Started a batch of watermelon pickles this afternoon. Took the green and the pink watermelon meat off the rind, cut them into cubes and thye will sit overnight in the fridge covered in water and pickling salt. Tomorrow Ill cook them and pickle them in a syrup mixture recipe I have.

I give credit to me being inspired to try pickling by some magnificent watermelon pickles I had @ Cochon a few weeks ago. these cats had their watermelon pickles in their bbq sauce.

Ill also do some kosher dills tomorrow and do the hot water bath seal all at once.

Sounds like you're right on schedule for the exchange next weekend!!

boudreaulicious wrote:Sounds like you're right on schedule for the exchange next weekend!!

lol, these wont be ready for 3 - 5 weeks.

maybe next time.

jimswside wrote:

boudreaulicious wrote:Sounds like you're right on schedule for the exchange next weekend!!

lol, these wont be ready for 3 - 5 weeks.

maybe next time.

We don't eat them at the exchange You bring a few jars of what you've made and trade for things that others bring to take home.

boudreaulicious is right. Just make sure folks know when your pickles can be consumed.

yielded 2 pints of watermelon pickles & 4 pints of kosher dills(some spears, some slices, some with sliced jalapenos, some not). Alot of fun. Now the hard part, waiting 3 weeks.

watermelon pickles after water bath:



kosher dills after bath:

Jim. If you had leftovers you can eat them, they just haven't mellowed.

It really is addictive. Hope you can bring a jar, or just stop by, at next weekend's canning exchange.

pairs4life wrote:Jim. If you had leftovers you can eat them, they just haven't mellowed.

It really is addictive. Hope you can bring a jar, or just stop by, at next weekend's canning exchange.

thanks for the tip, none leftover, the watermelon tasted pretty good before putting in the jar, kind of like apples.

Ill see what my schedule looks like, I can see how it can be addictive as well.

Couldnt wait any longer to try those watermelon pickles. They had been calling to me from the basement the past 4 weeks.

Grabbed a jar tossed it in the fridge, and had some for supper... Magnificent. Tender, supple, hints of sweet, cinnamon, and cherry. Probably one of the highlights cooking wise of my year.






Gonna do another batch asap, (1) pint in the basement, and a 1/2 pint open in the fridge is not enough.

Jim,
Those look great. Would you be willing to share your watermelon pickle recipe?
Thanks.

jygach wrote:Jim,
Those look great. Would you be willing to share your watermelon pickle recipe?
Thanks.

thanks, they are really good, even after just 4 weeks.

recipe:

- 2 lbs. watermelon rind(green and pink removed and cut into 1x1 cubes
- 1/4 cup pickling salt
- 4 cups water
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cinnamon stick cut in 1/4rs
- 1 cup white vineagar
- 1-1/2 tsp cloves
- 1 lemon sliced
- 6 marashino cherries quartered

brine the cubed watermelon overnight in the pickling salt and water. The following day rinse the watermelon cubes off, and put in a saucepan with enough water to cover. Cook unitl tender. In another pan combine vinegar, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and a cup of water. simmer 10 mintes and strain liquid. Add maraschino cherries lemon slices and watermelon cubes. SImmer until watermelon is translucent. Fill sterile jars with mixture seal(1/2 in che headspace), and submerge in the water bath for 5 minutes. Remove from bath and let cool overnight before moving.

Recipe calls for 4-6 weeks on the shelf before opening.

Thanks to tasting Ellen Malloy's pickled blueberries on a dessert a few days ago and the fact that Seedling had a big tub of defrosted blueberries at Green City Market last weekend, led to my making pickled blueberries. I decided not to water bath can them, but just put them in the fridge as I'm sure they'll be consumed rather quickly. Can't wait to use them.

mbh wrote:Thanks to tasting Ellen Malloy's pickled blueberries on a dessert a few days ago and the fact that Seedling had a big tub of defrosted blueberries at Green City Market last weekend, led to my making pickled blueberries. I decided not to water bath can them, but just put them in the fridge as I'm sure they'll be consumed rather quickly. Can't wait to use them.

That makes 2 of us

Anyone else here use a canning calendar?

I'm already running behind on starting seeds for the garden, but I want to be ready for canning this summer.

pairs4life wrote:Anyone else here use a canning calendar?

HI,

No, though it did take me a while to understand the growing season. I also had an appreciation it was a hot and sweaty job. I waited until the weather cooled, which is too late.

A friend lived near my favorite, now gone, farm stand owned by the Titus family. Their land is now where the Lake County Fair is located. They opened their farm stand in mid to late July. She would alert me when corn began, when tomatoes were plentiful enough to be cheap and other produce as the season progressed. Peaches in Illinois are July (southern IL) and August (northern IL). Apples are from August until October depending on the variety.

Prior to August-September, there are asparagus to blanch and freeze in May. In June, strawberries and rhubarb to freeze, make jam or pie fillings. Cherries peak in July with best prices around the 4th of July.

After the major canning season, persimmons and pears in October. Marmalades peak time is February.

If you found a canning calendar, you may want to check where the originator lives. It might be related for their growing area and out of sync for ours.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:

pairs4life wrote:Anyone else here use a canning calendar?

HI,

No, though it did take me a while to understand the growing season. I also had an appreciation it was a hot and sweaty job. I waited until the weather cooled, which is too late.

