The Forestry Forum

 I would like to give you a look at how The Lovely Miss Celest and I canned about a bushel of tomatos out of our front yard garden.

First dip tomatos in boiling water for one minute.
(https://forestryforum.com/images/03_21_04/WStomato1.jpg)

Next, as my assistant Vannah, ah I mean Celest, is demonstrating, we dunk them in cold water. When you take them out of the bag (pillow case) they will be sluffing their skins.
(https://forestryforum.com/images/03_21_04/WStomato2.jpg)

Pull off the skins, cut into hunks, leave out any bad looking gook.
(https://forestryforum.com/images/03_21_04/WStomato3.jpg)

Sterilize the jars.
(https://forestryforum.com/images/03_21_04/WStomato4.jpg)

Fill the jars. This was the last jar we filled and what you see in the cup at the top was all that was leftover, not bad eh?
(https://forestryforum.com/images/03_21_04/WStomato5.jpg)

Pressure cook. 5 lbs for 10 minutes.
(https://forestryforum.com/images/03_21_04/WStomato6.jpg)

After you take them out of the pressure cooker you have to wrap them up and let them cool for 24 hours.
(https://forestryforum.com/images/03_21_04/WStomato7.jpg)

Finally you have some nice canned tomatos, after unwrapping them you have to tap in each lid if it pings it took a good seal, if it is dull dump it out it did not seal correctly.
(https://forestryforum.com/images/03_21_04/WStomato8.jpg)

Our yield was 14.6 quarts. Not bad for about 4 hours of work.

Weekend Sawyer

DanG --  started mine to late --  bring me some will ya -- mine are just starting to flower  :(

on second thought  why don't you just mail em and we can have some fresh ones when you get here. !!!!!!!

 ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Make's you feel pretty good when ya got plenty of canned goods put up and the root cellar is full of potatoes, onions, and all the good stuff.

We put up about 150 quarts of juice and 20 quarts of whole tomatoes this year.

(https://forestryforum.com/images/03_21_04/tj.jpg)

About ready to start on the fall beans.

Those look great!  Just curious how many plants did you plant?  What variety did you grow?  

It was a bad year here in Michigan for tomatoes.  Cooler and wetter than usual.  I had a lot of problems with fungal diseases, blight and leafspot--kinda disappointing.  I still have some ripening, and I should have a banner crop of tomatillos too.  I usually freeze my tomatoes, or dehydrate them, though if I had more this year, I was thinking of canning them.

I really enjoy growing the heirloom varieties myself.  They're more susceptible to diseases, but man, they're tasty!  Plus, they come in all colors and sizes.  I'll try and take some pictures of the varieties I grew this year.

Those tomatoes will sure taste great in the dead of winter!  Way to go!   8)

Yeah buddy, one a my most favorite foods.  Only thing we do different is we don't pressure cook em anymore, havn't in quite a few years now.  

The wife heats the tomatoes in a big ole pot and  heats the rings and lids in a sauce pan on the stove.  She also has hot water to pre-heat the jars.  She fills the jars half full of tomatoes, adds a teaspoon of salt to the quart, and then finishes filling the jars up.  Then puts on the flats and rings and sets em on the counter on a towel and covers the top of em with a towel.  She's saying the most we have had that didn't seal was two in 6 dozen.  She checks em in the morning and if an odd one doesn't seal she puts in the the refrigerator for immediate consumption. We usually put about half of ours up in juice.  

There's nothing better than home grown.  We would normally be putting up tomatoes now, but not this year.  We got them in late because of cold, wet spring weather.  Temperatures stayed below normal all summer and they didn't come along like they should have. We've had a few for the table, but none to can.

We have been doing snap beans, green and yellow wax.  We did a couple of canners of green beens today.  We have a bushel of apples in the basement that I picked Saturday.  We'll make canned applesauce with those sometime this week.  Maybe freeze a few for pies.  

My wife has canned about 100lbs of tomatoes so far and the plants are still producing 8)

She makes the best home-made katchup you can imagine.

We now  have Katchup, Tomato Past, Tomato sause, Tomato Juice, and whole tomatoes 8)

We also picked 2 bushals of Apples that she is now canning.

Oh, almost forgot she canned sweet pickles and peppers.  This was one of the better years for the garden and I think its because we planted it at the farm and not here in suburbia.

