The Amish Canning Cookbook (11 page)

Combine water, vinegar, salt, and pickling spice bag. Heat mixture to boiling and then remove spice bag.

Put 1 clove garlic into each jar; pack asparagus into jars, tip ends down for easier removal later. Cover with boiling vinegar solution, leaving ½-inch headspace. Following the directions in chapter 3, “Water-Bath Canning: A Step-by-Step Guide,” process the pickled asparagus as follows:

Process
pints
or
quarts
for 10 minutes at 0 to 1,000 feet altitude; 15 minutes at 1,001 to 6,000 feet altitude; 20 minutes above 6,000 feet.

Alternatively, you can process the jars using the “Lower-Temperature Pasteurization Process” found at the end of this chapter.

Makes about 8 pints.

Pickled Dilly Beans

4 lbs. fresh tender green or yellow beans

8 to 16 heads fresh dill

8 cloves garlic

½ cup pickling or canning salt

4 cups 5% vinegar

4 cups water

1 tsp. hot red pepper flakes (optional)

Wash and trim ends of beans.

In each pint jar, place 1 or 2 dill heads and 1 clove garlic. Pack jars (pints only) with beans, standing them upright; trim beans if necessary to ensure proper fit, leaving half an inch of headspace.

Combine salt, vinegar, water, and pepper flakes (if using). Bring to a boil. Add hot vinegar solution to beans, leaving
½
inch of headspace. Following the directions in chapter 3, “Water-Bath Canning: A Step-by-Step Guide,” process the pickled dilly beans as follows:

Process
pints
for 5 minutes at 0 to 1,000 feet altitude; 10 minutes at 1,001 to 6,000 feet altitude; 15 minutes above 6,000 feet.

Alternatively, you can process the jars using the “Lower-Temperature Pasteurization Process” found at the end of this chapter.

Makes about 8 pints.

Pickled Three-Bean Salad

1½ cups fresh green or yellow beans

1½ cups canned red kidney beans, drained

1 cup canned garbanzo beans, drained

½ cup onion, thinly sliced

½ cup celery, trimmed and thinly sliced

½ cup sliced green peppers

½ cup 5% vinegar

¼ cup bottled lemon juice

¾ cup sugar

1¼ cups water

¼ cup oil

½ tsp. pickling or canning salt

Wash and snap ends off of fresh beans. Cut into 1- to 2-inch pieces. Blanch 3 minutes and then cool immediately. Rinse kidney beans and drain again. Prepare remainder of vegetables.

In a large pot, combine vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, and water and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Add oil and salt and mix well. Add vegetables and return to heat; bring to a simmer. Cover and refrigerate for 12 to 14 hours so vegetables have time to marinate.

After marinating, return the pot with vegetables and vinegar solution to the stove and heat the contents to a boil. Fill half-pint or pint jars with vegetables and then ladle hot cooking liquid over the top, leaving ½-inch headspace. Following the directions in chapter 3, “Water-Bath Canning: A Step-by-Step Guide,” process the pickled three-bean salad as follows:

Process
half-pints
or
pints
for 15 minutes at 0 to 1,000 feet altitude; 20 minutes at 1,001 to 6,000 feet altitude; 25 minutes above 6,000 feet.

Alternately, you can process the jars using the “Lower-Temperature Pasteurization Process” found at the end of this chapter.

Makes 5 to 6 half-pints.

Pickled Beets

7 lbs. beets, uniform size

4 cups 5% vinegar

1½ tsp. pickling or canning salt

2 cups sugar

2 cups water

2 cinnamon sticks

12 whole cloves

4 to 6 small onions (optional)

Trim beets ends, leaving 1 inch of stem and roots. Wash thoroughly. Place beets in a large pot and add water to cover. Bring to a boil and boil until beets are tender, about 25 to 30 minutes. Drain and discard cooking liquid.

Cool beets. Trim off roots and stems and slip off skins. Slice into thin slices, about ¼-inch thick. Peel and thinly slice onions.

Combine vinegar, salt, sugar, and 2 cups water. Put spices in a spice or cheesecloth bag and add to vinegar mixture. Bring to a boil. Add beets and onions and simmer 5 minutes. Remove spice bag.

Fill jars with beet mixture, leaving ½-inch headspace. Following the directions in chapter 3, “Water-Bath Canning: A Step-by-Step Guide,” process the pickled beets as follows:

Process
pints
or
quarts
for 30 minutes at 0 to 1,000 feet altitude; 35 minutes at 1,001 to 3,000 feet altitude; 40 minutes at 3,001 to 6,000 feet altitude; 45 minutes above 6,000 feet.

Alternately, you can process the jars using the “Lower-Temperature Pasteurization Process” found at the end of this chapter.

Makes about 8 pints.

Chow Chow

1 cup green tomatoes, chopped

1 cup bell peppers, chopped

1 cup cabbage, chopped

1 whole cucumber, chopped

1 cup onions, chopped

2 quarts water

¼ cup salt

1 cup carrots, chopped

1 cup green beans, chopped

2 tsp. mustard seed

2 tsp. celery seed

2 cups vinegar

2 cups sugar

Soak tomatoes, peppers, cabbage, cucumber, and onions overnight in water and salt. Drain; rinse and drain again. Cook carrots and green beans for 10 minutes; drain. In a large pot, mix together all ingredients; heat to boiling. Pack hot chow chow into hot pint jars, leaving ¼-inch headspace.

