Preserving the Harvest

Lots of canning lately...from salsa, barbeque sauce, and tomato soup to autumn-olive jam, pepper relish, and hot pepper jelly. Following are some photos highlighting parts of the process and showing the final results!

Sarah and I went to our friend Sarah's house to watch her do up a batch of tomato soup for her family of 10. It was a good experience to learn something new and different, as well as fun to work together. Thanks, Sarah!

We found out after looking it up online that this conical strainer is called a Chinois, or sometimes, "china hat." It made good work towards getting a smooth soup. Yay for huge stainless steel bowls and stockpots.

I think we got close to 30 half-gallon jars of soup.

My friend Anna came over to make autumn-olive jam with me. We first hunted around in the woods picking the berries, which was the first fun part! Then we created a mess in the kitchen for the rest of the afternoon. She is really interested in learning to can for her own family. It was a joy to spend time with her. 

We made two batches totaling about 16 pints.

Next on the agenda was putting by bell peppers and jalapenos, in the form of relish and jelly. Dad enjoys a spicy "hoagie spread" to eat on hamburgers and such, so that's what I attempted to make without a recipe, using just vinegar, water, and salt.

Poor Mom who helped me chop the peppers will never do it again, even with gloves on probably (that's another story)! As you can see in the picture below, we didn't wear gloves while working with the hot peppers as is advised. The relish turned out great, though!

For the pepper jelly, I was able to use a handy-dandy little chopper/food processor that Granny brought us. That was better on the hands and made the flecks of pepper finer. I am saving the dried seeds.

The jelly has already been sampled and approved. Anyone know a tip for keeping the bits of peppers from floating to the top of the jar?

I think that about wraps up all the canning I'll be doing for this season!

~Hannah

Comments

[Jana]

Oh girls!!!..Never work with hot pepper without gloves..I say this from vast experience..At least 2-3 times I have done this and my hands burned unbearably for hours and I couldn't remove them from ice water...Now I am very careful to not touch the peppers while I am working with them and if I do to wear gloves..Your canning looks beautiful..I do a lot of canning myself, I sure could have used all of you this past summer!!! --Jana

[hannah]

Hi, Jana,

Thank you for your caring comment! Your description sounds exactly like what Mom went through. The peppers don't seem to bother me too much, but I guess she has sensitive skin. Now we know better!

[Tammy]

All of the food looks so yummy!Tomato soup is one of my favorites.

[Jane]

Congratulations on preparing a beautiful bounty for the pantry!! I love seeing my pantry shelves fill up for the winter and it is an added treat when there is lots of color with the bounty! I had never heard of Autumn Olive but think it sounds like I need to search out whether they grow around here. :)

[Nick Jesch]

Whenever I make salsa I run the ingredients through an old time cast iron sausage grinder. Chips up the things to small bits, releasing the flavors to blend well as they cook down (or if fresh, as well), makes for a smooth texture throughout. I do NOT like using a blender (recommended in most "modern" Mexican cookbooks) as the pureeing seems to flatten the flavor. Also, by using the sausage grinder, one does not have to cut the pieces very small. Quarter the onions and tomatoes, jalapeños and serranos go in halved (you want to remove the seeds, the source of most of the fire, but leave the flesh, source of most of the flavor), garlic in whole cloves.. shortens prep time comsiderably.

As to the chiles burning the hands... I've never had this problem with either fresh or dried chiles, but I know the burning comes from acids in the peppers..capsicum... and salt helps reduce this. Haven't tried to (no need) but I'm sure a baking soda solution to soak one's hands after should eliminate most of the burn. Washing well in dish soap removes the oils, the carrier for the acids. Whenever I work with the dried chiles I am very careful where I put my hands until I've washed will, usually twice will do. Removing the oils carries away the burn....
Yes, a bit hazardous for some (the first time you rub your eyelid with the oils on your fingers will be the last....) but well worth the efforts. Looks like a good bit of work, and a great reward for the labor expended. Wish I had the time to grow and put by.... sigh. Maybe someday soon......

[Heart at Home]

My-you HAVE been busy! I feel for you about the peppers and the lack of gloves-trust me, I won't be making THAT mistake again! :0)
I'm not familiar with the autumn olives at all. It looks as though they are quite prolific though.
All the preserves look wonderful-I'm sure I'd enjoy the pepper relish/jelly as I love jalapenos.

[hannah]

Tammy,
The soup was good! We brought home some to enjoy. Will we see you in a few weeks?

Jane,
Yes, it is satisfying to see and make use of the end results! What all do you can?Kentucky most likely has some Autumn-olives, as I know they are most prolific in next-door West Virginia. The jam makes a unique gift, as most people have never heard of it.

Nick,
That's interesting to hear of using a sausage grinder; I would've thought that would mash the ingredients more than I'd like. As far as the burning of the jalepeños, Mom tried everything from regular hand soap, to baking soda, to milk, to aloe, to ice water(the only thing that helped), although I'm not sure we tried the concentrated dish soap.

Heart at Home,
All the people with the same bad experience are picking up on our "other story!" :) I had not been familiar with the autumn olives either until a few years ago, even though they were in our own backyard!

[Mommy of two little blessings :)]

Hello ladies. What a wonderful group activity to can such tasty things. I haven't done any canning this year, but I did get around to drying a five pound box of local apples.
I think it is wonderful to help and encourage other women (no matter the age) to learn to preserve. Who knows when it will come in handy. Maybe they never will for their own family because the food is too expensive where they live, but they are then empowered to teach someone else. *smile* Great job ladies. Thank you for sharing your adventures.

On a side note...I have been praying for your family as you care for "your" Aunt and it is very good to see you all enjoying the fall harvest! I praise the Lord that you are able to take part in several parts of his blessings. *smile*
Sincerely, - me - (Mommy of two little blessings)

[Islandsparrow]

We have 30 bottles of mustard pickles, 30 bottles of strawberry jam, bags of frozen smashed tomatoes (for stews, sauce etc)and pounds of frozen blueberries, raspberries and strawberries to add flavour to various baking projects this winter. I've never tried tomato soup - I'll keep it in mind for next year's harvest. I hope your Mom's hands are better - that sounds painful.

[Karen]

Poor Mom!! I hope her hands heal up quickly...
You ladies are so industrious and creative! I just love to see what new things you are working on.
What you have canned looks wonderful! I'm sure that it tastes great too. :)
Great work!

[Dorothy]

Looks like you all enjoyed the time together canning and fellowshipping. :) You inspired me, so I made pear jam yesterday from a bucket of hard pears our neighbor gave me. It came out a little runny but is so delicious. She is going to bring me another bucket this weekend, and I will try making pear preserves next. You should post some pictures of the fall foliage when the leaves are at their peak. The mountains in Virginia are so beautiful this time of year!

[julie]

Hi there! Wow you all have been busy. It is so rewarding after all of that hard work to see all of the beautiful jars full of God's bounty. Alli and I didn't put alot up this year, just some salsa. We are so excited to see you all hopefully this Sat. Can't wait to catch up. Oh, by the way, i've got a great hot pepper story to share with you all Sat;) See you soon!

[Abigail]

The fruits of your labors sure look good! I love hot peppers. :-)