Kirk

Kirk, I never thought I'd say this to someone else but I gotta tell ya.  I am in LOVE with your wife!    Just kidding, hope ya don't tell mine what I said! :)

I'd have to agree Kirk...   :D

I must say this thread is pure torture.... I havn't had any homemade tomato juice in several years...  I can still taste the extra salt my grandmother used to put in it...  

Yeh cktate, I am too 8)
I cant wait to finally get down to the farm full time.  She puts together an awesome garden and once were their full time I cant even imagine what she is going to make.

She wants Chickens for fresh eggs and fresh chicken ;D, homegrown fruits and vegetables and with all the deer and rabits in the area meat will never be a shortage on our table 8)

Ok, have to go eat now ;D

Sure wouldn't mind if it ain't top secret or something hearing a bit more about that ketchup recipe. :)

nice thing about tomaters is that you don't need to pressure can them.  water bath works fine, and is recommended by Ball in their canning book.

i usually can tomatos by dicing, skin and all; put in a pot with a little bit of salt and cook for a short while, then put through a food mill to remove skins and seeds and can as a smooth sauce.  we don't eat too much in the way of stewed or chunky tomatos, but we eat a lot of pasta sauces and such.  i also render a few pints down to paste each time i have enough tomatoes

this year stunk big time for the tomato crop up here in the great wet northeast, to the point where all my heirlooms are producing leopard spotted rotten tomatos before they even ripen up.   :(

We put in a few Early Girl plants to have eating tomatoes before July 1.  Bulk of canning tomatoes are Better Boy.  We mix a few Roma tomatoes in which make the juice a little thicker and we think better tasting.  Had about 65 plants this year.  We could get by with a lot fewer plants if we spent more time taking care of them.

Our mix of plants is very similar to yours, Larry. We grow Early Girls and Better Boys, along with some Amish Paste, Brandywine and Morgage Lifters. Also a few cherry tomatoes for salads.  

The  only ripe tomatoes we've had this season have been Early Girls. We're finding that they are susceptible to early blight, though, more so than the heirloom varieties we grow. Blight has been a problem this year with the cool wet weather we've had. I think we'll try a different variety of early tomato next year.

cktate I will be at the farm tonight and get the recipe for you.  My wife is down there now doing the apples 8)

I should have it posted tonight.

Kirk

Early girl and Better boy are most widely available varieties here now, also beefsteak. Used to get Scotian and Siberian, although those first two varieties are similar to Scotian. I have been eating some from my garden too. But, I only have 4 plants. I picked a small box of half ripe ones to ripen in the house. My idea was to pickin before blight hits them too. The folks always liked to can vegetables here also, only now the bottles and seals are more expensive than buying it all done off the shelf. I sure use a fair bit of tomato paste and sauce for different dishes. Some of them dishes have nothing to do with spagetti and alot or experimental. I'de eat most anything tomato, while some may not. ;)  I know nothing beats home made, for sure. The folks just make bean pickles, lady ashburn, and beat pickles now. I had an aunt down in Mass. that made watermelon pickles which were real nice too. We used to eat'm over at the camp in NH. I never tried canning myself. My favorite pickles has to be lady ashburn, even my uncle makes those from grandmother's recipe which includes a few hot red peppers. Yummy. :)

I made some bread 'n butter pickles a couple years ago, with one secret ingredient (well, not really secret if you were looking at the jar) - one large thai dragon hot pepper per jar.  The thai dragons are right up there below habaneros on the heat scale - something like 100,000 scoville units (compared to jalapenos at 10,000).   :o  

Well, the pickles were nice and sweet and crispy, and about eight seconds after someone took a bite out of one, their eyes got nice and big and tongue came out and usually there was some cussin' going on.  I was nice enough to warn folks they had a bit of a "bite" to them before they took their own first bite. :D  Funny, I never had anyone stop at the first one.

Ashburns aren't nearly that hot Engineer, cause the old folks in my family don't take to that too well. Personally, I use a dash of chilly powder with most any dish with hamburgh associated with it and also I use garam masala - 1 tablespoon per lb. If you haven't tried garam masala, you may actually take a liken to it. I found it in northern BC and haven't seen it here in the east. I got it from an East Indian spice shop. Oh, and I also tend to add some table sugar to my hamburgh/tomato anything dishes because of the acidity. ;)

Well I couldn't believe it neither but we found a tomato growing wild in the middle of the woods on a logging road. Also, 60 miles from the mainland. :)

(https://forestryforum.com/images/03_21_04/tomato1.jpg)

Yeah, that's me holdin the DanG thing. :D

Here's a closer look.
(https://forestryforum.com/images/03_21_04/tomato2.jpg)

We figured the logging crew tossed a tomato sandwich out on the way to the dry land sort. Its still amazing since this was in late November in NW Canada. :D :D ;)

Easy to get garam masala.   Or any other spice for that matter.  

