Funny, I did both this year. So I have to guess that 3 yrs in a row is too many to plant the same plant in the same place.
Although I did it for different reasons - coffee to keep away the slugs and eggshells to prevent blossom end rot.
I bet that would make an awesome granita.
Here’s a recipe from a restaurant, which I loved.
1 gallon rice wine vinegar
1.25 gallons water
6 oz salt
3 oz sugar
about 2 tbsp spices wrapped in cheesecloth (cardamom, black pepper,
cloves, allspice, star anise, mustard seed, chile flakes)
1/2 cup peeled garlic cloves
Bring rice wine and water to a boil, add salt & sugar till dissolved.
Add spice package and garlic cloves and boil 25 minutes. Pour over trimmed veggies (this amount of vinegar makes about 12 quarts of veggies). Use a plate and a can of tomatoes to keep veggies in liquid.
Let sit at room temperature until it cools to room temperature. Cover.
Put in refrigerator and let sit for a week. Holds for a total of 30 days.
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Might have to color it up a bit with a natural food coloring, but thanks for the idea; in fact, I could probably reduce the juice a bit to get more punch out of it! Now you’ve got me thinking…@ChristinaM.
I’m about to make some plot jam. I usually use this Cooks Illustrated idea, but it is not suitable for canning.
I also usually cut up the fruit and macerate the first day, and then finish the next.
When I preserve figs, I use an Edna Lewis method that includes macerating fruit, and I especially like it because I can stretch it out over days.
Less overwhelming and less of a whole day project, but it keeps a very long time in my fridge.
I’m wondering if there is a method that includes macerating, but produces something that keeps a long time. Fresh fruit taste and less sugar would be nice too.
Does anyone know a method for does the same with stone fruit?
Freezer jam might work, but I don’t really understand what makes something suit for freezing.
Maybe this one.
I’m also going to check my Ball book.
From one of the links;
" * HOME
Canning 101: Can I Reduce the Sugar?
February 19, 2015 / 49 Comments
Like so many of these Canning 101 posts, I’m writing this one to address one of the questions I am frequently asked. I’ve covered this topic as part of larger blog posts before, so if you’re a long-time reader, some of this may be familiar. But it felt like time to pull out this question specifically in the hopes of helping people find the information more easily.
So often, people look at one of my recipes and see the volume of sugar it calls for and have something of a heart attack thinking about all those cups. And so, they write in to ask, “can I safely reduce the amount of sugar in this recipe?”
The answer is that you can always safely reduce the amount of sugar in a recipe, because sugar doesn’t make things safe. The only thing that makes a jam, jelly or other sweet preserve safe for canning in a boiling water bath canner is the acid content, because that’s what prevents any potential botulism growth.
However, when you reduce the amount of sugar in a recipe, you can compromise that preserve’s shelf life, yield, and ability to set up.
Sugar is a powerful preservative, because once you have a certain concentration of sugar in a recipe, the sugar sucks up all the available water. Mold and bacteria need water in order to develop, and if there’s no water available, they cannot grow.
This is why preserves with higher amounts of sugar hold their quality longer than lower sugar preserves. As long as you’re okay with a somewhat decreased shelf life and a relatively short lifespan once the jar has been opened, then go ahead and reduce the sugar."
Is there more I should know about this?
I have probably posted this before, but it bears repeating. Botulism is quite rare. The reason it comes up so often in discussions of food preservation is that the bacteria is rather hard to kill. If you follow procedures that are adequate to protect you from botulism you are also protected from all the other bacteria that contribute to food poisoning. Botulism is the extreme case if you will. Don’t lower your guard, but don’t let botulism keep you up at night either.
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@shrinkrap, think you’d be fine with macerating, sugaring to your taste, and using a water bath.
I always reduce my sugar, but use commercial pectin, with excellent results. I’ve been supplying my family near and far + friends with jam for 35 years now. At this point, no failures, really. Occasionally one of the lids pop up, and will put it back in the water bath to reseal. Below is a pic of raspberry jam project from last week. 2 jars were gifted already.
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Okay, thanks! Your jam is jammin’! Wasn’t sure if I was going to use pectin, but I do have some bulk low sugar Durgch gel pectin someone here recommended. I think the idea is you can get the set you want without cooking so long it dulls the flavor? For years I’d been using Pomona, so I’m still getting my bearings, and the last batch was a bit stiff.
