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Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving?
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You are doing refrigerator recipes not actually "canning". Doing frig pickles a ratio of 1.5 cups water to 1 cup vinegar is safe, they will keep for several weeks. When doing frig stuff I just wash my jars and lids like a normal dish, if you start canning stuff you have to sterilize everything. When you are canning and leaving stuff at room temperature is where the problem of spoilage comes in. Doing frig stuff I have never had anything go bad as long as I eat it within 2-3 weeks.
This is the bible of canning, it has a ton of great recipes that have all been tested and approved so you know that you wont get sick. I has both frig, canned and fermented recipes. It goes over how to safely do everything and explains ph levels and all that good stuff.
Unless you like mushy pickles, I wouldn't recommend pressure canning them. A plain water bath would be preferable, or sous vide at a lower temp for much more time (130F for 3 hours).
Definitely marinara and other tomato sauces. I usually just pressure can the tomatoes after skinning them. That way I have a plain tomato base that I can make anything else with. Tomato paste is another good one.
I also pressure can mustards, jam, salsa, and relish.
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Ball has a canning book I recommend:
Any and all of the Ball books are detailed in their methods and how-tos, so any should be fine! Personally I have this one, but truly any will be ok:
This is the book for canning.. it is basically a bible for starters... Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving https://www.amazon.com/dp/0778801314/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_i_6KGDMAGW724B7XTWZXKX
I grew up in the lifestyle, so alot of it was hand me down knowledge.
Animal husbandry & butchering is not something I have a resource on because that was entirely handed down.
I highly recommend ball canning lids over the off brand ones.. they just seal the best.
I also recommend the ball pressure canner, and any large pot will water bath items just fine so ypu dont have to buy a water bath canner specifically.
Other than that find a local farmer/orchard in your area and become buddies.
I get all my fruit for free because I developed a trade/work agreement with a local orchard owner..
I learned alot directly from other farmers too.. and we swap recipes/meat smoking ideas etc.
My husband and I are going to convert our old upright freezer into a smoker this summer.. really excited about that.
Nice! My go to is the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving https://smile.amazon.com/dp/0778801314/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_4E88R42MWMVAZW7JTWR6
It has a nice index to look at if you just harvested a ton of X are wondering what you can do with it. There’s also really good tips and tricks in the margins to improve your process.
Sorry! I was on a break for a while. I asked my Mom for her salsa recipe, which we all loved. She said, “It’s just the recipe in the Ball cookbook.” Wut!? So I ordered this edition: Ball Complete Book of Home... https://www.amazon.com/dp/0778801314?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share. Fresh Vegetable Salsa, page 201.
Minor modifications - substituted habaneros from my garden for jalepenos, 1/2 habanero per quart. Doubled the cumin and garlic. Omitted the cilantro.
I would also recommend the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. Besides having a LOT of recipes, jr explains all types of canning processes, how to make all the different recipes and how to test them. It has been extremely helpful for me.
Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving https://www.amazon.com/dp/0778801314/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_iuKxFbV9S0NRH
For this recipe I used this book: Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving
However I have only made one other recipe from it, pickled green beans which was successful as well. So I can’t recommend the whole book.
I use a different book for my jams.
I think it's fine using that process with a vinegar mixture, I think the key is making sure the balance is acidic enough. I would check out the sidebar over at /r/canning I've used their references before and would also recommend the Ball book of home preserving if you're into canning other 'stuff'.
No, no - water bath canning is fine for this vinegar based recipe. Don't pressure can unless you have to. This one is my go-to reference book, which has the recipe I use. http://www.amazon.com/Ball-Complete-Book-Home-Preserving/dp/0778801314/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1443218953&sr=1-2&keywords=book+canning
I own a LOT of canning books. This is by far my favorite: Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving https://www.amazon.com/dp/0778801314/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_cOPRBb3XEXCCG
I'm sorry I haven't had time to dig into it. Are you specifically looking a vacuum sealing? or all preservation methods? You can vacuum seal foods and store them long term, but if they contain moisture you must also freeze them or store them at near freezing. You cannot simply vacuum seal a jar of peaches and put it on the shelf and expect it to last. Pathogens will still grow.
I use a Foodsaver and vacuum seal meat and other foods and then freeze for a year or two or more and it is still very good. here is there intro page https://www.foodsaver.com/beginners-guide-to-vacuum-sealing.html . Does that help?
The national center for home food processing and preservation offers some very good guidelines https://nchfp.uga.edu/index.html . Mary's nest has a ton on long term food storage, this is a good video on oxygen absorbers vs. silica packets in storing dry food long term https://marysnest.com/what-is-the-difference-between-oxygen-absorbers-and-silica-gel-packs/. other than that i would look at quality books like Ball's book on home preservation https://www.amazon.com/Ball-Complete-Book-Home-Preserving/dp/0778801314 .
I hope that helps.
I had the same question; no worries! I started a garden, then had to figure out how to use and preserve everything I grew. That was kinda baffling, to be honest.
Gardening books are like "grow this! grow that!" and canning books are like "can this! can that!". And I'm sitting here surrounded by what feels like a lifetime supply of zucchini...ok then what????
