Canning and Preserving For Dummies (36 page)
Read Canning and Preserving For Dummies Online
Authors: Amelia Jeanroy
3
Strain the stock through a mesh strainer or several layers of cheesecloth into a large bowl. Once the stock has cooled enough to place it in the refrigerator, chill the stock until you can easily remove the fat.
4
Once the fat is removed,
return the stock to the pot and bring it to a boil.
5
Ladle the boiling hot stock into your prepared jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Wipe the jar rims; seal the jars with the two-piece caps, hand-tightening the bands.
6
Process your filled jars in a pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure for 20 minutes (pints) or 25 minutes (quarts). After the pressure in the canner has returned to 0, wait an additional 10 minutes, and then carefully open the canner lid. (Head to Chapter 9 for detailed processing instructions for pressure canning.)
7
Remove the hot jars with a jar lifter. Place them on a clean kitchen towel away from drafts. After the jars cool completely, test the seals (refer to Chapter 4). (If you find jars that haven’t sealed, immediately refrigerate them and use them within one week.) Boil the contents of each jar for 15 minutes before tasting or eating.
Per 1-cup serving:
Calories 6 (From fat 2); Fat 0g (Saturated 0g); Cholesterol 3mg; Sodium 39mg; Carbohydrates 0g (Dietary fiber 0g); Protein 1g.
Turkey Stock with Vegetables
This is a great recipe to make after a holiday meal when you have a turkey left over that is mostly picked clean of meat. There is still plenty of delicious flavor in the carcass, and this soup is a family favorite.
Preparation time:
4 hours 30 minutes
Processing time:
Pints, 1 hour; quarts, 1 hour 25 minutes
Pressure level:
10 pounds
Yield:
About 14 pints or 7 quarts
Carcass from a 12- to 15-pound turkey
3 quarts water
1 quart Beans with Salt Pork (later in this chapter)
2 quarts Canned Tomatoes (Chapter 6)
4 cups sweet corn
2 cups chopped cabbage
2 cups chopped onions
2 cups sliced carrots
2 cups sliced celery
1
Combine the water and turkey carcass in a 10- to 12-quart pot. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat; simmer, covered, for 2 hours. Remove the lid and continue cooking for 2 hours more.
2
Strain and remove the bones from the stock. Check the broth for seasoning, taking note that there may be salt and seasoning in the broth from the previous roasting of the turkey. Add additional seasonings to taste.
3
Add the beans, tomatoes, corn, cabbage, onions, carrots, and celery to the strained stock and return it to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes. (Your goal is simply to heat the soup to a boil so that it’s as hot as possible for canning. Your goal is
not
to completely cook your vegetables.)
4
While the stock is simmering, prepare the canning jars and two-piece caps (lids and screw bands) according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Keep the jars and lids hot. (For information on preparing your jars, see Chapter 4.)
5
Ladle the hot soup into your prepared jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Release any air bubbles with a nonreactive utensil (refer to Chapter 3), adding more stock as necessary to maintain the proper headspace. Wipe the rims; seal the jars with the two-piece caps, hand-tightening the bands.
6
Process your filled jars in a pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure for 1 hour (pints) and 1 hour 25 minutes (quarts). After the pressure in the canner has returned to 0, wait an additional 10 minutes, and then carefully open the canner lid. (Head to Chapter 9 for detailed instructions for pressure canning.)
7
Remove the jars from the canner with a jar lifter. Place them on a clean kitchen towel away from drafts. After the jars cool completely, test the seals (refer to Chapter 4). (If you find jars that haven’t sealed, immediately refrigerate them and use them within one week.) Boil the contents of each jar for 15 minutes before tasting or eating.
Per 1-cup serving:
Calories 120 (From fat 34); Fat 4g (Saturated 1g); Cholesterol 10mg; Sodium 62mg; Carbohydrates 17g (Dietary fiber 4g); Protein 7g.
Teaming Up with Tomatoes
Although tomatoes alone can be water-bath canned (see Chapter 5), if you combine them with low-acid vegetables, it changes the pH (acidity level). These combined foods must be treated and processed as low-acid foods — that means with a pressure canner.
Heirloom tomatoes and a bit of tomato trivia
If you have only ever eaten the round, red variety of tomato from the supermarket, you must go out and find a local market or roadside stand and feast on some heirloom varieties.
Unlike commercial tomatoes, which have been bred to enhance characteristics other than taste (like disease resistance or tougher skins), heirloom tomatoes haven’t been scientifically engineered in any way. They have the same characteristics as their ancestors, whose seeds have been passed down from generation to generation. In addition, heirloom tomatoes are an “open-pollinated” tomato plant, meaning that they’re pollinated naturally rather than artificially.