A friend lived near my favorite, now gone, farm stand owned by the Titus family. Their land is now where the Lake County Fair is located. They opened their farm stand in mid to late July. She would alert me when corn began, when tomatoes were plentiful enough to be cheap and other produce as the season progressed. Peaches in Illinois are July (southern IL) and August (northern IL). Apples are from August until October depending on the variety.

Prior to August-September, there are asparagus to blanch and freeze in May. In June, strawberries and rhubarb to freeze, make jam or pie fillings. Cherries peak in July with best prices around the 4th of July.

After the major canning season, persimmons and pears in October. Marmalades peak time is February.

If you found a canning calendar, you may want to check where the originator lives. It might be related for their growing area and out of sync for ours.

Regards,

I was hoping not to reinvent the wheel & get/adapt calendar from the good folks here.

I do have a friend, here,who has one, but I was curious as to what other folks are doing.

Maybe this web page (Crop Harvest Calendar for Illinois) would be of help to you.

pairs4life wrote:I was hoping not to reinvent the wheel

The wheel has already been invented. Check this link. (LTH's Vital Information played a big role in developing this.)

Katie wrote:Maybe this web page (Crop Harvest Calendar for Illinois) would be of help to you.

I looked at this. This could be pretty dynamic to watch over the summer. The growing season from the tip of Illinois to the top is several weeks apart.

The cost is right: free!

Regards,

Hi guys,
Bella here. Just a quick question. I bought 2 15 lb cases of okra today that I'm planning to pickle and can. I did a small batch last year and they turned out fantastic. The problem is that I've been reading about processing, and have scared myself stupid with what I'm reading about botulism.

I've read that you should ONLY pressure can vegetables, or you risk contracting botulism. I only know the water bath method.

I'm now afraid that I'll either have to get rid of 30 lbs of okra, or risk killing all of my friends. I like my friends, and I don't want to give them botulism (ok, maybe a few, but that's a different story).

A good friend of mine assured me that canning PICKLED okra is not the same as canning vegetables without vinegar. Is this accurate?

Can someone reassure me that I'm not about to kill off a group of what I believe to be some of the coolest people in the world?

p.s. no one died from eating my pickled okra last year.

Thanks!
Bella

Hi,

What is the recipe you are using? Link? Maybe a list of ingredients?

A pickle with enough vinegar can be water bath canned. Here is a recipe for dill pickled okra. If your recipe has the same proportions of vinegar to vegetables, you are likely ok.

Regards,

Hi Cathy,Thanks for responding. I'm using Alton Browns recipe for pickled okra, but I'll be using white vinegar rather then rice vinegar.
I can't send the link at the moment because I'm replying from my phone, but I think ots on the food network website.
Great recipe. I'll prob cut back on the vinegar and increase the water a bit tho since I'm subbing white for rice.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alto ... index.html

Link to recipe!!

As usual, I'll take any advice I can get!!
Thanks!

Hi,

This recipe substituting regular white vinegar is fine. You need at least 5% acid vinegar, which I believe rice vinegar is less.

Once canned, it will not be ready for 6-8 weeks. If you open it to eat earlier than than, you will be overpowered by the vinegariness. Over time it softens to very acceptable and delicious.

I would use the headspace and processing time from the recipe I linked to. Since it will process for a minimum of 10 minutes, no need to boil or sterilized the jars. If it were less than 10 minutes, you do need to sterilize those jars.

Bring a jar to the picnic in September.

Regards,

Hi Cathy!
Thanks so much for your help

I'll definitely use the head space amount on your recipe.
I'll also be adding MUCH more than 1 clove of garlic! (duh!)

You'll get to try it at the picnic then!

Darren72 wrote:Ah, thanks. I've been using masking tape to label jars that are being reused and had been meaning to buy some actual labels.

A few years ago I bought my brother some labels from the container store for his spice jars, but they would be perfect for canning. Though I'm sure they cost more than masking tape...

I hope Cathy chimes in.

Today I made my first batch, at home, of preserves. Unlike the tomato & peach conserves or the peach rose water conserves I made last year, the fraises de bois preserves foamed enough to boil over.

Skimming seemed to take forever. Anyone have any super efficient suggestions for tackling this part of the job?

I also noticed that the recipe, from UGA,made no mention of removing air bubbles and just wanted to know what most of this canning community does about that as well.

Yes, Cathy, I'm risk-adverse so will do what ever is quickest/easiest only if it comes without a decrease to safety.

Thanks,

Hi,

I cook jams in my deep soup pot, because as much as they overboil it never reaches the top.

I put the foam in a bowl to eat. I have found sometimes bubbles (not so much foam) will settle out after a few minutes.

I do remove air bubbles as much as possible using a thin knife or the think blade of the spacing too.

You want to avoid big pockets of air as much as possible.

Hope this was help to you.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

I cook jams in my deep soup pot, because as much as they overboil it never reaches the top.

It does indeed.

Cathy2 wrote:Hope this was help to you.

Was there any doubt?

Recently I saw Fruit Fresh with a small Ball logo at the Jewel store at Addison, Elston and Kedzie. This store has been noted in the past for having canning supplies. They also had Pickle Crisp, an alternative to pickling lime that apparently had been discontinued several years ago, again with a small Ball logo.