I Can...What's your Superpower?

I saw this on Facebook today and it made me smile!
I learned to can by watching my Mom make jam, can peaches, green beans, and pears.  When I got married  back in the 80's, I canned my first batches of jam and peaches.  As my family grew, I canned more peaches, pears~I really don't like pears, but one kid did~and branched out to pickles and salsa. One summer I went to a Canning 101 class put on by our local Extension Service. I learned lots of things.
A lot of things I had been doing....WRONG!  Oh dear!
After completing the class, I was able to take a course to become a Master Food Preserver through Washington State University.  What a feeling to complete the 8 week course and pass my test. Whew!  I was now able to give back to my community by teaching others HOW to can and preserve food safely and correctly!
The following part of my post is from the Pomona Universal Pectin website.  It tells what a Master Food Preserver does. I loved it.
Master Food Preservers Have a Mission – Teaching About Canning Safety
With the current explosion of interest in home food preservation – be it pickling, jamming, fermenting, or freezing – where are home preservers supposed to go for answers to their questions? Who out there has the most up-to-date understanding of food safety issues and approved practices?

Yes, you guessed it – your local Master Food Preserver (or MFP), trained by your local County Extension Office, and now a willing volunteer to answer your questions over the phone; teach classes; staff tables at Farmers’ Markets, County Fairs, and other such venues; and even make presentations to church groups and other organizations.

Never heard of a Master Food Preserver? Well, either had I until I started working with my sister Connie to bring you Pomona’s Pectin. So I decided to interview a few MFPs to find out who they are, how they got to be MFPs, what they do, and how you, if you’re interested, can follow in their footsteps.

I heard from MFPs in Washington, California, Idaho, Indiana, and Maine. Below is a summary of what I learned. For more detail about a particular state, click on that state. For information about states not included, search the internet, give a call to your County Extension Office, or go to their website.

What is an MFP and how do you become one? MFPs complete extensive training: usually spending around 40 hours in the classroom, studying assigned reading materials, and participating in hands-on training. The focus is food safety and food preserving methods. To be certified, an MFP must pass a written exam and commit to a number of volunteer hours in the community.

An MFP’s mission is then to help educate the public in a variety of ways, under the supervision of their Country Extension Office. To become an MFP, you need to learn about your local County Extension program, sign up, and likely pay a small fee for materials.

What are the qualities of a good MFP? Good MFPs: (1) have more than a passing interest in food safety and food preservation; (2) have the desire and time to volunteer for community service; (3) are curious, analytical, and personable; (4) like to teach and can communicate well; (5) have a passion for food preservation, people and fun!

Becoming an MFP means joining a community of like-minded individuals, both men and women. If you’re interested, there’s no time like the present!

If you have any interest in becoming a Master Food Preserver, contact your local Extension Service for details. It is so rewarding!

Keep Calm and Eat Jam!

One of the best things about summer is jam.  Can there be anything more delicious than a piece of toast dripping with butter and homemade jam.....of any persuasion?  I think my personal favorite is apricot....or plum. Although, marionberry-raspberry won me an award a few years back from a magazine!  Those were the days!  

As a Master Food Preserver, one of the things we teach is HOW to preserve food. There has been a flood of interest the last few years in canning and preserving fruits and vegetables because families want to be in control of what goes in to the food they are eating, putting food in the pantry for use later in the year, and having delicious food in jars!  It's fantastic!

One of the easiest ways to preserve fruit is making jam.  What is jam? Crushed fruit with added sugar cooked to a spreadable consistency.  Some recipes call for pectin, a thickening agent made from citrus peels. You can also make jam without pectin or make it with a low-sugar pectin.  I prefer the recipe using regular, powdered pectin and cooking the jam. Some people prefer to make freezer jam because it requires no water-bath processing. It also has a "fresher" taste.  Your choice....both are equally delicious!  MCP is my preferred brand of pectin. (Sure-jell and MCP are both owned by Kraft Foods.)  

You can also use a brand of pectin called Pomona Pectin.
From their website. 

• Sugar-free, preservative-free, low-methoxyl citrus pectin.
• Sweeten jam & jelly to your taste with low amounts of any sweetener: sugar, honey, agave, maple syrup, frozen juice concentrate, stevia, xylitol, Sucanat, concentrated fruit sweetener, or Splenda and other artificial sweeteners.
  