<insert blatant plug here>

I get my spices at Penzey's.  They have several retail stores in the upper midwest and have a great catalog and website.  www.penzeys.com.  No affiliation, just a very happy consumer.

Weird place for a tomato plant, that is.

My tomatoes are the same varieties mentioned and were about eight feet tall when put outside!! I'd cut them off once or twice ,too.
They didn't care that it was a wet summer. Got more than I know what to do with.The cherry tomatoes were huge ,too.
What happens if I just cut them up and freeze them?
We can get garam masala at the supermarket.

We use to do all the growing and canning and now I really miss it. The last 2 or 3 yrs that I drank, thats all I wanted to do was drink. My wife was doing everything at the house and I think the garden thing was one of the things she hung up because I was no help. DanG, now I fill like a piece of crap, again.
EZ

The reason you cook them srucebunny is to halt the enzyme actions in them. Supposed to make em last longer.

We grow romas to freeze, I don't peel them just cut in half, put in a baking dish and sprinkle with olive oil salt pepper and various herbs. Bake them at 350 for 45-60 minutes, cool and put in freezer bags. When I thaw them I put them in the food processor and puree em.

Nothing like homemade tomato sauce no matter how you make it. :)

EZ, don't keep beatin' yourself up over the past. That isn't gonna change things abit, and it just makes you feel lousy. Celebrate and feel proud that you no longer drink and get out there and plan a garden for next year!  ;)
Norm's process for tomatoes works for Big Boys and sweet 100's, too, they just turn out a different flavor is all. All of them are wonderful come the middle of winter.  :)

YEA!  E.Z. is bringing tomatoes to the next pig roast!

Well, I shoulda said Eastern Canada. :D I've looked in the large super markets here and they got all kinds of stuff, but no garam masala to be found. I'm down to me last 8 oz. Our stores used to carry alot of bulk foods, but in the last 10 years that's been cut way back. I suppose too many samplers out there. Maybe I'll find some over in Presque Isle , Maine if I think to look next time. ;)

Our tomato plants have been slow to ripen due to the cool weather, but I'm still hoping to at least can 40 or so quarts of salsa.  We still have a bunch of tomato juice and stewed tomatoes left from last year.

A lot of people around here had problems with tomatoes this year, so we'll be giving some away to help the friends and family who are short.  We usually grow better boy, big boy, and a few cherry tomatoes.

I don't pressure can either.  I use the oven at 215 degrees to heat the jars.  It's always so hot and humid already that I prefer dry heat of the oven to heating the jars in water.  Plus that frees up another burner.  I usually heat the lids and bands in a pan of boiling water, but occasionally I use the oven for that also.  A couple of weeks ago I canned dill and sweet pickles.  I accidentally left a lid in the oven and later went to bake homeade rolls and pizza. ::)  Man does that plastic rim stink when it starts to melt.  :-[

We use to dip a whole bunch of tomatoes in boiling water at one time, then dip in cold water.  Now, I just keep a 2 quart pan of boiling water with a lid on it (to keep the heat and humidity down), take a slotted spoon place 3-4 tomatoes in the water one at a time and by the time the 4th hits the water the 1st is ready to be transferred to an empty bowl.  Replace the lid to come back to a boil while I slip the skins off and put them into a stock pot ready for boiling.

People use to think everything needed to be pressure canned, but high acid vegetables don't need to be unless it hasn't been boiled for at least 15-20 minutes.  Since it takes that long to cook them down anyway, all you have to do is make sure the jars are clean and hot/sterile.  With pressure canning, there is always the danger of jars exploding, so I stay away from that myself.

