Preserving Food Archives - A Country Girl's Heart -Beats that Matter

August 31, 2020August 31, 2020

How to Process Bread and Butter Pickles

0 Shares

My grandma used to make Bread and Butter Pickles. They were my favorite over dill pickles. I recall an open jar of bread and butter pickles on many a Sunday dinner table. I usually ate a few with whatever what served that day. We did not need to be eating sandwiches to eat bread and butter pickles. We ate them for the flavor.

Memories

I reached out to my aunts to find out if they had a recipe passed down by my grandma to them. A few hours later, I had a picture of a hand written recipe card text to me from an aunt.

A warm feeling flooded my heart remembering my grandma as I looked at the familiar handwriting which had filled letters, cards and notes sent or given to me over the 34 years I was blessed to have this particular grandma in my life.

Bread and butter pickles, tasting like hers were not easy to find. Now, given the opportunity to create my own, I could hardly sleep. my excitement building. The 2 Tokyo Green variety plants produced 50 plus cucumbers in a week. I had plenty to work with, eat and share with family.

In years gone by, pickles were soaked, prior to canning, in either alum or lime to promote a crisper pickle. For myself, I choose my health over a crisp pickle and opted to leave out the soaking process.

Her recipe written for a batch of 6 lbs. of cucumbers required a bit of math on my part. Instead of combining all of the spice and seeds, I would be placing a specific amount in each jar similar to the way I prepared the Dill Pickles.

Here is my version of my grandma’s Bread and Butter Pickle Recipe. Spoiler alert: Yes, they do taste like my grandma’s, despite skipping the unhealthy step of soaking in alum and adding less sugar. And no, I did not open a jar I canned. Keep reading to learn more.

NOTE: This page or post contains affiliate links. When you click and make a purchase I earn a portion of the money you spend at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for your support.

Ingredients

2 T Tumeric
Large Onion Chopped
2 T Celery Seed
2 & 1/2 T Mustard Seed
7 lbs. Cucumbers
3 cups Apple Cider Vinegar
3 cups Water
Redmond Sea Salt
2 – 4.5 cups of Sugar (amount is optional)

Tools

Water Bath Canner
7-pint jars
Lids
Rings
Pot
Jar lifter
Plastic Spoon
Towels

The Preparation

I sterilized the jars by boiling 10 min in the water bath canner prior to filling the jars.

Filling a pot with 3 cups water, 3 cups apple cider vinegar and 2 ¼ cups Evaporated Cane power as a sugar substitute, I started these heating on the stove while I filled the jars.

Preparing Jars

Add 1/3 T of Turmeric

Next, 1/2 T of Celery Seed

The third ingredient to go into the jar is 1/2 T of Mustard Seed

I grabbed a handful of chopped onions and placed into the jar. Since a handful is subjective a better description would be just enough to cover the bottom of the jar.

I measured between a 1/2 and 1/3 T of Redmond Sea Salt. This salt has a flavor all its own. It has not been processed like many other sea salt options on the market.

My last step before adding the brine to the jars was to slice the cucumbers and stuff as many as I could into each jar. I strived to keep the level of cucumbers below the threads of the jar.

By the time I had the jars ready the brine was boiling on the stove. It had reached a boil before I was ready for it so I turned it way down. Also, I stirred it a couple times until I knew the sugar had dissolved.

I filled the jars to a ½ inch below the top of the jar or just below the threads.

After using the plastic spoon to push any air bubbles to the top and squashing most of them, I cleaned the rims. I placed lids on the jars and rings.

Processing in Water Bath

Off I went to the water bath canner a few jars at a time. When the water reached a heavy rolling boil, I noted the time. After 10 min, had past, I removed the processed jars setting them on a towel.

I love hearing the pop of sealing canned goods. And yes, again I covered the jars with a towel too. If you did not read my post on How to Can Dill Pickles, you might not know I picked up this habit from canning with my grandma as a child.

I will say the workflow is a bit different because of heating the brine, but still an easy process, this thing of canning bread and butter pickles.

I mean it simply isn’t on the same level of needing to dodge a stallion about to plow me over or standing my ground when a wild mustang stallion charged my direction with his ears pinned. Ah, the quiet life I lead these days.

Completed

I canned a total of 15 pints and 2 quarts. The quart jars I processed for an extra 5 minutes, a total of 15 minutes.

