Pressure Canning Butternut Squash

Pressure Canning is a great way to preserve the summer harvest. My neighbor had oh say 30 butternut squash and she asked me if I wanted them or her husband was going to get rid of them. Well yes I will take all and return to her a few jars. 

That little chore turned out to be more then I could handle. With my arm's being disabled it is a bit more work than they can do. I did manage to get through a few jars.

I thought peeling them would be a breeze with all the great tips from the internet. NOT .







 One tip which turned out to make the butternut cry was to put them in the microwave for a few minutes thus soften them for the peel.

This did not work for me not to say it would not work for you! 

Ingredients

14 pounds large Butternut squash
Water
Spices
7 Quart Jars/lids/twists

Once I was able to get a few peeled I simply put them into a large stock pot and blanch for 2 minutes. NOTE do not overcook them you can not safely pressure can mushy squash or pumpkin! 

So next time I will skip the blanching chop and put them directly into the jar's with some liquid hot broth or water.

Then Pressure Can





So with that said fill you jars with the butternut cubes and liquid until there is one inch of headspace.


Fill your jars remove any air bubbles, wipe the rim clean and seal. Do not tighten your jars as tight as when you water bath. Just secure them on the jar.  The lid portion can crinkle leaving an unsafe seal for storage. 





Wipe your jars clean and top with the lid and twist top. Taunt but not super tight. Pack the jars in the pressure canner so as to not touch we do not want any broken jar's.




I do so love preserving the bounty!

 

Once your jars are filled, wiped and placed into your pressure canner you can begin to process at 11 pounds of pressure for 90 minutes for quart jars.


Allow the pressure to come down naturally once the time is done. Remove jars from canner and place on a counter and let them cool until they are completely cool to the touch.

Once you jars have completely cooled remove the twist top wipe clean and label. We know never to store our jars with the twist top right ??????

Disclaimer: This is not an all inclusive recipe for making jam. You should have a basic knowledge and understanding of the canning process before proceeding. 

Please consult your local Center for Home Preservation for additional information and available classes.

Hot Giardiniera Relish

Well I had extra cauliflower and red peppers from the garden. I knew I had to make something and make it quick. I have yearned to make a Giardiniera mix for a long time. Well here is my opportunity. I really wanted to mix up a spicy mix because if you know anything abut Chicago Peeps they like their Giardiniera Mix HOT.  Well, so far the taste is a bit tart yet Hot as expected. Strange but great on a sandwich.











Alright let's begin. I added jalapenos with the seeds and did not use any pickling cucumbers. The original recipe I tweaked from is at a site called Chicago Now.





The way I tweaked this recipe it has a delightful taste. I would describe it as a tangy relish.  The thing I really adore about this is I am not a big relish person but knowing that there are so many good veggies in this makes me want to try it on all my sandwiches and do not stop there. I used it yesterday with some cheese and home made crackers.

Ingredients

2 cups cauliflower florets 

2 white onion

4 cups celery

2 cups carrots

2 cups red peppers
5 jalapenos chopped and seeded (keep the seed if you want more heat)
1 cup of pimento olives cleaned and drained and chopped

5 cups Apple Cider Vinegar (5 percent)
1 cup of Pure Olive Oil 

1/8 cup prepared mustard 

1/4 cup canning/pickling salt 

3 tbs celery seeds 

2 tbs mustard seeds 

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

                                           Directions

With all the veggies I cut them and put them into the food processor to get the same consistency as that of a relish. This ended up being such an easy recipe to make. The next batch I do I am going to take add cloves and the sugar and make it a little sweet and spicy.






Prior to chopping the vegetables. Combine the cleaned cut vegetables cover and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours with a 1/4 cup of pickling or kosher salt. (Please note that this is not mandatory if salt is not your thing skip this step) After one to two hours rinse well and chop up in the food processor.

In large pot, on medium heat combine vinegar and mustard and mix well.

Add celery seed, mustard seed, and spices.

Bring to a rolling boil





Now add the vegetables to hot liquid mix.

Cover bring to a boil for no more than 5 minutes.

Drain vegetables but save pickling solution

Put vegetables in sterile 1/2 pint jars, leaving 1/2-inch head space (this allows room for liquid)
* I use half pint because I never truly use that much at one time. But you can use either.

Add the liquid solution, leaving 1/4-inch head space







Wipe the rims,add the lids, tighten the rings and process jars for 15 minutes. I like to put a couple of carrot slices on the bottom of the jars and one or two on the top right before I put them into their bath.



You can see by my picture that some of the veggies did not get chopped up but I think the different sizes make a nice look so home made

Once they are processed remove the jar's and place them on a cloth cover counter overnight. Once cooled remove the rings , clean the jars. Now label your jars with contents and date. 

Enjoy !




Disclaimer: This is not an all inclusive recipe for making jam. You should have a basic knowledge and understanding of the canning process before proceeding. Please consult your local Center for Home Preservation for additional information and available classes.

Preserving Homemade Fermented Sauerkraut

Well 8 weeks of fermenting in the crock and this cabbage turned into the most tasty sauerkraut I have ever had. Now I have had many a type because I love it. I added some of my dried jalapenos to the bottom of several jars. This way during the summer I can enjoy some spicy dogs or put it on some chicken or fish. One delicious recipe I found was kielbasa with sauerkraut. I will post the recipe it is heaven on a plate.




Oui the mind is a spinnin', here is the link for fermenting the cabbage prior to canning.

 I am hoping to get Nanny Rosie's Sauerkraut Knish recipe from Susan. Nanny came out from Florida when the kids were little. When she came out she cleared my dining room table and set out to make them. She rolled out pastry on my table I was amazed at the old school skills. She was from Poland and her family died in the Holocaust.