• Each 1 oz box makes 2 to 4 batches (about 5 – 8 oz jars per batch).Recipes can be doubled or tripled. Each box contains pectin powder, calcium powder, directions, and recipes.
  
• Keeps indefinitely.
• Kosher manufactured. Vegan. Gluten Free. Non-GMO.
• Celebrating 34 years of low-sweetener jam and jelly.
  

The only negative that I have experienced with Pomona Pectin is that within the year my jam was not very pretty anymore. Sugar preserves the color of preserved food....low-sugar products lose their color quicker than a full-sugar jam or jelly would.  My kids won't eat the "weird" colored jam so it will get wasted. No bueno!

So...jump in with both feet! Get your kids in the kitchen to help! Make some JAM!

Here is my Grit Magazine Canning Contest Winning Recipe:

Marionberry Raspberry Jam

Shelley Bloemke

2 1/2 cups raspberries
2 1/2 cups marionberries or blackberries

1 box MCP Pectin

Measure 7 cups of sugar into a bowl 

Crush the berries with a potato masher. Place in a 6-8 quart saucepan. Add 1 box of MCP pectin, stir to incorporate. Bring to a rolling boil on high heat and add the sugar. Return to a full, rolling boil and cook for 4 minutes.

Ladle into prepared jars, leaving 1/8 inch headspace at the top of the jar. Wipe the rim of jar and place lid and ring on.  Screw rings on and place in water-bath canner. Water must be 1-2 inches above th jar. Cover, bring to a gentle boil. Process  jam for 10 minutes. Adjust processing time according to your altitude . Remove jars and place upright on a towel. Let cool, without disturbing jars for 24 hours, making sure jars have sealed by pressing the center of each lid. If the lid springs back, the jar isn't sealed and needs to be refrigerated. 

Remove rings and keep un-opened jars in a cool, dark place  for up to 1 year. Opened jars will keep for 3-4 weeks in the refrigerator.  

Please remember....it is super-duper important to process your home-canned jams.  It will help prevent spoilage from mold and bacteria.  DON"T do the "turn the jar upside down to seal like my Mom did" method of processing. After all the work you put in, you don't want to throw out your jam because of a bunch of mold. YUCK!

For more canning information the National Center for Home Food Preservation is THE resource I rely on for the most current canning guidelines.  

Happy Jamming! BTW...I won a wheat grinder from the canning contest!

Zucchini and Pepper Relish

I like Zucchini....small! When I received some logs of zucchini recently I wasn't really sure what to do with it. There is only so much zucchini bread I can take! Blech! I love relish, though! So I started searching for a recipe and I found a keeper!

Zucchini and Pepper Relish

Makes 5 pints

 

6 cups chopped green bell pepper-about 8 whole peppers
6 cups grated zucchini-about 3 pound
2 1/2 cups grated onion-about 2 large onions
4 cups apple cider vinegar, divided

2 cups sugar
2 T. sea salt *(I used canning salt)
2 T. mustard seeds
1 t. celery seed
1/2 red pepper flakes

 

Prepare a boiling water bath and 5 regular mouth pint jars. Place the lids in a small saucepan, cover them with water, and simmer over very low heat.

 

Combine the chopped bell pepper, zucchini, and onion in a large, non-reactive pot. Stir in 2 cups of the apple cider vinegar and bring it to a simmer over medium heat. Cook until the vegetables have cooked down, about 30 minutes.

 

Drain the vegetables and return to the pot. Add the remaining apple cider vinegar, sugar, salt, mustard seed, celery seed, and the red pepper flakes. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.

 

Ladle the relish into the prepared jas leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Gently tap the jars on a towel-lined countertop to help loosen any bubbles before using a wooden chopstick to dislodge any remaining bubbles. Wipe the rims, apply the lids and rings, and process in a boiling waterbath for 10 minutes.

 

Recipe from Food in Jars-by Marisa McClellan



 

Nectarine Lime Jam

I love summer. Not as much as fall...but a close second.

The best part about summer is all the fruits and vegetables available to put away for the winter.  This year I got a new book that has become a favorite. It is Food in Jars by Marisa McClellan.

I have been following Marisa's blog for a while. When I got the book, I started bending pages in anticipation of summer.

