What are you canning today? Part 8

[Littlesister]

Haven't been able to can anything as of yet as they still have not finished kitchen. They started the backsplash but keeps stopping to do other things. I jumped on the owner today about it because no one showed today and not coming tomorrow. I let him know he will not get another penny till job is done and the kitchen I want done yesterday. So, they are coming on Thursday, and they best get kitchen done. I really need to get the meat out of freezer and canned. I have 4 turkeys in freezer, and they are taking up room.

[Homesteader]

Last night, I canned up the last ham gifted to us at Easter time. Another 13 pints. I think I'll have about 6 quarts of ham/bean soup to can later today from cooking down the ham bone. I'm trying pinto beans instead of navy beans. Mom would roll over in her grave if she knew I changed the family recipe.

 

It was an easy decision ... experiment ... as I have pintos by the bucket and Navy beans by the pound.    What's killing me is my lack of inventory of empty canning jars. I stop by the charity shops on occasion and scoop up most of what they have. I also check with friends having estate sales. It's hard to compete against the Amish around here. I certainly don't want to get in a pushing and shoving match at auctions with them. 

 

So far, lids have been easy to find. It's early in the season. The Chinese knock-offs are hard to use and don't have much of a rubber ring to work with as far as centering them on jars. The local store said to use the Chinese jars with Chinese lids.    Cheep crap!!

[Littlesister]

Got on the owner again today. Seems he has 3 or 4 clients all on his case. But they came here today after finishing up on another job this morning and got the backsplash almost done. They will be back tomorrow to finish the kitchen. Told them I need for one room to be done and that is the kitchen. What was supposed to be finished in 2 weeks has taken 2 months. 

But as soon as they are done and gone for the weekend, I am pulling out those turkeys and going to be canning all weekend.  Well almost Sat. is a bit tied up. But the Turkeys need to thaw anyway. So, it will be Sat. afternoon getting things ready. That will take a big chunk out of the freezer as I have 4 of them.  I also have another ham in freezer that I will use for canning up ham and beans. So, while they are working on main bathroom next week, I will be canning beef and chicken all next week and if I don't get the turkeys finished up will get those finished up first of week and then start the beef.  Veg. beef soup, beef stew, and anything else I can think of for a quick meal as well as just canning up beef. Then for the chicken. Once the freezers are empty, I will be stocking with butter, more meat as I can find it. Going to hit some farms for meat and maybe buy half a cow and chicken. 

[Jeepers]

Littlesister, if you plan to have a whole turkey this Thanksgiving you might want to hold on to one of those frozen turkeys. They could become harder to find this year because of the bird 'sickness' going around. Or at the very least a lot more expensive.  

[Homesteader]

13 hours ago, Jeepers said:

They could become harder to find this year because of the bird 'sickness' going around.

 

DH mentioned that a large commercial turkey farm in northern Wisconsin was under attack from bird flu. Five hundred were found dead the first morning. Haven't heard anything since then.   

[Mother]

I believe the reality about turkey (and other poultry as well) is that they can only be produced so fast.  Eggs can only be laid one at a time, they take time to be incubated and hatch, and though they have some incredibly fast growing birds now, it takes time to get a bird the size for market.  Add to that the rising cost of feed and the extra precautionary measure that need to be taken, and the rising costs of processing and transportation.  

 

 It is possible there will be turkeys but they will be smaller and more expensive.  

[Midnightmom]

Lately I've been working more on dehydrating and freezing than on canning. The biggest (volume) item I have been putting up is EGGS!

No, I can't DH them, and I don't own a freeze dryer, so I have been freezing them as individual eggs stored in plastic bags in the freezer. I really need to get some of those smaller packages grouped into a larger unit and vacuum sealed so they can go into my chest freezer.

 

I have seen several videos by multiple homesteaders and they have been giving very bad advice as to how to do this. 

• You can't freeze whole eggs in the shell
• You can't freeze whole eggs with the yolk intact
• You can't freeze the yolks whole - even separated from the whites

 

There is a post on MrsS showing the approved methods as explained by an egg company in the UK - that is how I do it. 

[Mother]

MM, do you have a link to the post for freezing eggs?  Or tell how you do it?

 

When we had poultry I always froze the excess.  I rarely separate eggs except for making Mayo and I use only fresh for that.  I crack the eggs into a bowl, lightly whisk them, and spoon them into ice cube trays to freeze.  I use the number of eggs that I have ice cube sections so that 1 cube equals one egg.  When frozen I pop them out and store them flat in plastic bags.  It’s easy to take out the number of eggs needed that way.  I have occasionally frozen egg whites left from making Mayo or noodles.  I do one or two egg white to an ice cube section and treat them the same as whisked whole eggs.  On the rare times I have frozen egg yolks I have mixed them before freezing.  
 

This has always worked for me but I’m always ready to try new ways.  

