Jalapeno Pickles

Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a fan of pickles.  They are crazy gross to me and are the quickest way to get rid of my appetite.

However... my husband loves pickled jalapenos on just about everything.  I was on a canning spree and decided to try my hand at making some jalapeno pickles.  I really enjoyed making this batch of pickles.  They were easy to make and will last about a year in the pantry which gives me plenty of time to use them up on pizzas, chili's, and plenty of other things.

Jalapeno Pickles:
(adapted slightly from Food in Jars)

1 pound of jalapeno peppers, cut into slices
2 cups white vinegar
2 cups filtered water
2 tablespoons pickling salt
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes

Pack clean, hot jars with peppers and the red pepper flakes. Pour hot brine over top. Bubble your jars thoroughly by tapping them firmly on the countertop and using a wooden chopstick to release any stubborn bubbles. Wipe rims, apply lids and bands.

Process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes. Store in cool, dark place for up to a year.

Canned Apple Pie Filling

Apples have been on sale recently and I have been needing a mental break from life so I decided to dive into a weekend of canning.  I decided to go with some apple pie filling mainly because I've never canned pie filling before.

I always forget how much work it takes to make apple pie.  The apples turn brown so quickly and I feel like it always takes me forever to core the apples and get them sliced up.  This is the best part of canning.  I now have 7 pints of apple pie filling that I can use without having to do much work!!!

Canned Apple Pie Filling:
(adapted from Ball Canning)

12 cups sliced peeled cored apples, treated to prevent browning and drained (about 12 medium)
Water
2-3/4 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup ClearJel
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon apple pie spice
2 1/2 cups unsweetened apple juice
1 1/4 cups cold water
1/2 cup lemon juice
7 pint glass preserving jars with lids and bands

Directions:

Prepare boiling water canner. Heat jars and lids in simmering water until ready for use. Do not boil. Set bands aside.

Blanch apple slices, working with 6 cups at a time, in a large pot of boiling water for 1 minute.

Remove with a slotted spoon and keep warm in a covered bowl.

Combine sugar, ClearJel, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and apple pie spice in a large stainless steel saucepan. Stir in apple juice and cold water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, and cook until mixture thickens and begins to bubble. Add lemon juice, return to a boil and boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Drain apple slices and immediately fold into hot mixture. Before processing, heat, stirring, until apples are heated through.

Ladle hot pie filling into hot jars leaving 1 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Apply band until fit is fingertip tight.

Process jars in a boiling water canner for 25 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Remove jars and cool.

Check the lids for a proper seal after 24 hours. Lid should not flex up and down when center is pressed.

** When using this in a pie you might find that one jar isn't quite enough to fill your crust.  If this is the case just cut up a couple more apples and add to the whole mix.  When the pie bakes everything will come together perfectly.

Fig Jam

I spent my Labor Day weekend laboring away in the kitchen making jam.   Figs have been on sale recently and I decided to take advantage of the good deal.  Plus, I don't really do much with figs so I decided it was time to fix that.

I think that this jam is going to be amazing when Christmas comes around.  I want to get some puff pastry, a wheel of brie, and pour a bunch of this jam on top before I bake it off.  It's going to be delicious!  (Now I just need to go to a party)

Fig Jam:

4 cups chopped figs (about 27 medium)
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup water
1 3-oz pouch Ball® Liquid Fruit Pectin
6 cups sugar
8 (8 oz) half pint glass preserving jars with lids and bands

Directions:
Prepare boiling water canner. Heat jars and lids in simmering water
until ready for use. Do not boil. Set bands aside. Prepare figs by
trimming stems and finely chopping them.

Combine prepared figs with lemon juice, water, and sugar in a 6- or
8-quart saucepan. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil that cannot be
stirred down, over high heat, stirring frequently.
Add pectin, immediately squeezing entire contents from pouch. Continue
hard boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam
if necessary

Ladle hot jam into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe rim.
Center lid on jar. Apply band until fit is fingertip tight.

Process jars in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes, adjusting for
altitude. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours. Lid
should not flex up and down when center is pressed.

My First 'Canning Friday'

Now that I'm diving into canning more and more I thought it would be a good idea to share some of what I'm learning with others.  Canning is scary to many people and the safety of it is why a lot of people stay away from it.  I was one of those people for a long time.

The truth of the matter is that there are some issues that can pop up if bacteria is introduced into the preserving environment but once you crack the code it really isn't that scary.  

I'm going to start sharing some of the canning knowledge I have (as little as it is) and what I'm learning from other people and books as well.  My hope is that even if people don't want to can anything they will at least learn something and be able to answer that final question in Jeopardy when it comes around.


The Ball Canning Company is a GREAT resource!  They were my first stop when I started researching the whole canning thing.  This link goes to their step by step guide.