Following the directions in chapter 3, “Water-Bath Canning: A Step-by-Step Guide,” process the chow chow as follows:

Process
pints
for 10 minutes at 0 to 1,000 feet altitude; 15 minutes at 1,001 to 6,000 feet altitude; 20 minutes above 6,000 feet.

Makes about 4 pints.

Deluxe Chow Chow

Vegetables, chunked

2 quarts plus 1 pint cauliflower

3 pints carrots

2 quarts plus 1 pint celery

3½ pints green and red peppers

2½ pints baby lima beans

2 pints sour pickles

1 heaping quart onions

salt to taste

Syrup

4 cups vinegar

2 cups cooking liquid from cooked celery

5½ lbs. sugar

¾ cup prepared mustard

3 T. mustard seed

2 tsp. turmeric

1 tsp. celery seed

Dice each vegetable in ½- to 1-inch chunks. Cook each vegetable separately in a pot of boiling water (except for the pickles) just until softened. Season each with salt. Drain and gently mix all vegetables together.

Combine all syrup ingredients in a large pot. Add the mixed vegetables and heat to the boiling point. Pack hot chow chow into hot pint jars, leaving ¼-inch headspace. Following the directions in chapter 3, “Water-Bath Canning: A Step-by-Step Guide,” process the chow chow as follows:

Process
pints
for 15 minutes at 0 to 1,000 feet altitude; 20 minutes at 1,001 to 6,000 feet altitude; 25 minutes above 6,000 feet.

Makes about 14 pints.

Pickled Whole Mushrooms

7 lbs. small whole fresh button mushrooms (less than 1¼ inch in diameter)

½ cup bottled lemon juice

2 cups olive oil or salad oil

2½ cups 5% vinegar

1 T. oregano

1 T. basil

1 T. pickling or canning salt

½ cup finely chopped onion

¼ cup pimento, diced

2 to 3 cloves garlic, cut in quarters

25 black peppercorns

Note: Do not use wild-harvested mushrooms
.

Wash mushrooms; cut stems, leaving ¼ inch attached to cap. Combine mushrooms, lemon juice, and water to cover in a large pot. Simmer for 5 minutes. Drain mushrooms.

Mix olive oil, vinegar, oregano, basil, and salt in a saucepan. Stir in onions and pimento and heat to boiling, mixing well.

Place ¼ garlic clove and 2 to 3 peppercorns in each half-pint jar. Fill jars with mushrooms and boiling vinegar solution, leaving ½-inch headspace.

Following the directions in chapter 3, “Water-Bath Canning: A Step-by-Step Guide,” process the pickled mushrooms as follows:

Process
half-pints
for 20 minutes at 0 to 1,000 feet altitude; 25 minutes at 1,001 to 3,000 feet altitude; 30 minutes at 3,001 to 6,000 feet altitude; 35 minutes above 6,000 feet.

Makes about 9 half-pints.

Pickled Hot Peppers

4 lbs. hot peppers, red, green, or yellow (Hungarian, banana, chili, jalapeno, Serrano)

3 lbs. sweet red and green peppers, mixed

5 cups 5% vinegar

1 cup water

4 tsp. pickling or canning salt

2 T. sugar

2 cloves garlic

Note:
To prevent burns, wear rubber gloves when handling hot peppers and don’t touch your face. Wash hands thoroughly when done.

To prepare peppers, first wash them. Cut larger peppers in half or in quarters; small peppers may be left whole but you’ll need to make 3 or 4 slits through the skin or else flatten them. Blanch peppers in boiling water to help remove skins, or blister skins by placing peppers in a 400-degree oven or under the broiler for 6 to 8 minutes, turning to get all sides, until skins blister. Cool peppers by placing them in a pan and covering them with a damp towel. After several minutes the pepper skins should peel off easily. Fill half-pint or pint jars with the peppers, leaving ½-inch headspace.

Combine remaining ingredients and bring to a boil; simmer for 10 minutes. Remove garlic. Ladle boiling vinegar solution over peppers, leaving ½-inch headspace. Following the directions in chapter 3, “Water-Bath Canning: A Step-by-Step Guide,” process the pickled peppers as follows:

Process
half-pints
and
pints
for 10 minutes at 0 to 1,000 feet altitude; 15 minutes at 1,001 to 6,000 feet altitude; 20 minutes above 6,000 feet.

Makes about 9 pints.

Bread and Butter Pickles

4 lbs. pickling cucumbers, cut into ¼-inch slices

2 lbs. onions (about 8 small), thinly sliced

⅓ cup pickling or canning salt

2 cups sugar

2 T. mustard seed

2 tsp. turmeric

2 tsp. celery seed

1 tsp. peppercorns

3 cups 5% vinegar

Combine cucumber and onion slices in a large bowl, layering with salt. Cover with 2 inches crushed or cubed ice; refrigerate for 3 hours, adding more ice as necessary. Drain, rinse well, and drain again.