Proccessing fruit and garden vegetables (825 views, 40 replies)

Hello, I have a big vegetable garden and often have bulk fruit to process. These are the recipes and canning processes I use.

Tomatoesare a versatile garden veggie used in many ways. I like to make pasta sauce and process them with a water bath canner.
Do not use over ripe tomatoes for canning because they do not keep well.
It takes about 20 pounds of tomato to make 6 quarts of sauce.
After harvest wash well and blanch in hot water to remove skins. I use a hand spin food mill to remove seeds and cores.
Put in large stock pot and bring to a boil. Then simmer until sauce cooks down a little to thicken it. Stir it a lot during cooking so it does not scorch on the bottom.
Put at least one tablespoon of dried herbs, I use Thyme and Oregano, and one teaspoon of lemon juice in the bottom of a sterilized jar. Fill with tomato sauce leaving one inch head space at the top. Be sure to wipe the rim of the jar off well before setting the lid and ring. I process six quarts at a time.
Process in water bath canner 45 minutes for quarts and 35 for pints.
After canning is complete, wipe jars off well and store in a cool dark place. ... I let them set for several weeks before opening to let the herbs fuse well in the sauce.
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Hi udahntiudahndo !
I LOVE this topic. As i live in the very center of a larger city my options for self grown vegetables and fruits are rather limited, but both my grandmas had really large gardens and knew how to make preserved fruits ("Eingemachtes") and vegetables. They came from a time when scarcity just made supply inventory necessary (Two big wars just teach ya)
Just anything was processed: any kind of berries, fruits, veggies etc. These were the times when a fridge was a space product. My black forest Granny never had one. She was of the opinion that; "...cold milk is PURE POISON. Or why do you think the Lord made it come WARM out of my cow? A fridge is for lazy people with too much money for elctricity!!"
Maaaaan she was georgous.
Sooo i cant contribute any good recipes (although i see that all from the connoisseur point of view)but another rather technical thing:The famous EINMACHGLASS.My grannies sweared by it.

This is no advertising for the WECK company, as the term "einwecken" got an equivalent for preserving anything from your garden and is a verb in the Duden (german equivalent to Merriam Webster). Soooo the trick is the rubber band, if its real rubber from caoutchouc it will be airtight like forever. (AND we used it as the best rubber band for our boy slingshots)
The second trick is INGENIOUS. My black forest grandma used to pour a thin layer of "Obstler"
(like 2-3 mm)on top of the content, "isolating" it against any microorganisms. (Obstler is a schnaps, kinf of a fruit brandy).When my Mom died 3 years ago we found HUNDREDS of marmelade glasses dating back as far as 1973, They were still GOOD.
warm hello from Germany, ahve a cool day

I'll be canning my own green beans and tomatoes soon. I prefer to use a pressure cooker. I'm looking forward to hearing about what you do, and how you do it.

I have a dehydrator and I love it. Food will keep for 25 years. Easier to store.

uuuiii udahntiudahndo, you made me so curious i went to cellar and started to rummage around in some old boxes and dadaaaaa i found an old recipe for pear compote.
I never actually made that myself but i ATE tons of it as a boy and i loved it.
Here we go: ingredients
1 kg of pears (my granny had the old type "Gute Luise" in her garden, but i assume any will do. I know that because she used to call that desert "my dead Luises" -I felt sorry for them )
1 lemon
500 ml water
40 g cane sugar
1 Vanilla pod/ 1 cinnamon stick /2-3 cloves
Some 4 cl Williams pear Schnapps
Glasses (see above )

peel and core the pears, then cut them to pieces.
squeeze the lemon and add the juice to the water in a pot,
Scratch out the pith of the vanilla and add it to the water together with all other
ingredients.
cook for 10-12 minutes (no lid) then fill in the glasses.
removing the cinamon and the cloves after cooking will improve the tenability (not the taste i am afraid)
... Should be good up to a year. Having another lil Williams Schapps while cooking is highly recommended

