In the Kitchen with DirtDiva.

[dirtdiva]

Lots of food preservation in it's various forms going on in the kitchen lately. The gardens are in full swing. For those of you that haven't tried fermenting it is a great way to preserve veggies and really good for you. 







Rarely do I pickle with vinegar anymore. My husband and I much prefer fermented vegetables tp pickled. We think that they taste better and are better for you than pickles. It is a really simple process of cleaning the vegetables well and adding dill, garlic, onions and various garden vegetables in one half gallon hot sterilized jars. Here you see onions, peppers, okra, cucumbers and yellow squash. It was just what I had harvested and had clean and available. I like to add a brine of 2 to 3 Tablespoons sea salt or pickling salt to 1 quart of distilled water. I simply cover vegetables with brine and I fi a small ziploc bag with water and use it to weight down the contents because it wants to float. This just holds it under the brine. Then I put on a lid and ring and let it ferment on my kitchen table or counter. Everyday I slightly loosen the lid and let the air escape or burp it (caution contents under pressure). Wash the jar off and place it back on the counter. I place my jars in shallow glass dishes in case anything leaks out the top. When you burp the jar and there is not as much pressure usually after about a week I start tasting when it get to the favor you want refrigerate. After about 10 days these vegetables will go in the bottom of my refrigerator and we will consume over the next several months.

The shelf life of fermented food is somewhat subjective. Fermented food continues to ferment, even if you store it in the fridge. And deciding if the food still tastes good will depend on your tastebuds.

Fermented vegetables will become softer and more acidic as they age. So the shelf life of fermented vegetables will really depend on how you want to serve them.

Sauerkraut and cucumber pickles are traditionally long-fermented vegetables. They can last for up to a year in a dark, cool location.

Other pickled vegetables can also be stored in a cool dark location for 6 months to a year. However, they will become really soft as they ferment. Mine do not last that long.

[dirtdiva]

The handiest thing in my kitchen! Dehydrated spices and herbs. Onions, peppers (both sweet and hot) celery, garlic, garlic scapes and green onions. Very little preparation. Clean and chop. Once dried I put them in jars and let then set for about a week to make sure they are completely dry. You are watching for drops of moisture in the jar. If you see any put it back in the dehydrator. If not once the jar is full. I put an oxygen absorber in it and seal. Store in a cool and dark area. Sunlight will bleach your veggies over time.  These will last for years. To rehydrate simply cover with hot water and let sit. Just throw dry into pot of soups.

[dirtdiva]

Pretty simple process. Brown lean ground beef and get out as much fat as possible. I scoop it out and save for the dogs to add to their food over the next few weeks. Then I rinse it under boiling water in a colander to remove any grease still on the meat. Then I put in sterile pint jars and pour hot beef broth made from a powdered beef base over the top. Put on lid and ring making sure to clean rim with vinegar and water to remove any fat and process in pressure canner for 90 minutes. A great convenience item just add noodles or rice and you have an instant meal with protein.

My husband's preferred way to eat this is with barley, long grain wild rice, onions, mushrooms, garlic, and slivered almonds .

[dirtdiva]

Been a busy week in the kitchen. Homemade Ghee cooling. 




Almost daily batches of tomato sauce canned.




Tomatoes in the dehydrator are dried until crunchy and then run through a blender



Final product is tomato powder. This is put in jars or could be put in mylar with an oxygen absorber. With the addition of hot water or broth it can be a hot soup in a cup or added to pasta sauces, chili or soups as a thickener. 



And my absolute favorite heirloom bicolor tomato variety " Big Rainbow" The flavor of this old tomato is wonderful. You will never find this in the store. As a size comparison that is a cantaloupe in the dish pan with it. We call these a one slicer. One slice fits the whole sandwich.  indeterminate, yellow and red striped in color and low acidity so not good for canning. Supper tomorrow bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches.

Stay Safe DD

[SA Hunter]

LOL - thought the first jar was a bottle of moonshine

[dirtdiva]

No I do make wine sometime but that is ghee it is just not cooled yet to solidify.

[shinester]

Oh this thread is great!

I'm liking the fermented preservation especially because vinegar is a much harder resource to acquire in an austere situation, and you use so little salt. I know it 'depends' and that alcohol even in a few percent preserves [which is why most of Europe drank low % beer for hundreds of years at least] though have you got an approximation on what's a reasonable time of storage outside of the fridge?

Also did you know that you can use normal jars in canning? Saves on money and reuses all the extra jars. I've reached a point where I prefer to use them as they're infinity more reusable than the mason jars with the squishy seal. Standard jars don't break more, they seal well [I'd say better] due to the silicone seal. Best part, zero cost if you buy other ingredients in jars.

[spinifex]

Hey DD, Do you de-seed your tomato sauce/puree before storing it?

I was taught that skins and seeds make tomato sauce bitter over time if left in storage. So I remove them both. Skins before rendering starts and seeds as soon as the tomatoes have cooked enough to be soft enough to pass through a sieve. Adds a fair bit of effort to the process though.

