It is “Canuary” as I write this, and I am clearing out my freezer from all the things I tucked in there earlier when it was way too hot to can, or I was way to busy. So yes, I am canning even though I am not harvesting much right now.
Canning Recipes
I was planning on making this a list of all the canning recipes that we have posted. As I went back through our posts – over 160 posts – I was surprised to see how few posts contained canning recipes! We will tell you things you could can – like in our post about Using Jujube Fruit. But we didn’t tell you how to can them precisely.
There are many ways to preserve food. Drying, dehydrating, and pickling are also options. We do have a few posts on those exact topics, but again – not many.
Why So Few Canning Recipes?
I believe there may be two major reasons for that.
First. When you are actually canning anything the pace is either glacial or light speed. I mean really slow, like cooking whole tomatoes down to tomato sauce, which takes about 24 hours in a crock pot. Or else it is “balls to the wall” flat out do it right and do it right now or suffer invisible and dangerous consequences. Get that boiling hot tomato sauce into a boiling hot jar that has been sitting in a vat of boiling water, then wipe the rim without burning yourself, before putting a boiling hot lid onto the jar, and then getting that searing lidded jar back into that vat of boiling water without splashing yourself and painful burns. Whew!
Second. There are many sites that help with canning. On this site we are more focused on helping you savor the overall delights and unique products that can be found in our unique region.
Ahem. Then there is the fact that we might just be considered “rebel canners.”
Rebel Canners or Just Experienced Canners?
Long before the USDA was recommending this and that, women were working from home, trying to save food for their family to eat during the lean times between harvests. They learned how to can from mothers, grandmothers, and neighbors. Starting in the 1930’s the USDA started making official canning recommendations. Some of these recommendations are helpful and did lead to greater food safety. Some were read and ignored – including by my own grandmother. She wasn’t going to “boil the nutrients out” because her way, taught to her by her mother, worked just fine. Her sister Ruth remonstrated with her about it – but there is this set to the jaw and look in the eye ….. shall I just say that it might be genetic.
We may call ourselves “rebel canners,” but we always start from a known point. For example, the USDA doesn’t have official canning times for javelina meat. A “pearl clutcher” would tell you that there is a good solid reason there are no recipes with USDA times published for javelina, and that reason must be that it is unsafe. (Not that only a handful of hunters ever seek javelina.) A rebel or experienced canner will use logic. There are recipes for canning venison, a similar game meat, so we will use one of those.
Use the Sharpest Tool
There are no recipes for canning jujube, but there are recipes for canning apple butter (a tasty jam-like delight). I have made apple butter and canned apple butter. Once I cooked the jujube, the result looked just like apple butter in consistency. So I canned it up following the apple butter canning instructions. I used logic and experience.
As I mention on our YouTube about Kitchen Tools, the sharpest tool in the kitchen should be your mind.
When you are first starting out canning, I highly recommend following tried and true recipes. Once you gain experience, then you can try some new things.
About Canning On Savor the Southwest
We will share links as we create content. So far these are the canning posts posted. Blue is on the website, red is on the YouTube because that’s their color.
A Peck of Pickled Peppers – Uncle Smokey made them in the refrigerator, but you can also can them as you see in:
More about Savor the Southwest
Canning When You Can (apple pie in a jar).
Labeling Jars & Cleaning Labels
Thanks for Reading!
“Olde Style” Canning Guide
Ball Brothers has been publishing their “Ball Blue Book of Canning and Preserving Recipes” for many years. The “modern” USDA doesn’t approve of some of the methods in this copyright expired guide. But. If you are an experienced canner there are some tasty recipes in here to make.
Example. I love the Poached Pears. The Carolina Cole Slaw is also quite good. Disclaimer: This information is provided for your for entertainment purposes only.
This is a downloadable PDF offered for sale on my Gardening With Soule classes site. You may see some other classes in there that interest you.
Legal Notes
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Disclaimer
The authors of this website have researched the edibility of the materials we discuss, however, humans vary in their ability to tolerate different foods, drinks, and herbs. Individuals consuming flowers, plants, animals, or derivatives mentioned in this blog do so entirely at their own risk. The authors on this site cannot be held responsible for any adverse reaction. In case of doubt please consult your medical practitioner.
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