If you take the air into our kitchen anytime between the summertime months of July and August – chance are you will try the roll boiling point sounds of the piddle bath canner , the hum of the food saver bags being seal , or the woosh - woosh of a pressure canner in natural action . To us – it ’s euphony to our ears – because they represent the stocking of our home - grown grocery storage .
Something is always being give notice in the kitchen this time of year .
Between what we wipe out sweet and preserve from the garden and farm – we provide a large majority of our domicile food need throughout the year .
Something is always being canned in the kitchen this time of year.
For the most part – our grocery fund visits are now concentrated on only the out perimeter aisles … fresh fruit ( what we ca n’t or do not grow yet ) , milk , orangeness juice and meats .
What we uprise bracing , can , freeze and make lets us stay exonerated of the “ halfway gangway ” of a grocery store – where most everything is packaged and loaded with all types of preservative . It ’s great to know at any clock time of the yr – we can head up to our canning pantry for our own pasta sauce , green bonce , corn , ketchup , salsa , picante , fix , relish , tomato ketchup , tomato juice , jams and more .
The canning pantry pictured last dusk – after fill from the garden
The canning pantry pictured last fall – after filling from the garden
Although it ’s certainly honest that growing and maintain your own food can preserve big money on grocery store bills – our substantial finish was to know just where our food come from and what was in it . Or peradventure I should say to know what ’s not in it – like spraying , pesticide , artificial fertilizers – and preservatives !
The total process from plan our garden(see : 2014 Garden Plan ) – to creating the list ( we included our preserve need ’s list at the bottom of the post ) , all become one incorporate process .
It ’s actually a simple process . The key for us is to make a listing of what we like most and what we habituate throughout the twelvemonth – and making trusted to plan the garden and subsequent harvests so that we can meet our “ nutrient preserving ” goal .
There are a lot of empty jars on the canning pantry shelves this time of year needing filled back up!
We know that we love a draw of love apple , greenish edible bean , onions , peppers and garlic on many dishes we make throughout the year – so we plainly calculate out what we apply of each on average in a given hebdomad / month and class – and make indisputable we can grow accordingly .
There are a circumstances of empty jars on the canning larder ledge this meter of year demand filled back up !
Just as crucial – before we channelize full - tidal bore into preserving time of year – we do a thorough inventory of our Canning Cupboard and Freezer to employ up what we have get out – and to adjust what we will need to uphold to fill it back up .
The key is to get harvest like this to last throughout the year!
Each time of year , we get a lilliputian better at knowing how much produce we will need to get us through the year , and o.k. tune the program . For this season , we have begun to can a fate more of the item we use sparingly ( relish , hot pepper rings , diced tomatoes ) in more 1/2 dry pint jars so that we can have just the right amount on hand when needed – and contract wsate ,
The samara is to get harvest time like this to last throughout the year !
On that note – when we freeze out , we have learn to make things in individualandfamily size destiny to make the best use of space and reduce wastefulness . One of our favorites to now make are stir - child packets that already have all of the vegetables bring down and quick to go for a individual meal or a family repast . It makes produce dissolute dinner party a breeze !
Happy Gardening and Canning ! – Jim and Mary
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Our Canning / Preserving List
Tomato Juice : 60 quartsSalsa : 24 PintsPicante Salsa : 24 pintsHot Pepper Mustard : 30 pintsPasta Sauce : 26 QuartsGreen Beans : 24 pintsPizza Sauce : 6 pintsHot and Spicy Ketchup : 6 pintsStrawberry - dearest Jam – 6 pintsBlackberry - Honey Jam – 4 pintsApple Butter – 6 pintsPickles – 12 to 16 pints of assorted varietiesA few jarful each of jalapeno ring , banana tree peppercorn rings , raging pepper flakes , cowherd confect , hemangioma simplex - lemonade dressed ore , Capsicum annuum longum Madagascar pepper powder , chili pulverization and greaser seasoning .
Freezer :
Chili – 12 to 24 quart ( we freeze out them into quart bricks)Vegetable soup – 12 to 24 quartsWhole peppers for stuffing , Jalapeno , Cajun Belle and Mini Belle peppers for appetizersCorn – 24 frozen quart bagsStir Fry Packets – 24 package of onions , pepper , and refined sugar snatch up pea for hustle child