Rosie had so many old school recipes and some are on Heavy Metal Spatula 

Canning Granny  has a great little post on how to do this with out all the gizmo's and high end tools. Go and check her site out.
It is always a good idea to check out more than one site.
Here is the National Center for Home Food Rules.




Also got a comment that "If you can it, you'll lose all the good bacteria that you just created. It will keep for many, many months in jars in the fridge and will just get better!" So now you have choices.

 

I took all the sauerkraut including the liquid from the crock and put it into a large pot. I brought it up to a steady boil adding just a cup of red wine vinegar (personal thing to add the extra vinegar)
Once the kraut was at a steady simmer for 15 minutes I filled the jars, cleaned the rims, and capped them and water bathed them.

Hot pack – Bring kraut and liquid slowly to a boil in a large kettle, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and fill jars rather firmly with kraut and juices, leaving 1/2-inch head space.

Raw pack – Fill jars firmly with kraut and cover with juices, leaving 1/2-inch head space.

Adjust lids and process according to the recommendations in Table 1 below

Table 1. Recommended process time for Sauerkraut in a boiling-water canner.
		Process Time at Altitudes of
Style of Pack	Jar Size	0 - 1,000 ft	1,001 - 3,000 ft	3,001 - 6,000 ft	Above 6,000 ft
Hot	Pints	10 min	15	15	20
	Quarts	15	20	20	25
Raw	Pints	20	25	30	35
	Quarts	25	30	35	40

---

This document was adapted from the "Complete Guide to Home Canning," Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 539, USDA, revised 2009.

Look at the jalapenos at the bottom that should pack quite a Boom boom boom.

Please note you will loose the lactic acid bacteria of your fermented food when water bath canned at any temperature above 161 F. And they also loose it by using your fermented food in warm cooking.

Vegetable Soup for the Pressure Canner

 

Here is the recipe for the vegetable soup. This Vegetable Soup was in a class by Cindy. This will make approximately 6 to 7 quarts. Put a teaspoon of vinegar into the water of your pressure canner. It prevents hard water stains. Another quick and easy tip. Here are some more Tips and Answers to your Whys.

I have posted two recipes here for the soup. One the vegetables warmed up in the broth to add to the warm jars and the other recipe is one with room temperature vegetables with warm broth added separately. 

Vegetable Soup - Preheated Vegetables

Ingredients

12+ cups chicken broth

4 cups whole kernel corn (8 ears)

3 cups cubed, peeled potatoes (1 pound)

2 cup cut green beans

2 cups sliced celery

1 cup chopped onion

3 garlic cloves chopped

Seasonings can be adjusted to your own taste

2 tbsp snipped parsley or 2 tsp dried 

1 tbsp snipped marjoram or 1 tsp dried 

1 tbsp snipped thyme or 1 tsp dried

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tbsp snipped rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried

Directions

1. In a large pot combine broth, corn, potatoes, green beans, carrot, celery, onion, garlic and seasonings.

2. Bring to a boil over medium heat and then reduce heat and simmer for 5 more minutes.  Veggies will be crisp not cooked, they cook more during the pressure canning process. These vegetables do not follow Potato Soup rules. 

3. Ladle warm vegetables and broth into warm clean quart jars or pint jar. Fill the jar 3/4 full leaving an inch of headspace once additional the liquid is added. Everything expands a bit when pressure canning. Add additional liquid if needed leaving that 1 inch head space. Remove air bubbles, wipe jars and rims and top with lid and twist. 

Process the filled jars in a pressure canner, at 10 pounds pressure for weighted canners or 11 pounds for dial-canners. The time is 75 minutes for quarts and 60 minutes for pints. Allow the pressure to come down naturally do not open until it is done releasing the pressure ! Remove jars from canner, cool on a towel on the counter. They are HOT be careful.

Now let's take a look at pressure canning without preheating the vegetables.

With this method you have all you ingredients chopped and ready. Make sure the vegetables are room temperature. Never ever add cold anything then pour hot broth over it. This will surly shatter your jars. If not right away for sure in the pressure cooker. It happened to me my friends. Messy ! 

 Vegetable Soup- Raw Vegetables 

12+ cups chicken broth

4 cups whole kernel corn (8 ears)

3 cups cubed, peeled potatoes (1 pound)

2 cup cut green beans

2 cups sliced celery

1 cup chopped onion

3 garlic cloves chopped

Seasonings can be adjusted to your own taste

2 tbsp snipped parsley or 2 tsp dried 

1 tbsp snipped marjoram or 1 tsp dried 

1 tbsp snipped thyme or 1 tsp dried

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tbsp snipped rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried

Directions

Chop all your ingredients and place them into individual bowls. Make sure your vegetables are room temperature. Add the spices together in a small bowl to add to each jar. 

In a large stainless steel pot warm broth.

  

Add vegetables into your warm clean jars. Fll the jar to about 3/4 of the way full. Leave one inch headspace once the liquid has been added. Everything expands a bit when pressure canning. Add hot liquid leaving one inch head space. Remove air bubbles, wipe jars, and add lid and twists.

 

Process filled jars in a pressure canner use 10 pounds pressure for weighted canners and 11 pounds for dial-gauge canner. Quarts will take 70 minutes and pints will take 60 minutes. Allow the pressure to come down naturally in the canner. Once the pressure is down remove jars and place on a towel on the counter.

Disclaimer: This is not an all inclusive recipe for making jam. You should have a basic knowledge and understanding of the canning process before proceeding. 

Please consult your local Center forHome Preservation for additional information and available classes.