When I was growing up I was blessed to not only have a Mama that grew her own food, but canned it as well. Not only my Mama, but all the women in my family. Many family gatherings would include a circle of women chatting about their recent crops and what they were planning on canning with them. It was a given that once I had a household of my own, I would follow in all their footsteps. And proudly, I have.
Once the end of summer draws near, I know it’s time to bring out the pressure canner and jars. I couldn’t feel more in my element than I do in my kitchen with a pot of sauce simmering on the stove.
Throughout the years I’ve ventured a bit further than the basics my Mama canned, and I’ve found some new favorites of my own. That is exactly what I want to share with you today, my top five favorite canning recipes!
Servings |
pint
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- 7 green peppers
- 7 hungarian wax peppers
- 2 large onions
- 2 garlic cloves
- 24 ounces ketchup
- 8 ounces tomato paste
- 2 cups vinegar
- 2 cups oil
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 tbs salt
Ingredients
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- Chop the peppers, onion and garlic; set aside. {I put mine through a grinder}
- Mix all ingredients except peppers and bring to a boil.
- Boil for 10 minute stirring occasionally. Be careful the bottom of the pan doesn’t scorch.
- Add peppers, bring to a boil again.
- To can, pour into jars. Place rings and lids on jars, making it fingertip-tight. Place on a cloth-covered or wood surface, several inches apart, until cool.
Ingredients
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- To prepare peaches: Wash peaches; dip in boiling water for 30 seconds, then drop in ice water to loosen skins. Remove skins. Cut in half; remove pits and scrape away the red fibers around the pit, which can darken during storage. Set aside.
- Combine sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil until sugar is dissolved. Keep syrup hot.
- Pack peach halves, cut-side down, into hot jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.
- Add hot syrup to within 1/2 inch of rim. Remove air bubbles with a nonmetallic spatula and add additional syrup, as needed.
- Wipe jar rims and threads. Place lids and bands on jars.
- Hot-Packing Method: Because the syrup is hot when you pour it in, I don’t put it through a water bath. Mine is always fine and has always sealed. You can always put yours in a water bath just to be sure.
- Water-Bath Method: Process in a boiling water bath for 25 minutes for pints, 30 minutes for quarts.
- Place on a cloth-covered or wood surface, several inches apart, until cool. Any leftover brine can be stored in the refrigerator till the next time you can.
Ingredients
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- Wash the beets, cleaning all the dirt off. Cut the leaves off the beet about 3” off the beet to prevent the beet from bleeding out.
- Separate into sizes so little ones don’t get over cooked and big ones are not under cooked. I like 3 kettles, they boil faster that way. Boil beets till tender, can be checked using a fork (like a potato).
- Drain and discard cooking liquid; let beets cool so they can be easily peeled. Hold the beet in your hand and squeeze it, it should pop right out of the skin. Cut beets into 1/2” pieces, leaving very small beets whole.
- Combine brine ingredients in a kettle. Bring brine to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Depending on the amount of beets you have, you may need to make more brine.
- Fill jars within 1/2” from the top with beets. Fill jar with boiling brine to 1/2” from top. Place rings and lids on jars, making it fingertip-tight.
- Hot-Packing Method: Because the brine is hot when you pour it in, I don’t put it through a water bath. Mine is always fine and has always sealed. You can always put yours in a water bath just to be sure.
- Water-Bath Method: Process in a boiling water bath for 30 minutes at up to 1000 feet in elevation.
- Place on a cloth-covered or wood surface, several inches apart, until cool. Any leftover brine can be stored in the refrigerator till the next time you can.
Servings |
quart
|
- 1/2 bushell tomatoes
- 2 bulbs garlic
- 4 hot peppers
- 3 lbs onions
- 1/2 cup salt
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 3 tbsp italian seasoning
- 8 cans tomato paste
- 2 cups oil
Ingredients
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- Wash the tomatoes, hot peppers, garlic and onions.
- Cut the stem part off the tomatoes and quarter them. Leave the skin on them. Place them in a big bowl or plastic tub. I use my Grandma's enamel basin.
- Remove skin from onions and quarter the onion. Add them to the bowl with tomatoes.
- Cut the stems off of the hot peppers, cut them in half and remove the seeds. I let the seeds in two of the peppers to add some heat to my sauce. Add them to the bowl as well.
- Peel your garlic and set it aside.
- Little by little, add your vegetables in a blender and puree.
- Put pureed mixture through a food mill over top of your canning pot. The food mill will remove the skins and seeds.
- Turn your burner on high once tomatoes, onions and peppers are in your canner. Once it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium.
- Add the salt, sugar, italian seasoning, tomato paste and oil into your canner and mix well.
- Bring it to a boil and cook until thick. I cook mine for 4-5 hours, stirring occasionally.
- To can, pour into jars. Place rings and lids on jars, making it fingertip-tight. Place on a cloth-covered or wood surface, several inches apart, until cool.
Servings |
pint
|
- 12 cups shredded unpeeled zucchini
- 2 shredded cucumbers
- 4 cups chopped onion
- 1 chopped green bell pepper
- 5 tbsp canning salt
- 6 cups white sugar
- 2 1/2 cups white vinegar
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 3/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 3/4 tsp ground tumeric
- 1 1/2 tsp celery seed
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
Ingredients
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- I put my zucchini, cucumber, onion and pepper through a grinder. After ground, place the items in a large, non-metallic bowl, and sprinkle the salt over-top. Use your hands to evenly mix the salt throughout. Cover, and refrigerate overnight.
- The following day, drain and rinse well with cool water. Squeeze out excess water and set aside.
- Place the sugar, vinegar, and cornstarch into a large pot. Add the nutmeg, turmeric, celery seed and pepper. Stir to combine, then add the drained zucchini mixture.
- Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer 30 minutes.
- Pack hot relish into sterilized jars, making sure there are no spaces or air pockets. Fill jars all the way to top. Place rings and lids on jars, making it fingertip-tight. Place on a cloth-covered or wood surface, several inches apart, until cool.
- Hot-Packing Method: Because the relish is hot when you pack it, I don’t put it through a water bath. Mine is always fine and has always sealed. You can always put yours in a water bath just to be sure.
- Water-Bath Method: Place a rack in the bottom of a large stockpot and fill halfway with boiling water. Carefully lower jars into pot using a holder. Leave a 2 inch space between jars. Pour in more boiling water if necessary, until tops of jars are covered by 2 inches of water. Bring water to a full boil, then cover and process for 30 minutes. Remove jars from pot and place on cloth-covered or wood surface, several inches apart, until cool.
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