Gardening and Canning - Part II

This post is for those of us who are garden-ingly challenged.

We can still use the same methods to preserve food from one season to the next, we just need to alter the source. I belong to a community co-op where we get a basket of vegetables and a basket of fruit every two weeks for $17.00. Thru the co-op we have been able to purchase cases of tomatoes, corn, Hatch chilies and peaches.

As you can imagine, canning and preserving when you have a case of ripe produce in front of you makes it easier for those of us who do not garden.

A couple of pointers; I would not recommend canning by yourself unless you have experience. I made pickles with Pawpaw one summer and they were not good. Mawmaw almost fell off the chair watching us! Also, if you do not own the proper equipment, your first season of canning can cost more per can than the store bought varieties. Ask around and you may be able to trade labor (cutting, pitting and coring) in exchange for canning with someone with the equipment.

Start in manageable batches. When the market has ripe strawberries they are "giving away", grab some Certo fruit pectin to make freezer jam. Bananas - you can freeze them whole for smoothies (the skin will turn black, but they are ok) or bread. Other berries, I place them on a cookie sheet in the freezer until they are frozen and them pop the frozen berries into a zipper bag.

If you come across discounted bananas and you have the time, you can use them to make a few loaves of banana bread for the hectic holidays. Banana bread usually freezes well. Great for a thoughtful gift or defrosted in microwave with a cup of tea for drop in guests or an after-school snack.

This summer, we purchased a case of yellow corn. We froze some of the corn as ears, we froze some of the corn cut off the cob and we froze some in cream-style batches. We got about 10 bags out of a case of corn.

CERTO® Strawberry Freezer Jam (from the Kraftfoods.com website)
Prep Time: 30 min Total Time: 24 hr 30 min
Makes:
About 4 (1-cup) containers or 64 servings, ...
What You Need
2 cups prepared fruit (buy about 1 qt. fully ripe strawberries)
4 cups sugar, measured into separate bowl
1 pouch CERTO Fruit Pectin
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
Make It
RINSE clean plastic containers and lids with boiling water. Dry thoroughly.
STEM and crush strawberries thoroughly, one layer at a time. Measure exactly 2 cups prepared fruit into large bowl. Stir in sugar. Let stand 10 min., stirring occasionally.
MIX pectin and lemon juice in small bowl. Add to strawberry mixture; stir 3 min. or until sugar is dissolved and no longer grainy. (A few sugar crystals may remain.)
FILL all containers immediately to within 1/2 inch of tops. Wipe off top edges of containers; immediately cover with lids. Let stand at room temperature 24 hours. Jam is now ready to use. Refrigerate up to 3 weeks or freeze up to 1 year. Thaw in refrigerator.

Happy Cheapness!