ekreider wrote: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.

I remember seeing Fruit Fresh as a kid. Perfect timing on the pickling lime because my bread & butter pickles came out crisp but every other pickle I've tried, mine & others that's a dill style, especially if cut into spears has been mushy.

Is it that specific cut that makes the cucumbers mushy versus thin slices? What do other folks do?

I will admit I've been disinterested in using pickling crisps/limes for cucumbers as well as pectin in an array of fruit preserves, jams, jellies, etc.

pairs4life wrote:I remember seeing Fruit Fresh as a kid. Perfect timing on the pickling lime because my bread & butter pickles came out crisp but every other pickle I've tried, mine & others that's a dill style, especially if cut into spears has been mushy.

Is it that specific cut that makes the cucumbers mushy versus thin slices? What do other folks do?

Hi,

If you Pasteurize your pickles instead of waterbath processing, this mushy quality would not be present.

I never opened the zuchinni pickles made in our class last year. I never opened them. I will do it today to check the texture. These were Pasteurized.

I happen to have two containers of Lime, though I never use them.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:

pairs4life wrote:I remember seeing Fruit Fresh as a kid. Perfect timing on the pickling lime because my bread & butter pickles came out crisp but every other pickle I've tried, mine & others that's a dill style, especially if cut into spears has been mushy.

Is it that specific cut that makes the cucumbers mushy versus thin slices? What do other folks do?

Hi,

If you Pasteurize your pickles instead of waterbath processing, this mushy quality would not be present.

I never opened the zuchinni pickles made in our class last year. I never opened them. I will do it today to check the texture. These were Pasteurized.

I happen to have two containers of Lime, though I never use them.

Regards,

I've had great success with Cathy2's low temperature pasteurization. We did our pickled cukes, green tomatoes, and Mexican mix (jalapenoes, onions, carrots) that way last year. They aren't as crispy as quick pickles, but they're shelf stable and sufficiently crisp. I've been playing with calcium chloride, too, but am not convinced that it adds additional crispness. (Food grade CaCl, btw, is available at Brew & Grow for much less than the packaged pickled crisp.)

Low temperature pasteurization is a bit of a pain, as it's hard to maintain the temperature, but it's worth it. (If you can get an immersion circulator, that seems to be a great way to very easily low temp pasteurize.)

I started using low temperature pasteurization more widely after making one large batch of beautiful peppers, only to realize they were all mushy. For me, canning is so much work that I want to get it right, even if it means a bit more over a boiling pot.

Good luck,
Ronna

Cathy2 wrote:
If you Pasteurize your pickles instead of waterbath processing, this mushy quality would not be present.

Okay. Sounds reasonable enough & I wanted to know now before I've got a box of cucumbers awaiting me.

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

If you Pasteurize your pickles instead of waterbath processing, this mushy quality would not be present.

I never opened the zuchinni pickles made in our class last year. I never opened them. I will do it today to check the texture. These were Pasteurized.

Regards,

Seems I wasn't paying sufficient attention in class to the pasteurization process. I thought the zucchini was done in a regular water bath. Can someone enlighten me.
Thanks.

HI,

Pasteurization is holding temperature at 180 degrees for 30 minutes.

I am very certain those zuchinnis were Pasteurized.

For me, canning is so much work that I want to get it right.

Agreed.

Regards,

Speaking of canning class, any chance you might be considering another one? I would love a refresher (not to mention it was just a really fun day!!)

I'm about to scream. Has anyone seen the 4oz. jelly jars from Ball this year?

I can't find them anywhere. I had one dozen left in the box and noticed they were from Menards on Clybourn, called them & they have none.

I went to Wal-Mart today in Bridgeview, nope. Last week I did Strick & Van, Jewel on Clark & Division & Dominick's on Division & Clybourn & nothing.

Alistair checked in Wautoma, WI at the Copp's and can't seem to find them anywhere except online at Ball.

They had them @ the Jewel on Roscoe @ Western just a couple of days ago.

jygach wrote:Seems I wasn't paying sufficient attention in class to the pasteurization process. I thought the zucchini was done in a regular water bath. Can someone enlighten me.
Thanks.

"Pasteurization" in general means holding a liquid at a certain temperature for a certain length of time to reduce bacteria. A given level of bacteria destruction can be accomplished by holding a liquid at a relatively high temperature for a short period of time, or holding it at a lower temperature for a longer period of time.

When you can foods (i.e. process them) in a water bath you are pasteurizing the contents of the jar. Traditionally this is done with the water at a full, rolling boil (212 degrees) since the high heat reduces the time it takes to reduce the amount of bacteria below a certain level. The problem with this, as everyone is discussing here, is that high-temperature pasteurization can change the texture of the food; i.e. make vegetables less crispy. So an alternative is to pasteurize the food at a lower temperature but for a longer period of time (i.e. reduce the temperature of the water bath from 212 degrees to 180 degrees and increase the time to 30 minutes).

Note that when you read articles about pasteurization of milk or juice, you will see wildly different time and temperature combinations. That's because those temperature refer to the actual temperature of the liquid that you will consume (milk, juice). When you can foods, you are heating the water that surrounds the jars. It takes additional time for the temperature of inside the jar to get to a certain temperature.