Yes, you can get the set you want usually. I frequently cut the pectin down a little too, or add more fruit. Yes to the fresh taste with pectin, as you only bring the fruit to a boil w/pectin, and then to a rolling boil for 1 minute with the rest of the sugar. I’ll sometimes do peaches or apples w/o pectin, as their flavors can become more complex. But love the fresh berry taste especially.
Pluot jam (Dapple Dandy and Flavor Grenade )
Probably behind a paywall but while if didn’t agree with everything
I’ve read, and doesn’t include any discussion of using pectin, I found it very helpful.
First blackberry picking of the season. Jam making later this morning.
About 4-5 quarts. 10 qt stockpot in background for scale.
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Big curbside pickup today to fill in some supply gaps. Some sorting and prep today than big cooks tomorrow. I’m making and canning two gallons of pasta sauce in the morning (morning starts when I get up - usually around 4a). My wife is making a gallon of tomato-basil soup in the afternoon (while I take a nap) and I’ll can that when she is done. Scored two cases of wide-mouth pint jars last week and between those and empty stock we’re covered - mostly pints, some quarts.
I’ll try really hard to remember to take pictures.
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Jams finished for today. Another project for tomorrow.
I’ve had amazing luck reusing commercial jam or curd bottles for jam/jelly projects. There’s a lot of rubber inside the commercial jars, which makes for an excellent seal. I don’t use those jars for gifting, but for casually supplying friends, family & ourselves. After one use they get recycled or tossed. No glass recycle in my community. Oh, one thing to remember if using, don’t put sweet stuff in jars that have held savory stuff. I can taste the difference.
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My Sunday project. A little over two hours to make two and a half gallons of pasta sauce. An hour simmering. Ran the jars through the dishwasher while cooking. I can do a gallon at a time in my Presto 16 qt canner with six pints and a quart. All quarts are too big for just the two of us. I can do seven quarts at once but scaling the recipe back that little is a pain, so I live with two and a half canner loads.
I’m a mise en place guy so all the prep for veg was done ahead on the big board and scraped in as needed. I saute just about everything before going into the sauce.
The recipe bears a resemblance to the USDA home canning recipe on which it is based.
1 gallon tomato sauce
1 gallon diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
2-1/2 lbs ground beef
1-1/2 lbs bulk sausage
8 cloves garlic, minced
5 medium onions, diced
5 bell peppers, diced
3 carrots, diced
2 lbs mushrooms
3 Tbsp oregano
A lot of basil, chiffonade
4 tsp salt
4 tsp black pepper
I even remembered to take pictures. I split the batch between two stock pots. Here is one.
My trusty Presto canner, a wedding gift to my mother in 1957 that she gave to me, unopened, in about 1982.
Almost all the product.
For those of you counting jars, we ended up having a pint for dinner. *grin* All sealed easily. Nothing like keeping your jar lips clean!
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Has anyone here canned a shelf stable caramel or chocolate sauce? I swear a competitor told me they simply pour their caramel sauce into jars while hot and don’t process further, sounds too easy to be true 
I haven’t, but I definitely believe it. The heat will cause it to seal, and the sugar makes it safe. Sterilized jars and lids, you’re good to go. Just put upside down for 5 minutes to ensure enough heat on the seal.
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Oh my. That sounds scary. Remember that getting a seal is just thermodynamics (okay a little fluid dynamics). Food safety is biochemistry. Getting a seal does not mean safe. To my knowledge FDA and USDA explicitly discourage home canning caramel or chocolate.
There are lots of bacteria that lead to food poisoning. Even high acid, high sugar products like jams and jellies need to be waterbath canned. Caramel and chocolate I believe are low acid.
I couldn’t find any credible source that suggest it is safe.
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I’m going to respectfully differ on the water bath or lack of for jams and jellies. It is suggested, especially for beginners, but it is quite safe to do open kettle canning with the correct products. The jars need to be sterilized, and very hot, as does the mixture. As well, the lids and rings.
You can look this up with an easy search.
I don’t know TBH about caramel and chocolate, but wouldn’t be surprised if it was in fact safe, for possibly a 6 month shelf life. It falls in the category of something I’d do my due diligence on.
BTW, your weekend canning looks good @Auspicious.
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