Heirloom tomatoes come in a surprising variety of colors: striped, pink, red, yellow, orange, black, and even white. Some heirloom tomatoes are perfectly ripe and yet remain perfectly green!
Once you bite into the rich, juicy taste of one of these homegrown beauties, you’ll scoff at the perfectly shaped but tasteless varieties that seem to be available all the time in the produce aisle of big grocery stores.
Here’s a bit of trivia: You may have learned in elementary school that earlier American settlers avoided tomatoes because they thought they were poisonous. Know why? Some people speculate their hesitation was the result of two things: the tomato plants rank smell and the fact that tomatoes are related to “deadly nightshade” (also called henbane), a poisonous herb.
Stewed Tomatoes with Celery
Homemade stewed tomatoes are perfect in soups or sauces, as a condiment on scrambled eggs, or spooned over steamed summer squash with a grating of cheddar cheese.
Preparation time:
20 minutes
Cooking time:
15 minutes
Processing time:
Pints, 15 minutes; quarts, 20 minutes
Yield:
About 6 pints or 3 quarts
5 to 6 pounds of peeled tomatoes to measure 4 quarts, chopped and seeded, reserving all liquid
1 large stalk celery, chopped
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/4 green bell pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1
Prepare your canning jars and two-piece caps (lids and screw bands) according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Keep the jars and lids hot. (For instructions on preparing your jars, see Chapter 4.)
2
Combine the tomatoes, celery, onions, bell pepper, sugar, and salt in a 5- to 6-quart pot. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring to prevent sticking.
3
Ladle the hot tomatoes into the prepared jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Release any air bubbles with a nonreactive utensil (refer to Chapter 3), adding more tomatoes as necessary to maintain the proper headspace. Wipe the jar rims; seal the jars with the two-piece caps, hand-tightening the bands.
4
Process your filled jars in a pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure for 15 minutes (pints) or 20 minutes (quarts). After the pressure in the canner has returned to 0, wait an additional 10 minutes, and then carefully open the canner lid. (Head to Chapter 9 for detailed instructions on pressure canning.)
5
Remove the hot jars with a jar lifter. Place them on a clean kitchen towel away from drafts. After the jars cool completely, test the seals (refer to Chapter 4). (If you find jars that haven’t sealed, immediately refrigerate them and use them within one week.) Boil the contents of each jar for 15 minutes before tasting or eating.
Per 1-cup serving:
Calories 40 (From fat 0); Fat 0g (Saturated 0g); Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 535mg; Carbohydrates 8g (Dietary fiber 2g); Protein 3g.
Italian Style Tomatoes
These seasoned tomatoes are the perfect addition to any Italian meal. Cook them down even further and you have an amazing Marinara sauce. These tomatoes are a staple ingredient in any well-stocked pantry.
Preparation time:
10 minutes
Processing time:
Pints, 15 minutes; quarts, 20 minutes
Pressure level:
10 pounds
Yield:
6 pints
or
3 quarts
4 quarts chopped tomatoes
3/4 cup chopped celery
3/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup green pepper
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons dried marjoram
4 cups sugar
1
Prepare your canning jars and two-piece caps (lids and screw bands) according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Keep the jars and lids hot. (For detailed instructions on preparing your jars, see Chapter 4.)
2
Combine all ingredients in a heavy pot; then cover and cook them for 10 minutes.
3
Ladle the hot mixture into the prepared jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Release any air bubbles with a nonreactive utensil (refer to Chapter 3), adding more of the mixture as necessary to maintain the proper headspace. Wipe the jar rims; seal the jars with the two-piece caps, hand-tightening the bands.
4
Process the filled jars in a pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure for 15 minutes (pints) or 20 minutes (quarts). When the processing time is done, allow the pressure to return to 0, wait an additional 10 minutes, and then carefully open the canner lid. (Head to Chapter 9 for detailed processing instructions for pressure canning.)
5
Remove the jars from the canner with a jar lifter. Place them on a clean kitchen towel away from drafts. After the jars cool completely, test the seals (see Chapter 4). If you find jars that haven’t sealed, refrigerate them and use them within two weeks. Boil the contents of each jar for 15 minutes before tasting or eating.
Per 1/2-cup serving:
Calories 159 (From fat 4); Fat 0g (Saturated 0g); Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 14mg; Carbohydrates 40g (Dietary fiber 2g); Protein 1g.