Read The Amish Canning Cookbook Online
Authors: Georgia Varozza
3 quarts chopped green tomatoes
3 onions, chopped
3 green peppers (bell), chopped (or use 2 green and 1 red bell pepper)
6 T. salt
3 cups sugar
3 T. prepared mustard
3 tsp. celery salt
10 whole cloves
3 cups 5% vinegar
In a large bowl, combine tomatoes, onions, and peppers; add salt and mix well to combine; let set for 1 hour; drain.
In a large pot combine the drained vegetables, sugar, mustard, and celery salt. Tie whole cloves in a cheesecloth or spice bag and add to vegetables. Stir in vinegar. Over medium-low heat, bring mixture to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes; remove spice bag.
Ladle hot relish into hot half-pint or pint jars, leaving ¼-inch headspace. Process pints and half-pints in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes at 0 to 1,000 feet; 15 minutes at 1,001 ot 3,000 feet; 20 minutes at 3,001 to 6,000 feet; 25 minutes at 6,001 to 8,000 feet; 30 minutes above 8,000 feet. Makes about 7 pints.
2 lbs. red potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 lbs. lamb, cut into 1½-inch cubes
3 onions, chunked
8 cloves garlic, minced
4 quarts beef broth
1 quart water
4 T. rosemary leaves
4 T. thyme
3 bay leaves
4 T. salt
4 tsp. black pepper
12 carrots, peeled and sliced
In a large pot, mix together all ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes. Pack hot stew into hot jars, filling about halfway with food pieces. Ladle the cooking broth over the stew, leaving 1-inch headspace. Following the pressure canning directions in chapter 4, process quarts for 90 minutes and pints for 75 minutes at 10 psi, adjusting the psi as necessary for your altitude according to the altitude adjustment directions. Makes about 7 quarts.
2 cups suet, finely chopped
4 lbs. ground beef (can also use ground elk or venison)
5 quarts chopped apples
2 lbs. dark seedless raisins (about 5½ cups)
1 lb. white raisins (about 2¾ cups)
2 quarts apple cider
2 T. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. ground nutmeg
5 cups sugar
1 T. salt
Simmer meat and suet in water until cooked. Peel, core, and quarter apples. Put meat, suet, and apples through a food grinder using a medium blade. Combine all ingredients in a large pot and simmer 1 hour or until slightly thickened, stirring often. Immediately fill quart jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Following the pressure canning directions in chapter 4, process quarts for 90 minutes at 10 psi, adjusting the psi as necessary for your altitude according to the altitude adjustment directions. Makes about 7 quarts.
1 cup dried white beans (Great Northern, navy, cannellini)
1 cup peeled, cubed potatoes
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 carrots, peeled and cut into ½-inch lengths
2 lbs. tomatoes, skinned, cored, seeded, and chopped
3 cups green beans, cut into ½-inch lengths
1 cup spinach or kale, chopped
2 quarts chicken broth or stock
2 tsp. oregano
1 T. basil
1 T. salt
2 tsp. pepper
In a pot, cover beans with enough water to cover by 1 to 2 inches; bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let beans soak for an hour; drain and rinse beans. Return beans to pot and cover with 2 quarts fresh water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer beans for 30 minutes. Keep beans hot when done cooking.
While beans are cooking, prepare vegetables. Place prepared potatoes in one quart of cold water to which 1 tablespoon lemon juice has been added. (This will keep the potatoes from turning gray.) Cut the other vegetables and set aside. When ready to make soup, drain and quickly rinse potatoes.
Combine all ingredients except beans in a large pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and then simmer for 10 minutes.
Drain beans and divide them between 7 quart jars. Using a slotted spoon, divide the vegetables between the jars. Next, ladle broth in equal portions between the 7 jars—you need 1-inch headspace, so if you run out of broth, top off each jar with some boiling water to get to the proper level. Following the pressure canning directions in chapter 4, process quarts for 90 minutes at 10 psi, adjusting the psi as necessary for your altitude according to the altitude adjustment directions. Makes about 7 quarts.
To serve:
You can heat and eat as is, or you can add some cooked noodles to the minestrone. If you prefer, you can omit the spinach or kale from the canned soup recipe and add it to the soup when heating it up to serve instead. Top individual bowls with grated Parmesan cheese.
Mix-Your-Own Vegetable and Meat Soup
Note: You want to have half of each jar filled with meat and vegetables and then fill the jar to the top, leaving 1-inch headspace, with broth.
Meat or poultry:
Boil meat in water to cover until cooked through and tender. Remove bones and chop meat.
