Making Memories (and Pears)

This weekend, while the men-folk were working on the slab for the Hubs' new shop, Grandma and I peeled and processed pears. We started with the red bucket (fourth photo) full of pears and ended up with 8 processed quarts of quartered and cored pears. 

This is on top of the 11 pints of pear butter and 6 pints of pear sauce, and 3 trays of pear leather I dehydrated. Oh, and the fifth of pear vodka I made. (Recipes to come later)

Grandma peeling pears

 I've decided that standard stove tops were not designed for canning. There is not enough room on a standard stove for a canner, a small pot for lids, and then pots of whatever the item is that's being canned.

Aren't they so pretty?

This weekend, I also pulled up the rest of the garden and removed the electric fence. To make way for the load of cow manure that hopefully will arrive from the farm soon. I pulled up at least 5 gallons of carrots. My plans for them? Blanch, slice and freeze to add to stews and roasts over winter. 

A tray of pear leather, before it was dried.

Some of the pear sauce and pear butter

I think I need to buy stock in Ball and Kerr canning supplies.

It's easy to talk with Grandma about her childhood when we are peeling away. Last weekend she told me about how her and Grandpa first met. Our neighbors were cousins of Grandpa's, and they told Grandpa about Grandma. He just stopped by one day and introduced himself, and then they started "dating". Dating meant attending church dinners and movies. Grandma said they used to have a brownish-red dog at the farm, and on the night that Grandpa first introduced himself the dog disappeared. Does that mean that Grandpa scared the dog away, or that he accidentally ran over the dog and disposed of him? We'll never know!

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Music to my Ears

This afternoon I spent some time at the farm. (Of course) Playing with Freddy. And picking blackberries.

Freddy likes to play in the cow pond. It is a rather muddy pond, full of catfish, and sometimes water snakes and snapping turtles. But today Freddy and the cows in the adjacent field were the only wildlife to be seen. My brother throws the tennis ball in the pond and then Freddy belly flops into the water after the ball to retrieve it. He steps out of the water and drops the ball inches from the edge (most of the time it rolls back into the water) and then positions himself for another fetch. Most of the time today was spent with his leash on, since the cows were nearby and he likes to take off after the cows. Then the cows moved on and we decided to try without the leash. Although Freddy was not up for that. We disconnected the leash and threw the ball and he would just stand there on the shore. Not sure if he liked having the leash as a safety-net or what, but if we reattached the leash he would fetch the ball. Next time I need to video the whole fetching, because it is quite hilarious.

Then I picked blackberries and had 8 cups of fresh berries. I brought them home with the intention of making Blackberry Slump and then decided I should preserve them instead. I now have 6 pints of blackberry jam cooling on the counter. (Couldn't find the half-pint jars - they are still packed in the garage somewhere...)

This year I bought a jar of pectin instead of boxes. Which was a great idea because I can make whatever size of batch I desire, but the directions were all on the back of the label and the label did not want to cooperate. So I had to find directions online. This is the coolest website ever. You select what type of fruit you're preserving, whether it's jelly or jam, and what type of pectin you're using. Then it gives you a chart of how much fruit, sugar and pectin is required for X number of jars. No math required!

Dear friend Mr. Water Bath Canner  - I look forward to seeing you A LOT this year!

Nothing better than the sound of can lids "popping" closed right after being pulled from the water bath canner.

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Canning tomatoes

Many people, when I tell them I can tomatoes (and other veggies) freak out about botulism, and about how long it takes to can. I decided to photograph each step of canning tomatoes to show just how easy it is.
Here's the canning guide I use: http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/uga/uga_can_tom.pdf

The recipe I did today was on page 6, "Tomatoes- Crushed". I made tomatoes the same way last year, and also canned "Tomato Juice" found on page 7 last year. This year, I don't have quite as many tomatoes, but still had too many to eat myself (The Hubs is not a tomato fan). Last year, I made a note in the margin that 8 pounds of tomatoes, precoring, produced 8 pints. This year I had about 5 pounds, and ended up with 5 pints. So it's a good rule of thumb to assume you need a pound per pint.

