Canning 101: Plum Jam

It's been awhile since I shared a canning recipe! This is a plum jam that I made this fall. 

Begin with about 8 cups pitted and peeled plums. Put them in a large saucepan with a half cup water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and boil gently until the plums are softened, about 5 minutes.

You can crush the plums but I wanted something a little more consistent so I pureed them with my stick blender. This gives you about 6 cups of pulp.

Now add 1 package of (1.75 oz) regular powdered fruit pectin and whisk it in really well. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently.

Add 8 cups of granulated sugar all at once and return to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil hard, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Remove from heat and skim off foam.

Prepare your jars and lids. See HERE for further information of preparing your jars and lids.

Ladle hot jam into the hot jars, leaving 1/4" headspace. Remove any air bubbles and add more jam, if needed. Clean the rims with a damp towel and put on the lids. Screw band down until finger-tip tight.

Place your jars in a water-canner, making sure they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes. Remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars, cool and store.

 This recipe is so easy! I hope you give it a try! Happy Canning! :)

Wordless Wednesday: Home Canned Carrots

Here is a finished 'project' from Monday!

Want to learn how to can your own carrots?

I've got a tutorial for that right HERE! :)

Pear Sauce

I got a bunch of pears from the food bank awhile ago. I always get the perishable left overs that no one wants and these were almost at the toss-them-out stage. So what to do with them when no one wants to eat them? Make pear sauce!

Pear sauce is basically applesauce made with pears instead. You could even make pear butter with this. You can find my applesauce/apple butter recipe HERE. And while your at it can it and save it for those frozen winter months when you're dreaming of fresh foods. MMMmmmm....

Carrots

Have you ever seen such huge carrots before? I haven't! I'm not sure what variety they are.

I received these as 'unwanted left overs' from the local food bank recently. I took a morning and cleaned them up, sliced them, and canned them. Now we'll have fresh home canned carrots in the middle of winter!

You can find my recipe and instructions on canning carrots HERE in my Canning 101 Series. Enjoy!

Canning 101: White Potatoes

Canning white potatoes is almost identical to canning sweet potatoes with only a few changes. This is a great way to store an overabundance of this root vegetable. Canning your own food is a great way to be conscious of what you eat and a way to keep the over-processed foods available in the grocery stores these days out of your diet.


*The full recipe without commentary will be at the very end of this post.

1. Get everything out and set up, ready for use.

2. Prepare your jars. Check them for chips or cracks and sterilize them. I put mine in my dishwasher on the extra hot sterilizing cycle. If you don't have a dishwasher wash the jars in hot soapy water, rinsing well.

3. Prepare your potatoes. Wash them, leave the smaller potatoes whole and quarter the larger potatoes. Place them in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil to partially cook them, until the peel can be easily removed, about 10 minutes.

4. Drain the water and let them cool for awhile. Peel and cut into 1" cubes. Place the cubes in a bowl/pot with water and lemon juice (about 1 quart of water and 2 Tbs of lemon juice will do the trick). This will keep your white potatoes from discoloring or darkening while you work.

5. Prepare the rest of your equipment. Fill a pot with water and bring to a boil, this will be used to pour over the potatoes in the jars. And place your lids in another small pot, heat but don't boil.

6. Prepare your pressure canner(s- I'll be using 2 canners this time). Fill it with 4 quarts of water and set the heat to medium/low to begin heating the water. I have really hard water so I also add a couple tablespoon of white vinegar to the water. The vinegar keeps a chalky white build up off the jars- it's not going to hurt your jars if you don't add the vinegar but it just makes them look nicer!

7. Fill each jar, leaving 1 inch of headspace between the potatoes and the rim.

8. Pour the boiling water over the potatoes, also leaving about 1 inch of headspace.

9. Run a couple wooden skewers or a wooden spoon between the inside edge of the jar and the potatoes to release any air bubble. Add more hot water as needed.

10. Clean the jar rims off, place on the lids and rings, finger tip tight. You don't need to tighten the rings too much, just enough to hold the lids in place.

11. Place the jars into the pressure canner and lock the lid in place.

12. Turn the heat up on the canner. At this point the pressure gage is at zero, the cap is off the air vent, and the vent is down in the open position.

13. As heat and pressure builds the vent will eventually pop up into the closed position. Leave the cap off the air vent for 5 to 10 minutes to let the steam to continue to vent, and heat and pressure to build.

14. Place the cap on and let pressure build. For white potatoes, the pressure needs to be between 10 and 11 pounds of pressure. Adjust the heat to keep it at the correct pressure throughout the canning process.

15. Once pressure has built to the correct 10-11 pounds of pressure, begin timing. Can the white potatoes for 35 minutes for pints or 40 minutes for quarts.

