GettinReady Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 We have some asparagus "on sale" this week. Not the best price considering the time of year but I thought I might try canning some for the heck of it. Problem is, I don't care for commercially canned asparagus very much. I like the flavor ok and will eat it but do find it quite *mushy* (I prefer my asparagus grilled or roasted). How does your home canned asparagus come out? Is it as mushy as commercially canned? Maybe I should dehydrate it instead? Has anyone dehydrated then rehydrated it? How did you like it? I'd like to do some experimenting before spring (when I can get much better pricing) but am not sure which way I want to go yet... Link to comment
Canned Nerd Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 Commercially canned asparagus probably do a better job of it than can be achieved by home canned. Even if you included Calcium Chloride you might be disappointed by the mushy texture resulting from pressure canning. Dehydrating is an option, but it will only be available for soups and such. It will not hydrate back to the condition and texture of fresh. Link to comment
Andrea Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 I blanch ours then freeze it. This seems to be the most preferred method in our house. The only exception is when I pickle it, but I haven't done that for a few years. Link to comment
GettinReady Posted October 30, 2009 Author Share Posted October 30, 2009 Oh My! Pickling Asparagus...I never thought of that! That might be a tastry treat but my Ball Blue Book doesn't reference it. Do you have a recipe? Link to comment
Violet Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 I tried posting earlier about making pickled asparagus, but it would not go through. Here is the link to the recipe I use. http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/can_06/pickled_asparagus.html The website at Univ. of Georgia/NCHFP is the best, most reliable source for home food preserving information. Link to comment
GettinReady Posted October 31, 2009 Author Share Posted October 31, 2009 Thanks Violet! I reference that website often but it never occured me to look for Pickled Asparagus. It's printing now... Link to comment
Andrea Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Thanks Violet. That's the recipe I use. I've found it to be a little salty though, so I cut the salt in half. Hopefully it's still safe . . .we haven't croaked yet! Link to comment
Violet Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 It is fine to cut the salt in that. The only things that must have enough salt for preservation is when fermenting pickles, sauerkraut and drying jerky. Otherwise you can totally omit the salt if you want. Link to comment
Andrea Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 Thanks Violet! I figured it was safe because of the vinegar, but I hadn't gotten an "official" go ahead. We love both the pickled asparagus and the "dilly" beans but we do watch our salt in this house and both recipes "as is" are too salty for us. Thanks for the official thumbs up! Link to comment
Robert Z Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 Pickled asparagus is one of the things beg for the most that I can. I like to put one or 2 red medium hot cayenne peppers per jar in mine. Link to comment
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