Since I had extra brine left over and hated to waste it, I put it in a glass jar with all the other ingredients except chopped onion as I was out. Covering the jar with a lid and rim I placed in the refrigerator. I sampled the next morning, evening and morning of day 2. The flavor continues to improve. These ingredients seem to work for refrigerator pickles too.

Tips

Wash Cucumbers and remove both ends before slicing. I keep a pan of water close as I slice.
Have the water in Canning pot hot and close to boiling as possible before placing the fill jars into process. It is important to fill hot jars and add a hot brine so the jars are not cold going into the almost boiling water. The glass may break if you place a cold glass jar in boiling hot water.

0 Shares

August 19, 2020August 19, 2020

How to Can Dill Pickles

0 Shares

The two Tokyo Green Cucumber plants produced over 20 cucumbers in 3 days. I decided to can dill pickles. Knowing the increase in harvest would happen soon last week I had looked up various recipes and methods. I chatted with friends to hear their process.

This is my first year raising Tokyo Green cucumbers. They were gifted to me from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. Read about all the other new garden plants I am raising here at CG Heartbeats Farm by clicking below.

Plant Trials on a Homestead

Memory Lane

I recalled my grandma’s crocks of marinating cucumbers beside the stairs to the clean basement. Oh, I almost smell the scents that rose up where my grandfather created anything from furniture to trinkets out of wood.

I learned folks used to soak cucumbers in lime or allum to crisp up the future pickles. I decided I would omit this part based on my desire to keep my process as healthy as possible. It seems many do not use this method now.

Before I started, I reached out to my aunts to find out if they had a recipe for my grandma’s bread and butter pickles. I was rewarded with a photo of my grandma’s hand written recipe card for bread and butter pickles. I want to try my hand at those next week.

NOTE: This page or post contains affiliate links. When you click and make a purchase I earn a portion of the money you spend at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for your support.

Ingredients for Dill Pickles

Water
Vinegar
Salt for pickling
Dill Seed
Garlic
Onion

Tools

Glass Canning Jars
Canning Rings
Water Bath Canner
Jar Lifter
Stock Pot
Table or counter top
Stove

Preparation for Dill Pickles

Saturday, I purchased dill seed, and onions recently, and had a stash of wide mouth lids I have been intentionally accumulating. Also on Saturday, I harvested 10 cucumbers and stored them in the refrigerator. The day I canned, I harvested 14 additional cucumbers. I used around 20 cucumbers to make 14 pints of dill pickles.

I washed 7 pint jars to begin and placed them in a stock pot on the stove to warm them. You may desire to sterilize them in this manner, but I did not heat the jars hot enough for this.

Rather my goal was to reduce the amount of time they needed to reach the boiling point in the water bath to promote crisper pickles.

While the jars heated in the water filled stock pot, I cleaned and prepped 2 bulbs of garlic raised here on CG heartbeats Farm

Spanish Rojo Garlic smaller in size has an earthy flavor.

Metechi produces slightly more oil when pressed.

Montana Garlic has a mild flavor and 6 cloves per bulb.

Majestic

Click on the garlic of your choice to pre-order your selection.

Music Garlic is mild similar to Montana in flavor.

Elephant is known for its mild flavor as it is actually from the leek family.

German Garlic provides a strong flavor for stews and other cooking projects.

Limited availability of all varieties

My Process to Can Dill Pickles

First, I placed 1 tablespoon of dill seed in each jar.

Second, I chopped 2 cloves of garlic into each pint jar and added around a tablespoon of salt.

Third, I sliced Tokyo Green cucumbers into spear shapes filling the seven jars.

I filled the jars half full with apple cider vinegar and added hot water to just below the threads.

I pressed the top of the cucumbers with a plastic spoon to release air bubbles.

After, wiping the rim of the jars clean, setting the lids in place, I turned on the metal rings. Note: I often heat the lids prior to setting them on the jars, but skipped this time due to time and space constraints.

I felt excited to place the prepared jars into the water bath canner. I turned up the heat and waited for the water to boil.

Noting the time when I seen the water had a heavy rolling boil, I waited ten minutes. At this point, I started removing the processed dill pickles to cool. I like to set the jars on towel and often cover them with a towel to keep the heat in. A habit I picked up from watching my grandmother can food in her blue kitchen.

