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That's interesting that they still use wax seals for jams and jellies in Europe. My mother always preserved jam that way but now that's a big no-no in the US and I don't remember the last time I've seen paraffin wax for preserving available. Grandmothers and great aunts all open canned high acid foods and never had issues with spoilage. There's always the risk the seal on a jar might come lose and that jar of food will spoil, but that's no reason to throw out the whole batch. I have a Kerr canning book and a Ball blue book that were published in 1970. I also have a cookbook published in 1936 that has a section on canning and preserving. The 1936 book definitely uses open canning. If you know what you're doing and have good results with that method of preserving, there's no reason to stop. If your family gets sick every time they eat your food you may need to reconsider your processing method, but that would be the only reason.
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May 22, 2013 18:32
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Highspeeddub posted:If your family gets sick every time they eat your food you may need to reconsider your processing method, but that would be the only reason. My mom and dad sealed jelly and jam with boiling paraffin. Yum, three boiling pots on the stove (jelly, hot water for jars, and paraffin), one of which will CATCH FIRE if it overheats or spills on the burner. That's not something I am at all nostalgic for, although I do miss pushing on the paraffin disc on one side to make it pop up. The thing is, the Ball and USDA recipes have two goals: safety and acceptability to the broadest possible public. If something tastes too sour or too spicy, people won't bother to make the pickles and jams out of the blue book, and will keep to their old recipes. My European recipes have less sugar - still sweet, but not as sweet -- and the difference between Europe and U.S. could be regional taste preferences, or could be safety. I work on the theory that if 56% of French botulism cases were due to jellies (instead of, as is the case, ham), the French authorities would have noticed by now and put forth recommendations.
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May 22, 2013 18:39
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pr0k posted:Takes about 10 minutes for me to bring maybe 4 gal to boil. But I don't use that enameled canning pot most people use. I use a big fuckoff Presto pressure canner - I just don't use the lid when waterbath canning. It's got a nice flat, thick cast aluminum bottom. I highly recommend picking one up if you have the means. (and don't mind probably getting put on the FBI's list of terrorist jelly makers.) Are you using a gas range, electric, or smooth-top? I notice that canner says it's suitable for smooth-top but I can't imagine my range boiling 4 gallons in 10 minutes. Maybe an hour with the lid on.
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May 22, 2013 19:41
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Cpt.Wacky posted:I notice that canner says it's suitable for smooth-top but I can't imagine my range boiling 4 gallons in 10 minutes. Maybe an hour with the lid on. Takes me about an hour for that much liquid on my smooth-top regardless of the vessel holding the water.
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May 24, 2013 04:13
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I need a recommendation. I got rid of pretty much everything when I moved so I'm mostly starting from scratch. I have this beautiful induction cooktop and most of the descriptions for pressure cookers/canners I'm finding are all aluminum. I'd like to be able to do big batches of things, but I'm guessing the lack of induction friendly large pressure cookers are due to weight? Does anyone have a recommendation for my induction cooktop? Besides 'go buy a propane burner'?
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May 26, 2013 21:30
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Cpt.Wacky posted:Are you using a gas range, electric, or smooth-top? I notice that canner says it's suitable for smooth-top but I can't imagine my range boiling 4 gallons in 10 minutes. Maybe an hour with the lid on. Smoothtop electric. Pretty standard Whirlpool model from about 6 years ago. What the gently caress is wrong with your stoves.
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May 31, 2013 14:50
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Mine boils water incredibly quickly but it's induction so these huge aluminum pots aren't going to work. I can't find anything big in an 'induction friendly' metal, and I'd love a pressure canner but again, nothing that isn't aluminum. This is starting to be a good argument against induction =(
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May 31, 2013 16:37
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My wife came back from the store the other day with a few bags of awesome cherries that were on sale and I decided to try my hand at canning.  Eight half pints of jam are now taunting me on the counter. Luckily, there was enough left over to chill in a custard dish and sample on some no-knead bread I made yesterday. It is good and now my wife is insisting I get a full size pot and pressure canner.