[dirtdiva]

Aug 24, 2020 2:03:10 GMT 10 shinester said:

Oh this thread is great!

I'm liking the fermented preservation especially because vinegar is a much harder resource to acquire in an austere situation, and you use so little salt. I know it 'depends' and that alcohol even in a few percent preserves [which is why most of Europe drank low % beer for hundreds of years at least] though have you got an approximation on what's a reasonable time of storage outside of the fridge?

Also did you know that you can use normal jars in canning? Saves on money and reuses all the extra jars. I've reached a point where I prefer to use them as they're infinity more reusable than the mason jars with the squishy seal. Standard jars don't break more, they seal well [I'd say better] due to the silicone seal. Best part, zero cost if you buy other ingredients in jars.

My grandparents made sauerkraut when I was a kid and it kept in big crocks in the spring house all winter with no refrigeration. Up north it was kept in root cellars but those were both cooler areas. I think  it would vary depending on temperature and humidity during a given time. People fermented food long before refrigeration. 

I see that lots of people outside the U.S. use normal jars. I have 3 generations of jars from women in my family and am still using some of my mother's and my grandmother's jars and crocks. I rarely buy store bought food in glass and most food in the U.S. is now in plastic jars. 

The problem with mason jars is the sealing method. Right now in the U.S. there is a major shortage of lids and rings. I was fortunate enough to have a large supply in my preps foreseeing this problem. Many did not and have been unable to can when they need to can most.

There is also a reusable lid they are marketing now in the U.S. called a Tattler lid. You simply replace a rubber gasket. It is simply a remake of the old turn of the century design. I as of yet do not use them because I have seen some reports of pretty bad burns from them. Which is the reason they changed the design to start with. How fast we forget!

I do have a few old jars that things like coffee and tomato sauce came in once upon a time that I use. I have also saved all large gallon and above glass jars through the years not only for things like pickles and kraut but they are also great for storage. 

Gad you enjoy the thread and stay safe DD

[dirtdiva]

Aug 24, 2020 7:53:22 GMT 10 spinifex said:

Hey DD, Do you de-seed your tomato sauce/puree before storing it?

I was taught that skins and seeds make tomato sauce bitter over time if left in storage. So I remove them both. Skins before rendering starts and seeds as soon as the tomatoes have cooked enough to be soft enough to pass through a sieve. Adds a fair bit of effort to the process though.

I do remove the skins from my tomatoes yes but the seeds remain. I use a paste tomato that has a very small seed cavity and fewer seeds. When my tomatoes are cooking down I run an immersion blender through the pot and puree the few seeds up  with the tomato pulp. There is a lone seed in there though. I usually do not keep anything I can over 2 years so rarely have I had anything get bitter. My mother ran her tomatoes through a contraption she called a ricer. It has 3 pieces a cone with holes, a stand that the cone fits into and a wooden paddle that forces the tomato through. I have my mother's. Will try to find a picture of one you may have the same or similar. 

The skins once removed are put into the dehydrator and dried then run through the blender to become part of my tomato powder. That has turned into such a convenience food and so shelf stable. 

[dirtdiva]

[dirtdiva]

This is the  "new" reusable jar lid and you just have to replace the rubber gasket. 





This is the "vintage " equivalent of the same product again it came with a replaceable rubber gasket. This dates to about the 1930's

[tomatoes]

Aug 24, 2020 12:34:06 GMT 10 dirtdiva said:

This is the  "new" reusable jar lid and you just have to replace the rubber gasket. 





This is the "vintage " equivalent of the same product again it came with a replaceable rubber gasket. This dates to about the 1930's

In Australia, preserving is mostly done using a fowlers vacola system - at least up until recently as perhaps it’s changed now that we can get ball mason jars easily. Anyway, you may be interested to know that the only thing that you need to replace in the vacola jars are rubber rings - a bit like with the reusable lids you can get for mason jars now, unless your lids or jars are damaged of course.

I use both systems depending on what I’m bottling, but for just simple fruit preserves I much prefer the vacola system.

I have jars and lids that I’ve been using for over 20 years and they were not new when I got them, so they are much older than that. I’ve rarely thrown any away and I don’t recall ever having a seal fail.

[dirtdiva]

How expensive are the Ball jars there and are you experiencing a lid shortage during this pandemic. Here in the states the canning shelves are absolutely bare. everything from lids to jars to canning salts, pectins and spices are gone. I guess everyone is canning in record numbers or buying and stashing lots. I live out in the country and more gardens and bigger gardens than I have ever seen.


Had to do a search on Vacola system. Looks interesting.

[tomatoes]

This is the online store that I have generally found to be cheapest, and I think others from here buy from them too.

www.ozfarmer.com/12-x-pint-wide-mouth-jars-and-lids-bpa-free-lids-ball-mason

12 wide mouth pints - $36.95au (about 26 us)

They are much more expensive at stores you walk into eg Big W, and not available many places. It’s not that easy to get vacola jars either though. There isn’t as much of a culture of preserving here.

