Since I like pickling things so much, I though a post on the most recent project would be appropriate. While some folks see pickling and canning as intimidating, the basic process is pretty simple. Still, there is NO SUBSTITUTE FOR GOOD FOOD SAFETY PRACTICES, including working with the cleanest equipment you can and respecting safe canning practices.
And PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS POST AS A CANNING GUIDE. If you have not canned before, do more research than just listening to me. There are many excellent resources in print and on line for you. I am having fun sharing what I do here, but I am NOT addressing some important aspects; so again, if you are just starting you must DO MORE RESEARCH (it's also super helpful to work with someone who has been doing it a while).
On this project I'll admit it up front: I overbought on the fruit side and got a whole box of peppers from The Milk Pail Market. It was way more than I needed. In fact I had to buy more jars and still ended up with a bunch of fruit left over.
In any case, as you can tell, it helps to start with a lot of peppers. I wash them and cut the stems short. Most of the time I leave them whole for quarts; however, if I am using smaller jars like pints or half-pints, I like to slice them into strips (rajas) or rings so I can get more into each jar.
Other Ingredients:
Sliced Carrots
Sliced White Onions
Bay Leaves
Coriander Seeds
Cumin Seeds
White vinegar
Pickling or Kosher Salt
Canola or Olive Oil
To prepare the other ingredients you want to slice carrots (I used a food processor this time despite uneven performance) and white onions (got out the mandolin for that; forgot how well that thing works!). Sometimes for rajas in tall skinny jars I will cut the carrots into long julienne strips and cut the onions in a thin lyonnaise style, and then carefully arrange everything vertiacally. Pretty!
What we are going to do here is (1) stuff the jars, (2) pour boiling brine over them, (3) seal the jars and (4) pasteurize them in a hot water bath.
ASSEMBLY
Sterilize your jars. Place some carrots, onions, some bay, and the seeds in each jar - I use about 1/4 tsp each in a quart jar and adjust by eyeball for smaller sizes. You are now ready to start stuffing in the fruit and veg.
Stuff in the peppers, puzzling, jiggling, pushing, and cajoling them in tight. It's OK to be very firm with them. Add some more carrots and onions as you go. Proportions are to taste. I once canned a jar that was 90% onions and just a little carrot and pepper. I have heard of going with mostly carrots as well. Why not experiment? The ingredients are not that expensive. Leave half an inch head-room in each jar.
Time for the brine. The proportions I have been using (courtesy of an Epicurious.com contributor - thank you VERY much!) is:
4 cups white vinegar
1/2 cup oil (do NOT omit)
1 cup water
4 tsp salt
On the salt, note that if you use kosher salt you should use 50% more or 6 tsp (2 Tbs), as kosher salt is coarser so the grains do not compact as much. In case you are wondering, kosher and pickling salts differ from table salt in that they do not have anti-caking agents, which will cloud up your brine. When buying salt for pickling, use salt where the only ingredient is salt.
Mix up your brine and bring it to a boil. Meanwhile, I like to assemble everything I will need for the canning process. Here is a picture of the canning station I used for this project:
In the picture above, (1) is the bowl in which I keep the two-piece lids so they are handy. I like to count out the lids with the jars I intend to use (especially if I am reusing jars) to make sure I have enough. My canning kettle handles 7 jars at a time so that is how I batch this sort of project. (2) is a heat-proof glass dish that will hold the 7 lids and rings for each canning batch. The tray, ladle, and canning funnel at (3) is where I will actually ladle in the brine from (4) the brine kettle. I will then seal the jars and they go into (5) the canning kettle to pasteurize. Before getting going, I usually fill the canning kettle with hot water from the tap and put it on a flame to get near the proper temp. Note the wire leading out to the digital thermometer I will be using to monitor temperature of the water. The tea kettle (6) hold boiling water to heat up the lids and also top up the canning kettle if needed.
CANNING
Once the jars are stuffed, they move to the tray, crowded towards the brine kettle. Bring the brine to a boil. Pour boiling water over the lids to get them hot and start softening their seals.
Using the canning funnel, ladle boiling brine into each jar. I usually fill each 2/3 to 3/4 full and move to the next one. This gives the brine a chance to settle. I then top-up and use a chopstick to winkle down between the fruit to get as many air-bubbles out as possible. Top-up again, leaving 1/2 inch head space in each jar.
Seal the jar with the two piece lids, tightening firmly by hand (yes, they are likely to be be hot so have pot-holders handy to help). Place them in the canning kettle. Pasteurize them at a temp of 180 to 185 degrees F for 30 minutes for quarts, about 20 minutes for smaller jars. I prefer this to boiling when I am doing multiple batches because it means the water is not too hot when you are ready to put in the next batch. I also think tit cooks the fruit gentler, leaving them more crunchy.
This is cool applied physics . Apart from killing any unworthy agents in your jars by bringing the contents to at least 180 F, this expands everything in the jar and the jar itself. Excess air gets forced through your hand-seal of the lids. Later, when the jars cool, everything contracts, and that's when you get a good seal: I love the *ping* of a sealing jar lid!
After proper pasteurization, remove the jars and place them either on a rack or a heat-proof surface and LEAVE THEM ALONE. They will seal as they cool. If you have any questions, refer to THE OTHER RESEARCH WE BOTH KNOW YOU HAVE DONE ON PROPER CANNING PROCEDURES, which will be much more informative than this personal missive.
TA-DAAAH! This particular endeavor was the biggest project I have ever done. I ended up with 25 quarts, 16 pints, and about 8+ half-pints. Want to guess what everyone is getting for Christmas?
If you want more information on pickling, I strongly recommend The Joy of Pickling by Linda Ziedrich. Great book and I use it as my basic reference for all things picklish (Picklesque? Picklorian? Pickl-a-delic?).
And I haven't even discussed kraut. Ah well, another post...
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