Canning and Freezing

[quiltersblock]

More and more people will be turning back to canning and freezing in this economy. Most people have forgotten this lost art - and necessity - as they've moved to the urban centers. I've actually had occasion to teach several people how to can. This recipe has been handed down in my family, and my favorite aunt - the one who taught me how to crochet - always made them, and I often helped. These are the best pickles I've ever tasted.

Bread & Butter Pickles

Recipe from: My Favorite Aunt

Serves: 72
Prep Time: 6 hours

Ingredients
8 qts. sliced cucumbers
1/4" thick
12 medium onions sliced
1 cup kosher salt
2 trays cracked ice
6 cups cider vinegar
8 cups sugar
4 tbs. mustard seed
2 tsp. turmeric
2 tsp. celery seed


Recipe
Wash cucumbers and slice without peeling. Mix cucumbers, onions, salt & ice. Let stand for three hours. Drain thoroughly.
Combine cider vinegar, sugar, mustard seed, turmeric, and celery seed in a large pot. Bring to a boil. Add well drained cucumbers and onions to the hot solution. Heat to scalding stirring constantly. Avoid overcooking. Using a wide mouthed, stainless steel funnel, pack into sterile jars. Cover with syrup.
Leave 1/2" of headroom. Remove air bubbles and put lids in place.
yields: 12 pints



Notes:
Recommended Process Time in a Boiling Water Canner for Hot Pack for Pints – up to 1,000 feet is 5 minutes processing, 1,001 – 6,000 feet is 10 minutes, above 6,000 feet is 15 minutes.

Serving Suggestion:
Great on or with sandwiches.


Hugs and Smiles, quiltersblock

[rainagade]

As you can tell I am browsing all the recipe sections.
I do have some questions for this section.

I love to can pickles. Why are dill and cucumbers ready at different times of the growing season? What would be a good substitute?

Who has a recipe for "mustard pickles"?
They are no longer even offered during the holidays...I used to stock up..

[quiltersblock]

As you can tell I am browsing all the recipe sections.
I do have some questions for this section.

I love to can pickles. Why are dill and cucumbers ready at different times of the growing season? What would be a good substitute?

Who has a recipe for "mustard pickles"?
They are no longer even offered during the holidays...I used to stock up..

It depends on when they are planted. We kept dill growing all season and it was ready with the cucumbers we wanted to dill when I was growing up in MN. I don't know of a substitute. You could make sweet pickles, garlic pickles, or pickle darn near anything. I've never heard of mustard pickles. Does it use mustard seeds or what?
Anyone who has answers or recipes - jump in, please.
Hugs and Smiles, quiltersblock

[quiltersblock]

Every year we'd gather apples, be it crab apples or whatever was growing in our yards, and we'd make apple butter. The "we" being my mother, myself, and my adopted grandmother, whose recipe this is. Although I never knew my grandparents, I was lucky enough to have people to adopt as grandparents. This particular grandma had parents who came from Norway as children. So, I got a little Norwegian - by association - and a lot of history, since she pre-dated 1900. I learned lefse, krumkake and other things from her, as well as a lot about canning. This is her mother's apple butter recipe from around 1900.

Apple Butter

Serves: 100
Prep Time: 4 hours

Ingredients
8 lbs apples
2 Cups cider
2 cups vinegar
2-1/4 cup white sugar
2-1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp ground cloves

Recipe
Wash, remove stems, quarter, and core fruit. Cook slowly in cider and vinegar until soft. Press fruit through a colander, food mill, or strainer. Cook fruit pulp with sugar and spices, stirring frequently. To test for doneness, remove a spoonful and hold it away from steam for 2 minutes. It is done if the butter remains mounded on the spoon. Another way to determine when the butter is cooked adequately is to spoon a small quantity onto a plate. When the rim of liquid does not separate around the edge of the butter, it is ready for canning. Using a wide mouthed, stainless steel funnel, fill hot into sterile half-pint or pint jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.
Yield: About 8-9 pints


Notes:
Recommended process time in a boiling water canner to hot pack half-pints or pints – up to 1,000 feet is 5 minutes; 1,001 to 6,000 feet is 10 minutes; above 6,000 feet is 15 minutes.

Serving Suggestion:
spread on toast or bread

Hugs and Smiles, quiltersblock

[rainagade]

I do not know if she did or not.
the base the pickles were in was a yellow mustard color.
there was onion slices in it too.

I love garlic dills, the mustard pickles that I saw were slices. Even the onions were good.

I do not grow dill but probably should on the year I do pickles.

[tndenim]

By "mustard pickles" do you mean "bread and butter" pickles? they have onions and mustard seeds in them. and they sure are mmmmmmmmm good!

If so - let me know - I got a good recipe for those

[quiltersblock]

By "mustard pickles" do you mean "bread and butter" pickles? they have onions and mustard seeds in them. and they sure are mmmmmmmmm good!

