05 August 2008

Gettin' a look see

Below are the images I wanted to post yesterday. Meg and I are still glowing from our first successful adventure in canning. When I checked the jars this morning, all of the seals pinged and the lids were covered in mineral deposit dust. I wiped them off, dated them, and put the in a cool dark cupboard. We're not too sure how long they need to sit before we can start eating, so we will have to read up on that before the first bite.





10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ooh, enjoy! We made pickles a couple of weeks ago and they're still getting more complex (we have one every few days to check), so I'd recommend at least a week, preferably a couple, but that's also a long time to wait.

Personally, I was keen on canning because my family would make apple butter in the fall. It was yummy and it only happened once a year, so I had good memories. (And am making apple butter myself now. I recommend it.)

It's me said...

Cool!
But explain about the "mineral dust". Am I just being dense? There's been no dust on any of my canning projects.

I double-checked... mine are 3-week-ish fermenting type and then I can them. It's good to see how somebody else does the jar-filling before I have to. Most canning sites PROPER (official-sort-of-sites) don't have nearly enough pictures!

jimmycrackedcorn said...

Awesome! I also canned quick process dill pickles last night. A first for me as well! They look great!

Robbyn said...

Congratulations, you guys!! You're way ahead of me, and it's great to see your pickle stash. You rock!

Woody said...

Happy to see ya'll canning. Our kitchen looks like a damn factory this time of year. Ya'll will really appreciate your canning efforts around February when there is a foot of snow on the ground and you crack open a jar of August green beans or those pickles.

peace

Anonymous said...

You can avoid the mineral build up on jars by adding a little vinegar to the water in the canner.

Unknown said...

My family loves home canned dill pickles!

Unknown said...

Jenny,
Man, I grew up on apple butter. That stuff makes Wonder Bread taste gourmet. And thanks for the time frame.

Meadowlark,

The mineral dust is from the deposits left from the evaporated canning water. It's like water spots on your glasses, but a bit more intense. And I hear you on the lack of photos in canning books. The one we use has very few and they are grainy and black and white at best.

Jimmy,
Please let us know how they taste when you crack one open.

Robbyn,
Many thanks. You know we think you're the bomb-diggity as well.

Unknown said...

Woody,
We did a bit of freezing last year and boy were we happy for it come Winter time. Hopefully we can someday set up a separate kitchen for this sort of thing to keep the factory out of our everyday cooking. We'll see how that goes.

Cheers

Anonymous said...

Way to go, guys!!! If you want to try really quick, spicy, refrigerator pickles (they ARE good!), head over to Poor Richard's Almanac and search "hot sweet pickle recipe." (As usual, I can't remember the name of the post, but you'll find the recipe.) They're fantastic with sandwiches or with cheese and other snacks for cocktail hour. Plus, no canning!