canning winter foods in advance..

[jimLE]

mom and me,were just talking about me canning what we consider,good winter foods,for this winter.and now im wondering what yall can for winter foods/meals..and we're thinking along the lines of warm comfort foods for the colds days,in which they'll be nice to have on hand already.
we've already thought of these..
beans n ham(need more of them) lol
chili(maybe more)
spaghetti.(deffently more)
i have a few jars of pinto beans canned.so beans on rice sounds good
i don't know if this can be done or not.can some pork n beans n spam

 

[user 4617]

We tend to not can items that store better and take less room like beans and spaghetti. So far it's tomatoes and jams but next year (no garden this year because we are moving to our new homestead) it will be a focus on canned meats and gleaned fruits like peaches.

We are just learning to can, but see a lot of potential.


- Jim

 

[jimLE]

im in my basic learning stages my self,on canning.some foods id rather go ahead n can for connivance.more then anything else.especially when it comes to not heating up the kitchen when i don't have to.

 

[user 4617]

Jim_LE,
That's a REAL concern in grid down using wood heat. We are putting another stove in the shop for Winter heat and mostly for Summer cooking outside of the house for this reason.

 

[jimLE]

i don't have a big concern for short term outages during the winter..we have propane here.but a wood stove/heater is a good idea.and i don't see my self doing any canning on one yet..lol

 

[Brent S]

mom and me,were just talking about me canning what we consider,good winter foods,for this winter.and now im wondering what yall can for winter foods/meals..and we're thinking along the lines of warm comfort foods for the colds days,in which they'll be nice to have on hand already.
we've already thought of these..
beans n ham(need more of them) lol
chili(maybe more)
spaghetti.(deffently more)
i have a few jars of pinto beans canned.so beans on rice sounds good
i don't know if this can be done or not.can some pork n beans n spam

I bottled five gallons of wine today (25 bottles). Does that count as winter food? It makes you feel warm for a while at least...

 

[jimLE]

that depends on much you drink.

 

[Brent S]

i don't have a big concern for short term outages during the winter..we have propane here.but a wood stove/heater is a good idea.and i don't see my self doing any canning on one yet..lol

Canning is slow and laborious on a regular stovetop. Add having to cut and split wood by hand and you begin to imagine how tough the people were 100+ years ago. (50 yrs ago here in the Appalachians).

 

[user 4617]

Difference is canning was their job. Same as producing the food to can. Wood heat and cooking were and will again be the only means when the grid drops. Better to get use to it now!


- Jim

 

[Brent S]

Difference is canning was their job. Same as producing the food to can. Wood heat and cooking were and will again be the only means when the grid drops. Better to get use to it now!


- Jim

My wood burning stove has a flat top for cooking. I'll try it this winter for practice, but as long as I have electricity I will gladly use it. One thing to think about is where to place your wood stove. It gets too hot to use in the summer inside. I put mine on the front sun room. There are lots of windows that open and I can close the house off from the heat. On the flip side I close the windows and open the house up to capture the heat in winter. It worked great last winter. It's still a crap load of work to do for everyday cooking, but at least you can function.

 

[user 4617]

Way too hot in summer. We have several outside wood stove options including a small cylinder stove and a larger wood stove with a flat top in the shop, but hope to get a kitchen queen 480 ASAP after we move in next month to the new property. It will be in the living room as out house heat, hot water and cooking area for grid down.

Might look funny to non-preppers but we believe the time is short and functionality of a real wool cook stove is unmatched.


- Jim

 

[Brent S]

I canned 14 pints of potatoe soup today! Still have a good amount in the fridge for right now as well. I put tons of bacon, ham, onion and celery in it. It was a 'loaded potatoe' soup. I also started a five gallon jug of blackberry wine, and got my new Apple peeler/corer/slicer today. It came in the mail from Amazon. Really cool gadget. I processed a dehydrator full of cinniman apple slices that are making the house smell great. I can't believe that last year I sliced and cored all the apples by hand. This thing takes seconds to do it. Over all I had a really good preps day. The soup jars are cooling, I have a full belly, and the apples are drying. I also have a glass of wine in hand and am about to go relax in front of the evening news. Life is good....

