New Testingstan

So, as most of you know I brew my own beer, but I'm starting to branch out. I have my first (well, second. first serious) batch of mead in a fermenter right now. I've also recently been reading up on and really getting into the idea of canning. Both jams and other, savory preserves, like sauerkraut.

Getting into it enough that I recently made my first batch, a spiced strawberry jam and I'm going to sort of chronicle/document what I've done, ask for advice, take questions, etc., etc.

So Spiced Strawberry Jam (not my recipe, you can Google it pretty easy though)

• 5 cups crushed strawberries (I used frozen)
  1/2 teaspoon fresh ground allspice
  1/2 teaspoon fresh ground cinnamon
  1/4 teaspoon fresh ground cloves
  6 Tablespoons powdered pectin
  1/2 teaspoon butter I omitted this
  7 cups sugar

I canned this last weekend and it's ridiculously good. I filled up 6 pint sized mason jars with this and had a little left over that I took to work. Everyone loved it.

I also brewed up a batch of hefeweizen which I just bottled, but that's my brewstore's recipe so I won't list the whole thing, though it can be found at their website.

I'm stealing this.

You'll love it. Oh, and a correction: it was four pint jars, not six. Don't know why I thought it was six.

Have you ever done any canning?

We make jam every year, strawberry and strawberry with rhubarb. I started canning apples last year and I want to do peaches this year.

It was supposed to be for emergencies but the kids are them all. Got 2 dozen one liter jars ready for this year plus the small ones from before.

We're literally five minutes away from an orchid as well.

Oh did apple butter as well.

That's one of the several things I want to do next. The apple butter, I mean.

How do ya'll process the apples? Every recipe I've seen so far calls for the peels and cores and then putting it all through a food mill or china cap to get rid of then.

I don't remember how we did the butter but to can them we used a peeler, one of those rotating ones, cored them and dropped them in boiling apple juice for ten minutes.

If I can transfer the recipe from my phone to tablet I'll post it.

Cool, thanks. Do ya'll use spices when you make it? Cinnamon and so forth?

Yup.

http://m.epicurious.com/recipes/food/vi ... ter-230706

That should be the one.

STOLEN!

That sounds really good. I think I may try that this weekend. Or maybe some salsa.... Or maybe both...

I need to get a container I can make 'kraut in too, but that's getting ahead of myself.

Tried something new tonight. It's a balsamic onion jam. The basic recipe can be found here: http://beekman1802.com/food-and-wine/bl ... n-jam.html

I used three large red onions, let them shrink down as the water in them cooked off and substituted honey for the maple syrup; there's enough to fill a pint jar plus a little more. I'm boiling the jar I put them in right now, but what's left I've tasted and it's delicious. Probably would go good on cheese and bread or, say, chicken.

Okay, tried a hybrid of Aaron's apple butter recipe and the one I had with a mix of spices I sort of put together on my own.

I used 2 lbs of Granny Smiths and 2 lbs of Braeburns, 1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon, 3/4 teaspoon of nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon of allspice and 1/8 teaspoon of cloves. I also mashed the apples as they softened and then pureed them with my immersion blender once they started to turn to mush. Then I cooked them low and slow until they were a nice auburn(?) color because the sugar had all caramelized.

I'm processing two pints in a boiling waterbath right now.

Here's the balsamic onion jam:



And the apple butter in it's jars:

Just made some Oktoberfest Beer Mustard out of a book of canning recipes I bought. The jars are cooling right now. I also have a big container of mustard for the fridge; I'll give them a try when I get the chance, probably Sunday, and report back.

Overall there was a bottle of Real Ale Brown Ale, Yellow Mustard seeds (I couldn't find brown), brown sugar, ground yellow mustard, some water, malt vinegar and onion powder. I'm gonna make sauerkraut on Sunday and I think they'll go together really well.

First attempt at sauerkraut:

this thread is poor motivation for my summer fitness goals

well done

Glad to be of service!

I actually made a batch of beer tonight. It's my brew stores' clone of a locally brewed beer: St. Arnold's Amber Ale. Though the brew store calls it St. Almost Amber Ale.

I've made it before; it's pretty delicious.

I've also got the ingredients to make a Kölsch, but I won't get to that until I get home from work tomorrow. I'm also working on a pair of beers of my own; one will be a Cherry Wheat Ale and the other a Rye Pale Ale with some Rauch (smoked) Malt added.

I also tasted the mustard. It's not as sharp as the mustard I'm used to, but it has a nice toasty flavor to it. I may try it again, but do a better job of pureeing the seeds. I left it pretty chunky, so that may be why it's not as sharp as most other mustards.

OH! I forgot to add. I'm not sure if I'm getting it right, but the sauerkraut seems to be coming along.

Fingers crossed!

Well the Kölsch is in the fermenter.

Meanwhile, I got the ingredients for a Salsa Verde today, but didn't realize until I got home from the store that I don't have enough jars to can it. So I'll make it tomorrow after running to the store since I don't feel like going back tonight.

Edit: OH! And I'll post pictures of it once I get it made.

As promised:

Update on the salsa: it's got a nice flavor, but it's not nearly hot enough for my taste. I think next time I'll double the amount of habaneros in it and maybe add a jalapeno or two.

On that note, here's the ingredients (from Tart and Sweet):
5 lbs tomatillos, husked, halved and roasted
4 poblanos
3 habeneros
5 cloves of garlic
2 small onions
the juice and zest of two small limes
a handful of cilantro
1-1/2 Tbsp salt

I spotted a couple of new things I'm going to try this weekend. The first is tomato butter; sort of like apple butter, but with tomatoes instead of apples. Based on the recipe I'd have to say it's going to be similar to ketchup but with different spices and no vinegar. The other is orange jelly. Which I'm excited about because I like the taste of marmalade, but I've never liked the texture of the orange rind in it.

I'll post back (along with pictures) when I get them finished.

I am intrigued by orange jelly.