Checking for Sealed Lids

Is there any sound so sweet to a homesteader’s ears as the pop of a jar sealing? I heard the distinct pop a few times in the course of setting jars of dill pickles out to cool. A streak of excitement flowed through me every time!

I waited until the next day to inspect each jar lid to know for sure they were sealed. To my delight all 14 had sealed.

Do you know how to tell if a jar has sealed? Look at the next pictures for examples of sealed jars and jars which have not sealed.

Sealed and Unsealed

No bubble in the center of the lid. This jar is sealed.

Notice the bubble in the middle of the lid. This jar is not sealed in the picture. It sealed later.

Any jars found to have not sealed properly need to be placed in the refrigerator and eaten in the coming weeks. Dill pickles keep for at least 4 weeks under refrigeration. Other canned foods will have different times limits before spoiling.

Other Variations of Dill Pickles

In the second set of 7 pints I canned I added white onion to 5 of the jars and instead of cutting the cucumbers into spears, I sliced them. Searching for a knife to cut them in fancy ripples, I discovered I do not have one.

My two Tokyo Green cucumber plants will be producing cucumbers for weeks to come. I think I will make bread and butter pickles, perhaps relish, and additional dill pickles for they are quite easy to make. Or, I might try adding red bell pepper to add a pretty red color.

What other variations and ideas do you have for preserving cucumbers? I would love to hear your thoughts. Leave a comment below.

0 Shares

August 10, 2020August 10, 2020

Tomato Juice: How to Prepare and Preserve

0 Shares

To my recollection, the last time I canned anything was around 20 years ago. As I am producing my own food, canning is one of the homestead activities I want to incorporate back into my life. One family branch has a tradition of eating tomato gravy at Christmas gatherings. I have been blessed with a wonderful crop of heirloom tomatoes. In August of 2019, I decided to make tomato juice for my own consumption and as a base for the tomato gravy this coming holiday season.

List of Supplies

Clean pots
Sharp knife
Scrap bucket
Pan with water
Jars
Lids
Rims
Stomper/Colander
Pan/pot for juice to drain into
Water bath canner or pressure cooker
Ladle
Funnel
Measuring cup

Food Ingredients

Tomatoes
Garlic
Onions
Water

Before I share my personal experience making tomato juice, do you want to learn other ways to begin living a homestead lifestyle? Click this link to learn other ways to start living a homestead live-style.

Prep Tomatoes for Tomato Juice

First, gathering a knife, a pan of cool water, 2 clean pots, a scrap bucket, and of course a five-gallon bucket full of tomatoes, I sat on the front porch of my neighbor’s house and cut up tomatoes.

What I started with
Pan with water. I changed the water once when I was halfway through.
Clean pot to cook the tomatoes in.
Srapes or waste left from prepping the tomatoes to cook.
For the fun of jumping ahead: the result. From a heaping 5-gallon bucket of tomates I now have 6 quarts of tomato juice and 7 pints.

I removed any bad spots and the cores. These large, heirloom tomatoes filled 2 pots. I spent 30 to 40 minutes cutting these up.

Before I started cooking the tomatoes on the stove, I cleaned up the jars I wanted to use. My basement has become dirty over the last few years. So, I cleaned them outside with a hose, before cleaning them again inside.

Cook Tomatoes

I added a glass of water to the smaller pan, and 2 glasses of water to the larger pan. I realized later I did not need to add that much water. While I have canned food before, tomato juice is a first for me.

Cut tomatoes in pot — The tomatoes are starting to cook down in this picture.

My plan was to work with my friend, but she needed to be elsewhere. I knew I needed to process those tomatoes or I would end up not getting it done. Feeling excited and a bit unsure, I decided I would move ahead one step at a time. I expected her to return home while I was cooking the tomatoes off, however as life happens, she was unable to be there as early as she thought. I looked up online how long to water bath tomato juice.

Cooked tomatoes — Ready to make tomato juice.

As the tomatoes cook, I prepared candy onions and garlic to add to the tomato juice. I added two onions and a garlic clove to one of the pots as the tomatoes cooked for an experiment of sorts.

Stomper and pan where the tomatoes are pressed for juice — Colander to press cooked tomatoes into tomato juice.

