Saturday, August 20, 2011

Can It!

Mary Ann and I have been discussing the idea of expanding the garden.  It is currently a 4' x 8' raised bed. We have enough room for a few veggies, but I would like to try more.  A couple of years ago I grew okra with some success.  However, there wasn't enough to do much with because I didn't have enough room.

One of my concerns is having too much food and having it go to waste.  However, I think I've found a solution.  I've always been hesitant to can.  When I think of canning I think of old pickled beans, carrots, etc.  I've recently discovered that there are so many more things I can do with fruits and vegetables that aren't as traditional.  On a recent trip to a bookstore I found "Preserves".  There are tons of recipes for jams, chutneys, butters, and jellies, using many different vegetables, fruits, and herbs.  I also found some really cool jars from a company called "Weck".


I think I am going to start with something easy and make peach butter.  I will let you know how it turns out.

2 comments:

  1. Canning is always something I've dreamed of doing. You'll have to let me know how it goes...easy, not so much, etc...

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  2. i may be doing it a little wonky. You see... I think canning is a real pain in the butt. All of the equipment and sterilizing and blah blah blah. You get the idea. Well, I thought since I sterilize my beer bottles, when I brew, with a chemical powder, why can't I do that with canning? So I am being a little experimental and so far I haven't had any problems. I also usually don't like the flavor of things after it is canned. However, when I did a little research I found so many more recipes out there that sounded incredible. The peach butter rocks!!!

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