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Besides canners, food dryers and
steamers are part of preserving |
Canning
season is upon us, and this year has already been a bumper crop for produce in
Blanding. The provident person will make
sure they capitalize on the opportunity to not only eat and enjoy, but can and
dry everything possible while the opportunity is here. Often there is a late spring freeze and we
are not blessed with so much fruit.
One of the
great pluses this season, is that Facebookers throughout the county have been
very generous and timely in either selling or giving away extra produce. The Farmers Market each Saturday is another
outlet for produce if you don’t have your own garden.
Thanks to Will
and Jessica McFarland for initiating this trend by setting up Blanding’s 24/7
garage sale. It’s an extremely provident
and kind way to pass along items a person no longer needs but may help someone
else. One person’s trash may be another’s
treasure! Since they started this about
5 months ago, Blanding Classifieds, and “Free” have also sprouted up. What a great way to cut costs, for locals who
are being hammered by the $3.98 per gallon gas prices. Any way we can share is wise and frankly a
fun challenge and it makes us better stewards of the good things God has given
us, much more so than throwing them away. [Update. As of May 2016 this community site has over 8000 members!]
My son, Nathan, would
be so proud of me today. I actually emptied three dozen bottles of old fruit
that had been canned in 1982 and 1989.
Being the frugal person that I am, I had used the discolored fruit when
I made whole wheat bread, in place of applesauce. But I finally had to admit, I’d never be able
to make enough bread to use it all up and that our composter would
appreciate it, more than my posterity. It
freed up lots of bottles and space so I can preserve more of this year's garden. So while you’re canning-- clean, reshuffle,
and organize your food storage. [Update 2016, now as I empty bottles I'm giving them to Silvia, who will soon have a bigger storage room than I do!]
In the
process I experimented with several other uses for the pear and apricot pulp—mainly
using it as a replacement for zucchini in cupcakes. Not one to follow a perfectly good recipe
more than once, I’m all for experimenting and using up what is on hand. I’m sure that’s how most recipes originate.
In fact, half way through this process (which I was doing while also canning
tomatoes and grapes) I discovered I had used half of one recipe, then shifted
to the other page and finished up with a 2nd recipe. Carelessness, along with necessity, may be
the mother of invention! They turned out
great, with the nuts coming from Autumn’s father-in-law in Logan. He too, is a great one to pass-along the
bounties of the garden.
Yesterday while listening to Studio Five on KSL, I learned a few other new
tricks in the kitchen: Pick
pears while they are still green. Put
them into a shallow box to ripen and cover with a blanket. Use as they turn yellow. These are delicious dried, and don’t need
anything added. They can be scalded just like peaches, which speeds up the
peeling process.
2. Spice
up your pears when you can them, by dropping in an Atomic Fireball in bottom of each bottle to make them pink and give
them a little taste of cinnamon.
3. A simple way to cut corn off
the cob for canning or freezing. Pull out
your Bundt pan, put the end of the cob in the open hole in the middle. As you slice off the kernals, they fall into
the pan. What could be simpler! If you have lots to do, use an electric
knife.
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When canning Thompson grapes or other light colored ones,
you can add peach peelings, a plum or other bright fruit to
give it a pink color.
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4. From Marylynn Smith I learned
if I want to color up my blah white grape juice coming out of the steamer, I
can just toss in some peach peelings, a plum, or a few raspberries.
5.This last idea would not pass
muster from my favorite county extension agent, but myself and other multi-decade canners in my neighborhood
reuse our canning lids! I know Mason and
Ball are throwing up their hands in dismay, but if you are careful when you
remove the lids, they can be used 2-4 times.
Of course, you have to pay attention to whether they are flat, and not
rusted. If you can a lot, this really saves
money.
6.I also have an issue with the paranoia
caused by expiration dates on packages. These are really only guidelines to help you
buy food at optimal freshness.
They should not be considered as a dictatorial mandate, telling
you to thrown away food! They have
nothing to do with whether the food is safe to use. There is no standardization in packaging dates
in the U.S. So don’t be so quick to
throw food away, just because a certain date is on it. The
bigger travesty is the amount of waste in our country caused by robotic cooks
who waste perfectly good food because they don’t trust their own good sense,
taste buds, and nose. The only items
required by federal law to be labeled for expiration are infant formula
and some baby foods; some states also mandate pulling dairy from store shelves
on the expiration date.
7.
In celebration of the bumper
crop of apples coming this year. Here’s my favorite canning recipe for apples –
Bottled Apple Pie Filling from the
2005 4th ward cookbook submitted by Relva Bowring
4-5 quarts of apples peeled
and sliced
4 ½ C. sugar
1 C. cornstarch
2-4 tsp cinnamon (depends
on taste)
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. salt
Mix and add 10 cups cold water.
Cook until thick and bubbly. Cold
pack 20 minutes. Fills about 6-7 quarts. This is quick and easy to use if you need a
pie in a hurry!
