I found this article in a group from my wife. It's not evident but this article was about 2 years ago. It's never been posted so I thought I'd do it now.
Burn
We got lots of Jalapenos through last winter. In March we had an unexpected late freeze and it caused damage to the plant. We were so blessed this year in our garden. We only planted one jalapeno bush because that one bush is enough to meet our needs. But this plant grew 6 feet tall and 3 feet wide. In all my years of growing jalapeno plants, they have never grown that big. So, we were blessed with many of them and shared them with friends and family.
Because the last harvest was so big, I decided to can them to use during the winter months. My family loves a bean soup that calls for jalapenos. This is the first time I have attempted to can them. I have frozen them and dehydrated them for future use, but I am working on not storing much in my freezer because you never know the power situation. If power was out for a period of time due to natural disasters, I don’t want to worry about food spoilage in my freezer or having to worry about canning the food in a stressful situation.
I decided to can them in half pint jars since that is the amount for my soup. The recipe calls for water bathing them for 10 minutes. I invested in a steamer years ago and decided to go on that route. I always put the seals in a pot of water and get them heated up. I do the same with my jars. I get a big pan of water and put the jars in them and heat them on the stove. I don’t have a dish washer to heat them and keep them hot for canning.
Once the jar water is hot, I take the pan off the stove. I have on the burner the steamer with the amount of water needed for the canning process. Then there is a pan on the stove with the solution that will go in the jar with the with jalapenos. I get all these things going at the same time so that when I start putting the jalapenos in the jar, it is a fast easy process, and everything is hot when going into the steamer.
Make sure to wash and clean your jalapenos before using. I cut them in 1/4 to ½ inches in size. Do all the cutting of the jalapenos first. When cutting the jalapenos I usually use gloves, so the juice does not get on my hands. It is so hard to get off and if you touch your nose or eyes, boy, does it burn. So once all the jalapenos are cut, set them aside.
Next get the solution made that will be poured into the jars. Here is the mixture:
1 C white vinegar
1/4 C olive oil
1 Tbsp pickling spice (tie in a material bag)
1/4 C water
1 tsp salt
Bay leaf
Depending on how many jalapenos are being canned, you will decide on how much mixture you will need to make. I did 12 half pints and did the recipe times 6. Get this mixture on the stove and heat it to boiling. Turn heat down and start canning.
Put the bay leaf in the bottom of jar and put in jalapenos. Pack loose. Pour in solution. Wipe off the jar. Put on seal and twist on ring. Place it in hot water bath or steamer. Continue this process until all jalapenos are in their jars and ready to be processed. Once the water bath is boiling or steamer is to right steam. Start timing for 10 minutes. When the process is complete, place hot canned jars on a towel and cover up to keep from draft and let cool.
Once they are cooled. Wipe and clean jars if needed. Take rings off jars. They can be used for future canning. Date the jars and place on shelf. That's all there is to it!
Stay spicy friends!
Until next time, FLAG signing off!
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