Vegetables:
Choose a variety of vegetables according to taste or what you have available. Chop vegetables and boil in water to cover for several minutes, or until vegetables are barely cooked.
Dried beans or peas:
For each cup of dried beans or peas, add 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil and then boil for 2 minutes; remove from heat, cover pot, and let beans soak for 1 hour; drain. Cover with fresh water and reheat to boiling; drain.
Broth:
You can use meat or poultry broth, canned tomatoes, water, or a combination.
Spices:
Choose any spices that please your palette, but remember—sage should not be added during the canning process because it turns bitter. If you want sage in your soup, add some once you open the jar and heat it for serving.
Combine all prepared ingredients, making sure there is plenty of broth to cover the meat and vegetables. Bring soup to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes.
Pack hot jars with hot soup, adding more hot broth as needed to fill the jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Following the pressure canning directions in chapter 4, process quarts for 75 minutes and pints for 60 minutes at 10 psi, adjusting the psi as necessary for your altitude according to the altitude adjustment directions.
25 to 30 good-sized tomatoes
2 large onions, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. lemon juice
1 tsp. black pepper
2 T. parsley
1 T. each sugar, oregano, and basil
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. each rosemary and celery seed
½ tsp. summer savory
Sauté onions and garlic in a small amount of olive oil until soft. Blot oil with paper towels to remove excess. Put onion mixture in a large pot and set aside.
Scald tomatoes to remove skins by plunging them into boiling water for 30 to 45 seconds and then running them under cold water. Slip skins off to peel. Remove cores and seeds and finely chop. Place chopped tomatoes in the large pot with the onions and garlic; add remaining ingredients.
Cook on low heat, stirring regularly, until mixture is simmering; continue to cook until the mixture has been reduced by about half and is thick—about 1½ to 2 hours.
Ladle hot sauce into hot pint jars, leaving 1 inch headspace. Following the pressure canning directions in chapter 4, process pints for 20 minutes at 10 psi, adjusting the psi as necessary for your altitude according to the altitude adjustment directions. Makes about 4 to 5 pints.
2 quarts pork, cut into 1½-inch cubes
2 quarts carrots, sliced
3 cups celery, chopped
3 cups onions, chopped
3 quarts potatoes, peeled and cubed
1½ T. salt
1 to 2 tsp. thyme
½ tsp. pepper
Boiling water or broth
In a large pot, brown the pork cubes in a small amount of vegetable oil.
In another large pot or saucepan place the carrots, celery, onions, and potatoes and add water to cover. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 minutes; drain vegetables and add them to the large pot with the browned meat. Add seasonings and mix carefully but thoroughly, keeping the mixture hot. Pack the stew into hot jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Ladle boiling water or broth over the stew, again leaving 1-inch headspace. Following the pressure canning directions in chapter 4, process quarts for 90 minutes and pints for 75 minutes at 10 psi, adjusting the psi as necessary for your altitude according to the altitude adjustment directions. Makes about 7 quarts.
2 lbs. tomatoes
7 lbs. red bell peppers, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup minced onion
¾ cup red wine vinegar or regular 5% vinegar
3 T. finely minced fresh basil
2 T. sugar
2 tsp. salt
Skin tomatoes by plunging them in boiling water for about 45 seconds or until skins begin to crack. Next, plunge them in ice cold water; when cool enough to handle, peel the skins; core and seed tomatoes and then finely chop them.
In a large pot, mix all ingredients together. On fairly low heat, stirring frequently so it doesn’t scorch on the bottom of the pot, heat the mixture to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes or until the mixture thickens and mounds on a spoon.
Ladle hot sandwich spread into hot half-pint or pint jars, leaving ½-inch headspace. Following the water-bath canning directions in chapter 3, process half-pints and pints in a boiling water canner for 15 minutes at 0 to 1,000 feet; 20 minutes at 1,001 to 3,000 feet; 25 minutes at 3,001 to 6,000 feet; 30 minutes at 6,001 to 8,000 feet; 35 minutes above 8,000 feet. Makes about 4 pints.
South of the Border Chicken Soup
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded or cubed
1½ cups carrots, sliced
2 cups celery, chopped
6 cups tomatoes, diced (fresh or canned)
4 to 6 jalapeno peppers, finely diced (fresh or canned), optional
2 cans kidney beans (15 ounces each)
12 cups chicken broth
3 cups corn (fresh or frozen)
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 T. salt
3 cloves garlic, minced
In a large pot, bring all ingredients except cooked chicken to a boil; cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Add cooked chicken and continue to simmer until chicken is hot.