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Jun 12, 2013 18:11
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Bunnita posted:Mine boils water incredibly quickly but it's induction so these huge aluminum pots aren't going to work. I can't find anything big in an 'induction friendly' metal, and I'd love a pressure canner but again, nothing that isn't aluminum. This is starting to be a good argument against induction =( Find a metal shop and buy a chunk of iron or steel big enough to sit your pot on and 1/4-1/2 inch thick, then sand/polish it nice and smooth(or buy it prepolished, so long as it's smooth in the end). Aluminum is a great heat conductor and will heat up quickly along with the iron, and keeping your heat plate on the thinner side will help keep the responsiveness of the element on the gas side of the "gas burner > electric range" spectrum of heat control(a thicker plate will soak up more heat and radiate it back out when the power is off). Not a perfect solution, but if you want to use nonferrous metals on an induction range you'll have to make a compromise now and then.
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Jun 16, 2013 08:36
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I just made 6 half-pints of candied jalapenos, and I have over a quart of syrup left over. One of these days I will figure out how to scale the recipe so this stops happening.  Thankfully it makes a good marinade for chicken, so it's not going to waste or anything.Also made just shy of 4 half-pints of plum preserves. I think they turned out a little too sweet, but the plums were free. Just had to pick 'em off the branches that hang over my fence. In a couple weeks I'll probably have more than enough ripe figs to make preserves from those, too. I'm thinking of trying balsamic fig jam this year. Actually, I still have fig preserves in the freezer from last year because I ran out of jars. I need to get a dehydrator or figure out something else to do with all of them. It's not a very big tree, but it still produces way more fruit than anyone needs, and a lot of it goes to waste. Anyone want some figs? I should also buy more jars, and a pot that actually fits on the stove. I was using my roommate's 32qt beer brewing pot to can everything earlier, because my next largest pot wasn't tall enough. I had about two inches of space between the top of the pot and the vent hood on my stove, and it made getting the jars out somewhat difficult. 
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Jun 25, 2013 12:12
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Mizufusion posted:I just made 6 half-pints of candied jalapenos, and I have over a quart of syrup left over. One of these days I will figure out how to scale the recipe so this stops happening. This happened to me when I first made pickled vegetables: "Ok, Terry, you are using a jar four times as large as the recipe indicates." I quadrupled the recipe and ended up with about a 3 liters of brine. I used less than 1 liter.  Remember kids, the food you are pickling DOES take up volume, start with the amount the recipes indicate and make more if you need more.
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Jun 25, 2013 15:48
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TerryLennox posted:This happened to me when I first made pickled vegetables: "Ok, Terry, you are using a jar four times as large as the recipe indicates." I quadrupled the recipe and ended up with about a 3 liters of brine. I used less than 1 liter. I followed the recipe exactly; it just makes a lot of syrup. I usually have a pint or so leftover, which I can and use later for marinades and things. Some day I may even figure out how to use it in a cocktail.
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Jun 26, 2013 01:30
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Mizufusion posted:I followed the recipe exactly; it just makes a lot of syrup. I usually have a pint or so leftover, which I can and use later for marinades and things. Some day I may even figure out how to use it in a cocktail. Or you can drink it straight. The best hangover remedy is pickle brine, cold straight from the jar.
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Jun 26, 2013 20:30
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Some recently-made chutneys - From left to right, cherry and roasted almond chutney (made yesterday), roasted tomato chutney with balsamic vinegar reduction (a couple of weeks old), onion "marmalade" (two days ago). No, I didn't make just one jar of each... I have twelve preserving jars in total, all currently enchutneyed.  Close-up of the cherry and roasted almond chutney. You can see a couple of raisins, some onion and some mustard seeds, though it's hard to make out the cherries.
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Jun 26, 2013 23:23
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Strawberries are in high gear in Michigan. Yesterday Mom brought some over from her patch. This morning she stopped by again and saw the canning lids. "Oh, I could have given you some paraffin wax to seal those. Don't waste your canning lids on jam."  Mom, that's not considered safe anymore.
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Jun 27, 2013 14:44
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I did strawberry rhubarb jam from produce that I got at the farmer's market. Only second time making jam, and first time making this one. All my solids floated to the top. It seems a little runnier than I would like it, but I had a little bit extra that I stuck in the fridge, and it's the consistency I like. Maybe it's just because everything is at room temperature. Should have also skimmed some of the stuff off the top first too, but oh well, it won't hurt anyone.
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Jun 27, 2013 22:17
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I didn't get all the foam off of my jam either, too lazy. If the set is really soft it's not the end of the world. Soft set jam makes great ice cream or cheese cake topping. When we were kids we used to "fail" a batch or two of jam or jelly on purpose to ferment it into alcohol.