[Midnightmom]

 

21 hours ago, Mother said:

MM, do you have a link to the post for freezing eggs?  Or tell how you do it?

 

Mother, you are doing it just as the article says - scramble whole eggs before freezing

Whites can be frozen separately

Scramble the yolks and freeze. The only difference is that the article suggests adding some salt or some sugar to the yolks.

 

ETA:  three tablespoons of beaten egg is the equivalent of a whole egg.

Can you freeze egg yolks?

 

Yes, egg yolks can be frozen. To freeze the yolk by itself, start by separating it out and placing it into a container.

Egg yolks demand a different process due to their thicker consistencies. The yolk will gel if left in its original form which would render it unusable for recipes; therefore you should add some extra ingredients to prevent the gelation (eggs turning sticky).

Salt and sugar are particularly useful. Add half a teaspoon of salt or 1 – 1½ tablespoons of sugar for each 240ml of raw egg; use according to whether you intend to use the egg contents for sweet or savoury purposes. This will stop the gelation of the yolks.

Use the yolks within a few months for best results.

 

Article: https://www.egginfo.co.uk/egg-safety/storage-and-handling/can-you-freeze-eggs?fbclid=IwAR0zYS-sY4rBLRC8hjBv1yWBridrWLS4_wY-5cqz7KMNNOBQSqAU26MahuY

Edited May 7, 2022 by Midnightmom

[Mother]

Thanks MM.  Nice to know I’ve been doing it right.  I never add salt or sugar and have noticed no problem using them for anything.  I sure love having eggs ahead especially with the prices so high.  

[Homesteader]

I took the bones from the two hams and made ham/bean soup over the weekend. Ended up with 5 quarts of soup. I'm so sick of ham that I'm done with it for the year. 

[Littlesister]

Homesteader, I think I think I would be done with the beans for a year also. 

[Jeepers]

  LOL  Homesteader. I get that way when I can my vat of vegetable soup. I always wonder what I was thinking. 

[Littlesister]

Finally got some of the beef canned.  Still a lot more in freezer but this is a start.  Well, I moved the pictures to computer from phone and they are there but can't move them over. Will try later.

 

[snapshotmiki]

Yesterday, about a dozen half pints of Light my fire habanero hot sauce.
Today 19 half pints of Habanero pineapple jam and 2 pints and one half pint of candied jalapenos and 4 pints of syrup for marinade or to make Cowboy candy BBQ sauce out of.
I'm done until tomorrow!

[Jeepers]

Way to go Miki.  

My nose, eyes and hands would be on fire. I wish I could do peppers and hot sauces but they burn the tar out of me. Those little round pickled banana peppers pack all the heat I can stand.  

[snapshotmiki]

11 quarts and 2 pints of Pear preserves.
To the rock pears, I added apple juice, sugar, molasses, vanilla, cinnamon and cloves. Turned out great! If I want pie filling, I will thicken when I open jar. Pretty easy except prepping the rock pears. They weren't too bad as I froze and then thawed them. And they were free!

[Jeepers]

Great job Miki!  I have developed a love for vanilla. I see it in a lot of canning recipes for pears and peaches lately. 

 

I make my own vanilla sugar and it is awesome. 

[Joyfilled]

First time canning for the season!! Better late than never, right?

 

Canned 14 quarts of chicken and broth, and have 11 quarts of broth in the caner. I'm tired....but it feels SO good. I will be doing more now that I have all the canning stuff out!

[snapshotmiki]

Monday- 23 quarts of dog food.

Tuesday- 5 pints of tomato soup.

Wednesday (today) 15 pints and 5 half pints of Chocolate pears.

[Mother]

1 hour ago, snapshotmiki said:

Wednesday (today) 15 pints and 5 half pints of Chocolate pears.

Chocolate pears ???   Now I AM curious?  Recipe please? 

[catskinner]

Hi all, I've been absent for a good while. Too much drama and tragedy to go into, but I'm back now. 

 

This month I am concentrating on canning potatoes and carrots. So, to answer the question, yesterday and today I have been canning potatoes. Tomorrow I will start on the carrots.

 

I'm using an electric canner, so it is slow going, but honestly about all I can manage right now. I have a glass top stove and, there is no way I can use the huge monster canners outside in this heat. These were passed down from my husbands grandmother and are super heavy. Yes, they have been checked and they still work perfectly. And, yes, I was shocked by that.

[snapshotmiki]

1 hour ago, Mother said:

Chocolate pears ???   Now I AM curious?  Recipe please? 

 

[Mother]

Hi, Catskinner.    Nice to see you back.  
 

Miki, I can’t get the recipe from that picture.  Do you have a link?  It looks like something my family would love. 

[Midnightmom]

3 hours ago, Mother said:

Miki, I can’t get the recipe from that picture.  

 Input the info from the pic and found the recipe. Here's the link: https://larderlove.com/spiced-pear-and-chocolate-jam/