Jams, Jellies and Salsas
Well, i'm back to the baking and canning. I always forget how much of a chore some of them are, and yet how insanely easy others are. For example... prepping for the Salsa took 4 hours. 4 HOURS!!!!! and then, the cooking part was swift and easy. Then came the pear & ginger jam. Quick, easy... with a 2 hour stewing session.
Huh.
Finally, there was the Sundae in a jar (Strawberry/raspberry with a hint of chocolate). The fastest of the lot - hulling the strawberries was probably the most time intensive part.
Tomorrow, I'm making my Apple & Blackberry jelly. Trying Granny Smith apples this time, but hopefully they will work. I mean heck - with as much freaking sugar as the recipe requires, there SHOULD be something interesting about the flavour, right?
Anyway - the Salsa came out satisfactorily (with me learning how painful Jalapeno juice can be even a full day later - tip: wash in dish-washing liquid, buy some really cheap booze, eg student grade vodka, and rinse your hands in that then soak them in a bowl of milk. It works.)
So yeah - we now have possession of a sterilizing unit for ensuring that everything is safely sealed. We can't jar everything just yet as this is a boiling unit and not a pressure unit, but we have a guide to what we can and can't use. If it's a high acid food, we can do it. low acid food - forget it.
We're going to crack a jar of Salsa early (they're supposed to sit for 3-4 weeks) and see how it came out. If it's good at 2 days from date of canning, then in 3-4 weeks, it will be amazeballs.
Fingers crossed.
Huh.
Finally, there was the Sundae in a jar (Strawberry/raspberry with a hint of chocolate). The fastest of the lot - hulling the strawberries was probably the most time intensive part.
Tomorrow, I'm making my Apple & Blackberry jelly. Trying Granny Smith apples this time, but hopefully they will work. I mean heck - with as much freaking sugar as the recipe requires, there SHOULD be something interesting about the flavour, right?
Anyway - the Salsa came out satisfactorily (with me learning how painful Jalapeno juice can be even a full day later - tip: wash in dish-washing liquid, buy some really cheap booze, eg student grade vodka, and rinse your hands in that then soak them in a bowl of milk. It works.)
So yeah - we now have possession of a sterilizing unit for ensuring that everything is safely sealed. We can't jar everything just yet as this is a boiling unit and not a pressure unit, but we have a guide to what we can and can't use. If it's a high acid food, we can do it. low acid food - forget it.
We're going to crack a jar of Salsa early (they're supposed to sit for 3-4 weeks) and see how it came out. If it's good at 2 days from date of canning, then in 3-4 weeks, it will be amazeballs.
Fingers crossed.