OT: Information wanted on Canning/Freezing Fruits & Veggies

shutterbugjunkie
on 8/6/12 9:25 am
RNY on 02/04/11 with
Hi, all! I've never canned or frozen fruits & veggies before, but I'd definitely like to give it a try. If anyone has any recipes, hints, tips, suggestions, etc for a total newbie, please help me out! Feel free to email me directly at [email protected] if you have recipes you'd like to send. Thanks so much!
  SW/258.5 Surgery Weight/249 CW/149.5 GW/140
  
Louise1974
on 8/6/12 1:00 pm
Hi!  I can and freeze lots and lots.  Freezing is really easy.  Canning takes a bit.  I don't have specific recipes or hints just encouragement.  It is easy.  Especially freezing.  My big secret tip is:  depending on the veggie steam till just bright, just for a minute or two and then pop in a freezer bag, take a straw and use it to suck all the air out of the freezer bag and then quickly seal it.  Way cheaper than those air lock gizmos and works just as well.  Have fun!!!!!
loretta cowels
on 8/6/12 8:56 pm - MI
RNY on 04/16/12
freezing and canning is really easy most things you can freeze as is. the canning you just need a few hints its all about acid content tomatoes have a high acid so you can make salsa or just tomatoes by putting the cans in a big pot making sure lids are covered and boil. you can do this for green beans soups etc . with fruit you need to add a little lemon juice to get some acid to it. Other wise the fruit may turn brown. Canning takes alot of time so i switched to freezing. loretta
Valerie G.
on 8/6/12 9:34 pm - Northwest Mountains, GA
 "Ball" (a canning jar company) has a canning book that is revered as the canning bible.  It's more of a magazine than a book and only costs around $5.   I saw it recently at Walmart when I was picking up some canning jars, so you can still get it.  This is a great start for techniques as well as some recipes.

Valerie
DS 2005

There is room on this earth for all of God's creatures..
next to the mashed potatoes

Neen L.
on 8/6/12 11:11 pm - Arlington, VA
Ball's more extended book on canning is available as well. I do a lot of food preservation and have a few recipes up on my blog:

http://neensnotes.com/category/recipes/canning-and-preserving/


If you're interested in meat preservation or curing, Michael Ruhlman's book Charcuterie is the best reference I have found. You don't need a ton of special equipment to do it (I dry cure sausage in a closet in my basement!) and it's a great way to save cheaper cuts of meat. For something very simple, special and decadent, try his recipe for cured duck breast. It's simply a salt pack, rinse, and then hang-dry. He also has tips on his blog at www.ruhlman.com.

For herbs and dried fruits for granola/yogurt etc..., a dehydrator or even an oven set to its lowest temperature is really useful. Apples are particularly good for that, and rehydrate easily for use in baked goods during the winter. Plus, you get the benefit of drying fruit without adding any sugar to it.

Long-term freezing is pretty easy. With fruit, just lay out your cut up pieces on a sheet pan, let them freeze and then bag them. Freezing them on a sheet pan first keeps them from clumping together into a fruit blob in the freezer.

Good luck and if you have questions, feel free to ask!


Long-term post-ops with regain struggles, click here to see some steps for getting back on track (without the 5-day pouch fad or liquid diet): http://www.obesityhelp.com/member/bananafish711/blog/2013/04/05/don-t-panic--believe-and-you-will-succeed-/

Always cooking at www.neensnotes.com!

Need a pick-me-up? Read this: http://www.lettersofnote.com/2009/10/it-will-be-sunny-one-day.html

Hislady
on 8/7/12 6:47 am - Vancouver, WA
Kerr also has a canning book and most recipes are gonna require you to have a book handy to help you figure out how long to cook them and what needs a certain kind of cooking, water bath or pressure cooker. It's very rewarding but be prepared for some work.
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