Canning

[thesunflowergal]

Hi Everyone

Does anyone else can their jam, chutney etc so that it lasts in the cupboard for longer? Most people do not seem to know what I am on about, when I ask them

I know that you are able to can most food stuffs, I am planning on trying to do more this year as a way of preserving the product from my garden for the winter.

I would be really interested to hear what other people do, and maybe I can get a few more ideas.

Take care Nikki

[contadina]

Whatever I can really - so aside from jams, chutneys and ketchups. I put a lot of things under oil, such as artichoke hearts, aubergines, courgettes, sun-dried tomatoes, lampishone (like a shallot but from the hyacinth family) mushrooms, chillies etc. Other things go under vinegar or salt/brine such as capers, tomatoes, mixed veg (gardiniere) and olives. Probably the most important jarring I do to last us throughout the year, however, is making passata. I think I did around 80 kilos worth last year. http://www.growveg.info/viewtopic.php?f=3757&t=9970

[thesunflowergal]

Contadina

Wow thats fab!!

I was proud of myself for making 5 large jars of passata, but that is something that I will try to make more of this year.

[Moonwaves]

The only bottling I've done so far is chutney for the first time late last summer and stewed apple. Oh, and tomato sauce (as in ketchup) the year before last. That was my very first thing to try and I used it all really quickly because I couldn't convince myself the jars were really sealed. Gave me a little thrill each time I opened one and heard the little 'pop'.

Have a bid on a water canner on ebay at the moment so that I can do more this year and passata will be high up on my list of stuff to do as well as just tomatoes. Would love to not have to buy tins of tomatoes, that would cut right back on the small amount of stuff I buy in supermarkets.

Just wondering though what you mean by canning. My understanding of it is that what is usually called bottling or just preserving in Europe is called canning in America. That's used for things like jam and chutney that have high levels of sugar or vinegar and don't need any further processing.

Then water bath canning is when you put the filled jars into a big pot of water and boil them for however long it takes for that recipe and it's used for things with low acidity (tomatoes tend to be borderline so as far as I know it's usually better to process them, but ketchup for example doesn't need it because of the vinegar and sugar content).

And then pressure canning is for things that need a very high temperature (meat etc.) and is done in a piece of equipment similar to a pressure cooker (but I think you're not supposed to use an actual pressure cooker for some reason).

[Ellendra]

I do a lot of canning. I put up jams, jellies, tomatoes, and other produce during the summer and fall, and meats and soups during the winter. I still have several pints of turkey from the Thanksgiving/Christmas season.

[frozenthunderbolt]

I save all jars that have pop button lids and put up jam chutny sauces and stewed fruit in them. i Fill the jars and their lids with boiling water then empty and fill with boiling sauce fruit jam etc. screw the lid on tight and so long as the button seal goes down it's all good.
Never had any problems. the only thing i might actual waterbath is tomatoes given their propensity to botulisim.