Just one of this week's harvests... After spending last weekend traveling to visit friends in Tennessee, this weekend was double the work - with piles of tomatoes to work through, and the fridge stuffed full with corn, green beans, and okra. When the bounty of the summer garden arrives, it arrives with a vengeance!
I always forget how productive certain crops (i.e. tomatoes) can be until another summer rolls around and they are rotting in piles on the counter, as well as under the plants in the garden. I thought I had sufficiently scaled down my tomato planting this year, but apparently not quite far enough!
Anyway, we canned our first batch of tomatoes this weekend, and froze some as well - along with a number of other food preservation tasks.
Below is a quick list of what I was up to this weekend in the homestead kitchen - along with some pictures of the bounty, and a quick run-down of our tomato canning process...
I always forget how productive certain crops (i.e. tomatoes) can be until another summer rolls around and they are rotting in piles on the counter, as well as under the plants in the garden. I thought I had sufficiently scaled down my tomato planting this year, but apparently not quite far enough!
Anyway, we canned our first batch of tomatoes this weekend, and froze some as well - along with a number of other food preservation tasks.
Below is a quick list of what I was up to this weekend in the homestead kitchen - along with some pictures of the bounty, and a quick run-down of our tomato canning process...
I have always enjoyed canning tomatoes to some extent, especially if we only have a few batches to do (last summer we canned 40 quarts, and by the end I was heartily sick of it). But the chore has gotten even more enjoyable with the help of my husband - the process goes so much faster with two people working together! I have developed a rather enjoyable routine that moves along fairly quickly, depending on the type of tomatoes we are canning (some are easier to work with than others).
Ready for canning! My favorite tomato for canning and sauce is a Roma variety called "Nova." They are a gorgeous lipstick-red shade, with a tiny point on the end, and they are extremely dense and meaty, with a good weight for their size. They are very firm, not terribly juicy, and they cook down well in a sauce and are equally well-suited for fresh salsa. They also don't have any problems with splitting and they keep very well, and will sit on the counter without rotting for 2 weeks or more - or until we get around to canning them. The plants are medium-sized determinates (perfect for growing in hay bales with cages for support), so although they are prone to blight, they usually set and ripen all their tomatoes before succumbing.
This week's canning efforts involved mostly Novas, but I did include a few of an odd unknown variety my mom gave us some seeds for (which I accidentally planted, mistaking them for Cherokee Purple!). I don't care for the small, red, striped tomatoes at all (they tend to be mushy and not very flavorful), but I discovered that they cook down into a wonderfully thick sauce, so I figured they would be a good addition to the jars.
Our canning process goes as such:
1.) Heat our giant canning kettle to a boil with jars for sterilizing (it fits 7 quart-sized jars, or about 9-10 pints).
2.) Heat a large saucepan about half-full of water - to boiling for skinning the tomatoes.
3.) Meanwhile, wash our largest stainless steel bowl full of tomatoes.
4.) Remove scalded jars to a mat to cool and turn down the kettle while my husband starts coring tomatoes and removing any bad spots he finds, filling another bowl with the prepped tomatoes.
5.) I take his prepared tomatoes (about 5-6 at a time, as they are fairly small), and drop them into the saucepan of boiling water for approximately 1 minute, then remove them with a slotted spoon into a bowl of cold water (I don't use ice - it's more time consuming and also unnecessary - they peel perfectly fine in cool tap water.)
6.) Slip off the skins (which go in the compost strainer), and fill another bowl with the peeled tomatoes.
7.) Once I have a backlog of tomatoes which haven't been peeled yet, my husband takes the peeled ones and starts dicing them coarsely - into quarters or large chunks. These go in a large pot which goes on the stove on medium-low heat to start cooking.
8.) We continue this process until our pot is about 2/3 full of simmering chopped and peeled tomatoes. (This fills about 7 quarts.)
9.) Turn up the heat on the canning kettle and clean up the kitchen a bit and prep the jars for filling while the tomatoes cook a little longer. Quart jars each get 1/2 tsp salt and 2 TB lemon juice (I use the bottled stuff from the store).
10.) Remove tomatoes from the heat and add a small saucepan filled with water from the canning kettle, into which go the lids for the jars for sterilizing.
11.) While these boil, fill the jars with the hot tomatoes. (A canning kit is essential for all of this, by the way, and not very expensive. Mine includes a plastic canning funnel, a magnetic lid lifter, and a jar lifter.)
12.) Wipe the mouths of the jars carefully with a hot, wet paper towel to make sure there is no tomato residue that might prevent a good seal.
This week's canning efforts involved mostly Novas, but I did include a few of an odd unknown variety my mom gave us some seeds for (which I accidentally planted, mistaking them for Cherokee Purple!). I don't care for the small, red, striped tomatoes at all (they tend to be mushy and not very flavorful), but I discovered that they cook down into a wonderfully thick sauce, so I figured they would be a good addition to the jars.