So, "processing in a water bath," "canning in a water bath," and "pasteurization" all mean the same thing - you are killing bacteria in the food.

HI,

In the context I suggest Pasteurization is mostly reserved for cucumber pickles, which parallels advice from the National Center for Home Food Preservation.

Regards,

P4L has hopefully stopped screaming because I found cases of 4oz'ers at the Meier's in Highland on Monday and picked up a few for her

Plenty more if anyone needs--I'll be there tomorrow so just PM me.

bean wrote:They had them @ the Jewel on Roscoe @ Western just a couple of days ago.

That's very close. Thanks bean.

boudreaulicious wrote:P4L has hopefully stopped screaming because I found cases of 4oz'ers at the Meier's in Highland on Monday and picked up a few for her

Plenty more if anyone needs--I'll be there tomorrow so just PM me.

Thanks. That was before I knew you had found them + seriously, I don't want you to have to start charging delivery fees.

A Sunday afternoon of USA soccer and Mick Klug's blueberries turning into jam.



The canning season has started.

mbh wrote:A Sunday afternoon of USA soccer and Mick Klug's blueberries turning into jam.



The canning season has started.

Purty!

I put up some sour cherries in medium syrup a la Ball. I had tons of syrup left that never touched a cherry.

Does this have to be refrigerated?

Thought I would use it to sweeten drinks.

HI,

If it is just sugar and water, I would think so. What do bartenders do with simple syrup?

***

Hell has frozen over. My youngest sister called hoping I would show her how to can. Unexpected delight.

Regards,

I keep it in the fridge. It will keep forever.

Cathy2 wrote:HI,

If it is just sugar and water, I would think so. What do bartenders do with simple syrup?

***

Hell has frozen over. My youngest sister called hoping I would show her how to can. Unexpected delight.

Regards,

C2- That's awesome.

Darren72 wrote:I keep it in the fridge. It will keep forever.

Cursed! One of the real reasons I like canning is because I have limited space in the fridge & freezer(not a stand alone freezer mind you).

I've always refrigerated simple syrup because it extends the shelf life and because I always add it to drinks meant to be cold. But you could store it in a cabinet. If it is just simple syrup (i.e. sugar and water), it will still probably keep for a long time. Obviously, check for mold. If it had other things in it (which it sounds like it doesn't), I'd be more worried about it. I have honey and agave syrup in my cabinet and two simple syrups and maple syrup in my fridge. Who said I had to be consistent?

This UGA page says that "syrup" can be kept for 12 months in the cabinet, but refrigerate to extend shelf life.

This page says the same thing.

Count me amongst the converts to Ferbrer's recipes. I still used a BWB instead of inversion because I want these suckers to last for the year.

I just did a variation of her apricot & vanilla bean jam. It's beautiful.

My take aways are making smaller batches, simmering the fruit and then separating fruit from juice/syrup for the big boil to 220-221 degrees.

This stuff looks like honey in a jar. Completely different from the apricot and honey recipe I used from Edon Waycott. That looks more like apricot butter than jam. I'm sure it tastes fantastic.

Does anyone want to share their favorite recipes from Ferber, preferably fruit/vegetables that can still be put up this year? I haven't purchased the book yet.

Thanks,

I've loved everything that I've made from Ferber's book. It's hard to pick a favorite, but the other day my wife said that the apricot-vanilla jam is the best jam she's ever had. By contrast, she is not a fan of Ferber's zucchini-pepper jam. I like the zucchini-pepper jam, but I've yet to find a really great use for it.

Ferber's strawberry jam with whole strawberries might be my favorite simply because I love the whole pieces of strawberry.

Darren72 wrote:I've loved everything that I've made from Ferber's book. It's hard to pick a favorite, but the other day my wife said that the apricot-vanilla jam is the best jam she's ever had. By contrast, she is not a fan of Ferber's zucchini-pepper jam. I like the zucchini-pepper jam, but I've yet to find a really great use for it.

Ferber's strawberry jam with whole strawberries might be my favorite simply because I love the whole pieces of strawberry.

I made a huge batch, okay 2, of fraises de bois preserves earlier in the season. If they come back around I definitely want to do it her way.

My first attempt at canning. Red beets, Golden Beets and Dill Pickles chips and spears (not pictured).


Used recipes from The Beginner's Guide to Preserving Food at Home by Janet Chadwick

Canned some corn relish, bluebarb jam, and raspberry jam. Thinking about green tomato pickles. Anyone tried them?

We canned for the first time today, and our first item was some delicious mango-habanero hot sauce with loads of ginger and citrus.

Today's work--a collaborative effort with Petite_Gourmande and Less_is_More (event attender, sometime lurker, never poster!)...

Giardiniera of mixed hot peppers, cauliflower, carrots and onion.
Dilll pickle chips
Pickled banana pepper rings
Dill pickle spears
Spicy Dilly beans
Eggplant, okra, squash, zucchini, chili pepper and jalapeno's in balsamic and white vinegar.

LOTS still to do...

jblth wrote:We canned for the first time today, and our first item was some delicious mango-habanero hot sauce with loads of ginger and citrus.

That sounds great and I accidentally bought a habanero plant thinking it was a Thai chili plant. Any chance you could post the recipe?