Bon appetit!
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Blueberries For Blueberry Jelly I like to use fresh blueberries when available but frozen ones work as well.
First thing to do is to squash the berries to help them cook down and go through the food mill more easily. I just smash them, one layer at a time, in the stock pot. Once this is done add a little water. I will add up to four cups for a full pot. Heat to boiling then simmer for about 45 minutes. Berries are heavy so you must stir constantly or it will scorch.
Next thing to do is run all the berries through a food mill. You can also run that juice through a strainer lined with cheese cloth after milling it if you want your jelly more clear. We like it junky and thick so I skip the cheese cloth.
Now that you have your product to make jelly out of, measure two quarts or 8 cups of juice in a heavy pot and slowly stir in 12 cups of sugar and one teaspoon of sweet butter. Heat to boiling over high heat. Stir constantly.
At boil add 6 ounces of liquid fruit pectin, bring back to a full boil. Boil one minute..do not over cook or the jelly will not set.
... Remove from heat and skim foam off the top. The butter eliminates most of the foam though.
Pour into hot sterile pint jars. Leave at least 1/4 inch head space on top. Wipe rim of jar and set lid and ring. Process in water bath canner for 5 minutes at a rolling boil.
I just did this one Mother's Day this year. It was a good day.
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Pickle Beets Beets are best for picking directly after harvest. Wash beets well and cut off the ends. Put in large stock pot and cover with water. Cook beets until tender. Pour the juice off the beets but keep it for making the pickle brine.
Flush beets in cold water and peel, the skins should come off quite easily. Slice beets into thin slices. 1/8 inch slices or less is best for absorbing the brine.
In a pot mix-
2 cups of the juice off the beets,
1 cup of vinegar,
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons pickling spice.
Bring to a boil.
Taste test the juice now. You can add more vinegar or sugar depending on how you like it. You don't want it to be to sour.
Put peeled/sliced beets in the juice mix and let it come to a boil.
Pack sterile quart jars with beet slices then fill jars with hot juice. At this point I use a wooden spoon handle and run it up and down inside the jar to make sure there are no air bubbles. Be careful not to break the slices up to much with the spoon handle.
... Wipe rim of jar, set lid and ring and process in water bath canner for 10 to 15 minutes to ensure a good seal. I let mine set for a month in a cool, dark place before opening.
I share this recipe in honor of my Grandmother who has passed on but forever lives in my Heart.
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Beet Jelly~ After making pickled beets there is always a ton of juice left. Grandmother always said there is no sense in wasting it. Beet jelly may not sound very appetizing but it is actually quite good.
Recipe-
6 cups beet juice
6 cups sugar
3 packs of raspberry kool-aide
2 boxes of sure-jel
In a big pot add juice, kool-aide and sure jel.
Bring it to a boil.
Slowly add sugar and bring to a rolling boil. Boil for 5 minutes. Stir constantly.
Pour into sterile jars, wipe jar rim and set lid and ring.
Water bath them for 5 to 10 minutes to ensure a good seal.
Store in a cool dark place until it sets.
NOTE: Do not double this recipe. We would make multiple batches in order to use all the beet juice.

What a wonderful thread with lots of good tips and info. This is especially a great read for this time of year and I am so grateful that I stumbled across this. Thanks you kindly for sharing and I look forward to more!

I make all my own fermented cabbage and beets, etc. I just don't use all the gels and sugar. I don't need them, so it's not really a jelly, it's more a meal, if that makes any sense?

It's purely a taste difference as both are amazing freshly made.

This is not a fruit or veggie process but they are so good I am going to share the recipe.
Pickle Rolls~
We used 1/2 pound of thin sliced Black Forest Ham
Cream Cheese
Dill Pickle Spears.
First thing is to take the spears out of the pickle juice and set them on paper towels and pat them down to remove excess juice.
Lay a slice of ham out flat, spread a thin layer of cream cheese over it, put a pickle on one side and begin rolling it up. End with the opening facing down. Slice into bite size pieces and enjoy.
My Granddaughter also likes these with a tortilla shell on the outside with everything else rolled inside. They are super good and relatively low fat. Great for summer meals.