five or six dozen more figs yesterday. It looks like the rest will be ripe within a week or so and I'll can them at that time.

I went to the farmers market which seemed to be overflowing with beautiful zucchini. Now is the time to can zucchini soup! I can mine using only salt and pepper and a little lemon juice, which helps keep the color. I decide what I'm going to do with zucchini soup upon opening. Sometimes, I add a hint of nutmeg or some shaved Parmesan cheese. I might add a little cream (or just milk) when serving it to company as a starter. You might also try poaching cod in it as we do in Video 4.

Along with the zucchini, eggplant is in season and it's about the end of the tomato season. With the three in season, it's the perfect time to can ratatouille, which is a traditional French sauté of onions, zucchini, eggplant and tomatoes. If you've never had it, I'd recommend making some for dinner and trying it on its own, or serving it with a pork or lamb chop. Feel free to change the quantity mix of the vegetables to suit your own taste. When serving with beef, I like to add Worcestershire!

Figs

noreply@blogger.com (David Blackburn) — Sat, 8 Sep 2007 00:31:00 -0700

I picked figs this morning for the second time this week. They are really beautiful. I have one tree that produces small, dark-purple figs and another that produces large, redish ones. I'm not ready to can them because the weather is nice and I need to get some outside painting done plus I'm putting in a lawn. So, I've decided to freeze them and can after all of them are picked. I'm rinsing them off, letting them dry and then putting them into freezer bags.

When I do can the figs, I'll can the small figs in red wine. When I open these, I usually remove the wine sauce from the canning jar and reduce it until it's the thickness of syrup just before serving. I put the two or three figs in a large soup dish with two or three scoops of vanilla ice cream and then drizzle the syrup over them. Yum!

I'll make fig jam from the large ones because the lighter color is so appealing. I can serve the fig jam with pound cake, or heat it up and put it over ice cream.

I know that tomato season is almost over and I'm trying to decide what I need to can with them. I'll go to the farmers market next week before making a final decision. I saw some beautiful eggplants last week and have been thinking about them too!

Applesauce

noreply@blogger.com (Andrea Van Wallenburg) — Thu, 6 Sep 2007 23:22:00 -0700

This is my first Blog, so bear with me as I get accustomed to this form of writing. David has been blogging for years and you can tell by the way he so easily finds that blog tone and runs with it.

I wanted to write about applesauce but the more I thought about it I realized that what I was really going to say had a lot more to do with the joys of cooking and canning in general. I'll start out with the applesauce and tell you what I mean along the way.

So, we have an orchard, a bit old and in need of care, but nevertheless we have this amazing apple tree, Alexandre is the variety, and it produced a record number of apples this year. As I do every year, I set about collecting the apples and preparing to start the peeling, chopping and cooking of the apples. My husband carried this huge box of apples over from the orchard and I set things up on the terrace outside the kitchen door to get to work. Then one of my sons, Phillip, came along and sat down, asking if I wanted a little help as the quantity of apples gave the impression I might be there for several hours! So we set to work; I peeled and he chopped and to our amazement Johan my husband came out with another chopping board and knife and joined us!

We passed an hour this way, chatting while we worked, filling two of my huge pots with chopped apples, which of course resulted in two huge pots of applesauce. I will post my various recipes on our web site, or rather David will since I am such an incompetent computer person.

Anyway, at one point a friend of ours came over to say hello and found us out on the terrace. He was amazed to see this little apple party; how many of us are lucky enough to have an 18 year old son and a husband who would happily take up this kind of work?

It all made me realize that cooking and canning are really great vehicles for social interaction. It doesn't have to be some solitary activity the canner does alone and slaves away for hours preparing all those apples.

OK, so I'm the one who actually stirs the pot and eventually puts the applesauce in the jars, but once again, when it comes time to load up the canner, Phillip is right there to help me lift all the jars.

We have a cellar full of three different applesauces this year which we will slowly enjoy during the winter months for easy desserts, warm or just straight out of the jar. Perfect comfort food!

First post

noreply@blogger.com (David Blackburn) — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 03:58:00 -0700

I've been canning for several years now. When I began canning, I had difficulty figuring out how to do it. All of the information was either by word of mouth, in a format that was difficult to understand or simply scattered about from one book to another. It seemed like each time I wanted to can something new, it would take as much time doing research on how to can as the actual canning itself.