I'd sure like that ketchup recipe, too.  Al is always complaining about runny ketchup, and we go through 7lbs every month. :o

Does anyone can jam?  I usually can grape and sometimes peach.  I also make strawberry, strawberry/banana, and raspberry freezer jam.  Oh yummy, I'm making myself hungry!  :D

Linda :)

I'm not going to have as much this year as in the past couple of years, but I've had enough to keep me happy and enough to give away.  I mainly plant heirlooms, since they're so unique.  It's fun to try new varieties from year to year.  I'm a big fan of Brandywine, which is probably the most common of the heirlooms.  I'm a real fan of Mr. Stripey, which is a yellow and red tomatoe--looks very cool when you cut it up, since it's marbled throughout.  Amish Paste is a great sauce tomatoe.  I tried something called Yellow Perfection this year.  They're tasty but small yellow tomatoes.  Then there's this purple variety that is the best tomato I've ever eaten!  Unfortunately, the marker wasn't permanent on the label stick the person gave me, so I don't know the variety!   ::)  I'm sure they'll have it next year too.  I grew some Gilbertie this year which is supposed to be a terrific sauce tomatoe, but I'm still waiting on that to ripen.  Then there's the Great White, which is a very pale tomatoe, and as too cherry tomatoes, it's hard to beat Matt's Wild Cherry.  Couldn't find any this year to plant, but had some volunteers which should be ripe soon.  

Then there's the hot peppers, a whole different story.   8)  I planted a bunch of habaneros which are just starting to ripen.  I just put them in vinegar in the fridge and pull them out when I need them.  I like to make some hot sauce too that will definitely put hair on your chest!  It's fun to dry them too and grind them into habanero powder.  If you just put 1/8 of a teaspoon in a pot of chili, it will make it nearly unbearable, just the way I like it.   :D  I do the same with my cayenne peppers:  dry them, and when I need some powder, grind them up in the spice grinder.  I always try to grow several new varieties of hot peppers each year to add a little spice through out the winter.  Nothing beats cooking with your own produce!   :)

Here is the catsup recipe.

2 quarts tomato puree - made from your own tomatoes please
1 1/3 cups vinigar
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons whole allspice
2 sticks cinnamon
1 teaspoon whole cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Combine puree, vinegar and sugar in a large sauce pot.  Tie whole spices in a cheesecloth bag.  Add to tomato mixture;add remaining ingredients and cook slowly until as thick as desired- about 45 to 60 minutes.  As mixture thickens stir frequently to preven sticking.  Remove spice bag. Pour hot into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space.  Adjust caps.  Process 15 minutes in boiling water bath.   Yeilds about 2 pints.


Now my wife is not hear as I write this but I am 99% sure she adds all the spices and into the puree.  NO Cheescloth bag!

We have at least 3 gallons of catsup so far and its awesome 8) 8)

We do jams, too, Linda.  Plum, peach, apple (apple butter), raspberry, strawberry, current, rhubarb. Also grape, apple, cherry, gooseberry, and elderberry jelly.

Elderberry is my personal favorite.  It's difficult to get the elderberry to jell properly.  It's a little low in pectin.  We add crab apple juice to increase the pectin.  Good flavor combination, too.    

Thanks Kirk and to your wife for the recipe, sounds great. We can a lot of jams and jellies, Patty used to sell it at farmers market. One of our best sellers was strawberry ruhbarb. My favorite this year is cherry jelly from our trees. Kind of tart but great on fresh bread.

About the middle of January I have cabin fever so bad I'll start going through the seed catalogs planning the spring garden. When it finally comes time to plant I find that I've bought enough for ten acres. :D

 Mom used to make jams and pickles and a wonderful corn relish. I have one jar of her 7 day sweet pickles left, doubt I'll ever open them.

Our pressure cooking method has worked very well since before I was born, not saying I would not try another method but this way has always worked. Never had a jar blow up and havn't had a jar not take a good seal in years, must be good lid technology!

Our tomatos are really coming in now, picked a couple of bushels last night and we are going to make another canning run tonight.

We usually put up about 40 or so quarts of tomatoes per year. We just skin em, cut them up and get them into the jars & then put them in a water bath for 45 minutes like the Ball book says. We are still using the old style jars with the bails. Got most of them from my parents house but over the last few years people have been giving them to us. They still work good.

Haven't done any yet so far this year with all the rain they are a bit slow this year. Shouldn't be too long though we are getting to have quite a few tomatoes in the fridge.

This year we put in early girls, jetstars, and a couple of beefsteak tomatoes that I can't remember right now.

I do like this time of the year a tomato with lunch and another with supper mmmmmm.

Kirk thanks for the ketchup recipe.

It was mentioed on this thread about perserving apples. We have a small apple orchard and I'm always looking for ways to keep them. If you guys don't mind, please post more information about the apples.  :)
As Norm mentioned, we make lots of jellies and jams, some of my favorites are the mixes with rhubarb, such as strawberry rhubarb. We always have loads of rhubarb every year, and this is one way to use it up, while stretching the fruits that are not so plentiful.