16. Once the times is up, turn the heat off and leave the canner alone. Let the pressure decompress on its own. Once the air vent has dropped back down into the open position it is safe to open the canner. When you open it, lift the lid away from you. It's still hot in there and you don't want to be burned by the steam!

17. Using your jar lifters remove the jars from the canner and set them in a place to cool for 12-24 hours. You might here the lids 'pop!' down sometime in the cooling process. After the jars are cool check to make sure all the lids have popped down and are correctly sealed. If any jars haven't sealed correctly, re-process them in the pressure canner with new lids or use immediately and store in the refrigerator.

To store: Label the lid with the date and what is in the jar. Remove the rings and place in a cool, dry place out of the sunlight. Store for up to a year.

Before eating canned items, always check the jar for a good seal, check the canned item for a fresh smell and good color. If anything looks off or smells bad then toss it!

Potatoes- White or Irish

• 2 to 3 pounds white potatoes per quart
• Salt (optional)
• Water

Wash white potatoes; drain. Leave small potatoes whole; cut large potatoes into quarters. Cover potatoes with water in a large saucepot; boil 10 minutes. Remove from eat and partially cool; peel and place in lemon bath (1 quart water to 1 Tbs lemon juice). Pack potatoes into jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt to each pint jar, 1 teaspoon salt to each quart jar (optional). Ladle boiling water over potatoes, leaving 1-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust 2-piece caps. Process pints 35 minutes, quarts 40 minutes, at 10 pounds pressure in a steam-pressure canner.

Canning 101: Sweet Potatoes

Sweet Potatoes are one of the easiest things to can. If you have an overabundance of this root vegetable from your or a friends garden this summer then the best way to preserve them is to can them. When it's the dead of winter you can pop open a fresh can and think of summer past and future.

*The full recipe without commentary will be at the very end of this post.

1. Begin by preparing your equipment. Set everything up and have it ready to go.

2. Check your jars for chips/cracks and then sterilize them. My dishwasher has an extra hot sterilize cycle so I let it do the work. If you don't have a dishwasher wash the jars and rings in hot soapy water, rinsing well.

3. Fill a pot with water and heat to boiling (to be used later to pour on the sweet potatoes in the jars) and place your lids in a smaller pan and heat to sterilize but do not boil, as it will ruin the sealant on the rim.

4. I have also prepared the water in the pressure canner. Add 4 quarts of water and set the heat to low/medium to begin it warming. I have really hard water so I also add a couple tablespoon of white vinegar to the water. The vinegar keeps a chalky white build up off the jars- it's not going to hurt your jars if you don't add the vinegar but it just makes them look nicer!

5. Prepare your sweet potatoes. Wash and place in the bottom of a pot, cover with water. Bring the water to a boil and partially cook the sweet potatoes, until the peel can be easily removed, about 10-15 minutes.

6. Peel potatoes and cut into 1 inch sizes cubes.

7. Fill each jar, leaving 1 inch headspace between the sweet potatoes and the rim.

8. Pour the boiling water over the sweet potatoes, also leaving about 1 inch headspace.

9. Run a couple wooden skewers or a wooden spoon between the inside edge of the jar and the sweet potatoes to release any air bubble. Add more hot water as needed.

10. Clean the jar rims off, place on the lids and rings, finger tip tight. You don't need to tighten the rings too much, just enough to hold the lids in place.

11. Place the jars into the pressure canner and lock the lid in place.

12. Turn the heat up on the canner. At this point the pressure gage is at zero, the cap is off the air vent, and the vent is down in the open position.

13. As heat and pressure builds the vent will eventually pop up into the closed position. Leave the cap off the air vent for 5 to 10 minutes to let the steam to continue to vent, and heat and pressure to build.

14. Place the cap on and let pressure build. For sweet potatoes, the pressure needs to be between 10 and 11 pounds of pressure. Adjust the heat to keep it at the correct pressure throughout the canning process.

15. Once pressure has built to the correct 10-11 pounds of pressure, begin timing. Can the sweet potatoes for 1 hour and 5 minutes for pints or 1 hour and 30 minutes for quarts.

16. Once the times is up, turn the heat off and leave the canner alone. Let the pressure decompress on its own. Once the air vent has dropped back down into the open position it is safe to open the canner. When you open it, lift the lid away from you. It's still hot in there and you don't want to be burned by the steam!

17. Using your jar lifters remove the jars from the canner and set them in a place to cool for 12-24 hours. You might here the lids 'pop!' down sometime in the cooling process. After the jars are cool check to make sure all the lids have popped down and are correctly sealed. If any jars haven't sealed correctly, re-process them in the pressure canner with new lids or use immediately and store in the refrigerator.

To store: Label the lid with the date and what is in the jar. Remove the rings and place in a cool, dry place out of the sunlight. Store for up to a year.