I bought every book available, including some used books from the 40s and 50s and I was fortunate to meet some other home canners who had a lot of experience and taught me how they did it. I compared what they did with what all the books and internet sources said and researched safe canning by the USDA. I then began developing my own canning recipes, which I posted to CanningUSA.com with step-by-step instructions and photos. After canning everything from jam to foie gras and duck confit to a freshly slaughtered whole pig (including making sausage!), I sat down and began developing a pedagogy for canning. I was able to break all canning into six basic canning methods that were progressive in difficulty.

The first method is the easiest - canning jams and infused fruit. It doesn't require a lot of skill or equipment and is the most commonly learned method. It only requires a water bath canner.

The second method was a little more difficult and focused with fruit: Canning fruit in syrup or as a pie filling. It's a little more difficult than canning jam and is the next logical step for a home canner. It also only requires a water bath canner, but introduces the difference between cold pack and hot pack canning.

The third method increases the level of difficulty, as it moves into tomatoes. They are still a fruit, but everyone uses them as a vegetable. The objective here was to learn how to can tomato sauce which is very popular and an extreme time-saver. Along with tomato sauce, we included canned salsa and whole or diced tomatoes for those who want to make their sauces at a later date. Again, this method only requires a water bath canner and reaffirms the difference between cold pack and hot pack canning.

The fourth method introduces how to can vegetables and soups. They are low in acid and are canned very similarly to the fruits in methods 2 and 3. However, this method requires a pressure canner and the majority of this method is spent on getting comfortable using a pressure canner.

The fifth method moves into meat packing with whole meals in a jar; chili, stew, etc. It's more difficult to do, but if one learned the other steps first then they wouldn't have any trouble catching on. This is super handy when making a large batch of your favorite chili, stew, chicken soup or meat marinara sauce. This method also uses a pressure canner.

Method six finishes off the pedagogy by teaching how to can pates, meatloaf and fish. This method introduces the raw pack method, meaning that the product is canned uncooked and then cooks while it is being processed in the pressure canner.

Using these progressive methods, I was able to develop a series of six, approximately ten- minute home canning videos, with the help of my dear friend Andrea Van Wallenburg and Fergus Anderson. We scripted the six methods and filmed the videos in Andrea's kitchen. Fergus had intended to be on holiday from filming short films and documentaries, but was nice enough to help us get the videos produced.

CanningUSA.com had existed with just recipes until we added the videos. At that time, we also changed the quantity formats in recipes to be unique to a common jar size so that someone could decide how much they wanted to can and make a batch that size. This was contrary the confusing recipes found in practically all canning recipes, which have inconsistent quantities; 8 pints, 9 quarts, 1 peck or bushel, etc.

Andrea and I are canning buddies and we use different philosophies for canning. I live in town and entertain a lot, shopping at the farmers' market. My focus is on things I can use for entertaining. Andrea has a blended family with seven children and lives in the country, where her husband, Johan, grows some vegetables and tomatoes for her and they have some nice fruit trees and brambles. They also have an organic farmer friend, Stu, who drops off incredibly beautiful fruits and vegetables. She's cooks for a hoard of people everyday, in between raising kids and a full-time job. I don't know how she does it.

Rather than try to describe why Andrea is a home canner and the differences between what we can, I hope Andrea will make an occasional post to this blog. When we post, we'll try to tell you why and what we're canning, what we're doing with canned goods upon opening or tips for how to can more easily. We might even throw in some of the questions we get from CanningUSA.com inquiries and our recommended solutions.

Before I end this post, please remember to visit the CanningUSA.com Canning Supplies Store. We're associates of trusted Amzon.com and have been able to develop the store in conjunction with Amazon.com and their other associates. The pricing is the same as at Amazon.com, checkout is through Amazon.com and their shipping rates and policies apply. The shipping can sometimes make canning jars more expensive that you might find them locally. However, we think the other products are good quality, competitively priced, including the shipping and handling charges. Plus there are some unique products that aren't easily found locally.

Happy Canning!