If so - let me know - I got a good recipe for those

The bread and butter pickle recipe I posted has onions and mustard seeds and there's yellow in the bottom after a couple months of settling. They are good. And they are sliced.

I'd love it if you'd share your recipe, tndenim.
Hugs and Smiles, quiltersblock

[tndenim]

Quilter'sblock- duh - I missed your recipe at the bottom. I'm having one of those days today. I'll post mine though. I love them things - they are so good. But since I'm diabetic - I'm really not suppose to eat them to much - so I don't make them anymore.

[tndenim]

Ok quilter's block - here is my version.


Bread and Butter Pickles

1 gallon sliced cucumbers (we alsa use zuchini or a combination of both)
12 sliced onions
1/2 cup salt

Soak in ice water for 3 hours or overnight - then drain.

Put in large pan and add:

5 cups sugar
1/2 tsp tumeric
2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cloves
1 tsp celery seed
3 cup vinegar
2 cups water

Bring to a boil and can. I just sterilize my jars and lids and put into the jars and turn them upside down for a minimum of 15 minutes. I do not usually waterbath these as the jars are super hot as well as the pickles.

[quiltersblock]

We had lots of Concord grapes and red plums and purple plums when I was growing up, so we had lots of things to do with them. The favorite, of course, was jelly. This recipe combined the two.

Grape Plum Jelly

Serves: 40
Prep Time: 4 hours

Ingredients
3-1/2 lbs ripe plums
3 lbs ripe concord grapes
1 cup water
1/2 tsp butter or margarine
8-1/2 cups sugar
1 box (1-3/4oz) powdered pectin

Recipe
Wash and pit plums; do not peel. Thoroughly crush the plums and grapes, one layer at a time, in a saucepan with water. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer 10 minutes. Strain juice through a jelly bag or double layer of cheesecloth. Measure sugar and set aside. combine 6-1/2 cups of juice with butter and pectin in large saucepan. Bring to a hard boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Add the sugar and return to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and quickly skim off foam. Using a wide mouthed funnel, fill sterile jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Adjust lids and process.
Yield: About 10 half-pints


Notes:
Recommended process time in a boiling water canner for hot-pack half-pints or pints – up to 1,000 feet is 5 minutes; 1,001 to 6,000 feet is 10 minutes; above 6,000 feet is 15 minutes.

Hugs and Smiles, quiltersblock

[quiltersblock]

So many people planted so much zucchini in the summer that you had to lock your car door in summer/fall to avoild having the backseat filled. Luckily, the same people who overplanted the zucchini also planted a lot of tomatoes and everyone shared different types. They were good raw, stewed, preserved, etc. This was one of our family's favorites - a recipe my favorite aunt used that we believe came from our grandmother.

Green Tomato Relish

Serves: 24
Prep Time: 4 hours

Ingredients
8 qts. green tomatoes
6 onions
3 red peppers
3 lb. brown sugar
1 qt. vinegar
1/4 c. salt
spices in a bag:
1 tsp. cloves
1 tbsp. cinnamon

Recipe
Chop the tomatoes, peppers and onions. Put in a large pot and add the brown sugar, vinegar, salt and spice bag. Simmer until dark stirring often.
Using a wide mouthed funnel, pack into sterile jars leaving 1/2" of headroom. Remove air bubbles, place lids and process.


Notes:
Recommended process time in a boiling water canner for hot-pack pints – up to 1,000 feet is 5 minutes; 1,001 to 6,000 feet is 10 minutes; above 6,000 feet is 15 minutes.

Hugs and Smiles, quiltersblock

[quiltersblock]

This was one good way to get rid of all those zucchinis; the recipe is from the same tomato-loving aunt.

Zucchini Relish

Serves: 48
Prep Time: 4 hours

Ingredients
10 C. Zucchini chopped
4 C onions chopped
5 Tbsp. salt
21/2 C. white vinegar
4 C sugar
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. cornstarch
2 tsp. celery seed
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 green pepper chopped

Recipe
Mix zucchini, onions and salt together and let sit for five hours. Drain then rinse in cold water.
Put in a large pan and add vinegar, sugar, nutmeg, dry mustard, cornstarch, celery seed and pepper. Mix well.
Add green pepper. Cook 30 minutes.
Using a wide-mouthed, stainless steel funnel, spoon the mixture into sterile jars with 1/2" of headspace. Remove air bubbles, place lid and process.


Notes:
Recommended process time in a boiling water canner for hot pack pints – up to 1,000 feet is 5 minutes; 1,001 to 6,000 feet is 10 minutes; above 6,000 feet is 15 minutes.

Serving Suggestion:
Great with sandwiches. Good in salads as well as with them.

Hugs and Smiles, quiltersblock

[quiltersblock]

This was the most-used dill pickle recipe in our family. Many friends adopted it, too.
I have recipes for peppers and hot pickles, etc, but haven't posted any because I'm trying to stay main-stream. If anyone wants canning recipes for spicier pickles and salsas, please put the request in the cooking want section.

