Get in Mah belly!

Mon Jul 30, 2012 11:41 am

Well we started major canning for the season, mostly tomato sauce and hot sauce. We didn't get very much of a crop of tomatoes so I bought a lot of mine from a local farm that was selling them for $0.32/lb. =$8/ 25lb box. Who can argue with that price?

I think I finally got my marinara down....we have been gorging ourselves on it the last few days and ugh....my belly hurts. I just finished 10 biscuits dipping every bite in sauce. For future reference, that's too much for one person.

How's everyone else's canning efforts going?

Mon Jul 30, 2012 11:46 am

We were fortunate to have a really good crop of Celebrity tomatoes last month. I canned quartered tomatoes, tomato sauce, and froze enough marinara to feed the Italian army (my husband says, but I'll bet it's all gone by next June!).
We also froze peas, broccoli, corn, squash, and sugar peas. I know that's not "canning" in the strictest sense, but come December, who cares if the goodies thaw or come out of a glass jar?

Mon Jul 30, 2012 2:42 pm

Yep! Good price on the taters. We just had our first from the garden this season for lunch today.

Mon Jul 30, 2012 3:24 pm

I have done about 6 jars of pickles. Been getting plenty of peppers but but little to no tomatoes. Got a recipe for your hotsauce?

Mon Jul 30, 2012 5:21 pm

First off way to go with the canning.

Second off I have more tomtatoes than I know what to do with but not much of anything else right now. We all need to do a trade.

I need to get off my buttocks and get myself canning. I have thrown away more than enough for a couple of batches of sauce. :oops:

Still a tom canning virgin and I must admit this hardcore son of a &*($# is a bit scraed to attempt it, hence the reason no canning is going on. :oops:

Mon Jul 30, 2012 6:27 pm

Good show, Jeff!

As for MG, preserving is a freezer thing around here. Making and freezing tomato sauce will begin in several weeks.

jal_ut wrote:Yep! Good price on the taters. We just had our first from the garden this season for lunch today.

Yep, the first tomatoes from the garden came last week - there was 1 the size of a golf ball and 3 cherries . . . had to wait until today for those cherries to ripen :roll:

. However!! There were several more cherries ripe from the garden today a few a-little-larger-than-golf-balls. Sungolds & mystery tomatoes!

Steve

Mon Jul 30, 2012 7:05 pm

gixxerific wrote:First off way to go with the canning.

Second off I have more tomtatoes than I know what to do with but not much of anything else right now. We all need to do a trade.

I need to get off my buttocks and get myself canning. I have thrown away more than enough for a couple of batches of sauce. Still a tom canning virgin and I must admit this hardcore son of a &*($# is a bit scraed to attempt it, hence the reason no canning is going on.

I am kind of that way too. Still learning and still nervous. Lots of guides out there to help though. Also ask lots of questions.

Wed Aug 01, 2012 7:53 am

gixxerific wrote: Still a tom canning virgin and I must admit this hardcore son of a &*($# is a bit scraed to attempt it, hence the reason no canning is going on.

Don't be scared of it. Just follow the directions. As long as you're close you'll be fine. I add a bit of vinegar and lime juice to it for the extra acid. Have never had a problem. And I've eaten sauce that we canned that was well over a year old. It's a very fulfilling feeling to know you didn't have to buy any all year.

One year I was lucky enough to have quite the bountiful tomato harvest throughout the summer. I remember opening and using my last jar of sauce on the same day I got my first tomato the following year. Knowing that I was able to come full circle like that was a really....self-sufficient feeling.

And with your crops, I'm sure you would easily do the same.

I had to buy a lot of my tomatoes this year, but buying locally grown was almost an equally gratifying feeling. The farm I bought from opened up a tiny shop this year where they sell produce. Having the shop made them more accessible to people in town. I was glad I could help that be a success for them.

Wed Aug 01, 2012 3:34 pm

Best invention for tomato sauce

http://www.amazon.com/Victorio-VKP250-M ... B001I7FP54

I'm set for canned quartered toms, and maybe 1 more batch of sauce.
some whole toms in the freezer too.

It sure does get hot in the house using the canner and making sauce etc.. Make sure you have alot of time :wink:

Wed Aug 01, 2012 3:50 pm

The 2012 ball blue book is at wal-mart for 5 bucks, since we're talking about canning. Picked up a copy the other day.

Thu Aug 02, 2012 5:53 am

I'm not sure I understand that point of that "sauce maker" Tonio. I just quarter and core my tomatoes and they cook down into sauce in about an hour. When you puree the tomatoes it's different. It's more.....like mush. Not a real sauce feel to it. I think the flavor is different too but that may be in my head. Plus, if you chunk the tomatoes and cook them down it gives you more of a chance to pour off the excess water.

You're right on needing time though. All said and done it usually takes my about 6-8 hours to totally process a kitchen sink full of maters. (about 30lbs). That's from boiling the water for blanching all the way to pulling the jars from the water bath canner.

I want to get the kids more involved in this so bad! But I am limiting what they can do, I have already burnt my hand in hot sauce twice! And that tomato sauce sticks, unlike water. It's quite a nasty little burn when you get one. I don't want them to deal with that quite yet. Last time I had to hold my thumb in ice water for an hour just so I could stand it being in the air. :roll:

Thu Aug 02, 2012 8:13 am

Jeff, I was skeptical at 1st.

But watching a few Utube vid's on traditional sauce making - it made sense. That was after I bought the food mill ( you can use it for many things) :lol:

I 1st made a batch per the "ball" method- boil to peel, than cool in ice water, peel, core, remove seeds blah blah. Then cook the quartered mush for about 2-3 hours for sauce consistancy.

I tend to go for sauce tomato's - San Marzano etc- call me old skool

2nd batch I gave the mill a try- boil the tomatoes about 2minutes to bring out the sugars, and put them through the mill immediately!! No need to peel , remove seeds- the mill does it for you. Cook to reduce( about and hour) to a thick sauce, and can.

I have a small kitchen , so all the boil, icing to peel etc takes too much space with bowls, pots et. I made the 2nd batch in about 2 hrs vs 4hrs . More time for margeritas or cervesas

Thu Aug 02, 2012 8:14 am

I run my tomatoes through a Squeezo machine. The puree comes out one place and the skins and seeds go into a waste container. Then I refrigerate it over night. In the morning, I pour the clear liquid off the top, heat it up, and can it. That is a lot off liquid you don't have to cook off. Sometimes I can it right from the squeezo and cook it down in the winter when I make the sauce. In January, heating up the kitchen is a good thing. My basic red sauce recipe is a bushel of tomatoes, 12 green peppers, and six pounds of onions. I then add spices when I open the jar, according to what I am going to make.

Thu Aug 02, 2012 11:10 am

Tonio.....to each his own! lol. As long as you're getting what you want out of it

I guess there's just something satisfying to me about all the work.

What does everyone do with the tomato water? I have been making hot sauce out of mine. I know some people save it for soups, chili, etc. I heard some people even just drink it. (no thanks) Any other ideas? I have about a dozen pints of hot sauce now and that's AFTER giving some away! lol. I'll never use all this.

Sat Aug 04, 2012 7:54 am

What do you mean when you say tomato water? Is that what I am pouring off after my sauce sits in the frige over night?