Okay, so it's a cheesy title but it was the first thing I thought of.I was blessed to grow up on fresh veggies and local fruit year-round because my mom spent endless hours canning and freezing the bounties from our garden and neighboring area. Though I often was a party (I'd LIKE to say it was without grumbling or complaining) to the harvesting process, I haven't until recently known how to do the rest.
I've got a lot to learn and am prepared to work my way through a few new ones each year...certainly not all at once! But, so far I've made or help to make strawberry jelly, sweet corn, and applesauce to freeze. And in a few weeks I'll can a large batch of peaches and pears for the first time. I don't make many pies, but there is now a cherry pie filling recipe in my repetoire that Pete DEVOURS! And there are plenty of ways that I've learned how to use the fresh berries my parents grow while they're in season.
But one veggie (or should I say, fruit) continues to puzzle me. TOMATOES
I'm not interested in making my own marinara or pizza sauce--maybe another year--but want to somehow preserve them in diced form for stews and soups.
I'm hoping to find jars no bigger than a soup can for storage and would prefer to can them versus freeze due to space issues when we get our big pork and beef order in the early fall.
Anyone have any suggestions or "recipes"?
2 comments:
I have linked to your blog from a good family friend ~ Rohal Call. Try contacting the Lancaster Cty Coop Ext. Office at 717-394-6851. They have free pamphlets that have a plethora of canning recipes. They also offer canning classes during the summer. (A salsa class is being offered on Sept. 9. Cost is $7.50 and is money WELL spent.) The instructor is a previous Home Ec. teacher and very knowledgeable. While talking with them, sign up to get the free canning newsletter. Have fun!
~Valerie
In my canning experience, I've referenced the Blue Book by Ball as well as homecanning.com to solve problems or answer questions. I can't offer much good advice on canning diced tomatoes, though, since my tomatoes last year didn't turn out so well... there ended up being not enough liquid in the jars when they were canned, so we ended up throwing them all out.
Needless to say, I've given up on tomatoes, since they are somewhat time-consuming. Tomato sauce, on the other hand, was much easier. Wishing you much canning success... it's a great thing to do!
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