Before eating canned items, always check the jar for a good seal, check the canned item for a fresh smell and good color. If anything looks off or smells bad then toss it!

Sweet Potatoes

• 2 to 3 pounds sweet potatoes per quart
• Water

Wash sweet potatoes; drain. Boil or steam potatoes until peel can be easily removed. Peel potatoes and cut into quarters. Pack hot potatoes into hot jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Ladle boiling water over potatoes, leaving 1-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust two-piece caps. Process pints 1 hour and 5 minutes, quarts 1 hour and 30 minutes, at 10 pounds pressure in a steam-pressure canner.

Canning 101: Carrots

Carrots are one of the easiest things to can. If you have an overabundance of this root vegetable from your or a friends garden this summer then the best way to preserve them is to can them. When it's the dead of winter you can pop open a fresh can and think of summers past and future.

*The full recipe without commentary will be at the very end of this post.

*The method I'll be writing about today is the raw pack method, or packing the vegetables in the jars raw.

1. Begin by preparing your equipment. Set everything up and have it ready to go.

2. Check your jars for chips/cracks and then sterilize them. My dishwasher has an extra hot sterilize cycle so I let it do the work. If you don't have a dishwasher wash the jars and rings in hot soapy water, rinsing well.

3. Fill a pot with water and heat to boiling (to be used later to pour of the carrots in the jars) and place your lids in a smaller pan and heat to sterilize but do not boil, as it will ruin the sealant on the rim.

4. I have also prepared the water in the pressure canner. Add 4 quarts of water and set the heat to low/medium to begin it warming. I have really hard water so I also add a couple tablespoon of white vinegar to the water. The vinegar keeps a chalky white build up off the jars- it's not going to hurt your jars if you don't add the vinegar but it just makes them look nicer!

5. Prepare your carrots. Wash, peal, and cut. You can cut the carrots any way you please, as long as they will fit in the jars.

6. Fill each jar with carrots, leaving 1 inch headspace between the carrots and the rim.

7. Pour the boiling water over the carrots, also leaving about 1 inch headspace.

8. Run a couple wooden skewer or a wooden spoon between the inside edge of the jar and the carrots to release any air bubble. Add more hot water as needed.

9. Clean the jar rims off, place on the lids and rings, finger tip tight. You don't need to tighten the rings too much, just enough to hold the lids in place.

10. Place the jars into the pressure canner and lock the lid in place.

11. Turn the heat up on the canner. At this point the pressure gage is at zero, the cap is off the air vent, and the vent is down in the open position.

12. As heat and pressure builds the vent will eventually pop up into the closed position. Leave the cap off the air vent for 5 to 10 minutes to let the steam to continue to vent, and heat and pressure to build.

13. Place the cap on and let pressure build. For carrots, the pressure needs to be between 10 and 11 pounds of pressure. Adjust the heat to keep it at the correct pressure throughout the canning process.

14. Once pressure has built to the correct 10-11 pounds of pressure, begin timing. Can the carrots for 25 minutes for pints or 30 minutes for quarts.

15. Once the times is up, turn the heat off and leave the canner alone. Let the pressure decompress on its own. Once the air vent has dropped back down into the open position it is safe to open the canner. When you open it, lift the lid away from you. It's still hot in there and you don't want to be burned by the steam!

16. Using your jar lifters remove the jars from the canner and set them in a place to cool for 12-24 hours. You might here the lids 'pop!' down sometime in the cooling process. After the jars are cool check to make sure all the lids have popped down and are correctly sealed. If any jars haven't sealed correctly, re-process them in the pressure canner with new lids or use immediately and store in the refrigerator.

To store: Label the lid with the date and what is in the jar. Remove the rings and place in a cool, dry place out of the sunlight. Store for up to a year.

Before eating canned items, always check the jar for a good seal, check the canned item for a fresh smell and good color. If anything looks off or smells bad then toss it!

Canned Carrots

• 2 to 3 pounds carrots per quart, 1 to 1 1/2 inch diameter
• Salt (optional)
• Water

Raw Pack: Wash carrots; drain. Peel carrots. Wash again. Slice, dice or leave carrots whole. Pack carrots tightly into hot jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt to each pint jar, 1 teaspoon salt to each quart jar, if desired. Ladle boiling water over carrots, leaving 1-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust two-piece caps. Process pints 25 minutes, quarts 30 minutes, at 10 pounds pressure in a steam-pressure canner.

Hot Pack: Wash carrots; drain. Peel carrots. Wash again. Slice, dice or leave carrots whole. Cover carrots with water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes. Pack hot carrots into hot jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt to each pint jar, 1 teaspoon salt to each quart jar, if desired. Ladle boiling water over carrots, leaving 1-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust two-piece caps. Process pints 25 minutes, quarts 30 minutes, at 10 pounds pressure in a steam-pressure canner.