Rhubarb, my wife just love it. I just cant do the rhubarb thing. never have tryed it mix with jelly, might be pretty good. :-/ ;D
EZ

Gotta tell ya.  'Kirks'  'Ketchup' smells so good cooking it'll make yer stomach start rolling.  Looks like we're gonna have almost 5 quarts.  Here in a bit I'm a gonna have me some minute steaks and fries, smothered in homemade ketchup!  Thanks KIRK!!!  I truly do appreciate the recipe!  In the meantime I been trying to convince them kids a mine that homemade ketchup ain't good for ya and they need to keep their grubby little hands off of MY PERSONAL STASH OF KETCHUP :)

I think I'm fighting a losing battle. ???


Kirk, also please extent my gratitude to Mrs. Kirk for sharing the recipe!

Kirk, I hope you don't mind but I added your wifes Ketchup Recipe to the knowledge base.  Next weekend we're a gonna be making some more. out of  home grown tomatoes of course. :).

cktate:  No problem.  After eating it I find it hard to use store bought catsup.  

We had spagetti tonight with some more of her home made sause 8) 8)

My mother cans a few things such as pickled beets, string beans, jams and jellies, pickles and the like. I  like all that stuff and anything tomato but when ya live alone canning is a bit of over kill. I might eat a couple jars of stuff, hardly eat jams or jelly. I got stuff sit'n on the cupboard from last year, never opened. :D

My uncle used to get carried away making that stuff and now has stopped because he never eats it, and he's alone too. My brother is the same.  ::)

Fun night last night we put up 14 quarts of tomaters. Looks like we'll be doin more in a few days. They're coming fast now.

Here's a catsup recipe we've used for years.  Similar to Kirk's, but with some additional ingredients.

      1 peck (12 1/2 lbs) ripe tomatoes    
      2 medium onions                         1 tablespoon paprika
      1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper      1 cup sugar  
      2 cups cider vinegar                     2 1/2 tsp salt
      1 1/2 tablespoons broken stick cinnamon
      1 tablespoon whole cloves
      3 cloves garlic (finely chopped)

      Wash and slice tomatoes and boil about 15 minutes or until
      soft. Slice onions into another kettle and, cover with water
      and cook until tender. Run the onions and tomatoes through  
      a seive (we use a foley mill). Mix the onion and tomato pulp.
      Add the cayenne pepper. Boil mixture rapidly until reduced
      to about 1/2 original volume.

      Place vinegar in an enamel pan; add spice bag containing
      the cinnamon, cloves and garlic.  Allow this simmer for        
      about 30 minutes, then bring to boiling point. Place cover
      on pan and remove from heat.  Let stand in pan until ready to
      use.

      When tomato mixture has cooked down to 1/2 original
      volume, add vinegar mixture.  Add the paprika, sugar and salt
      and boil rapidly until desired consistency is reached.  Pour
      while boiling hot into sterilized jars and seal at once.

      We have also put the catsup into catsup bottles and
      sealed the caps by dipping the top of the bottle
      into melted wax.  The catsup stores well this way, too.    

      

Here's another catsup recipe.  This one is for Patty.  Might be a way to use some of your apples.  That's right, apples in this one and no tomatoes.

                             APPLE CATSUP

      1 cup of sugar               1 tablespoon salt
      1 teaspoon pepper         2 onions
      1 teaspoon cloves         12 sour apples
      1 teaspoon dry mustard  2 cups cider vinegar
      2 teaspoons cinnamon

      Mix the sugar, peppers, mustard, cinnamon and salt.
      Then add onions, chopped fine.

      Wash, core and cut apples in quarters. Put into saucepan,
      cover with boiling water, bring to boiling point and let simmer
      until soft. Run through a sieve (or a foley mill) and add the  
      mixture of sugar, onion and spices.  Stir well to blend the
      seasoning with the apple pulp and add vinegar.  Bring to
      the boiling point and let simmer for 30 minutes. Pour into
      sterilized jars while boiling hot and seal at once.

      I can't vouch for this one; we haven't tried it. If any of
      you decides to try it, please let us know how it turns out  
          

 :D  S-Donkey, when have you ever known a logger to throw part of his sandwich away? ???