Think about it: much of what we buy at the store is preserved. We buy a can of green beans and serve it with dinner; why not serve a can of your OWN green beans? Or make minestrone soup with them? Or make your own frozen dinner with them? I had to adjust my thinking to really understand what I needed to do.
I looked for books that teach you how to preserve AND how to serve up what you've preserved. Here are a few that I found helpful; there are lots more:
Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving
The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving: Over 300 Recipes to Use Year-Round (I just got this one last week, and it is GREAT!)
100 Day Pantry (this one shows you how to cook exclusively with canned foods with no repeats for up to 100 days straight).
The Prepper's Cookbook: 300 Recipes to Turn Your Emergency Food into Nutritious, Delicious, Life-Saving Meals (I haven't read this one, but it pops up in my amazon rec's often)
Also, check out the National Center for Home Food Preservation. It covers pretty much every aspect of preserving food.
I hope this helps!
I've referred to this one A LOT over the years. It has a lot of good recipes.
If I had to pick just one it would be this one. It is easier to read than the Ball Blue Book and is a little more comprehensive.
https://www.amazon.com/Ball-Complete-Book-Home-Preserving/dp/0778801314
If you're newish to canning this is not a good starting point. The ball canning books are a great start. [This book is my go to. https://smile.amazon.com/dp/0778801314/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_i_D22BQRMJYV4JFY3VKC86]()
^^^ This is the first guide I would get and, after having read it, then maybe these:
https://www.amazon.com/Ball-Complete-Book-Home-Preserving/dp/0778801314
https://www.healthycanning.com/ball-blue-book
There's quite a bit of overlap between the Ball books.
For canning meat, you'll need a pressure canner. The guide you get with your pressure canner should be read throughly.
There are a lot of good books. The first one should be Ball Blue Book of Canning .
Not a book but you should be familiar with National Center for Home Food Preservation
> Where do you suggest learning this? What do you think of my idea of hiring a culinary student to give me private lessons?
In nearly 10 years of professional cooking I have never met a culinary student with hands. Unfortunately, I cannot explain it more than having the right attitude, with there "always being room for improvement" and "oh he's asian." My first chef and cooking job told me I had "heritage knife skills." You are on the right track with Shun and simply wanting it. I can post some demo videos eventually, when I sober up and have more in my pantry than onions (I work ~80 a week between two kitchens, I don't eat much at home).
> I don't have any friends who work in the food industry, where would you suggest meeting such a person (similar question as above)? I would buy a whetstone, but I have no idea how to use it properly. Also, most of my knives are from Shun, and I know they have a service where you can send them off to get them sharpened for free. I haven't done this yet (knife set is pretty new). Would you suggest this?
Shun is good people, but I resharpen my knifes everyday for use in a professional kitchen, with volume ranging from cutting three bunches of celery to 100 lbs of onions on top of service--I don't like to play with dull knives. And it is a skill you never really lose, though I wore a hole in my finger the last time I sharpened knives, but I sharpened knives for the entire staff and was fairly drunk at the time--maybe you shouldn't be friends with us, unless you like waking up to a pile of dishes and beer cans in the morning... Once again, I would be willing to sharpening technique on youtube, but I'm certain there are videos of it there, "Japanese knife sharpening."
> I enjoy cooking and I absolutely find it cathartic and meditative. However, I have time constraints. I have a job, hobbies, chores, occasional medical problems that sap my energy, and I have to cook ALL my meals. I feel like I spend too long prepping vegetables as it is now. I realize for some recipes that getting perfect cuts is important, but 90% of the time, I would like to just go faster. Do you have any tips for this?
For me, speed come with knife sharpness and monopolizing a single cut. So if you have to julienne a ton of onions, do not try to do one at a time, cut them in half, clean/peel them all, then focus on the julienne so you are repeating the same motions over and over vs attempting different angles and having to move finished product into a container or off the cutting board.
> One major thing I have going for me is that I have great resources in terms of grocery and kitchen options.
>I'm not sure if you are familiar with the Seattle area, but we have an amazing variety of grocery stores/markets here. There is a farmers market every day, Pike Place market, Amazon Fresh (delivery), multiple organic co-ops, Costco, multiple Asian grocery stores, specialty international food stores, Cost Plus World Market, Whole Foods, upscale grocery stores, regular grocery stores, etc. etc. I can get pretty much any ingredient. The problem with most of the produce is that it might be sprayed with the pesticide that I am allergic to. CSAs only work if the produce comes exclusively from certain farmers that don't use this pesticide. When that stuff is in season, I buy huge quantities directly from the farmer and load up my chest freezer.
This makes me happy, but I was happy anyways since I had a few after work. In terms of recommended reading, I suggest looking into pickling assuming you are not allergic to citrus, even so you can probably still use refined vitamin C. Here are three pickling Amazon links: Balls. Can. Ferment, sorry, couldn't resist the urge.
Something else I borrowed off one of my ECs: On food and cooking, Harold McGee.
