Read The Amish Canning Cookbook Online
Authors: Georgia Varozza
The Amish Canning Cookbook (20 page)
What Can’t Be Safely Canned
Here’s a list of some foods that you should not can:
• Fats, including mayonnaise, lard, oil (except for a small amount included in a recipe), butter, fatty cuts of meat (trim the fat)
• Dairy, including milk, cheese, sour cream, whipping cream, yogurt, buttermilk, tofu, soy or coconut milk, etc.
• Eggs
• Grains, including oats, wheat, rice, barley, cornmeal, bread
• Pasta and noodles
• Mashed vegetables and meats (mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie filling, liver pâté, etc.), giblets, pureed soups
• Thickeners, including flour, tapioca, cornstarch, cornmeal, and arrowroot. (A word about Clear Jel: Clear Jel is a modified cornstarch product that can be used in canned jams, jellies, and pie filling as it doesn’t tend to break down when exposed to the high heat needed to can the fruit.)
• Creamy dishes, including pudding, refried beans (instead, mash them when you remove from jar to heat and eat), peanut butter, pesto
• Sage (this is one herb that turns bitter-tasting when canned)
• Dry beans that have not been previously soaked (to reduce phytic acid levels) and then partially cooked before canning
Altitude Adjustment Directions
Depending on the altitude where you are canning, you may need to adjust the psi of your canner in order to ensure that your food has been safely processed at the required high temperatures. The following chart lists the adjustments you need to make depending on where you live:
Weighted gauge canner:
Process at 10 pounds pressure from sea level to 1,000 feet in altitude; at 15 pounds pressure above 1,000 feet.
Dial gauge canner:
Process at 11 pounds pressure from sea level to 2,000 feet in altitude; at 12 pounds pressure from 2,001 to 4,000 feet; at 13 pounds pressure from 4,001 to 6,000 feet; at 14 pounds pressure from 6,001 to 8,000 feet.
8 lbs. navy beans (about 16 cups dry beans)
4½ quarts tomato juice
2⅓ cups brown sugar (1 lb.)
½ tsp. pepper
1 T. ground mustard
4 cups cooked ham, diced
8 T. salt
1 cup molasses
2 T. vinegar
1 T. cinnamon (optional)
Place beans in a large pot and add water to cover; bring to a boil, cover, remove from heat, and let set for 1 hour; drain. Return beans to pot, add fresh water to cover, and cook them until they are almost done; drain. Return the beans to the large pot and keep warm.
In a large saucepan, mix together the other ingredients and simmer, stirring, for 3 minutes; add sauce to the beans and mix thoroughly. If mixture seems too thick or too dry, you can add some boiling water or tomato juice to get a consistency that seems right to you. Heat bean mixture thoroughly to simmering and then ladle into jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Following the pressure canning directions in chapter 4, process quarts for 70 minutes and pints for 65 minutes at 10 psi, adjusting the psi as necessary for your altitude according to the altitude adjustment directions. Makes about 14 quarts.
5 lbs. navy beans (about 10 cups dry beans)
3 T. molasses
1 T. vinegar
2 tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
1 tsp. powdered mustard
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup brown sugar
3 slices bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
Put dry beans in a large pot and add enough water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil; turn off heat, cover, and let set for one hour. Drain.
Place the drained beans back in the large pot and add fresh water to cover. Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes; drain, this time reserving the cooking liquid.
In a large saucepan, mix together the molasses, vinegar, salt, pepper, powdered mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and brown sugar, plus 5 cups of the reserved cooking liquid from the beans (save the remainder of the liquid to be used during baking—see below). Heat to boiling; turn off heat and let set while you prepare the beans for baking.
In a large Dutch oven or heavy casserole dish, mix together the beans and bacon. Pour on the sauce, carefully mixing with the beans. Bake the beans in a 350° oven, covered, for 3 to 4 hours, adding cooking liquid from the beans as needed to keep the baking beans from drying out. If you run out of cooking liquid, you can use boiling water if needed.
Fill hot jars with the hot baked beans, leaving 1-inch headspace. Top off jars with boiling water so beans are fully submerged, keeping the headspace. Following the pressure canning directions in chapter 4, process quarts for 75 minutes and pints for 65 minutes at 10 psi, adjusting the psi as necessary for your altitude according to the altitude adjustment directions. Makes about 7 quarts.
