Freckles Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 I just finished my second attempt at canning some of the wonderful fruit that grows in my yard. My first attempt was an orange jelly, and today I made tangerine jam. I was just wondering if anyone in the Hive preserves their own food, and if you have any yummy recipes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lailasmum Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 I mostly just do hedge jam. Whatever I can forage for free. Damsons are really nice in jam if you can get them and I raid a crab apple so I don't have to use pectin. my Main jam this year had all kinds of stuff in it. It was black berry, crab abble, damson, haws, rose hips and elderberries and it is really nice. Bilberries are also really nice, sort of sherberty but I think I combined them with strawberries as the bilberries are only available in small quanitites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freckles Posted January 12, 2013 Author Share Posted January 12, 2013 Thank you for replying. As soon as I was done reading your post I took a quick look to see your location because I don't know what hedge jam is. I also have never heard of damson, haws, or bilberries. It sounds really yummy! On a side note, my dream is to visit the UK someday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXMomof4 Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 I preserve figs when I can get them. Candied jalapenos are good, escabeche (pickled jalapenos, carrots, cauliflower and onions). Pumpkins at Halloween. Its fun and my neighbors love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 I grew up canning all types of food from jams, to fruits/veggies to meats. I only make jams. Various single berry jams or mixes depending on what is on hand or desired. Strawberry, raspberry, marionberry, blueberry, blackberry, etc. I freeze various fruits but don't can them. Actually, I prefer freezer jam so I usually freeze my jam also. I use Pamonas pectin so I can reduce/alter sugar content. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violamama Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 I've done lots of canning. My favorites are sweet beets, hot green beans, tomato sauce & salsa are always used up, cranberry sauce, blackberry jam (which is my local equivalent to hedge jam). I like the Bell book: http://www.amazon.com/Ball-Blue-Book-Guide-Preserving/dp/0972753702 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mandymom Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 I made a bunch of things this year to give as Christmas gifts: carrot cake jam, lemon vanilla jam, cranberry apple jam, blueberry lime jam, candied jalepenos, peach barbecue sauce, salsa, but the one that EVERYONE raved about the most was the vanilla bean applesauce. Here's the recipe: http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com/2009/11/applesauce-three-ways-and-giveaway.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freckles Posted January 13, 2013 Author Share Posted January 13, 2013 Thank you for all of the wonderful ideas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lailasmum Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 Hedge jam is just whatever I can find for free in the local hedges just a mix of what ever is available. I stick it in the freezer if I can't use it straight away. Mostly the stuff I said before. Haws are the berries of hawthorns, I think they grow in a lot of places all over the world as do elders but I am not sure about bilberries, they are fussy and grow on the moor, they're related to cranberries but look like really little blueberries. We call them whortleberries locally. Damsons are just wild plums, they are little and really nice. I am lucky because I can just help my self to the contents of the park and the hedges and no one questions it but I know it's not the same everywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nevergiveup Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 Peach jam, peach butter, peach slices, applesauce, apple butter, pear butter, pear halves, grape jam, blackberry jam, cherry jam, gooseberry jam, whole tomatoes, tomatoe juice, V8 juice, pickled beets, bread and butter pickles, dill pickles, pickle relish, Virginia chunks (sweet pickles). Rhubarb gets frozen. I don't do all of these every year: it depends on how the garden and trees produce. Last spring, all of our fruit trees were in bloom at the same time and we thought we were in for a huge crop...then they all got a late frost and we had nothing. Most of my recipes come from the Ball canning book. I do freeze the fruit to make jam later (when it is cold out). I have dried some fruit in the past but that does not seem to be a favorite of our family, and it is quite a bit of work so have quit doing that. I have tried canning other things, too, but the list above is what I make the most. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kubiac Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 Ooh, maybe someone on this thread will know: What's the title of the children's picture book about a mom and her daughter (maybe in northern Michigan?) who forage berries all year long and turn them into jam for sale so that the daughter can afford school clothes? I checked it out from the library once but now I can't recall the title! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freckles Posted January 13, 2013 Author Share Posted January 13, 2013 Is this the book? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kubiac Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 Is this the book? YES!! Thank you. Saving this RIGHT NOW. Hive Mind wins again!! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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