I phoned another friend of mine. I felt a bit unsure. After our chat, I felt more confident. I decided how I was going to add the garlic and onion. I would place one garlic clove and a small onion or a portion of an onion in the jars, for additional flavor. Oops, I realized by that point that I added more water than I needed to. The additional veggies would give the juice additional flavor. Thanks, Dolli!

Tomato juice with onion — The garlic sank to the bottom of the jar and the onion floated to the top.

A closer look at the lids and rings I had found new in their package in my basement, showed me the lids were definitely not fit to use. When the tomatoes were sufficiently cooked, I ran into town to buy new lids.

Stomp Tomatoes to Make Tomato Juice

Using a large pan and stomper, I set out to make my first tomato juice. I pictured myself pouring the contents of the pan (cooked off tomatoes) into the stomper. I seen myself making a huge mess. Instead, I used a ladle to place the cooked tomatoes in the stomper.

Making tomato juice — All that remained after one pot of cooked tomatoes was pressed

My mind wonder as I pushed out the juice to the days of my past. I remember making applesauce in my grandma’s kitchen using similar tools. I am quite fond of applesauce. Remembering fond memories of my youth when member of the family would work together preserving food, feelings of nostalgia lurked in my mind. Despite beginning to get tired, I felt excited to be canning again. Canning touches the creative side of me.

Jars

Inside I rinsed and dried 6-quart jars and 7-pint jars in hot, hot water. I allowed them to air dry on a towel. I again used a ladle to dip the juice from the pan into the jars.

When my friend returned home, I ask her, “do you have a faster way to do this?” We laughed as she said, “oh yes, I do. What was I thinking?” That certainly sped up the process. She handed me a funnel and measuring cup. The measuring cup had a handle and a spout to pour out of. Perfect!

With the jars full, I cleaned of the rims of the jars. The things that come back to me as I went through this process. I remember my grandma using this little sauce pan to heat the lids before placing them on the jars. I am quite certain I have that little pan somewhere, or one like it. For this process, I skipped that step.

Canning Process

Placing lids and rims on the 6-quart jars that I had cleaned the rims into the canner they went. We used her tap water to fill the canner (water bath). The water almost reached the top of the jars. I waited until the water was at a rolling boil.

I took note of the time and made a metal note of what time the jars would be done. During this time, I continued stomping the second pot of cooked tomatoes. I had enough to fill the 7 pint jars I had cleaned. When the pints were filled, clean and covered with lids and rims. I washed up as many of the dishes as I could.

There was only a small amount of waste from all of the tomatoes that were cooked and stomped. To take a guess, I would say it would not have filled a quart jar. Her chickens would get them for a treat. The waste from cutting the tomatoes before cooking went to my house.

Six quarts of tomato juice waiting for water to boil — Six quarts of tomato juice ready to be canned.

When the quarts were done cooking, I ran home to get my own canner. Returning, I took the 7 quarts home in that and later that night I canned those. A side note here: I used water purchased in town to process the pints at home. The tap water left a residue on the quart jars. The purchased water did not.

Cool

I removed the quart jars from the canner placing them on a towel on the counter. I covered the 6 jars with another towel. Some of the jars had already begun to seal. They sat on my friend’s counter for a couple days until I could get back over to pick them up.

Tomato juice waiting to be processed — These 7 pints of tomato juice waiting to be processed.

Storing Tomato Juice

On Tuesday, I stored them in my basement. Here they will sit for future use. The 6 quarts are for making tomato gravy at one of the family Christmas gathering. Yum, I feel hungry thinking about the delicious taste. Have you ever eaten tomato gravy? Leave me a comment below to let me know.

I skipped the part where I write the date on the lids. If I can more, I will go ahead and date them.

Yield

I was rewarded with 6 quarts and 7 pints.

Did this inspire you to preserve food? Are you looking for other ways to live a homestead life style? Use this link for more ideas: 10 Ways to Begin a Homestead Life Today.

0 Shares

October 8, 2019October 8, 2019

Preserving Stewed Tomatoes

0 Shares

I met Julie in the summer of 2018 the night we both attended Bremen Farmer’s Market. I think the first words I spoke to her were, “I love your cart.” She was selling fresh cut flowers on a repurposed old fire hose reel cart. We became friends. And it seems that I have known her longer then the year and 3 months I actually have. Julie finds value in the skill of food preservation. She welcomed me to her house to share and teach me her take on canning stewed tomatoes. I wanted to add onions and garlic and we worked that in to the process. I awoke last Monday morning excited for my day. I would also get to see the Swedish Flower Hen chickens she raised from my flock. More on that later.

