Month: August 2011

  • Farmer’s markets

    One of the benefits of going to a farmer’s market is that you can get some absolute steals when they are at the end of their produce and want to go home. I got 1.5 bushels of tomatoes for $4. So far I have canned 7 qts of tomatoes and 7 qts of basic meat…

  • Boiling Water Bath Canning – basic principles

    This article should serve as a handy reference point for anyone who is unsure how to can by using the Boiling Water Bath, or Hot Water Bath, method. You might want to have a read of my article on setup costs as well. The technique I am describing here is only for products that can…

  • Choosing produce for canning

    The modern grocery store is a wonder. You have all sorts of produce available all the year round – strawberries in December and lemons in July. If you look carefully, you will notice that all of the produce is uniform – everything of one type is pretty much the same size, shape, and colour as…

  • Pluot Jam

    I am in the lucky position where the farmer’s market comes to our office once a week. This is a great way to get people to eat more fruit and veg (put it right in front of them!) so I bought some pluots* and proceeded to make jam with them! 4 pints of sorted, scrubbed,…

  • Seasonal eating – July / August

    Apologies for missing out on the July seasonal eating post – I have been busy canning like a madman, because pretty much everything is in season! Broccoli Carrots Tomatoes Squash Onions Potatoes Cucumber Eggplant Beans Corn Peas Garlic Herbs Basil Cantaloupes Figs Peaches Muscadine Watermelon Honeydew What can you make with these ingredients? Pickled cucumbers,…