This Friday we are going to talk about preparing the jars to be canned.  This is the first step in keeping bacteria away.

Before I start my canning process I fill up my waterbath canner.  It takes my poor still electric stove forever to heat it up.  So technically I guess this is step 1.

Step 1: Look over your jars to make sure there are no cracks or chips in the glass.


Step 2: Wash your jars, lids, and bands with warm, soapy water.  I like to wash mine in the dishwasher because it gets much hotter than hand washing does.


Step 3: Keep the jars warm.  I do this by filling my waterbath canner with simmering water and submerging the jars and lids in it.  Warm jars have a smaller chance of cracking when you fill them with hot liquid.

Blueberry Jam

Summer fruits are wonderful.  The farmer's market has tons of berries right now and they are just begging to be made into jam... so that's what I've been doing.

This is a really easy recipe, it tastes fantastic, and doesn't take that long to cook or process.

Blueberry Jam:
(Ball Canning)

4 cups blueberries
4 1/2 tablespoons pectin
3 cups sugar (I used 1 cup lemon sugar and 2 cups regular sugar)

According to the recipe you should be able to get 6 half pint jars of jam.  I was only able to get 5.  If you prepare 6 jars you'll be good to go. 

Prepare boiling water canner. Wash jars, lids and bands in hot soapy water. Heat jars and in simmering water until ready for use. Do not boil. Set lids and bands aside.

Combine berries in an 8-quart saucepan. Gradually stir in pectin. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down, over high heat, stirring constantly.


Add all of the sugar, stirring to dissolve. Return mixture to a full rolling boil. Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam, if necessary.

Ladle hot jam into hot jars, one at a time, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe rims. Center lids on jars. Apply bands and adjust to fingertip tight.

Place filled jars in canner ensuring jars are covered by 1 to 2 inches of water. Place lid on canner. Bring water to gentle, steady boil.

Process jars for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Turn off heat, remove lid and let jars stand for 5 minutes. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours. Lids should not flex up and down when center is pressed.

Strawberry-Margarita Jam

I got a canning set for Christmas this year.   Now that spring has officially sprung and there are beautiful strawberries all over the place I decided to get down to business!  I guess I could have started with a basic strawberry jam but when I saw this one I decided to go for it.  Go big or go home.

This turned out to be more of a sauce than a jam.  It could be because I didn't use the apples but it's also a good possibility that there was some user error.  I'm new to this whole canning thing.

Friendly canning reminder... make sure your jars and cleaned and sterilized before you start canning.

Strawberry-Margarita Jam:
 (adapted from Ball Canning Company)

8 cups halved hulled strawberries
1/4 cup lemon juice
4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup tequila
1/2 cup orange-flavored liqueur
2 Tbsp strawberry schnapps, optional
6 (8 oz) half pint glass preserving jars with lids and bands

Directions:

Prepare boiling water canner. Heat jars and lids in simmering water until ready for use. Do not boil. Set bands aside.

Combine strawberries and lemon juice in a large, deep stainless steel saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Add sugar, stirring until dissolved. Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring frequently, until mixture thickens, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat and test gel. If liquid breaks from spoon in a sheet or flake, it has reached the gel stage. If gel stage has been reached, stir in tequila, orange-flavored liqueur and strawberry schnapps, if using. Return to medium-high heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil hard, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and skim off foam.

Ladle hot preserves into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding hot preserves. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Apply band until fit is fingertip tight.

Process jars in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours. Lid should not flex up and down when center is pressed.

Low Sugar Strawberry Jam

I love jam.  I brought home a flat of strawberries last weekend and decided to make some jam with them since there was no way that my little household of 2 would be able to eat them all.

I found this recipe for a lower sugar jam online and decided to give it a try.  I liked the fact that it used a no sugar added juice as the sweetener instead of one of those sugar substitutes.  I think there is something odd about going through all the trouble to can fresh fruit and then dump a bunch of fake sugar on it... but I digress.

Low Sugar Strawberry Jam:
( Ball Canning Jars)

4 cups crushed strawberries
1 cup unsweetened white grape juice
3 tablespoons low or no-sugar needed pectin
6 (8 oz) half pint glass preserving jars with lids and bands

Directions:

Prepare boiling water canner. Heat jars and lids in simmering water until ready for use. Do not boil. Set bands aside.

Combine strawberries and juice in a 6- to 8-quart saucepan. Gradually stir in pectin. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down, over high heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary.

Ladle hot jam into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe rim. Center hot lid on jar. Apply band and adjust until fit is fingertip tight.

Process filled jars in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Remove jars and cool. Check for seal after 24 hours. Lids should not flex up and down when center is pressed.