First things first, start with fresh, ripe, homegrown tomatoes. If you wouldn't eat the blemish that's on the tomato now, you won't want to eat it in 6 months when it's made the whole jar taste funny. Below is a mixture of Thessaloniki, Amish Paste and Cour di Bue tomatoes, all grown from Baker Creek seed. Whatever you do, DO NOT use tomatoes from the store. They are never ripened on the vine and are white in the middle. If you don't have enough tomatoes to can from your garden, go to a farmer's market to get extras.

Next, start water to boiling in your water bath canner pot. It will take forever to start boiling because of the amount of water, so start it first. I use the water bath to sterilize the empty jars too. Since there's just two of us, I use pint jars. Wide mouth pint jars are easier to clean, so if you can find those, use them! Make sure the rims of the jars don't have cracks or chips or they won't seal.

 

Some handy tools to have include "jar tongs" and a funnel made specifically for canning. 

 

Start water to boiling in a smaller pan. When it boils, add tomatoes a few at a time. This makes it easier to peel the tomatoes. Also, LEAVE THE CORES IN, otherwise you will end up with tomato juice in this pan, and that's not what you want. I think this step stops the tomatoes from ripening any further, a kind of blanching.

 

When the skins have split, use a ladle to put the tomatoes in a bowl of ice and cold water. This cools them down so they are easier to handle. The skins will fall off the tomatoes now. Discard the skins into your compost bucket, and cut the core out, also into the compost bucket. Quarter the tomatoes and put them in a separate bowl.

 

After you have boiled, cooled, peeled and cored all the tomatoes, put about 1 pound into a stock pot and bring to a boil. You want to mash up this first pound pretty well so it makes a juice. I use a potato masher. Be careful that you don't splatter the tomatoes on yourself, as they are HOT! After the first pound has come to a boil, add the remainder of the quartered tomatoes. Bring to a boil, and boil for five minutes. 

 

While you're waiting for the tomatoes to come to a boil, get your lids ready. Put them in a small sauce pan with enough water to cover, and bring to a boil. 

 

By now, if you're lucky, your water bath canner is boiling. Keep the lid on and it will come to a boil faster. 

 

The actual canning step I wasn't able to photograph because I was working so fast. You'll take a sterilized jar out of the water bath canner and use a ladle to fill it to the bottom of the threads with tomatoes. Then add 1 Tbsp of lemon juice and 1/2 tsp of salt. Wipe the rim with a dishcloth. Then put a sterilized lid on, and tighten down a ring. THE JAR AND THE LID ARE HOT. USE A (DRY) DISHTOWEL OR POTHOLDER to hold the jar while you're tightening the ring down. Put the full jar back in the water bath canner. Get a new sterilized jar out, and repeat the process until you've used all the tomatoes. 

Process in the boiling water canner for 35 minutes for pints. When done, put the jars on a dishtowel on the counter to cool. It's not unusual to have a white powdery substance on the outside of the jars; this is due to chemicals in city water and it will wipe off easily with a dry towel. 

Now, you have to wait for the lids to "pop" or seal. All of mine, except one, sealed while in the water bath. The last one sealed within five minutes of being out of the canner. If you can't tell by looking if the lid is sealed, push down gently on the center of the lid. If it moves, it hasn't sealed yet. If you have a jar that doesn't seal, put it in the fridge and use in within a couple days. Once they are cool, write the year and the contents on the lid. For these tomatoes, I'll write "stewed tomatoes 2010".

 

The number of tomatoes you have will dictate how long the canning process takes. This took a little over an hour. That may seem like a long time, but think of the delicious, homegrown, pesticide free, hormone free (because I used heirloom seeds) tomato juice I'll have for chili and stew this winter. You know you're jealous!

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