Preserving the Good Life

I’m a jam lover, I prefer jam over jelly any day, and this one is the best we’ve made so far!

Wash the grapes really well and weight the grapes. For every pound of grapes you have, you will need 1 cup of sugar.   I ended up with 7.5 lbs.

Separate the grape pulps from the hulls.

Place the jars in the oven on 250 degrees, you will average needing 2 jars per 1 lb of grapes. Begin boiling water for lids.

Cook the grape pulps over medium heat for 5 minutes until it’s at a good steady boil.

Then remove from heat and using a wooden spoon press the pulp through a strainer to separate the seeds.  Discard the seeds.

Add the grape hulls to the grape pulp and cook over medium heat until the grape mixture is at steady boil.  At this point the grape hulls will begin to break down.  Slowly begin adding in the sugar a cup at a time.  Cook the jam until it’s the consistency you prefer.

You can test the consistency of the jam three different ways, temperature, spoon or refrigerator.

Refrigerator Test – My favorite. I place a plate in the freezer and remove it when I’m ready to test my jam. I pour a sample of the boiling jam on this plate and let it sit in the fridge for just a few seconds. If the jam gels, it’s done. If it’s runny and it doesn’t have any form to it, then continue to cook the jam for few more minutes until it gels after a few seconds in the fridge.

Temperature – Using a candy thermometer, place it vertically in the jam and make sure not to touch the bottom of the pot.  If the temperature reads 220ºF (or 104ºC), then the Jam is done.

Spoon Test – Dip a cool metal spoon into the boiling Jam mixture. When you lift the spoon, if the Jam runs off the spoon like a syrup, then the Jam needs more cooking time. But if it is heavier and drops like a sheet off the spoon instead of dripping then the Jam is done.

Once you test the jam and it’s ready to jar up, put the jam in hot jars leaving 1/2 in head space.  Place the hot lid and ring on, tighten.  Water bath for 10 minutes.

Some boil it, some “blanch” it, I keep it simple and use a tried and true method that I learned from my grandmother.

Shuck and silk the corn, wash it thoroughly to remove all the silks.

Place the corn in a Freezer Ziploc Bag.  I use gallon size bags and place 5-6 ears of corn in each bag because that is what my family will eat in one sitting.  I have friends that use quart size bags and only 2 ears, whichever you prefer.

Once all the ears are in bags, the fun begins!  I take a straw and literally suck all of the air out of the bags to give it a vacuum seal affect.

Once sealed, I freeze.  When I’m ready to eat, I place the ears in boiling water and boil for 20-30 minutes until done.

My goal this year is to buy as few canned goods as possible from the grocery store because I like knowing what I’m feeding my family.  You’ll notice that I can lots of different beans because beans are a common thing at my house.  As I started searching through my pantry, looking for things that I normally buy that I could replace with things more wholesome, it was safe to say that Green Peas should be at the top of the list.

Turn the oven on 200° to get your jars hot. Start a pot of boiling water to add to jars and a pot of water to boil lids.  Rinse peas really well.

Measure a half cup of dry beans per pint jar.

Add one half teaspoon canning salt per jar.

Fill with boiling water, leaving one inch head space.  Wipe the rims with a sterile cloth, place hot lids and tighten down rings.

Place in pressure canner, put the lid on and wait for it to steam.  Once it begins steaming, let it steam for 10 minutes before putting the weight on it.  Then once the weight begins to jiggle, start the timer for 75 minutes.

We use 10 lbs of pressure based on our elevation.  Your elevation will determine to weight of pressure that you use. Please refer to Ball guidelines for reference.

There’s a local produce stand that I like to buy my dry beans from.  If you’re local, check out B&B Produce on 52, they have a large variety of dry beans!

Some call them Cranberry,  some call them October,  I call them good!!!  When I have a hankering to can and can’t put my hands on something fresh, I head to my local produce stand and grab a few pounds of dry beans. If you’re local, check out B&B Produce on 52, they have a large variety of dry beans!  This makes dinner in the future – quick and painless!

Turn the oven on 200° to get your jars hot. Start a pot of boiling water to add to jars and a pot of water to boil lids.  Rinse the beans really well.

Measure a cup of dry beans per quart jar.  Add one teaspoon canning salt and a small piece of country ham to each quart jar.  I can these in quarts since they’re so similar to pintos and my boys can easily eat a quart at a time.

Fill with boiling water, leaving one inch head space.  Wipe the rims with a sterile cloth, place hot lids and tighten down rings.

Place in pressure canner, put the lid on and wait for it to steam.  Once it begins steaming, let it steam for 10 minutes before putting the weight on it.  Then once the weight begins to jiggle, start the timer for 90 minutes.  (Pints – 1 hour, 15 minutes, Quarts – 1 hour, 30 minutes).

We use 10 lbs of pressure based on our elevation.  Your elevation will determine to weight of pressure that you use. Please refer to Ball guidelines for reference.

Compared to Chow Chow, this makes a great addition to a pinto bean dinner….pintos, cornbread, pickled beets…and squash relish – YUM!  Makes me hungry just thinking about it.

When I went searching for a recipe, my cousin said, “You’ve gotta try the squash relish that Mama and Michael make”.  Thank you Rachel and Micheal Marion for sharing your recipe!

I love Michael’s sense of humor, “Place in jars, NOT OPTIONAL”…..’

I made two batches, one with squash, one with zucchini.  Finely chop the squash or zucchini, onion, and red and green bell peppers (hot peppers if desired).  Add them to a large bowl and sprinkle with salt.  Combine really good and allow the vegetables to drain for about 1 hour.  Discard juice.

Add sugar, salt, vinegar, celery seeds and turmeric and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Stir occasionally to help dissolve the sugar.  Simmer 10-15 minutes.

Place the jars in the oven on 200 ° and start a pot of boiling water for the lids. Pack the squash relish into the hot, sterilized jars, filling the jars to within 1/4 inch of the top. Run a knife or a thin spatula around the insides of the jars after they have been filled to remove any air bubbles. Wipe the rims of the jars with a sterile cloth to remove any food residue. Top with lids, and screw on rings.

Waterbath for 10 minutes.   Place a rack in the bottom of a large canner and fill halfway with water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then carefully lower the jars into the pot. Pour in more boiling water if necessary until the water is at least 1 inch above the tops of the jars. Bring the water to a full boil, cover the pot, and waterbath for 10 minutes, or the time recommended for your area.