On a wintery day in early February 2025 I woke to snow on the ground and we had periods of snow falling throughout the day. I decided it was the perfect day to make the kitchen smell like summer. The first canning of 2025 really represents some of the final canning of the 2024 harvest. Not the final final, mind you. I still have blueberries, elderberries, green cherry and grape tomatoes in the freezer. From 2023 I still have big bags of tomatillos and some chopped leeks I've been thinking I might make into soup, or leek jam/marmalade of some kind (maybe this recipe for Leek and Roasted Garlic Jam). And oh my gosh, just realized I have another two full gallon bags of blackberries still in the freezer after that canning session.
Those snowy Sunday recipes:
- Tayberry Jam Recipe by Chef Heidi Fink. 11 quarter-pints, 6 half-pints
- Classic Raspberry Jam Recipe by Creative Canning. 7 quarter-pints, 7 half-pints
- Blackberry Roasted Plum Preserves by Southern Fatty. 8 quarter-pints, 8 half-pints
- Blackberry Plum Fruit Leather: No recipe needed. Pureed blackberries and plums in the food processor, dropped in dollops about the size of a Nilla wafer on the dehydrator trays, and dried overnight to produce little fruity coins by the next morning. Those went into the freezer.
Somewhat belatedly in summer 2024 I started a tally of what I'd made. I reconstructed it by going back through my journal, where I'd usually noted what I made and the yield, and by reviewing what I'd lined up on the shelves. I hadn't always made a note so it's an imperfect record but still gives an idea of volume and variety.
Tally from 2024 canning that doesn't include a fair amount of jerky (mushrooms, jackfruit, cauliflower) that I also made along the way using that old food dehydrator:
- Sweet & Salty Pickled Cherries, 10 half-pints, 3 pints
- Quick Pickled (Refrigerator) Red Onions, 6 quarts
- Strawberry Rhubarb Jam, 2 quarter-pints, 12 half-pints
- Sweet & Salty Pickled Cherries, 4 half-pints (these are definitely on regular repeat every cherry season in the future!)
- Rhubarb Orange Chutney, 9 quarter-pints, 3 half-pints
- Hot Sweet Zucchini Chutney, 9 quarter pints, 8 halfpints
- Blackberry Apple Chutney, 8 quarter-pints, 4 half-pints
- Canned Apples, 1 pint, 3 quarts, 1 1-1/2-pint container
- Blackberry Vinegar, 7 four-ounce bottles
- Smoky, Spicy, Skillet Tomato Jam, 6 quarter-pints, 1 half-pint, 1 pint
- Citrus Ginger Marmalade, 6 quarter pints, 6 half-pints
- Caramelized Onion Jam, 5 half-pints
- Canned Apples, 7 pints
- Salted Caramel Pear Butter, 5 half-pints
- Cinnamon Cardamom Pear Jam, 5 half-pints
- Orange Tomato Jam with Smoked Paprika, 6 half-pints
- Maple Applesauce with Cinnamon and Cloves, 7 pints
- Pickled Pears, 3 pints
- Basic Canned Tomatoes, 1 pint, 2 quarters
- Dried Tiny Tomatoes, maybe 2 pints? (didn't measure; did this any time I fell behind the tomato onslaught)
- Slow Oven-Roasted Roma Tomatoes, maybe 2 pints?
- Raspberry Vinegar, 6 four-ounce bottles (no real recipe; did the same thing I did to make the blackberry vinegar)
- Marinated Dehydrated Tomatoes , ~4 quarts
- Zucchini Tomato Salsa, 10 pints
- Apple Mint Jelly, 4 quarter-pints (made without the pectin the recipe calls for)
- Gingered Pear Preserves, 6 quarter-pints, 4 half-pints
- Tomato Citrus Marmalade, 7 quarter-pints, 4 half-pints
- Spicy Tomato Jam #2, 6 quarter-pints, 2 half-pints
- Indian Apple Chutney, 13 half-pints
- Plain Applesauce, 4 pints
- Chunky Caramel Apple Jam, 7 quarterpints, 5 half-pints
- Apple Ginger Jelly, 7 quarter-pints, 5 half-pints
- Easy Addictive Tomato Chutney, 3 quarter pints, 8 half-pints
- Chai-Ginger Apple Butter, 4 quarter-pints, 1 half-pint
- Tomato Jam, 1 quarter-pint, 6 half-pints
- Canned Apples, 6 pints
- Canned Crushed Tomatoes, 4 pints
- Smoky, Spicy, Skillet Tomato Jam, 6 quarter-pints
- Scarborough Fair Vinegar (parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme), 10 4-ounce bottles
- Pickled Hottish Peppers, 3 half-pints (I can't swear that this is the recipe I followed but Chili Pepper Madness is a great site)
- Green Tomato Chutney, 14 quarter-pints, 16 half-pints
- Lacto-Fermented Green Cherry and Grape Tomatoes, 3 pints
- Dehydrated Seasoned Green Tomatoes: Not going to link to because they weren't good enough to repeat. I'm hiding them in batches of soup until they're gone.
- I'd make almost every one of these recipes again. (The Chunky Caramel Apple Jam was a bit disappointing; I might grate the apples and amp up the caramel if I repeated it.)
- I don't need to repeat all these next season, though, because those shelves are packed full!
- I give some of this bounty away every so often, apparently not often enough.
- No wonder September 2024 is sort of a blur in my memory.
I blogged along the way to capture recipes I found and those I created. I'm glad I did; it will make it easier when I do buckle up for another ride on the canstravaganza train.
Edited to add that I came back to this post to help with the calculation of how many nice one-piece lids I need to order from Fillmore for the next season. Good to have a full tally right here. I get some wide-mouthed, some regular, and this year I plan to make a few sauces so I need some bottles with smaller lids. In 2024 I used 312 jar lids, some regular, some wide-mouth. I'm having an aha moment right now in the realization that giving canning jars with nice lids makes it less likely that the jars will be returned, but I can live with that. I have dozens of rings for the two-piece approach so I'll restock lids for those plus the nice ones.
ReplyDeleteYour "Canstravaganza Food Preservation 2024" post is an engaging exploration of innovative techniques and creative strategies in the realm of food preservation. I really appreciated how you highlighted both traditional methods and modern twists, making the process accessible and inspiring to your readers. Your detailed insights into preserving food not only enhance our understanding of the subject but also open up exciting possibilities for culinary enthusiasts. For those looking to transform their living spaces in a way that complements their innovative spirit, I highly recommend checking out R for Remodelers for expert remodeling solutions that can elevate any home environment.