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Jun 28, 2013 00:34
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Last night I did my first real pickling:  We did about 55-60 jars, mostly cucumbers buy some squash, string beans, and an experimental onion. They are about half sour dill, a quarter spicy dill, and a quarter "we are drunk and just grabbing spices". The veg came from an farm one of my neighbors works on, they have an unexpectedly huge crop of cukes and their CSA customers seem to not be excited to be getting this many. Next week's surplus is projected to be mostly cabbage so we are doing sauerkraut and kimchi. There is also a surplus of eggs so I would love a pickled egg recipe if anyone has a favorite.
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Jun 29, 2013 00:30
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Color me jealous. I'm still waiting on my pickling cucumbers to bear. First time growing them and it'll be my first time pickling anything.
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Jun 29, 2013 19:53
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I've never used a specific recipe for pickled eggs. Whatever your favorite brine is, use that and you'll be happy with the results.
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Jun 30, 2013 17:00
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Meltathon posted:
I made strawberry conserve for the second time ever just last week and it has had the exact same problems of runniness and the solids floating to the top. It was a different recipe to the first time I tried it, so I'm blaming that, but certainly a bit disappointed. The strawberries seem tough rather than tender and spreadable, which they were the first time I tried it. Must find that original recipe...
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Jul 1, 2013 10:54
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Always leave the jam to settle off the heat for 15 mins once setting point is reached to prevent the fruit rising to the surface when poured into the jars. Are you testing for setting point? To test for setting: Place a small plate or saucer in to the fridge for 15 mins. Pour a spoonful of the hot jam, jelly or marmalade on to the plate and return to the fridge for 5 mins. Push the edges of the jam with your index finger, it is set when it all wrinkly and crinkly. Always test for setting point at the time the recipe suggests, if not set continue to cook checking every 5 minutes. Don’t overcook.
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Jul 1, 2013 13:06
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I did my second batch of jam today and had two questions. First, does it matter if the jars are not sitting perfectly upright while in the hot water bath? Some of mine ended up at a 45 degree angle. Second, the blue book says to wait 5 minutes before removing the jars from the canner. Is this just to avoid burns from hot water/steam or is it important to the safety of the finished product? I forgot to wait with this batch but I'm pretty sure I heard all the lids popping within 10 minutes.
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Jul 2, 2013 03:15
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Depends on the book, I guess. Probably just "avoiding burns" like you suggest. Most books would call for waterbath canning half-pints 10 minutes at a full boil. If your book uses a shorter time than that, it's counting this off-heat time as part of the canning process. I seriously doubt that - and if it did, I'd question the safety of the book.
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Jul 2, 2013 18:25
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I was looking around for a fermentation thread and was directed here as one of the closest things. I'm in Korea and trying to make the various Korean fermented fruit teas and I'm using fruits that aren't traditionally used like cherries and prickly pears. I'm running into the same problem as I do with most Korean cooking in that most of the recipes aren't written down yet and are handed down verbally or in family notes. Finding information in Korean is difficult and in English is nearly impossible. I'm hoping someone else has some experience or with something similar. The basic idea is to use ambient yeast and bacteria in the air or on the fruit to ferment it. For making japanese apricot tea you layer the unripe apricots (maesil in Korean and ume in Japanese) with sugar, you close the lead of your clean container and put it in a cool dark place for 100 days. The sugar pulls the liquid out of the fruit and bacteria and yeast eat the sugar and make it a little bit sour. It's not a strong fermentation usually, nothing like kimchi. It seems a way of making a syrup that will keep for a very long time and have some slight health benefits. The problem is I have no idea what bacteria is in it and apparently nobody has ever thought to ask. My biggest problem now is that I'm using some wet fruits and it's summer. My cherry fermented tea is almost violently fermenting, I have a hankerchief over it and then closed the lid so a little bit of air gets in and out but no bugs. I closed the lid all the way for a few hours and when i opened it all the gas released and then when i stirred it it bubbled over. It doesn't smell rotten so I'm saying it's fine, but my friend's mother said I should keep it there for 40 days, but she's never made it, it's just a guess. Anyone have any suggestions, I was a former bio major and I've been fermenting things for a long time, but I'm still sort of flying blind. Maybe if someone knows of a type of fermented product similar that is made in another part of the world.
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Jul 15, 2013 18:30
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My mum's been trying to make strawberry jam, but it hasn't set. The recipe used a kilo each of sugar and strawberries and the juice from a lemon. Will jam sugar (with pectin) make it set better or should she try something else?