I didn’t notice any shortage of supply, but I also didn’t try buying any either! I have enough to go on with, but your thread is making me think that I should increase my stash of the consumables for my jars.

The thing that I love about the vacola system is that you pack the uncooked (in most cases) fruit into jars, add liquid (which can just be water if you want, but sometimes needs some citric acid eg for tomatoes, or use juice/syrup if you want that for flavour), put the lids on then put them in the automatic hot water bath for one hour. It’s the same method for pretty much every fruit. The fruit cooks in the jars and the jars are sterilised all in one go. This might sound risky to people use to having to pack hot, etc, but the method is actually very low risk.

This is getting pretty off topic from your thread - sorry. I just noticed that in other parts of the world the vacola system seems pretty much unknown and I thought you might be interested.

I use ball mason for jams and things where I want to follow a recipe from the blue book, but for simple fruit preserves, fruit pie fillings, etc, I love the ease of vacola.

[dirtdiva]

Not off thread at all in my opinion and I am very interested. Wide mouth pint Ball jars are running $17. us a case of 12 IF you can find them. Unfortunately very few stores have them and there is some major price gouging going on. I saw 1 case online for $40.00 US. Before Covid you could get them for $8.00 US a case.

I find the vacola system interesting. My mother years ago never sterilized her jars especially those going in the pressure canner. I saw where they are actually starting to recommend that now. They get so hot in the pressure canner that it is going to kill anything anyway.

My grandmother topped her food with paraffin wax back in the 50's to seal out oxygen. My late mother in law was in her 90's and talked about putting an entire wild duck in a jar then capping them with the liquid fat. Same concept the fat would harden and seal out oxygen.

I have some jars in the canner now. I will take some pictures and post with the recipe. It is very similar to what you are talking about with the vacola. You will have to look and see what you think.

Stay safe DD

[dirtdiva]

Grape Juice Concentrate

This is probably the easiest recipe you will find for making home canned grape juice. I LOVE how simple it is. No cooking, no squeezing, no juicing; how great is that? And the flavor is outstanding.

Grape Juice (Quarts)
Ingredients per quart jar:
1/3 c. sugar ( 1 like 1/4)
1 1/3 c. grapes (I like Scuppernongs)
boiling water

Wash the grapes well. Using a funnel and ladle, pour sugar in bottom of jar and then whole grapes on top into hot jars. Fill jars with boiling water to 1/2 in. headspace, then I take my bubble too and remove bubbles and stir sugar until dissolved. Cover with lids and rings. Pressure can jars for 10 min. at 5 lbs. Allow to cool overnight before testing the seals on the lids. If any didn’t seal, refrigerate immediately.

The pressure from the canner causes the juice to squeeze out of the grapes and fill the jar. Most of the grape skins will fall to the bottom of the jar eventually, although it’s okay if some still float, they are easily strained out.

I use this as a concentrate first straining and then adding water to the strength that we like. You can add other fruit or even some lemon slices when mixing.

Also at 2000 ft above sea level I adjust for altitude and can 7 lbs and 15 minutes.

Grapes are an excellent source of vitamin C, vitamin K and manganese.

[dirtdiva]

In the dehydrator today okra slices , mixed vegetables and celery. Yesterday was sliced mushrooms

[Tim Horton]

Our apple season has begun a little less aggressive than most years.. With weather and the fact it seems mostly the off part of every other season we have been able to keep up quite well.. The apples here are quite poor compared to table apples, but make excellent dried slices for rabbits and canned ground apples for chicken feed.. We usually pick and process a ton or more to keep bears out of pretentious people neighborhoods..

OMG.... Peas... We have froze more peas than ever so far.. Hope the rest of the garden will fully mature before our usual first frost around the 15 of this month.. We planted extra, extra potatoes as we had the sets. Hope they all do well.. Mushrooms are cheap here, so Sweetie canned a small ton of them along with about a same amount of homegrown celery..

Sweetie also canned peaches, peach jam, peach peel and pit jelly.. Same with pears, fruit like that coming from the south of the province.. We got about 8 or so liter black currents that were distilled into concentrate, canned for future use, and one batch of jelly so far..

We also got about 3 liter of dead ripe goose berries... They made a most wonderful jam..Our local wild fruits, honey berry, saskatoon berry are slow this year, but appear abundant..

I need to make pork loin smoked bacon soon. To make more room in the freezer as bear season is open and moose season will open soon.. With luck that space will get used..

[dirtdiva]

but make excellent dried slices for rabbits

Do you rehydrate the slices when feeding or feed them as they are?

We usually pick and process a ton or more to keep bears out of pretentious people neighborhoods.

Have a friend that the bears hit their peach trees last month. Unbelievable the damage the bears did to the actual trees!

Our local wild fruits, honey berry, saskatoon berry are slow this year,

What do you do with your Saskatoon? We just planted 5 trees last year.