Whether your a proficient at canning or learning your way around the Mason jar it like me, here's some good old west recipes to try. My mom says when she was growing up, folks always asked
my grandma how much she canned each year. Grandma's reply, "A hundred quarts of everything." My grandma was pretty amazing with everything she did.
A tid-bit on canning. It wasn't until about 1858 that canning became popular with Pioneers. A tin smith from New York by the name of John L. Mason invented a glass jar with a threaded lip and a reusable metal lid: the Mason Jar. This replaced the messy glass jar, tin tid and sealing wax. Ball and Kerr were soon to follow.
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Pickled Green Beans
These are so good. Great for salads, by themselves or garnishing a Bloody Mary.
2 pounds slender green beans,
washed, trimmed and cut into
6-inch lengths
6 gloves garlic cloves, halved
4 tsp. Pickling spices
2 1/2 C. Apple cider, or white vinegar
2 1/2 C. water
1/4 C. Pickling salt, or Kosher salt
Sterilize 2 one-quart canning jars. Pack the beans into jars, leaving 1/2 head space in each jar.
Divide garlic and pickling spices.
In large sauce pan, bring vinegar, water and salt to full boil over high heat. Pour over the beans, covering them completely. Leave 1/2-inch head space. Run a butter knife around beans to release any air bubbles.
(* Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Let cool, then check seals. Store in cool, dark place for at least 2 weeks. Will keep for up to 6 months.)
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Bread And Butter Pickles
(* Note: Recipe is for 2 quarts. You may double recipe.)
6 large cucumbers, washed and lengthily sliced
1 large white onion
1/3 cup salt
1 quart cider vinegar
1 cup sugar
1/3 mustard seed
1 teaspoon celery salt
2 green onion, finely chopped
Combine sliced cucumbers, onion and salt; cover with ice water and let stand 8 to 12 hours. Drain. Combine seasonings and vinegar in kettle or large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add cucumbers and onion, heat to simmering. Pack cucumbers in hot sterilized jars. Cover with vinegar mixture and seal.
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Asparagus Sweet Pickles
3 one-pint wide-mouth sterilized canning jars
4 cups vinegar
1 cups sugar
2 teaspoons whole allspice
12 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick - (6" long)
4 pounds asparagus -- washed, and trimmed to fit jars
Place vinegar, 2 cups of water and sugar in a medium pot. Tie allspice, cloves and cinnamon in a cheesecloth bag and add to picking liquid; simmer 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, boil 4 cups of water in a medium pot. Add asparagus, cook 3 minutes and drain, reserving boiling water.
Return water to the pot and return to a boil. When cooled enough to handle, pack asparagus in hot jars and cover with hot pickling liquid, leaving 1/2-inch headspace; seal. Place jars in boiling water for 10 minutes.
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Strawberry Jam
(Recipe Circa 1870)
I make this every summer and barely can keep the jam in my
cupboards. I take that as a a compliment!
* Yield: 6 half-pint jars.
* Do not double recipe.)
6 cups mashed strawberries (2 pounds)
5 cups sugar
3 Tbs. lemon juice
Combine strawberries with sugar. Cook rapidly until thick, about 20 minutes. Add lemon juice a few minutes before cooking is complete. Pour into sterilized jars.
NOTE: 19th century cooks didn't know about the importance of sterilizing jars. Be sure to boil jars for at least 10 minutes. Or sterilize in dishwasher.
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Blackberry Jelly
Place the fruit in a porcelain kettle with just enough water to keep from burning; stir often and let stand over a slow fire until thoroughly scalded; then drain through a jelly bag two or three times if necessary to make it clear; measure, and allow as much sugar as juice; boil the juice for ten minutes, add the sugar and boil for ten minutes longer.
To test the jelly drop a little into a glass of very cold water and if it goes to the bottom at once it is done.
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Apple Butter
15 medium-size apples
1 1/2 quarts cider
3 cups sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Wash and slice firm tart apples; leave core -- just seed and peel. Add cider and boil for 15 minutes or until apples are mushy. Press through sieve (should be about 3 quarts pulp). Gently boil pulp for 1 hour or until it begins to thicken. Stir occasionally. Stir in spices and continue cooking slowly for 3 hours or until thickened. Stir frequently. Pour into hot sterilized jars. Leave 1/4-inch headspace. Seal.
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Applesauce
12 medium tart apples, washed, peeled cored and chopped.
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
1/2 teaspoon salt
.Place apples in skillet or large saucepan. add enough cold water to barely cover apples. Add lemon and bring to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat about 45 minutes, or until apples are tender. Add sugar, orange peel and salt and stir well. Let cool. Mash. Pour into sterilized canning jar. Store in cool place (refrigerator) until ready to use or serve. Makes about 3 cups.
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