Another to add to your library: Food lover's Companion
Food is great in that it is a kinesthetic science, a lot of great cooks are also great "scientists" they just don't know it, they are just doing it by "feel, taste and smell." This is where organization and precision come in--know your objective/hypothesis and continue with experiment procedure from there, speed is a measurement: how long, how fast, etc, etc. "If you don't measure you cannot improve." I feel like recipes are more or less, just successful lab reports.
Since you mentioned vegetarianism I feel like I can discuss my on and off relationship with veganity. I do try to build muscle from time to time and so it is hard for me to ignore the nutrient/protein density of tasty decaying animal flesh. But generally in terms of vegetables and fruit there are few exceptions to them having more benefits apart from them being consumed raw: namely Goitrogens.
So this may lead you, as well as it lead me for a time to a "raw/vegan" diet. I dunno though, I get stuck between it and "Paleo" and sometimes just eating raw meat--I cannot tell if I am just becoming lazier as a cook or if I am making strides my personal health.
Back onto topic of sorts:
> My kitchen is already pretty good. I have a nice gas stove, which I feel makes a big difference. We are planning a remodel to enlarge the kitchen.
Hrmm, I am at odds with enlarging for the sake of "bettering," I feel like you can get away with great results with little space and a little ingenuity, but with great precision. I have a portable induction cook-top, a juicer, a blender and a shitty built-in electric range/stove, just missing a dehydrator, PID temperature controlled water bath, a blow torch, vacuum sealer and I wouldn't be too far from a NY test kitchen--I feel like I could feed a hundred people, no problem without using the electric ranges: it comes down to organization. You are one person, trying to feed yourself and your family at any given time, make prep easier for yourself by doing much of it at once or at least eliminating a step or two, prep for half the week or prep for the next step, for example: celery--strip all of it away from the root, throw it in water and save it for later, this keeps it springy and passively washes it; I was taught a long time ago to not drain root vegetables but rather pull them from a bath of water, in that the dirt sinks and stays at the bottom rather than being agitated and back on the vegetables after straining; then you can come back to cut it in any variety you wish. I've kind of made a habit out of bathing veggies vs spraying/rinsing, of course there are exceptions, things that you will peel anyways, that spot of dirt that needs scrubbed and that we need "RIGHT NOW."
The problem I have with recipes is the objectivity in creating "the dish," most of the time, my creations or "specials" come from leftovers or something that is on the verge of being completely useless. Simplicity is king. At my one restaurant we had some black beans that were starting to smell fruity (which is normal, but no one had a planned use for them), a few onions and peppers, some spices, a quick roast then blend with some lemon juice/vinegar and we had a black bean salsa, which I tried to pair with some fish and roasted tomatoes but everyone just wanted the salsa with chips--whatever, I'm Asian, I don't know.
So rather than filling your refrigerator with a dozen half eaten dishes, fill your refrigerator with an endless possibility of dishes: prepped greens for salads; portioned meats for cooking; pickled items for accoutrements, garnishments or just adding that extra acidity; gutted/peeled veggies or fruit--you picking up what I'm laying down?
From there you can experiment with single servings: a celery leaf salad--balsamic vinegar, pickled radish, mustard greens, olive oil, crushed red, salt, julienned carrots, diced red onion and toss in a soft boiled duck egg if you feel the urge. Professional cooking is just a hodgepodge of "stone soup" that everyone has grown to like and accept, everyone has something to add and or learn from.
Restaurant dishes are designed to sell. Try to keep in mind the overt commercialization and not take the small successes you have in just enjoying a simple salad with some boiled eggs, while not getting sick, for granted. Good health tastes great, don't let anyone tell you hard boiled eggs and some celery sticks isn't a meal--"It is until I eat again!"
Speed is just an increase in efficiency in carrying out the procedure. You'll get it, just know what you want and are doing first, then be deliberate. I'll help out best I can.
The book is great--a canning bible. This is the version I have--it includes pressure canning recipes, too.
ball canning bible there ya go
We call it the canning bible.ball canning
Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving https://www.amazon.com/dp/0778801314/ref=cm_sw_r_em_awd_89o4wb58R7ZCF
I advise using the Ball book on canning and using one of the low-sugar syrups. It's shockingly easy.
The other Ball book (Home Preserving) has an entire section on pie fillings, not just apple. Every fruit! Clear Gel! Wooooo.
http://www.amazon.com/Ball-Complete-Book-Home-Preserving/dp/0778801314
I use the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving.
http://www.amazon.com/Ball-Complete-Book-Home-Preserving/dp/0778801314
Well they turn out like whole peeled tomatoes that you'd get in a can -- cooked, not fresh. I used the boiling water method. Basically I submerged the tomatoes in boiling water for about a minute, then dunked them in ice water and removed the skins. Then I cut them in half and put them in mason jars, poured boiling water over them, clapped on the lids, and processed them (that means going back into the boiling water) for 45 minutes.
It's not the easiest thing to do if you're just getting into canning, not because of any complex processes but just because there's a lot of boiling water and pounds of tomatoes flying around. But canning itself I've found to pretty simple, after the first try. There are lots of resources online but I love my Complete Book of Home Preserving.
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