With the two of us working together the preparation process took us under 2 hours. Of course, the water bath and cooling of the jars took longer.

Ingredients

Tomatoes
Onions
Garlic
Salt (optional)

Items Needed

Water Bath Canner
Sharp Knife
Cutting Board (or 2)
Stainless Steel Pot
Container for cold water (or a sink full of cold water
Jar Remover
Jars, lids, and rings
Towels and Cleaning cloth
Scrap Bucket
Small sauce pan

Prepare Jars

I brought 12 pint jars. Our first step was washing them in hot water and setting them to the side to air dry. This after, we had water in the canner on the stove, but not heating yet, and a larger pot of water heating for the scalding process.

Prepare Onions and Garlic

Before we started on the tomatoes, we removed the outer skins of the onions and garlic, washed the dirt off, and cut to the desired size. I placed some of them in a 3 or 4 of the jars.

Prepare Tomatoes

This part flowed well with the 2 of us working together. It definitely sped up the process. First I cleaned the tomatoes under running water and removed any terrible bad spots. She encouraged me to wait to actually core them, just pop off the protruding stem. There were a few tomatoes I still needed a knife to core them. The stubborn stems would not come off with out a knife.

Next the tomatoes were gently set into the now boiling water for 30 seconds. Carelfully dipped out with a large spoon and dropped into the cold water in the sink. The peelings almost removed themselves. Working on a cutting board I finished removing the peelings and any parts of the core that was left. The tomatoes had not all been picked that morning and there were a few more soft spots to remove in this step.

As I removed the skin, I proceeded to chunk up the tomatoes. I cut them into roughly a square inch. Julie continued scalding the tomatoes and placing them in the cold water. She added additional cold water due to the hot tomatoes warming the water in the sink. Once she had the tomatoes through the scalding process, she took over removing the peels. I continued cutting the tomatoes into smaller pieces. In this step one can choose the size of the tomato chunks. There is no right or wrong size. When I had a few pieces cut, I added them to a jar. This process seemed to take the longest, but with our teamwork and fun conversation it flew by.

When she had the tomatoes peeled she helped by adding the remainder of the onion and garlic to the jars. I had estimated the amount of garlic and onions I would need. The last 3 jars received about 3 times as much as the other 7. Experimenting, I say. An important step in the process involves pressing out the air and creating a bit of juice. Often, the lowered level requires the addition of cut up tomatoes.

Preparing to Water Bath

The chunks of tomatoes made quite a mess or perhaps I did as I placed them in the jars, around the tops and down the sides of the jars. Julie cleaned the tops and sides of seven jars.

I finished up chunking the tomatoes. We had previously set lids into a small pan and brought that to a boil. This process I skipped when canning tomato juice, but I learned to do this helping my grandma can as a child. When I canned 20 years ago, I did this and Julie, too, uses this method when canning.

When preparing the cans to go into the water bath, place lids on clean jars, add the rings making sure each one is tight. Hand tightening works well, but the rings should be tight.

After setting 7-pint jars in the canner, Julie topped off the water level bringing to around an inch above the jars.

Water Bath Canning

At this point, we started heating the water in the canner. I had brought my canner along and we used that for the first 7. Julie showed me how she cans her food using a towel in the bottom of a large pot and water bathing it. We both learned a new thing. I did not know the towel trick.

Get a FREE PDF on how to preserve Stewed Tomatoes.

12 steps complete with pictures.

Get your copy today!

We sat in her kitchen at the table and chatted about farmer’s markets, our winter plans and relationships while waiting for the water to start boiling. Once it hit a rolling boil we headed out to look at her chickens and the beautiful creation of her chicken run.

Then when we headed back in, the water bathing process was complete. I removed the jars and set them on her counter to cool. We had preserved 10 pints of stewed tomatoes from 2/3rds of a 5 gallon bucket of heirloom tomatoes.

The next day, my friend Beth and I drove paid Julie a visit. I wanted Beth to see Julie’s coop and run ( It is sooo cute!) and needed to pick up my jars. I did not want to transport them until they had sat for a day. Later I dated and stored them in the basement.

0 Shares

Category: Preserving Food

How to Process Bread and Butter Pickles

Memories

Ingredients

Tools