You Can Too

Waste not, want not – at least, that’s what Granny used to say. With the summer season at a close, don’t let your homegrown goodies go to waste. Canning is the simplest solution for getting the most out of your harvest. Now you can savor your garden’s treasures throughout the winter months.

Sweet & Spicy Relish
5 cups sugar
4 cups vinegar
2 teaspoons turmeric
2 teaspoons mustard seed
2 teaspoons celery seed
6 pounds cucumbers, peeled
6 onions
3 green bell peppers
3 red bell peppers
4 jalapeno peppers
4 teaspoons pickling salt

Prepare canning jars according to manufacturer recommendations. Rough chop the cucumbers, onions, and peppers in a food processor. Transfer to large, nonreactive Dutch oven and cover with pickling salt. Let stand overnight. Drain and transfer back to pot. Add sugar, vinegar, turmeric, mustard seed and celery salt. Simmer 15-20 minutes. Fill pint jars and add enough juice to keep moist. Wipe rims of jars with a clean, damp cloth. Place lids and bands on firmly and process in boiling water bath for 15 minutes.

Makes eight half-pint jars

Bittersweet Hot Fudge Sauce
24 ounces of semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
8 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 ½ cups half and half or light cream
1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 tablespoons butter

Prepare canning jars according to manufacturer recommendations. In a 4-quart Dutch oven, combine the chocolates, half and half and sugar. Bring to boil, then reduce heat. Simmer mixture, uncovered, over low heat about 2 minutes or until mixture is creamy, stirring frequently. Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla and butter. Pour the sauce into 7 or 8 hot, clean half-pint jars or 16 four-ounce jars, leaving a ½-inch headspace. Wipe rims of jars with a clean, damp cloth. Place lids and bands on firmly and process in boiling water bath for 15 minutes. Store in refrigerator after opening.

Makes eight half-pint or 16 ½-cup jars
Serve sauce warm over ice cream, eclairs, fresh berries or cake.

Freezer Jam
3 cups fresh raspberries, mashed
1 cup of water
5 cups sugar
One packet of powdered pectin

Prepare canning jars according to manufacturer recommendations. Wash raspberries. Place fruit in a large, nonreactive pan and crush with a potato masher, leaving a few chunks of raspberries. Stir in sugar and let the mixture sit for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. In the meantime, mix together pectin and water in a small saucepan until the powder is dissolved; bring to a boil over high heat and boil for one minute. Pour pectin into fruit mixture and stir for until well blended. Wipe rims of jars with a clean, damp cloth. Pour jam into pint jars, leaving ½-inch of headspace at the top. Place lids and bands on firmly, cover jars and let sit at room temperature for 24 hours.

Jam should thicken overnight but jelling may take up to two weeks. If jam is too thick, stir to soften up. If it's runny after two weeks, pour into a saucepan and bring to a boil. It will thicken as it cools, then re-bottle as before. Store jam in the freezer where it will keep for up to a year or in the refrigerator for up to three weeks.

Makes six half- pint jars

Salsa
5 pounds ripe tomatoes
2 cups chopped onions
½ cup chopped hot peppers
1 tablespoon salt
4 garlic cloves, minced
¼ cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar

Prepare canning jars according to manufacturer recommendations. Peel, core and chop tomatoes. Put all ingredients into a large, nonreactive Dutch oven and boil, stirring often. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Ladle into hot jars leaving ¼ inch of head space. Wipe rims of jars with a clean, damp cloth. Place lids and bands on firmly and process in boiling water bath for 15 minutes.

Makes four pints

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