The Amish Canning Cookbook (12 page)
Read The Amish Canning Cookbook Online
Authors: Georgia Varozza
Combine remaining ingredients in a large pot; bring to a boil. Add drained cucumbers and onions and return to a boil. Pack hot cucumbers, onions, and vinegar mixture into hot pint or quart jars. Following the directions in chapter 3, “Water-Bath Canning: A Step-by-Step Guide,” process the pickles as follows:
Process
pints
or
quarts
for 10 minutes at 0 to 1,000 feet altitude; 15 minutes at 1,001 to 6,000 feet altitude; 20 minutes above 6,000 feet.
Alternately, you can process the jars using the “Lower-Temperature Pasteurization Process” found at the end of this chapter.
Makes about 7 pints.
4 lbs. pickling cucumbers, uniform size
14 cloves garlic, peeled and cut in half
¼ cup pickling or canning salt
2¾ cups 5% vinegar
3 cups water
14 heads fresh dill
28 peppercorns
Wash cucumbers and remove blossom end. Remove stem or leave ¼ inch of stem intact. Cut in half lengthwise. Heat garlic, vinegar, and water to boiling.
Into each pint or quart jar put 4 halved garlic cloves. Add the cucumbers, 2 heads dill, and 4 peppercorns. Pour hot vinegar solution over cucumbers, leaving ½-inch headspace.
Following the directions in chapter 3, “Water-Bath Canning: A Step-by-Step Guide,” process the pickles as follows:
Process
quarts
for 15 minutes at 0 to 1,000 feet altitude; 20 minutes at 1,001 to 6,000 feet altitude; 25 minutes above 6,000 feet.
Process
pints
for 10 minutes at 0 to 1,000 feet altitude; 15 minutes at 1,001 to 6,000 feet altitude; 20 minutes above 6,000 feet.
Alternately, you can process the jars using the “Lower-Temperature Pasteurization Process” found at the end of this chapter.
Makes 6 to 7 pints.
7 lbs. tiny pickling cucumbers (1½ inches long or less)
½ cup pickling or canning salt
6 cups 5% vinegar, divided
8 cups sugar, divided
¾ tsp. turmeric
2 tsp. celery seeds
2 tsp. whole mixed pickling spice
2 cinnamon sticks
½ tsp. fennel (optional)
½ tsp. whole allspice (optional)
Wash cucumbers. Cut
-inch slice off blossom ends and discard; leave ¼ inch of stems attached.
Days 1 and 2:
Place cucumbers in a large container and cover with boiling water. Let sit for 6 to 8 hours, drain and cover with 6 quarts of fresh boiling water to which ¼ cup salt has been added. Repeat this process on day 2.
Day 3:
Drain and prick cucumbers with a fork. Combine and bring to a boil 3 cups vinegar, 3 cups sugar, and the spices. Pour over cucumbers. Let sit for 6 to 8 hours and drain, saving the pickling liquid. Add another 2 cups each of sugar and vinegar to the pickling liquid and reheat to boiling. Pour over cucumbers.
Day 4:
Drain and save pickling liquid. Add another 2 cups sugar and 1 cup vinegar. Heat pickling liquid to boiling and pour over pickles. Let sit for 6 to 8 hours and drain, saving the pickling liquid. Add 1 cup sugar and heat to boiling. Fill pint jars with pickles and cover with hot pickling liquid, leaving ½-inch headspace. Following the directions in chapter 3, “Water-Bath Canning: A Step-by-Step Guide,” process the pickles as follows:
Process
pints
and
quarts
for 5 minutes at 0 to 1,000 feet altitude; 10 minutes at 1,001 to 6,000 feet altitude; 15 minutes above 6,000 feet.
Alternately, you can process the jars using the “Lower-Temperature Pasteurization Process” found at the end of this chapter.
Makes about 6 to 7 pints.
4 lbs. pickling cucumbers, uniform size
4½ cups sugar
3½ cups 5% vinegar
2 tsp. celery seed
1 T. whole allspice
2 T. mustard seed
Wash cucumbers. Cut off blossom end and leave ¼ inch of stem at other end. Slice or cut larger cukes into spears. Place cucumbers in a large bowl or pot and sprinkle with ⅓ cup salt, gently mixing to incorporate salt throughout. Cover cucumbers with 2 inches of ice (crushed or cubed) and refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours, adding more ice as needed. Drain well when ready to process.
Combine sugar, vinegar, celery seed, allspice, and mustard seed in a large pot. Heat to boiling.
Hot pack:
Add cucumbers to the vinegar solution and heat slowly until the vinegar solution returns to a boil, stirring occasionally. Fill pint or quart jars with pickles and vinegar solution, leaving ½-inch headspace. Following the directions in chapter 3, “Water-Bath Canning: A Step-by-Step Guide,” process the pickles as follows:
Process
pints
or
quarts
for 5 minutes at 0 to 1,000 feet altitude; 10 minutes at 1,001 to 6,000 feet altitude; 15 minutes above 6,000 feet.
Raw pack:
Fill jars with cucumbers. Ladle hot vinegar solution over cucumbers, leaving ½-inch headspace. Following the directions in chapter 3, “Water-Bath Canning: A Step-by-Step Guide,” process the pickles as follows:
Process
quarts
for 15 minutes at 0 to 1,000 feet altitude; 20 minutes at 1,001 to 6,000 feet altitude; 25 minutes above 6,000 feet.