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Jul 15, 2013 19:49
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I always add pectin to strawberry jam. I use Sure-Jell's low sugar pectin (in the pink box) no pectin at all - you need an assload of sugar and acid to get it to set regular pectin - takes a whole lot of sugar to set low-sugar pectin - win Low-sugar pectin just contains acids that don't have a lot of flavor but help the pectin to gel. If you don't want to do that you could try adding a finely grated apple, which contains lots of natural pectin. Your proportions don't seem bad. pr0k fucked around with this message at 20:05 on Jul 15, 2013 |
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Jul 15, 2013 20:02
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Thanks. We've had another go with Tate and Lyle - I couldn't see the pectin content on the bag, but it seems to have worked. We haven't eaten any yet.
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Jul 16, 2013 23:28
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DontAskKant posted:I was looking around for a fermentation thread and was directed here as one of the closest things. Well, traditionally used fruits could be traditional for a reason. For example using unripe apricots I would expect less sugar than fully ripe ones. So for your cherries you might be in a situation where there's just so much sugar it's gonna rock and roll until it's all done. You might want to mess around with terminating the fermentation early, although not all the sugars will be used up, so it may be sweeter than you want. Alternatively let it go and possibly get drunk? I had a bunch of blackberries sitting in a jar, put it in the fridge for a couple of days (without canning it or anything) and just the juice that dripped to the bottom formed a pretty boozy liqueur.
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Jul 17, 2013 00:56
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Apples and lemon are commonly used, so sweet and acidic fruits are common. Cherries aren't used before because they are usually something like $25-30 a pound. They've just been on sale recently. The Japanese apricots are tiny and green and unripe with almost no sugar which is why you layer it in sugar. Now thinking about it, how did they do this before processed sugar? Or sugar in general, it's not a product that grows here.
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Jul 17, 2013 01:09
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DontAskKant posted:Now thinking about it, how did they do this before processed sugar? Or sugar in general, it's not a product that grows here. Honey maybe?
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Jul 18, 2013 19:43
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feedmegin posted:Honey maybe? You can make sugar from other things, like beet and I think if you evaporate maple syrup enough, you could get sugar too. If you expand the definition of sugar enough.
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Jul 19, 2013 04:42
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Beet sugar, if I remember my culinary history was fairly major before cane, yea.
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Jul 19, 2013 08:17
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Nah, commercial beet sugar was developed way after cane sugar as an attempt by Napoleon to get sugar without giving money to English colonies. Prior to widespread cane cultivation and refining techniques people had honey and fruit (and in North America, sugar maple) and that was all the sweet things there were.
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Jul 19, 2013 10:17
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I made strawberry jam a few days ago using a 1:1 ratio of sugar to fruit and no pectin. I got the softer set that I like, but I still found it too sweet. About how low can you cut down the sugar before it messes with the setting of the jam? Another thing that happened is that my mixture reached 219 °F quickly, but it seemed way runny and didn't pass the wrinkle test. I trusted my instincts and cooked it awhile longer, but I'm wondering if I think it tastes too sweet because most of the sugar caramelized.
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Jul 20, 2013 14:31
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I have a cucumber and an urge to pickle it in some sort of simple Asian style. Does anyone have a nice recipe for this, and can I do it in tupperware or does it have to be glass? I am a pickle novice, so sorry for the noob questions!
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Jul 24, 2013 17:50
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http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/oisobagi-kimchi I do this but with zucchini/yellow squash.
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Jul 24, 2013 18:04
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Rurutia posted:http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/oisobagi-kimchi Beat me to it.
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Jul 26, 2013 02:10
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Indentured Servant posted:I made strawberry jam a few days ago using a 1:1 ratio of sugar to fruit and no pectin. I got the softer set that I like, but I still found it too sweet. About how low can you cut down the sugar before it messes with the setting of the jam? Another thing that happened is that my mixture reached 219 °F quickly, but it seemed way runny and didn't pass the wrinkle test. I trusted my instincts and cooked it awhile longer, but I'm wondering if I think it tastes too sweet because most of the sugar caramelized. As mentioned by pr0k earlier in the thread, strawberries need the boost of extra pectin to get a decent set. Sure Jel has a low/no sugar variety of pectin that works well. I like to make the no sugar recipe using Splenda so my diabetic dad can enjoy strawberry jam.
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Jul 26, 2013 13:00
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Made some natural pickles using the method in one of Ruhlman's book using a bunch of zucchini, cucumbers, and squash I had extra of. Been a week sitting out around 60*, time to try them tomorrow.
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Jul 27, 2013 04:02
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