Our canning process goes as such:
1.) Heat our giant canning kettle to a boil with jars for sterilizing (it fits 7 quart-sized jars, or about 9-10 pints).
2.) Heat a large saucepan about half-full of water - to boiling for skinning the tomatoes.
3.) Meanwhile, wash our largest stainless steel bowl full of tomatoes.
4.) Remove scalded jars to a mat to cool and turn down the kettle while my husband starts coring tomatoes and removing any bad spots he finds, filling another bowl with the prepped tomatoes.
5.) I take his prepared tomatoes (about 5-6 at a time, as they are fairly small), and drop them into the saucepan of boiling water for approximately 1 minute, then remove them with a slotted spoon into a bowl of cold water (I don't use ice - it's more time consuming and also unnecessary - they peel perfectly fine in cool tap water.)
6.) Slip off the skins (which go in the compost strainer), and fill another bowl with the peeled tomatoes.
7.) Once I have a backlog of tomatoes which haven't been peeled yet, my husband takes the peeled ones and starts dicing them coarsely - into quarters or large chunks. These go in a large pot which goes on the stove on medium-low heat to start cooking.
8.) We continue this process until our pot is about 2/3 full of simmering chopped and peeled tomatoes. (This fills about 7 quarts.)
9.) Turn up the heat on the canning kettle and clean up the kitchen a bit and prep the jars for filling while the tomatoes cook a little longer. Quart jars each get 1/2 tsp salt and 2 TB lemon juice (I use the bottled stuff from the store).
10.) Remove tomatoes from the heat and add a small saucepan filled with water from the canning kettle, into which go the lids for the jars for sterilizing.
11.) While these boil, fill the jars with the hot tomatoes. (A canning kit is essential for all of this, by the way, and not very expensive. Mine includes a plastic canning funnel, a magnetic lid lifter, and a jar lifter.)
12.) Wipe the mouths of the jars carefully with a hot, wet paper towel to make sure there is no tomato residue that might prevent a good seal.
13.) Place the lids on the jars, and carefully screw down the rings to just fingertip-tight.
14.) Using the jar lifter, carefully place each jar into the canner. The tops of the jars should just be covered with water.
15.) Bring the water to a boil, then set a timer for 45 minutes (30 minutes for pints). Make sure the water stays at a low boil the whole time. Boiling too hard may cause a loss of sauce from the jars into the canning water - a mistake I have made more than once!
16.) Once the time is up, remove jars from the canner and set on a mat to cool. After 24 hours, check to make sure the lids are all depressed and sealed, remove rings and clean jar necks with a wet towel to remove any stickiness, and store in a cool, dark place. Check lids monthly to make sure seals are still intact. They will keep for a year or more if properly sealed.
We ended up with only 6 quarts yesterday, as one jar did not seal. We will enjoy that in spaghetti sauce this week!
14.) Using the jar lifter, carefully place each jar into the canner. The tops of the jars should just be covered with water.
15.) Bring the water to a boil, then set a timer for 45 minutes (30 minutes for pints). Make sure the water stays at a low boil the whole time. Boiling too hard may cause a loss of sauce from the jars into the canning water - a mistake I have made more than once!
16.) Once the time is up, remove jars from the canner and set on a mat to cool. After 24 hours, check to make sure the lids are all depressed and sealed, remove rings and clean jar necks with a wet towel to remove any stickiness, and store in a cool, dark place. Check lids monthly to make sure seals are still intact. They will keep for a year or more if properly sealed.
We ended up with only 6 quarts yesterday, as one jar did not seal. We will enjoy that in spaghetti sauce this week!
Along with the canning, I also chopped and froze 2 quart bags of mixed tomatoes (see how beautiful!), and 2 quart bags of okra, blanched and sliced for gumbo (yum!).
I also made a batch of yogurt, and my first large batch (1/2 gallon) of kombucha (I bottled the previous batch - am hoping for fizziness, but will let you know how it goes)! While I guess that doesn't technically qualify as food preservation, since it involves fermentation it's along the same vein in my book. :-)
I also made a batch of yogurt, and my first large batch (1/2 gallon) of kombucha (I bottled the previous batch - am hoping for fizziness, but will let you know how it goes)! While I guess that doesn't technically qualify as food preservation, since it involves fermentation it's along the same vein in my book. :-)
 Okra prepped for the freezer. |  Kombucha! |  Homemade yogurt. |
While late summer is sometimes stressful on the homestead, it's certainly never boring! The trick is to make sure to take time to appreciate these moments, as winter will be here soon enough...
Last night after our endeavors, my husband and I sat in our new patio chairs out on the deck and listened to the cacophony of summer evening insects, and reveled in our blessings. The homestead life isn't always easy...but it's good. :)
Rose.
Last night after our endeavors, my husband and I sat in our new patio chairs out on the deck and listened to the cacophony of summer evening insects, and reveled in our blessings. The homestead life isn't always easy...but it's good. :)
Rose.
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