A few years back, my Step-daughter and SIL bought a little farmstead. It had been rented out to someone to graze their cows until they bought it. Now, we live in a big commercial tomato growing area, and they feed the surplus/cull fruits to the cattle...dump'em in the pasture by the truckload. A few weeks after they took possession of the place, tomatoes started coming up everywhere. The holding pen where the cows were confined before their departure was a literal blanket of plants.  Since then, I have figured that the best way to get a tomato seed to sprout, was to run it through a digestive tract of some kind. ;D :D :D :D

Oops! :-[  I read this thread for the first time and responded to a post on page 1.  Refer back to that page and see S-Donkey's "wild" plant for this to make any sense. :) :D :D :D

I knew exactly what you were talking about. ;D ;D :D

Me too :D

They grow up as volunteer tomatoes the next year in my garden too. Makes for more weed pull'n. :D :D

cheers

Woodcarver, thanks for the recipe.  :)    Do folks use it just like ketchup on hamburgers and stuff?

I am also looking for ways to store the apples, like in the freezer. Can I just chop them up and put sugar and cinnamon on them?(like for an apple pie or dumpling)  Do I need to cook them first?

Any helpful hints would be appreciated.

Patty,

Apples will freeze or can well.

My grandma use to can apples every year.  You just make a light syrup of 2 cups sugar and 4 cups water (5 qts syrup).  boil your sliced or quartered apples in the syrup for 5 min and pack into hot jars (with syrup, 1/2 inch head space).  You have to use the boiling water bath for 20 minutes to seal.

To freeze:  You peel, slice, and then steam over boiling water for 2-3 minutes.  Sprinkle with ascorbic acid (to prevent darkening) 1/2 tsp of ascorbic acid to 1/4 c water for every quart of fruit.  You can then pack and freeze with or without sugar.  If you want to put sugar on, sprinkle about a 1/2 c per quart of apples, toss it gently and let stand until the sugar is dissolved and juices are drawn out (I would assume you could add the cinnamon if you want, but I would probably wait until baking time).

Grandma used her canned apples to eat as a treat, but I don't remember if she used them in pies.  She's 98 now, in good physical shape and still gardens, but I'm not sure if she would recall if she used them in pies.  I will ask her, but her memory isn't very good anymore and she hasn't canned the apples since she moved away from the farm to an apartment several years ago.  I will let you know if she did, but it might be awhile, Al and I are trying to get a semi load of lumber out.  If you haven't heard from me in the next couple of days, try sending Al or I an email to remind me.  I gotta go before he comes in with a whip! :D

Linda :)

Patty,
Last fall I peeled, cored, and sliced apples, put them into a zip-lock bag and threw them in the freezer.  No steaming, no sugar.  They look and taste as fresh as when I froze them and without the sugar or cooking, you can break them apart easier for using only a partial bag if you want a smaller batch.

Thanks guys, these are great tips. For years I have given away several bushels of apples because I just didn't know how to store them. These are wonderful ideas, and this year I plan to store up plenty of apples.  8) 8)

Thanks again.

MY mother also has sliced them and frozen them for years, no cookin, no sugar. She also makes apple sauce which can also be used in pies or crumble, or whatever. She always froze tons of it as we had a big freezer. Now she does smaller batches for her and dad. Our favorite was always the 'New Brunswicker' , then the 'Yellow Transparent'. I have an old wild apple tree on my woodlot which is good in October after a heavy frost, tastes and cooks up nice and foamy like both the varieties mentioned above. I suspect this tree was planted because its next to an old house I could remember when growing up. It was the original house of the folks that got the land grant. Its long gone now, but father used to keep a horse there back in the 70's when cutting wood. All this talk about pies, I had to make a raspberry pie from my garden berries yesterday. :D This summer they had set heavy fruit, and great big berries. My father has an ever bearing variety that has green fruit now and probably ready in a week or 10 days from now.

Hey y'all,

Just a general question:  how does one add all this great info about preserving foods to the knowledge base?  (maybe under the recipes section?)  Or, is a general search of the forum going to dig it up just as quickly in, say, six months or a year?

 ???

Usually someone will put it on the knowledge base.  Go to the top of the page and click on  "Knowledge Base".  You wil be taken there so that you can see for yourself.  If you find something is missing that you would like to add, feel free to do so. ;D

Click on the submit do-dad and just go in there try it.  It's easy.  If you think you screwed up, leave me an IM and I'll fix it.   The only thing you can do is create a duplicat.  You can't delete or edit so take your time.  It's a SIMPLE system. :D

Patty,

I talked to my Grandmother.  She remembered that they did use the canned apples for pies quite often.  They just drained most of the juice off and added thickening and spice.

