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Friday, September 28, 2012

From Farm to Jar [Canning]

I completed my second canning endeavor. The first time I canned (last year), I canned one jar using the water bath canning method. It is not recommended to can only one jar (you should have the recommended minimum number of jars in the water bath to safely can). This time, I had a bigger and better pot and more produce to can. As you read in my post on Final Thoughts About This Year's CSA, I had almost a full bag of peppers. Since the majority of the peppers were hot peppers (chili, banana, jalapeno), I decided to can those instead of freezing them since my freezer is already stuffed full.

My initial plan was to water bath can with the EcoZoom Zoom Versa Stove, but the rain prompted for Plan B. Plan B included canning inside on the glass top electric range with a porcelain enameled pot. The pot I used had a flat bottom and did not exceed more than 1 inch in diameter over the burner area. The water took about 30 minutes to come to 180 degrees, which is what is required for what I was canning.  I placed the jars inside and waited for the water to come to a rolling boil, which only took about 10 more minutes. I had no issues canning on the glass top electrical range with a flat bottom porcelain enameled pot using the water bath canning method.

The prep work took a little bit of time. I chopped the chili peppers and put them in the smaller jars. The banana and jalapenos went into the big jars as whole peppers. I did stuff one jar prior to cleaning to figure out how many peppers would fit. For quart jars, I estimated about 26 jalapeno peppers. I want to say it was around the same number for the banana peppers.

Recipe used for hot peppers: http://www.simplycanning.com/pickled-peppers-rings.html

Recipe to try next time: http://www.simplycanning.com/pickled-green-tomatoes.html

Water bath canning method: http://www.simplycanning.com/water-bath-canning.html





There are many great resources for canning available through the Ball Blue Canning Books as well as online resources. Do your research before your start canning so that you can safely can and safely enjoy your efforts for years to come.

>> Did you can anything this year??
 
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4 comments:

  1. UnknownSeptember 28, 2012 at 12:53 PM

    Wow ... your jars are beautiful ... and those peppers will be wonderful in the winter. I canned for the first time ever this year. I decided to try tomatoes which are relatively easy. I used the water bath method with a large stock pot that I have. It was so easy that we decided to get more tomatoes from the farmer's market and more jars ... and a 'real' canner. I have to say that the canner, while taking a little longer to heat up, really works great ... one can can so many more jars at once. My pantry is full of beautiful tomatoes. And I'm feeling proud. :-) We grew a lot of hot peppers this year and we're drying those (I love using HOT pepper flakes in my cooking). I've also been drying some herbs and freezing others. Next up, I'm going to try my hand at drying apples.

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  2. rewinnOctober 9, 2012 at 1:13 AM

    CANgratulations! Those peppers look great!
    My lovely wife has been canning tomatoes for a couple of years now, and there is absolutely nothing better in the dead of winter than to open a jar of summertime in the kitchen!
    We haven't done peppers but maybe it's time that I learn to can too!

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  3. TheresaOctober 11, 2012 at 11:27 AM

    I was hoping for my tomato s to produce but, they didn't it was a hard grow year here. But, I did manage to make jam from a neighbors peach trees. Which turned out great. I shared that on my blog on my recipes page. & I dried my red peppers. Stop by any time & I have a link up too join in anytime if you like. I am visiting from DearCreatives.com

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  4. JenOctober 24, 2012 at 10:01 PM

    I'm in awe! Those look so good! I'm terrified of messing up canning so I don't even try.

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I am grateful for your comments!