 

 

Nectarine Lime Jam-Food in Jars

5 cups pitted and chopped nectarines (abaout 3 pounds)
3 cups sugar
Zest and juice of 2 limes *** see my note
1 (3-ounce) packet liquid pectin

 

Prepare a boiling water bath and 4 regular-mouth pint jars. Heat the lids and rings in a saucepan over low heat. 

 

Combine the nectarines and sugar in a large pot. Bring to a boil and let jam boil for 15-20 minutes over high heat, until the fruit softens and can be mashed with a wooden spoon. 
If you prefer a smoother textured jam, use an immersion blender ( be careful not to burn yourself) to break down some of the chunks. If you prefer a chunkier jam, just leave it as it is. Add the lime zest and juice and stir well. Add the pectin and bring to a rolling boil for a full 5 minutes, until it looks molten and syrupy.

 

Remove the pot from the heat and ladle jam into the prepared jars. Wipe the rims , apply lids and rings, and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

 

***I used  1/4 c. reconstituted lime juice in place of the fresh lime juice.

 



Pear Crumble

I love Fall...it is my favorite season. The leaves, the change in the weather, all of it!  What do I also love in the fall...the end of the dreaded pear canning season. Don't get me wrong, I love pears. I DO NOT like canning them.....ugh...peeling...touching them a bazillion times. So what do I do with the last bunch of pears? I make Pear Crumble!  It is delicious! I use the nice, ripe pears and some apple pie spices with a yummy crumble recipe from Mel's kitchen cafe...one of my favorite blogs! So, hears to the last of the pears! Huzzah, Huzzah!

Pear Crumble

10-12 firm, ripe pears, peeled and quartered

3/4 cup sugar (more or less depending on sweetness of fruit)

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

1/4 c. flour

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. cinnamon
1 t. freshly grated ginger

pinch of nutmeg

Combine the dry ingredients together and gently mix with the fruit being careful not to break it up.

Pour into a  greased 18x20 baking dish. Prepare the crumble.

Crumble

1 1/2 c. oats
1 1/2 c. flour

3/4 c. sugar

1/2 c. brown sugar

1 c. melted butter

Mix all together and pour on the fruit in the baking dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until brown and bubbly.

crumble recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe.

Canning

Summer Canning is here! I have started to can up a storm. The WSU Extension Office has a class call "Stocking the Pantry". It is a food preserving class covering Drying/Freezing, Jams and Jellies, Canning Fruit and Pie Fillings, Pickling Food, Tomatoes and Salsa and finally, Pressure Canning Meats and Low-acid foods. I missed the first 2 classes but I have learned SOOO much in the classes I attended. Mainly.....I need to be much safer in the way I process our food! I learned that head space is important, as is how much you crank the ring. I have been turning them WAY too TIGHT! I always wondered why I had juice sputtering out of my jars! RING TOO TIGHT!! I have now been following the guidelines given and have been very successful with my "problems"!

I do have one thing to say! Follow a CURRENT-TESTED-RECIPE! Use the Ball Canning book or go to an Extension office and get the most up-to-date information regarding safety in food preserving! Don't use Grandma's pickle recipe or just turn the jam jar upside down to seal! (I am totally guilty of that one---been doing it forever!) It's just not safe anymore~you must water-bath process Jam and jellies....pretty much everything...including pickled foods! (I just water-bathed the first pickles in my life!)

Botulism is odorless, colorless and tasteless! Use approved canning methods ALWAYS and you can rest easy about serving your home-canned foods!

OK....here is my RANT! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE DO NOT HOME-CAN BUTTER!!!!

There is a frightening "RECIPE" flying around the internet and LDS Churches everywhere that it is SAFE? to can butter! Don' t be an idiot! IT IS NOT ONLY UNSAFE...IT COULD KILL YOUR FAMILY!! There is no "canning" done....you are just heating the butter and doing the old upside down seal trick! It is NOT safely processed!

If you have done this....throw out the jar, lid and contents! Once it is contaminated with botulism...it is considered hazardous waste! NO KIDDING!

I actually was gonna try this before I took the canning classes! So glad I didn't do it! Not even worth the risk!

You can buy commercially canned butter by Red Feather!

The photo shows apricot nectar, cherry pie filling and 6 pints of dill pickles waiting for the canner!

Be safe and have fun canning for your family!