It sounds like Minnesota_boy and Swamp Donkey have an easier method though.  Work smarter not harder. ;)  

Sometimes the old timer recipes are more work, because nobody was brave enough to try something that might fail.  My Grandmother grew up during the depression in a very poor family.  To waste something was terrible (tried and true was the only way for them).

I'm always trying new things, I think I will give the easier freeze method a try myself.  I'm always looking for a way to fit more into a day! ;D

Thanks everyone for your input, lots of great things to try on this thread. :)

Linda

It occurred to me a few years back that fridges and freezers are relatively new.My parents were both born in the early 1930's and I asked them when they first remember having freezers in their homes.(around 1954)

Butter and milk were kept for a day or two in a hole about 4' deep,with a wooded lid covering it in the back yard,but there were a few dairys near town so they didn't stock up like we do.They did have ice boxes,and my dad helped unload ice from the boxcars and store it in sawdust when he was still school aged.

When a cow or pig was butchered,it was shared with neighbours,and was reciprocated when somebody else butchered.So they didn't have access to a juicy steak once or twice a week like we do,but a fresh chicken was always near by.

I was having a coffee several years back, with Orville, an oldtimer that grew up with my granddad.Orville was getting way up in years and a bit of senility had set in.Out of the blue he asked me if I knew how many deer you could get into a barrel ??? I thought  "oh,oh,smile and nod politely"

Anyway,he went on to explain that if you did it right,you could fit nine deer in a barrel.He went on and described how they would de-bone the meat and put down a layer,followed by a layer of salt,more meat and so on...

I was amazed that all this was everyday living, less than 15 years before I was born.We grew up having roasts,steaks,hamburgers, ice cream and strawberrys always as near as the freezer,along with many kinds of frozen vegatables.

I'm glad to see that there are still lots of canners and picklers out there.We can some fruit but I have to admit that we rely heavily on electric freezers.Pull the plug on us and we'd be in a mess.

Patty,
I canned a bushel of apples today 8) 8) 8)  

Thats right everyone!  I DID IT ALL BY MYSELF!  Kerry, my wife is at the farm this weekend and I had to get this bushel basket done so this batch was all about ME ;D

If you pick up a copy of the Ball  or Bell?  canning book there are several ways to do apples.

I cored, pealed and sliced these then boiled them in syrup (Sugar & Water) for 10 minutes then canned them.  1 bushel made 12 quarts of apples.

Now they can be used in the future for apple sause, apple pies etc.

One of the recipes did have cinimon in it.  Let your imagination flow.  

Dont forget to use "Fruit Fresh"  to keep the apples from changing color on you.  

Kirk

Paul is right about the freezer thing. That's why the apples and tomatoes and all was canned. My grandfather had an icehouse out back, he would get ice from the river in winter and fill it with layers of sawdust in between. The ice kept until mid-july and they kept their milk and butter and meat there. They used to salt pork in barrels as Paul said. And in late fall and through the winter they hung a beef or deer and just cut off the green and got to the good stuff underneath. Why would there be green? Well there are alot of free thaw cycles in winter time in my area so this allowed little critters to become active. Until we had freezers this was done by many generations before. ;)

I once asked grandmother if she missed 'the good old days'. She said the good old days is right now. All she could recall about that era was hard work and little pay and there was no way she wanted to go back to those days. Her and grandfather used to remines about some good times too of course. We have a picture of them both after retirement in the 70's with one of grandfather's dogs and mother always says this was the best part of their lives. :)

Do you think a little lemon juice would work as good as "fruit fresh" to keep the apples from turning?

Patty,

My fanny farmer cookbook says that lemon juice can be used as a substitute for ascorbic acid (or the commercially prepared ascorbic acid mixtures like "fruit fresh)."  It has one caution though; Some fruits may have their flavor slightly affected by it.  If you have it you might as well try it.

Linda

One more note in Fanny Farmer:

Apples and pears are usually steamed to help prevent darkening.

Maybe you could experiment with a couple of different ways and see which ones work best.

Keep us posted!

Certain varieties of apples darken very quickly while others hardly discolor at all.  I usually slice my apples into a water bath with a little lemon juice but I'm not entirely convinced of how much this helps.