Canning tomatoes

 

You need a few basics for this

project. 

A hot water bath canner

Canning jars, flats and rims

Tomatoes

Salt

Once you have all your supplies

 gathered. Get a good amount of

 water in your canner and get

it HOT!

Also, put another small pan on

the stove and get the water hot too.

 You want to blanch your tomatoes,

 It helps the skin slip right off. 

One more thing. Get a bowl with

 ice water. After dropping the

 tomatoes one by one in the hot

 water, you want to leave them

only about 30 seconds or so and

then plunge them into ice water.

 This will help them not to cook.

You don't want cooked tomatoes

during this, just the skins to

come off easily. 

Here I have my canner bubbling a

way, ready for the jars.

I have my pot of hot water

ready for blanching.

I have my bowl of ice water

 for cooling.

Take your tomato and cut an

X across the top. This will

help you get a start on the

 peeling of the skin once you

finish blanching. 

Tomatoes go into the hot water,

do only one or two at a time,

unless you have helpers in

the kitchen. 

Once you see the skin starting

 to pull away slightly dip

them out and put into ice bath.

 Like I said, it should only

 take about 30 seconds or so,

 but depending on the temperature

 of your water, it can vary

one way to another. 

Once slightly cooled in the

ice bath you can remove and peel. 

The skin should slide off

easily, core the tomato also

during this time.

After you peel and core the

tomato, cut it into quarters

 and drop into a bowl.

After all your tomatoes are

blanched, peeled, cored and

quartered... it's time to

pack your jars. 

You may have some juice in

the bottom of your bowl.

 Add that to yours jars as well. 

Pack your jars full, but

don't compact them. 

Add a teaspoon of salt to

the top of the jar. 

Now pour HOT water into your

 jars and attach your flat and ring. 

Lower ready jars into your

canner and process for approximately

20 minutes. If you go for TOO

long, you will cook the tomatoes

into nothing. I like a bit of

firmness left in my tomato.

 So I only process long enough

to get a good seal and slightly

cooked tomatoes. 

Once you are finished, put

canned tomatoes on a towel

and leave until they are

completely cooled. 

Usually a good 10 hours.

 During that time, you should

get a seal on your jars.

Now line your shelves with

the bounty. The beautiful red

 ripeness of summer in a jar. 

You CAN can tomatoes! I hope

you enjoy and let me know

once you have canned your own.

I would love to hear from you.

Enjoy

Overnight Apple Butter

by Mandi on October 30, 2011

source: Mandi Ehman

When I was a little girl, I attended the Apple Festival in Berkeley Springs, WV several times with my grandparents. It may have been there that my love for West Virginia, a place we now call home, was born!
I had no idea that making apple butter is as simple as it is until a friend of mine suggested we go apple picking and make some. Both of our schedules this fall ended up being too busy, and we weren’t able to set aside a day for apple butter-making, so I decided to try it at home.
A couple of weeks ago, I chopped my apples one night after the girls were in bed. I cooked the apple mixture on high for an hour, stirred them and lowered the temperature and we headed to bed. The next morning when we woke up, our home smelled amazing, and the apple butter was almost ready to eat! I finished making it and we enjoyed apple butter toast for breakfast…mmm!
As a side note, I rough peeled my apples with a knife instead of an apple peeler and then cooked my apple peels in a saucepan with some water. Once they were done and completely cooled, I divided them into individual servings and froze them to use in oatmeal. I love the added apple flavor, and almost none of my apple — save for the core — went to waste!
Ingredients:

• 5 ¹⁄₂ pounds apples (about 16-18 medium apples)
• 4 cups white sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ¹⁄₄ teaspoon ground cloves
• ¹⁄₄ teaspoon salt

Directions:
Peel, core and chop apples and place in crock pot.
In a medium bowl, mix sugar, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Add to crock pot and mix well.
Cover and cook on high for 1 hour.
Reduce heat to low and cook overnight, 9 to 11 hours. The apples should be soft and dark brown.
Uncover and use a whisk or electric beater to stir until smooth.
Continue cooking uncovered on low for 1 hour until the apple butter thickens.
Spoon apple butter into sterile jars. Refrigerate or freeze.

http://christmas.yourway.net/overnight-apple-butter/