 

[Brent S]

Anyone got a good applesauce receipe? I want to can some this year. The apple trees are loaded down, and I'm about to start putting them up. So,far dehydrated and canned for pie filling is all I've done. I'd appreciate any ideas on what else to do with them.

 

[jimLE]

potato soup is one thing i plan on canning once we do our primary shopping.
applesauce sounds good.especially cinnamon flavored..and i think at least one of my ball books has a recipe for it.but not sure..

 

[Brent S]

potato soup is one thing i plan on canning once we do our primary shopping.
applesauce sounds good.especially cinnamon flavored..and i think at least one of my ball books has a recipe for it.but not sure..

On e thing I noticed with my soup tonight was it is a milk based, and during canning the oil and water separated. This was the first time I've canned potatoe soup. I will try a jar soon and see if it is still ok or not. I'm leaning towards not canning milk based stuff in the future, but will let you know. The good note is the stuff was awesome. I think the receipe was loaded baked potatoe soup. Face it, if you put a load of bacon in something, it's going to be good.

 

[jimLE]

well.i've found a chicken soup recipe,which i needed.and a split pea soup recipe by chance,which mom will love. but no potato soup recipe yet.

 

[Danil54grl]

I don't add milk into my potato soup when canning. After it is opened you can add it if you want. I posted my recipe in another thread. . .Motivation required, I believe it was named. Just don't ask me to post a link to it !!

 

[Arcticdude]

So far we've picked 1 tomato and a half dozen peppers from our garden. It doesn't look like we'll be doing much canning or making salsa this year. We did get a lot of raspberries and blue berries though, but they never made it out of the garden. The days are hot but its already getting down in to the 40's at night. Next year I'm going to build a greenhouse so we can get an earlier start with the garden. Our last frost is mid June and first frost usually hits in early September.

 

[Brent S]

So far we've picked 1 tomato and a half dozen peppers from our garden. It doesn't look like we'll be doing much canning or making salsa this year. We did get a lot of raspberries and blue berries though, but they never made it out of the garden. The days are hot but its already getting down in to the 40's at night. Next year I'm going to build a greenhouse so we can get an earlier start with the garden. Our last frost is mid June and first frost usually hits in early September.

Wow, 40's, I'd love for it to cool off here some. Sorry about the short growing season though. I'm a big believer in greenhouses though. It truly produces so much more than the outside gardens. Here it is just an improvement, for you it sounds like a necessity.

 

[Danil54grl]

This is how I do mine. . .


Apple Sauce

4 lbs apples, unpeeled and uncored, sliced thin (these are a natural pectin)
1 cup water
¼ cup lemon juice (optional)
½ cup honey
Ground cinnamon, to taste
Ground nutmeg, to taste
Ground cloves, to taste

Cut apples into fourths (more if big) and add to a big stainless steel or enamel pot. Cook the apples with water, lemon juice, honey, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain in a colander. Put through a food mill (or Sauce Master). Adjust seasonings if needed. Bring to boil, pour into prepared jars leaving ½ inch headspace. Seal and process for 20 minutes in boiling water bath.



Apple Butter

3 cups apple cider
5 lbs apples, unpeeled and uncored, sliced thin (these are a natural pectin)
Honey, to taste
Ground cinnamon, to taste
Ground allspice, to taste
Ground cloves, to taste

Put cider in a big stainless steel or enamel pot and bring to a boil. Add apples slowly. Allow apples and cider to come to a boil, then simmer, stirring frequently to prevent sticking.

When apple butter has begun to thicken considerably, the apple slices will start to fall apart as you stir. At some point after the butter has thickened, remove it from the heat and put everything thru a food mill (or sauce master in my case), discarding the peels, seed and steams. Put the ‘good stuff’ back into the pot and back on the heat and simmer till the apple butter is a thick dark-brown mixture. This will take about 4-5 hours. If you want it sweetened, use the honey to taste along with the other spices. Bring to a boil and put in prepared jars leaving ½ in headspace. Seal and process 10 minutes in a boiling water bath.