Process
pints
for 10 minutes at 0 to 1,000 feet altitude; 15 minutes at 1,001 to 6,000 feet altitude; 20 minutes above 6,000 feet.
Alternately, you can process the jars using the “Lower-Temperature Pasteurization Process” found at the end of this chapter.
Makes about 7 to 9 pints.
8 lbs. pickling cucumbers
½ cup salt
2 tsp. turmeric
1 quart water
1 lb. onions
⅓ cup sugar
2 T. dill seed
1 quart 5% vinegar (white wine vinegar gives a good taste)
Wash cucumbers; drain. Finely chop cucumbers; place chopped cucumbers in a bowl and sprinkle with salt and turmeric. Pour water over cucumbers and let set for 2 hours. Drain cucumbers, rinse under cold water, and drain again. Finely chop onions. Combine cucumbers, onions, sugar, dill seed, and vinegar in a large pot; bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.
Pack hot relish into hot jars, leaving ¼-inch headspace. Following the directions in chapter 3, “Water-Bath Canning: A Step-by-Step Guide,” process the relish as follows:
Process
pints
for 15 minutes at 0 to 1,000 feet altitude; 20 minutes at 1,001 to 6,000 feet altitude; 25 minutes above 6,000 feet.
Makes about 7 pints.
3 quarts chopped cucumbers
3 cups each chopped sweet green and red peppers
1 cup chopped onions
¾ cup pickling or canning salt
4 cups ice
8 cups water
2 cups sugar
4 tsp. each mustard seed, turmeric, whole allspice, and whole cloves
6 cups 5% vinegar
Put cucumbers, peppers, onions, salt, and ice in water and let set for 4 hours. Drain and re-cover vegetables with fresh ice water for another hour; drain again and put in a large pot.
Combine spices in a spice or cheesecloth bag. Add together sugar, vinegar, and spice bag. Heat to boiling and then pour over vegetables in the pot. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.
Remove vegetable mixture from refrigerator and heat to boiling. Ladle hot relish into hot half-pint or pint jars, leaving ½-inch headspace. Following the directions in chapter 3, “Water-Bath Canning: A Step-by-Step Guide,” process the relish as follows:
Process
half-pints
and
pints
for 10 minutes at 0 to 1,000 feet altitude; 15 minutes at 1,001 to 6,000 feet altitude; 20 minutes above 6,000 feet.
Alternately, you can process the jars using the “Lower-Temperature Pasteurization Process” found at the end of this chapter.
Makes about 9 pints.
4 quarts cubed watermelon rind, white portion only (pieces about 1-inch square)
1 cup pickling or canning salt
3 sticks cinnamon
1 T. whole cloves
1 T. whole allspice
¼ tsp. mustard seed
7 cups sugar
½ cup thinly sliced lemon
2 cups vinegar
In a large container, place watermelon rind, salt, and 1 gallon water; stir until salt is dissolved. Place in refrigerator overnight. Drain and rinse.
In a large pot, add watermelon rind and 1 gallon fresh water; gently simmer until rind is tender; drain.
Tie spices in a thin cloth or cheesecloth spice bag. In a large pot, add spice bag, sugar, lemon slices, and vinegar; bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add rinds and continue to simmer until rinds are transparent.
Remove spice bag and pack hot rinds and liquid into hot jars, leaving ¼-inch headspace. Following the directions in chapter 3, “Water-Bath Canning: A Step-by-Step Guide,” process the watermelon pickles as follows:
Process
pints
for 10 minutes at 0 to 1,000 feet altitude; 15 minutes at 1,001 to 6,000 feet altitude; 20 minutes above 6,000 feet.
Alternately, you can process the jars using the “Lower-Temperature Pasteurization Process” found at the end of this chapter.
Makes about 6 pints.
Lower-Temperature Pasteurization Process
An alternative to the common practice of water-bath canning your pickles is pasteurizing them instead. By keeping the temperature lower, your pickles will tend to be crisper than when water-bath canned; however, you must monitor the processing carefully to ensure that the water temperature doesn’t go below the safe limits.
Step-By-Step Directions for Low-Temperature Pasteurization
Place your filled jars in a water-bath canner or other very large pot that has been filled halfway with 120°F to 140°F water. Once the jars are all placed, fill the pot with hot water to 1 inch above the top of the jars. Heat the water to 180°F to 185°F, checking the water temperature regularly with a candy or jelly thermometer. Maintain this water temperature for 30 minutes. When processing is complete, remove jars and let set until completely cool before checking seals.
T
omatoes deserve a chapter all to themselves because they are such a popular food to preserve and you can use them in so many ways. In fact, gardeners grow more tomatoes than any other vegetable (although technically, tomatoes are considered a fruit), and they are prolific producers. Just a few plants in your garden will mean you must come up with ways to use the abundant harvest besides just eating them fresh, and canning the excess will give you the makings for lots of great meals come winter. Use your surplus tomatoes to make juice, sauce, salsa, canned tomatoes (either crushed, chopped, or whole), catsup, soup, jam, and jelly. Or do like I do and plant extra on purpose so you have plenty to process.