The Amish Canning Cookbook (23 page)

Ladle hot soup into jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Following the directions in chapter 4, “Pressure Canning—A Step-by-Step Guide,” 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.

Spicy Apple Plum Brown Sauce

2½ quarts apples, peeled, cored, and chopped

2½ quarts plums, pitted and chopped

5 cups onions, chopped

6 cups malt vinegar

5 cups sugar

½ cup salt

½ cup Worcestershire sauce

4 cloves, garlic, minced

2 tsp. ground ginger

2 tsp. ground nutmeg

2 tsp. ground allspice

2 tsp. cayenne pepper

In a large pot, mix together all ingredients. On low heat, and stirring frequently, bring to a slow boil; reduce heat so mixture simmers, and cook, stirring often, for 3 to 4 hours or until sauce has cooked down and thickened and is brown in color.

Pack hot sauce into hot jars, leaving ¼-inch headspace. Following the directions for water-bath canning in chapter 3, process half-pints and pints in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes at 0 to 1,000 feet; 15 minutes at 1,001 to 3,000 feet; 20 minutes at 3,001 to 6,000 feet; 25 minutes at 6,001 to 8,000 feet; 30 minutes above 8,000 feet. Makes about 7 to 8 pints.

This sauce is great on all kinds of meat. Try it as a glaze on meatloaf during the last 10 minutes.

Split Pea Soup

6 quarts dried split peas

6 quarts water

4½ cups carrots, diced

3 cups onion, chopped

3 cups cooked ham, diced

½ tsp. allspice

salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, combine split peas and water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour or until peas are soft. Mash peas, if desired, with a potato masher. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes. Adjust consistency of soup by adding boiling water or broth if needed.

Ladle hot soup into hot jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Following the directions in chapter 4, “Pressure Canning—A Step-by-Step Guide,” 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.

Three-Meat Stew

1 quart beef, 1-inch cubes

1 quart lamb, 1-inch cubes

1½ quarts chicken, 1-inch cubes

4 quarts potatoes, peeled and chunked

1 quart carrots, peeled and chunked, plus 1 carrot, peeled and cut in thirds (for cooking meat)

3 cups onions, chopped, plus 1 small onion, quartered (for cooking meat)

4 slices bacon, cut into thirds

1 green bell pepper, chunked

1 red bell pepper, chunked

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 T. black pepper

1 T. paprika

1 T. salt

1 pint tomato sauce

¾ cup tomato juice

In a large pot, add meat, quartered onion, and carrot cut in thirds; cover with water and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for about 1 hour, or until meat is cooked through and tender. Discard carrots and onion pieces.

Cook bacon and pour off grease. Add to the pot of meat. Add remaining ingredients to pot, cover, and simmer gently until mixture is hot. Ladle hot stew 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 9 to 10 quarts.

Quick and Easy Tomato Soup

3 cans (6 oz. each) tomato paste

3 quarts water

3 stalks celery, chunked into thirds

2 to 3 tsp. salt

¾ tsp. onion powder

½ tsp. garlic powder

¼–½ tsp. each, oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary, and celery seed

2 to 4 T. sugar (white or brown)

2 bay leaves (optional)

In a large pot, mix all ingredients together and stir to mix. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes. Take out the celery pieces and bay leaves. Taste and adjust seasonings if desired.

Ladle hot soup into hot pint jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Following the pressure canning directions in chapter 4, process pints and quarts for 20 minutes at 10 psi, adjusting the psi as necessary for your altitude according to the altitude adjustment directions. Makes about 7 pints.

To serve:
You can heat and serve as is, or you can add ½ cup cream or milk before heating. If you want thicker soup, melt 1 tablespoon butter in a saucepot; add 1 tablespoon flour and stir; while continuing to stir, pour in the pint of tomato soup and bring to a boil, all the while stirring so the flour doesn’t lump. When the soup comes to a boil, the mixture will thicken. Remove from heat and immediately pour in ½ cup milk; stir and serve. Alternately, you can mix together ½ cup each dry milk powder and water and add that to your soup instead.

Fresh Tomato Soup

8 quarts fresh tomatoes (to make 5 to 6 quarts tomato puree)

6 onions, chopped

1 bunch celery, chopped

1 cup sugar

3 T. salt, or to taste

Scald tomatoes by plunging them in boiling water for 30 to 45 seconds and then cold water to slip skins. (This step isn’t necessary if you are using a Victorio strainer because it will remove the skin and seeds.) Remove tomato skins, chop in halves or quarters, and remove seeds and core. Put them in a large pot, add the chopped onion and celery, and cook on medium heat until tender, stirring regularly so they don’t burn on the bottom of the pot. Run the tomato mixture through a food mill or strainer and return tomato pulp to the pot. Add sugar and salt and stir to mix and dissolve.

