Preserving- A change in thinking.

[Durgan]

My comment is somewhat philosophical.

Utilizing the bounty of Summer for off season use is the aim. People preserve produce and the product is only desirable for short periods. I know a lady who has a basement with many jars of preserves that never get used. They preserve (keep) but are palatable in small amounts. For example, How much sauerkraut, dill pickles, salsa, etc. can your eat and is it sufficient.

After musing about this issue for some time I decided to experiment with juicing and pressure canning. I find the end product to be desirable and it is probably nutritional. I add nothing to the produce except water. Preparation time is minimal, since I basically take the produce as is and process. This year I have about 150 litres of wholesome food and ingest about half a litre or more per day.

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?DXAYD 6 August 2011 Making Vegetable Juice
http://www.durgan.org/URL/?UFAQJ 6 August 2011 Green peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers made into Juice.
http://www.durgan.org/URL/?SFCQC 10 August 2011 Tomato Juice
http://www.durgan.org/URL/?HZDXN 15 August 2011 Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) Extracting Raw Juice.
http://www.durgan.org/URL/?BEGVV 26 August 2011 Elderberry Twenty pounds Processed.
http://www.durgan.org/URL/?SASIO 31 August 2011 Niagara Grapes
http://www.durgan.org/URL/?XLGIU 12 September 2011 Pear Juice
http://www.durgan.org/URL/?DKBJT 14 September 2011 Boca Noir Grapes
http://www.durgan.org/URL/?FPYQP 15 September 2011 Tomatoes
http://www.durgan.org/URL/?AZQUW 16 September 2011 Concord Grapes
http://www.durgan.org/URL/?WXDUB 4 October 2011 Ground Cherry. (Physalis Pruinosa) aka Aunt Molly Ground Cherry

Reflect on it a bit and comment.

[greenorelse]

I agree, a lot of the 'standards' like chutney and pickles, we could manage with just a jar a year! We also tend to make too much jam but luckily it lasts a long time and, after a poor year for fruit, we still have some of last year's jam.

I am going to get into pressure canning next year; as a technique, it appeals to me immensely - I'm loathe to purchase another freezer and the one we have is always packed.

Tell me, please, Durgan - are all the above just juices? Good pics by the way.

[Durgan]

I agree, a lot of the 'standards' like chutney and pickles, we could manage with just a jar a year! We also tend to make too much jam but luckily it lasts a long time and, after a poor year for fruit, we still have some of last year's jam.

I am going to get into pressure canning next year; as a technique, it appeals to me immensely - I'm loathe to purchase another freezer and the one we have is always packed.

Tell me, please, Durgan - are all the above just juices? Good pics by the way.

Yes, they are all juices. I add enough water to make them so. I do not remove the outer skins, so the product has all the nutrients. I even try to keep the discard, residue, to a minimum. I only started at the end of the season last year. This year I tried almost all that was available. Now I find the processing almost effortless.

[Durgan]

I agree, a lot of the 'standards' like chutney and pickles, we could manage with just a jar a year! We also tend to make too much jam but luckily it lasts a long time and, after a poor year for fruit, we still have some of last year's jam.

I am going to get into pressure canning next year; as a technique, it appeals to me immensely - I'm loathe to purchase another freezer and the one we have is always packed.

Tell me, please, Durgan - are all the above just juices? Good pics by the way.

I tend to dislike much frozen food. Fine for meat, of which I eat little.

[grahamhobbs]

We don't eat a lot of jams or pickles either, mainly because I don't like things with sugar in them and the missus is not that interested in pickles. So we bottle (american -can) things we want to preserve. We don't have a pressure canner (they are not readily available in England and have to be imported from the US), just a big aluminium pot (cost 1/10th of the price of a canner) which we use with the water bath method. We bottle the pure fruit puree, but can't see the point of adding water, it just takes up space, you can add that if necessary when you open the jar.
We do the bottling on the stove indoors, but earlier this year we bottled french beans in a big cast iron cauldron (took about 10 jars) over a timber fire for a couple of hours. It was amazing to see how little timber it took to keep it boiling at 95degC for that long.

[Durgan]

We don't eat a lot of jams or pickles either, mainly because I don't like things with sugar in them and the missus is not that interested in pickles. So we bottle (american -can) things we want to preserve. We don't have a pressure canner (they are not readily available in England and have to be imported from the US), just a big aluminium pot (cost 1/10th of the price of a canner) which we use with the water bath method. We bottle the pure fruit puree, but can't see the point of adding water, it just takes up space, you can add that if necessary when you open the jar.
We do the bottling on the stove indoors, but earlier this year we bottled french beans in a big cast iron cauldron (took about 10 jars) over a timber fire for a couple of hours. It was amazing to see how little timber it took to keep it boiling at 95degC for that long.

The pressure canner is absolute insurance to prevent spoilage. A water bath can only get to 212F but a Pressure canner can get to around 240F, which effectively kills all bacteria. The pressure cooker is quick and simple.
Adding water and boiling for a few minutes insures good mixing and the extra room required is of minor importance.
My major irritant is all the jars are litres and the quart jars are no longer available. I like the slightly larger size.

[Durgan]

http://www.pressurecooker-canner.com/prprca23qu.html Presto Canner. This is mine. Simple mechanism. Well worth the money. They last forever.

[boboff]

I think Durgan is right on this one.
I have been using a steam juicer and the product is indeed good to ingest.

[gregorach]

The trick to getting through your pickles is largely one of training - just stick a dollop on the side of your plate with every meal, no matter what you're having, and you'll soon get through them.

I'm really not a fan of vegetable juices myself. ;)

[Millymollymandy]

I get through tons of chutney but got sick of bread and butter pickles and ended up throwing away about 5 x 3/4 litre jars of the stuff that was years old!

Now just give excess cucumbers to the chickens instead!

I make miles too much jam - hard to just make one jar of it! - so give it away willy nilly, and as long as my friends and family give me my jars back I'm happy and they are happy.

[confused]

We eat pickle every day ! we both work and as such we take packed lunch with us , i honestly grudge buying a cheese and pickle sandwich/roll from the canteen for £1.35, and a carton of soup £1.10, a cup of coffee/tea from the vending machine .60p, a total of £3.05 x2 =£6.10 a day or even more frightningly £30.50 a week , when with a wee bit forethought i can make ours for £5 or £6 a week !!
I have never tried juicing but it's food for thought.

[frozenthunderbolt]

In the same vein, i think that a dyhydrator is a worthwhile piece of kit to build or buy - lets you use the entirity of the vegetable out of season, I feel like a wastrill dumping the trub from my juicer, even though it goes into the compost (sometimes via the chooks)

[Durgan]

In the same vein, i think that a dyhydrator is a worthwhile piece of kit to build or buy - lets you use the entirity of the vegetable out of season, I feel like a wastrill dumping the trub from my juicer, even though it goes into the compost (sometimes via the chooks)

Study the photos. The discard, waste, fibre, trub discarded is almost nil, depending somewhat on the selected fruit or vegetable. Mentally compare it to almost any similar commercial product.