Ball's 'Complete Book of Home Preserving' has lasting value

There is much to be said for food that you pressure yourself. You know exactly what’s in it and can also take a pride-of-authorship. Except for your efforts, no one might delight in the world’s best pickle, jelly or jam.

My canning days go back so far we don’t need talk about it. Suffice it to say, I was canning before I was dating or driving. My father had a farm and a huge garden. My grandma canned food from the garden from the time when she was a girl. She expected help and got it. Daddy also had a neighbor who wanted cheap labor. I canned tomatoes with her one summer just to get a fancy hand-painted t-shirt. One lousy t-shirt for hours of a hot summer job. Oh, well, it was an experience. And as they say, what doesn’t kill you will make you stronger.

Today you don’t have to be a farmer to can or make jelly. With a comprehensive book such as Ball’s “Complete Book of Home Preserving” (Robert Rose Publisher, 2006) and the appropriate ingredients, you can jump into the world of home canning and get so good you could even enter the county fair…and maybe win one of the many blue ribbons.

Even if you don’t do the fair and win a ribbon, you will reap the greatest rewards. Just standing there gazing over your handiwork will probably hook you for a lifetime hobby that is some circles is worth crowing about.

Today canning is something you choose for the fine results, not something you have to do to survive, as in my Grandma Dorrell’s day.

Here are two typical canning recipes to inspire you to start…and reward you with some fine eating.

Pick-A-Vegetable Dill Pickles

30-36 medium (5-inch) pickling cucumbers, about 7 lb.

½ cup pickling or canning salt

Ice water

½ cup finely chopped sweet red or green bell pepper

2 tbsp. minced garlic

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped (optional)

2 tbsp. dill seeds, divided

1 ½ cups granulated sugar

2 tbsp. mustard seeds

4 cups white vinegar

1 cup water

1. With a soft brush, scrub pickling cucumbers in cool water. Rinse thoroughly in fresh water. Cut off a thin slice from each end of the cucumbers. Cut the cucumbers lengthwise into quarters. You should have about 12 cups of cucumber spears. Place spears in a large glass or stainless steel bowl and sprinkle with pickling salt. Add ice water to cover. Place a large clean inverted dinner plate over the cucumbers and weigh it down with a quart jar filled with water or a plastic bag filled with water. (This will ensure the cucumbers remain submerged in salt water.) Let stand in a cool place for 2 hours.

2. Place 6 clean pint mason jars on a rack in a boiling water canner. (You can also use a large, deep saucepan or stockpot that is at least 3 inches deeper than the height of the jars.) Fill the jars and canner with cool water to within 1 inch of the top of the jars. Cover and bring water to a simmer over medium heat. Do not boil.

3. Prepare 6 two-piece mason jar closures. Set screw bands aside. Place lids in a small saucepan and cover with water. Heat just to simmer over medium heat, but do not boil. Keep lids warm until ready to use. Do not heat screw bands.

4. In a small bowl, combine red pepper, garlic, jalapeno pepper (if using) and 1 tbsp. of the dill seeds. Mix well and set aside.

5. In a large stainless steel saucepan, combine sugar, mustard seeds, the remaining 1 tbsp. dill seeds, vinegar and water. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat and boil gently for 5 minutes.

6. Transfer cucumbers to a colander placed over a sink and drain. Rinse thoroughly with cool running water and drain again, shaking off excess moisture. Add to pickling liquid and heat just until liquid begins to boil. Remove from heat.

7. Fill one jar at a time. Remove one jar from canner and empty hot water back into canner (Do not dry jar.) Place jar on a tray on towel-covered counter. Place 2 tbsp. pepper-dill mixture in jar. With slotted spoon, transfer cucumber spears from hot liquid into jar, packing them snugly and leaving a generous ½-inch headspace. Add hot pickling liquid to cover vegetables, leaving ½-inch headspace. Slide a non-metallic utensil, such as a rubber spatula, down between the food and the inside of jar two or three times to release air bubbles and settle the vegetables in the jar. Adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding hot pickling liquid. With a clean damp cloth or paper towel, wipe jar rim and threads to remove any food residue. Using a magnetic or non-metallic utensil, lift hot lid from water and center it on jar. Place screw band on jar and, with your fingers, screw band down evenly and firmly, just until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip-tight. Do not over-tighten or use any tools to apply screw band. Return jar to canner rack and repeat until all vegetables are used.

8. When all jars are filled, lower rack into canner and ensure jars are completely covered by at least 1 inch of hot water. Cover canner and bring to a full rolling boil over high heat. Process (continue boiling rapidly) for 10 minutes, starting timer only when the water reaches a full rolling boil. At the end of the processing time, turn heat off and remove canned lid. Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars, without tilting. Place jars upright on a towel in a draft-free place and let cool, undisturbed, for 24 hours.