Ladle hot soup into hot jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Following the pressure canning directions in chapter 4, process pints and quarts for 20 minutes at 10 psi, adjusting the psi as necessary for your altitude according to the altitude adjustment directions. Makes about 7 to 8 quarts.

To serve:
You can heat and eat this as is, or you can add 1 tablespoon butter and ½ cup milk or cream per pint (2 tablespoons butter and 1 cup milk per quart) while heating.

Vegetarian Chili

2 cups dried kidney or pinto beans

5 lbs. tomatoes, skinned, seeded, and chopped

2 onions, chopped

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 jalapeno pepper, chopped (wear gloves when handling hot pepper)

3 tsp. cumin

4 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. thyme

2 tsp. oregano

2 tsp. (or to taste) hot sauce

In a pot, add beans and 2 quarts water. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and let set for 1 hour. Rinse beans, return to pot with 2 quarts fresh water and simmer for 30 minutes.

In another large pot, add remainder of ingredients. Over medium heat and stirring frequently, bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Add drained beans and simmer another 10 minutes.

Ladle hot chili into hot jars, leaving ½-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 5 quarts.

13

WHAT WENT WRONG?

C
anning is not difficult, and if you follow directions, it’s rare that problems will occur. Some conditions in your canned food are not a problem (even though they might give you pause), and the food can be safely eaten; we’ll talk about some of those later in this chapter. But if your jar of food shows any signs of spoilage—spurting liquid when you open the jar, indicating pressure; gas bubbles; soft, mushy, slimy, fermented, or moldy food; a fuzzy growth on top of the food; cloudy liquid; sediment in the liquid; leaking jars; broken or bulging seals; or off-color or -odor—don’t taste the food. Instead, dispose of the food carefully:

• Wear gloves while handling the food and container.

• If the jar that contains suspected spoiled food still has a sealed cap, you may dispose of it in the trash or bury it in soil deep enough that pets or wild animals can’t smell it and dig up the contents.

• If the jar is leaking or the seal has broken, carefully place the jar with the food and the seal (take the seal off first) in a large pot. You can lay the jar on its side if you need to because you’ll want to cover everything with water by an inch or two. As you are filling the pot, be careful not to splash water out of the pot. Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Boil the contents for 30 minutes, keeping the cover of the pot on at all times. Allow the contents to cool in the pot and then discard the food in the trash or bury in soil.

• When you have disposed of the spoiled food, thoroughly wash and disinfect all surfaces nearby as well as all utensils and containers, still wearing your gloves. A good way to disinfect is to fill your sink with warm water and add ½ tsp. bleach for every gallon of water used. Set your utensils and pot into the sink and let them sit for five minutes. After they have sat in the solution for the allotted time, lay them out in a disinfected dish drainer or on a clean towel and allow to air dry. Another good way to disinfect surfaces (especially counters and stovetops) is to fill a spray bottle with water. Take the spray nozzle from the bottle and dip the stem in bleach, about three quarters of the way up the stem. Place the dipped stem in the spray bottle of water and swish around to get the bleach into the water. Repeat 2 more times. Then you can spray your surfaces until sopping wet (not damp) and allow them to air dry. If you decide to keep this spray bottle of disinfectant, please be sure to clearly mark the container so people know it’s a bleach solution. Discard all gloves, sponges, and washcloths used.

There are also a number of conditions that can affect your canned food, but they are usually not considered dangerous. Keep in mind, however, that although certain color changes are usually benign, a color change accompanied by a foul or “off” odor indicates spoilage, and the food shouldn’t be eaten. Instead, discard the contents as outlined above. Here is a list of some of the more common conditions you might encounter:

•
Loss of liquid from the jar either during or after processing
. If the jar has a good seal, the food is considered safe. Probable causes are rapid fluctuation of pressure in the canner, the food was packed too tightly, or air bubbles weren’t removed before processing. If a water-bath canner was used, the water level may have dropped to below the top of the jars.

•
Darkened food at top of jar
. This usually occurs when liquid did not completely cover the food. If you have followed packing and processing instructions and no spoilage is present, the food is safe to eat.

•
Fruit or tomatoes float in jar
. If a sugar syrup was used, the fruit was lighter than the syrup. Can also occur with cold packing; hot-pack instead and pack fruit as closely as possible without crushing. Safe to eat.

•
Black beets
. Often caused by iron in the water used to process the food. If black beets are soft and the liquid murky, it’s best to destroy the food as this could be an indication of spoilage.