Can I Learn How to Can?
After last week's abundant harvest, I knew the time had come for me to cross over into new territory... grownup territory... stuff my mom, aunts, and other mature women in my hometown did every summer. What they engaged in was hot. It looked labor intensive. It took a long time. And I didn't want anything to do with it. Canning. Preserving food. Putting up stores... for the winter. I remember participating once—at my sister's—and I didn't have fond memories of it. It was hot. It took a long time. And it just wasn't any fun. Why do this, I thought at the time? And I stayed away for as long as I could...Then I experienced my harvest of this summer. I've been eating cucumbers like there's no tomorrow. I can't keep up! I give them away. I give them to whomever I think would enjoy them. Unfortunately, I'm really the only dedicated cucumber eater in my house. So I started simply, turning to refrigerator pickles. They are innocent enough. Just soak them in salted water for 24 hours, then follow the pickling steps the next day. Put them in containers (they don't even have to be canning jars) and refrigerate. They'll keep in the fridge for up to 6 months. Hey, that's pretty cool. I can do that. And so I have. I think I'm on my fourth or fifth batch this summer. I eat platefuls of sweet and sour pickles—not the typical three slices on the side of a plate. Heck no! They fill my whole plate and I have cheese slices on the side! I call that lunch! So then I thought, heck, I can't keep up with this. These cucumbers and pickles are coming out of my ears! Maybe I better at least buy the canning jars and bottle them up so they look nice. They'll look better for giving away and maybe won't take up so much refrigerator space.
So I did. I bought the Ball jars. I packed the refrigerator pickles in the jars and put pretty labels on them to keep track of when I packed each batch. I put them in the back of my fridge. OK, not bad, but I could quickly see how this too could get out of hand. I have a small refrigerator. How many weeks of this could I take?
You can see how they are stacking up—columns and rows!
Hmmmm... I guess I'll need to learn how to can—grownup style. Like my mom did. Besides I have some beets in my fridge taking up space and I've been eating them every week too. Wouldn't it be nice to taste some beets in the middle of winter? I went online and ordered a canner. It came. Oh, I didn't buy the right one according to one who knows. I was advised to get a pressure canner because it takes less time and you can use it for pressure cooking too and you always have the option of canning in the traditional bath method without the pressure part engaged. OK, that makes sense. It's like having three pots in one and I don't have that much storage space, so I better just get one canner. I returned the first one—the traditional blue with white/grey specks that we've seen since we were kids and ordered a 10 quart Fagor 9 piece pressure canner. It comes with the pressure canner/cooker, canning cookbook, pressure cooking book, canning rack, stainless funnel, stainless steel ladle, jar lifter, jar wrench, bubble freer, magnetic lid lifter, a DVD on how to do this stuff (very exciting!) and a manual. And... can you believe it, the first one was delivered on Monday, returned on Tuesday, and the Fagor one was delivered on Friday. All in a week's time! I was amazed. Isn't it pretty?!
I watched the DVD... it was encouraging. It looked simple enough and was very explanatory. Maybe I can do this. I boiled the beets from the fridge. It didn't seem like I had too many so I thought I wouldn't have much to can. It seemed like it would be a half of a canning effort. I can start small. If I mess up, it won't be so bad—only one batch of beets.
I washed the canner and all the supplies that came with it. I washed the Ball jars, lids, and the rings. I put the canning rack inside the canner placing the lids and the rings in a container and just two pint-sized Ball jars next to them. I added some water and brought it to a boil. Then I let it set to keep them hot while I made the canning solution for the beets.
I cut the beets in quarters and then sliced them in half inch slices. Wow, they really filled up the bowl more than I thought they would!
The Pickled Beet recipe sounded pretty good. I made the brine with cider vinegar with a 5% acidity, local honey, kosher salt, cinnamon sticks, allspice (I didn't have whole so I used ground, but less in quantity) and black peppercorns. I brought it to a simmer. And voila...
Then I added the sliced beets to the canning solution. I carefully took the jars out of the canner with the boiling hot water using the jar lifter and I removed the lids and the rings too. Then I put the stainless steel funnel on top of one of the jars and ladled the beets into the funnel. The jars filled quickly. I realized I needed two more jars, which I prepared quickly and then filled them. I placed the jars back into the canner. The recipe I was using called for the traditional bath canning, which I did, because I figured I could learn how to do it both ways and then have a point of comparison. Since I haven't canned in over 40 years a refresher in the traditional way didn't seem like a bad way to go. I brought the water (1 inch over the top of the jars) to a boil and let them boil for 30 minutes. This would kill all the bacteria and give them a chance to seal.
I removed them from the canner placing them in an out of the way spot to set for 12 hours. Don't they look amazing! The one on the right in front has a long cinnamon stick inserted front and center. I imagine that they will taste pretty scrumptious...
The next step is to test the lids in one hour. I have to press down on the center of each of the lids; if it can be pushed down, it hasn't sealed, and the jar should be refrigerated immediately. If I can't push the center down, then a seal has been created and it was a success. I'm hoping for that. I have to check them in 23 minutes... wish me luck!
Let me know about your canning adventures and any wise tips that you can pass along. I feel like I'm one step closer to survival living. I might be able to do this enough to actually make it through a winter! Not this year yet, but I'm practicing for the years to come. And Bon appetit!