9. After 24 hours, check lids for seal. Remove screw bands and press down on the center of each lid with your finger. Sealed lids will be concave (they’ll curve downward) and will show no movement when pressed. Jars that haven’t sealed properly must be refrigerated immediately. Rinse and dry screw bands. Wipe jars and, if desired, loosely reapply screw bands. Label jars and store in a cool, dry, dark place.

Variations: Prepare approximately 12 cups of one of these vegetables as directed below. Use in place of cucumbers.

Zucchini: Scrub and rinse zucchini; cut off stem end and a thin slice of the blossom end. Cut in half lengthwise and into lengths appropriate to fit into jars, then cut zucchini halves into uniform-sized spears.

Mini-carrots: Rinse mini-carrots and cut noticeably larger pieces in half. Or, peel and rinse fresh carrots and cut into uniform sticks that are about 3 inches long.

Cauliflower: Wash and drain cauliflower; cut into small florets.

Green or Yellow Beans: Wash thoroughly. Break off stem ends and leave whole.

Mint Jelly

1 ½ cups firmly packed mint leaves

2 ¼ cups water

2 tbsp. lemon juice

3 ½ cups granulated sugar

Green food coloring, optional

One 3-ounce pouch liquid pectin

1. Place 4 clean 8-ounce mason jars on a rack in a boiling water canner. Fill jars and canner with cool water that reaches the top of the jars. Cover and bring water to a simmer over medium heat. Do not boil.

2. Prepare 4 two-piece mason jar closures. Set screw bands aside. Place lids in a small saucepan and cover with water. Heat just to simmer over medium heat, but do not boil. Keep lids warm until ready to use. Do not heat screw bands.

3. In a colander placed over a sink, rinse mint leaves thoroughly under cold running water. Shake off excess moisture and chop finely.

4. In a large stainless steel saucepan, combine mint and water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove from heat, cover and let steep for 10 minutes. Pour liquid into a damp jelly bag or cheesecloth-lined sieve set over a large glass measure. Let drip until you have 1 ¾ cup mint-flavored liquid.

5. In a clean, large, deep stainless steel saucepan, combine mint-flavored liquid, lemon juice and sugar. Over high heat, stirring constantly, bring to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down. Stir in liquid pectin, squeezing the full content from the pouch. Boil hard, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add a few drops of green food coloring, if using. Remove from heat and, using a large slotted metal spoon, skim off foam.

6. Some jellies set up very quickly, so it is important to move quickly when transferring cooked jelly from the pot to the jars. Because jellies are pure liquid, bubble removal for each jar is not required. Remove a jar from the canner and empty hot water back into the canner. (Do not dry the jar.) Place jar on a tray or towel-covered counter and place a canning funnel in it. Quickly ladle or pour hot jelly into hot jar, leaving ¼-inch headspace. With a clean damp cloth or paper towel, wipe jar rim and threads to remove any food residue. Using a magnetic or non-metallic utensil, lift a hot lid from the water and center it on the jar. Place screw band on jar and, with your gingers, screw band down evenly and firmly, just until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip-tight. Do not over-tighten or use any tools to apply screw bands. Return jar to canner rack and repeat until all jelly is used.

7. When all jars are filled, lower rack into canner and ensure jars are completely covered by at least l inch of hot water. Cover canner and bring water to a full rolling boil over high heat. Process (continue boiling rapidly) for10 minutes, starting timer only when water reaches a full rolling oil. At the end of the processing time, turn heat off and remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars, without tilting. Place jars upright on a towel in a draft-free place and let cool, undisturbed, for 24 hours.

8. After 24 hours, check lids for seal. Remove screw bands and press down on center of each lid with finger. Sealed lids will be concave (they’ll curve downward) and show no movement when pressed. Jars that haven’t sealed properly must be refrigerated and used within a few days. Rinse and dry screw bands. Wipe sealed jars and, if desired, loosely reapply screw bands. Label jars and store in a cool, dry, dark place.

Jelly-Making Tips

Cheesecloth can be found in many retail stores, including grocery stores and hardware stores. Canners, canner racks, jar lifters, canning funnels, magnetic lid lifters and non-metallic spatulas are specialty items that make the process easier. They are very nice. They are not essential to making good jelly.

As with most cooking, read each recipe all the way through, even before you go shopping for ingredients. It is very important to have all of the ingredients and equipment ready before you start making jelly or other preserves.

When making jelly, use a heavy-bottomed stainless steel saucepan that is at least three times deeper than the leave of the recipe’s juice and sugar combined. Jelly bubbles and boils up when it reaches a full rolling boil and therefore requires this extra pan depth.