Quick Fresh Pack Dill Pickles

Serves: 54
Prep Time: 24 hours

Ingredients
8 lbs of 3 to 5 inch pickling cucumbers
2 gals water
1-1/4 cups canning or pickling salt
1-1/2 quarts. vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
2 quarts water
2 tbsp whole mixed pickling spice
3 tbsp whole mustard seed
14 heads of fresh dill or-
4-1/2 tbsp dill seed

Recipe
Wash cucumbers. Cut 1/16 inch slice off blossom end and discard, but leave 1/4 inch of stem attached. Dissolve 1/2 cup salt in 2 quarts water. Pour over cucumbers and let stand 12 hours. Drain. Combine vinegar, 1/2 cup salt, sugar, and 2 quarts water, Add mixed pickling spices tied in a clean white cloth. Heat to boiling. Using a wide mouthed funnel, fill jars with pickles. Add 1 tsp mustard seed and 1-1/2 heads fresh dill per pint. Cover with boiling pickling solution, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Adjust lids and process.
Yield: 7-9 pints


Notes:
Recommended process time in a boiling water canner to raw pack pints – up to 1,000 feet is 10 minutes; 1,001 – 6,000 feet is 15 minutes; above 6,000 feet is 20 minutes. For quarts – up to 1,000 feet is 15 minutes; 1,001 to 6,000 feet is 20 minutes; above 6,000 feet is 25 minutes.

Serving Suggestion: Great with sandwiches.


Hugs and Smiles, quiltersblock

[quiltersblock]

If you have dill and bread and butter pickles in your pantry, you'll probably find a need for sweet pickles as well. Here's another family recipe.

Sweet Gherkin Pickles

Serves: 42
Prep Time: 12 hours

Ingredients
7 lbs cucumbers (1-1/2 inch or less)
1/2 cup canning or pickling salt
8 cups sugar
6 cups vinegar
3/4 tsp. turmeric
2 tsp. celery seed
2 tsp whole mixed pickling spice
2 cinnamon sticks

Recipe
Wash cucumbers. Cut 1/16 inch slice off blossom end and discard, but leave 1/4 inch of stem attached. Place cucumbers in large container and cover with boiling water. Six to 8 hours later, and on the second day, drain and cover with 6 quarts of fresh boiling water containing 1/4 cup salt. On the third day, drain and prick cucumbers with a table fork. Combine and bring to boil 3 cups vinegar, 3 cups sugar, turmeric, and spices. Pour over cucumbers. six to 8 hours later, drain and save the pickling syrup. Add another 2 cups each of sugar and vinegar and reheat to boil. Pour over pickles. On the fourth day, drain and save syrup. Add another 2 cups sugar and 1 cup vinegar. Heat to boiling and pour over pickles. Drain and save pickling syrup 6 to 8 hours later. Add 1 cup sugar and heat to boiling. Using a wide mouthed funnel, fill sterile pint jars with pickles and cover with hot syrup, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Adjust lids and process.
Yield: 6 to 7 pints


Notes:
Recommended process time in a boiling water canner to raw-pack pints – up to 1,000 feet is 5 minutes; 1,001 – 6,000 feet is 10 minutes; above 6,000 feet is 15 minutes.

Serving Suggestion: Great with sandwiches.

Hugs and Smiles, quiltersblock

[rainagade]

that zucchini relish is good enough to eat straight out of the jar. Before you know it the jar is empty.

Thank you, I am waiting for my plants to sprout. the seeds are in the window now.

[windstar]

Is zucchini relish like sweet pickle relish? I'd like to try it if it is.

Molly

[quiltersblock]

Is zucchini relish like sweet pickle relish? I'd like to try it if it is.

Molly

It is similar.
I also have recipes for:
hot tomato sauce, piccadilli, pickled beets, pickled hot peppers, pickled three bean salad, salsa, and tomato ketchup - among others. Not sure if there'd be anyone interested in those.
Hugs and Smiles, quiltersblock

[windstar]

It is similar.
I also have recipes for:
hot tomato sauce, piccadilli, pickled beets, pickled hot peppers, pickled three bean salad, salsa, and tomato ketchup - among others. Not sure if there'd be anyone interested in those.
Hugs and Smiles, quiltersblock

I'd love to see these recipes. I'm stepping up my gardening this year and can use these. Thanks for all the recipes.

Moly

[Salsabil]

It is great to read all this recipes! And I sure will try the ones with Zuccini, one year my mother in law has so much in her garden that she created Zuccinicake

[brendaj]

I used to can a lot, but now living alone it doesn't seem worth it. One of my favorite canning experiences was refridgerator jam. I had a lot of fruit going bad in the fridge. Peachs, plums, nectarines, apples, I forget what else. I made a jam from everything (cleaning the fridge) .
It was the best jam. It was great as a glaze on pork. My brother has begged for more but of course I could never copy it.
Brenda in MI