10 quarts tomatoes, peeled, cored, and chopped
1 quart onions, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1½ T. hot pepper flakes
2 T. celery seeds
3 cups brown sugar
2 cups 5% vinegar
⅔ cup lemon juice
4 T. salt
3 T. nutmeg or mace
2 T. mustard powder
2 tsp. ginger
2 tsp. cinnamon
In a large pot, mix together the tomatoes, onions, garlic, pepper flakes, and celery seeds. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly; reduce heat, cover, and simmer until tomatoes and onions are soft, about 30 minutes. Run tomato mixture through a food mill, sieve, or strainer (such as Victorio) to extract the juice and the pulp.
Place pulp and juice in a pot and add the brown sugar, vinegar, lemon juice, salt, nutmeg, mustard powder, ginger, and cinnamon. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring frequently, until the mixture is thickened.
Ladle hot barbeque sauce into hot pint or half-pint jars, leaving ½-inch headspace. Process half-pints and pints in a boiling water canner for 20 minutes at 0 to 1,000 feet, 25 minutes at 1,001 to 6,000 feet, or 30 minutes at 6001 to 8,000 feet. Makes about 6 pints.
6 cups dried navy beans
1 large ham hock or ½ lb. salt pork
1½ cups onion, chopped
1 hot red pepper, minced
salt and pepper to taste
Place beans in a large pot and cover with water by at least 2 inches. Bring beans to a boil and boil 2 minutes; cover pot and let set for 1 hour; drain.
Cover beans with fresh water and add meat, onion, and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 2 hours or until beans are tender. Remove ham hock from pot and when cool enough to handle, cut meat from bone. Dice the meat and set aside.
With a potato masher, coarsely mash beans in the liquid (don’t drain!). Return diced meat to soup and heat through.
Ladle hot soup into hot jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Following the pressure canning directions in chapter 4, process quarts for 90 minutes and pints for 75 minutes at 10 psi, adjusting the psi as necessary for your altitude according to the altitude adjustment directions. Makes about 6 quarts or 12 pints.
4 lbs. beef stew meat (any cut will work)
3 cups onions, chopped
8 cups carrots, sliced
3 cups celery, chopped
12 cups potatoes, peeled and chunked
10 cups broth or water
½ tsp. summer savory (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
Brown meat in a large Dutch oven or pot. Add onions and sauté until onions are soft. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Ladle stew, including broth, into jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Following the pressure canning directions in chapter 4, process quarts for 90 minutes and pints for 75 minutes at 10 psi, adjusting the psi as necessary for your altitude according to the altitude adjustment directions. Makes about 7 quarts.
6 cups dried black beans
3 onions, chopped
10 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. cumin
2 T. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
3½ cups orange juice
4 cups beef or vegetable broth
4 cups water
4 carrots, diced
2 bell peppers (red or green or combination), diced
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
5 tomatoes, skinned, seeded, and chopped
Put dried beans in a large pot; add water to cover by 1 to 2 inches, cover pot, and soak overnight. Drain.
Put drained beans in a large pot; add fresh water to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. Drain. Keep warm.
Combine remaining ingredients in another large pot. Bring to a boil and boil gently for 5 minutes.
Divide black beans equally between 6 quart jars. Ladle hot soup broth (including vegetables) over the beans, leaving 1-inch headspace. Following the pressure canning directions in chapter 4, process quarts for 90 minutes and pints for 75 minutes at 10 psi, adjusting the psi as necessary for your altitude according to the altitude adjustment directions. Makes about 6 quarts.
Note: This is the soup base recipe. Following the recipe are instructions for using the soup base to make creamy butternut squash soup
.
5 lbs. butternut squash, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes
2½ lbs. red potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes
5 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
5 carrots, coarsely chopped
3 onions, chopped
2 T. salt
Place prepared squash and potatoes in a large pot. Add water to cover; bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes; drain and return squash mixture to pot. Add remainder of ingredients and gently mix.
Pack hot squash mix into hot jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Ladle boiling water over the vegetables, again leaving 1-inch headspace. Following the pressure canning directions in chapter 4, process quarts for 90 minutes and pints for 60 minutes at 10 psi, adjusting the psi as necessary for your altitude according to the altitude adjustment directions. Makes about 5 quarts.
To serve:
Drain squash mixture. Puree in a blender (soup will be very smooth), or mash with a potato masher (soup will be lumpy). Add about 1 cup milk or cream to the soup and heat thoroughly. Add spices if desired—try nutmeg, ginger, curry, or parsley. Top individual servings of squash soup with a dollop of sour cream.
2 fennel bulbs, sliced thin
1 T. olive oil
4 lbs. carrots, peeled and sliced
6 cups vegetable or beef broth
6 cups water
½ tsp. pepper
salt to taste (optional)