Canning 2009.2 Finished!
Notes to self:
-Peaches should definitely be canned the day they are picked. One day later, after they had been sitting in my relatively cool kitchen for not even 24 hours, several of them had started to mold and a bunch had big brown bruised yucky spots.
-When it says online that cucumbers used for pickles should be picked when they are small, green and warty, not large yellow and smooth, it really means it. Large wartless cucumbers have tons of seeds in them. Now I have very seedy pickles.
Results of canning 2009.2:
1. Online Dill Pickles - I made 1/2 a batch of these, so 4 pounds. These pickles had to be soaked overnight in salt water. I used mostly larger yellow cucumbers and cut them into spears. Lacking dill heads, but having fresh dill from our CSA, I added 1.5 tsp of dill seed and a couple of pieces of fresh dill to each jar. These pickles appear to have more spices in the jar than any of the other types I tried.
2. Dill Pickles from the Ball Blue Book of Preserving (pg 48) - I also made a half a batch of these, which was also 4 pounds. These didn't require soaking and were minimally spiced in the jar. This recipe only calls for dill heads, which I didn't have, so I substituted dill seed (3/4 tsp) and some fresh dill fronds. Hopefully it works. Again, I used mostly larger cucumbers, but this time I cut them into a variety of exciting pickle configurations (spears, sliced longways, sliced across). I made several of the jars according to the kosher recipe variation, where you add a bay leaf, a piece of hot red pepper and some mustard seed. I added about 1.5" of some dried red peppers I got in a tiny bag. Note to self: Apparently dried red peppers can be purchased singly in the produce aisle (or bulk food).
3. Cucumber Sandwich Pickles, Ball Blue Book (pg 46) - Full batch of these, which is still only 2 pounds. These are sliced into rounds, then soaked in brine for 3 hours. Then, they get boiled in a diluted vinegar solution, then boiled again in their spice solution. This is the most spiced pickle I made; it's solution contains sugar, celery seed, mustard seed, and turmeric in addition to vinegar. I used smaller pickles for this one. This only made 3 pints. I tasted a pickle that wouldn't fit in a jar and liked the spice solution quite a bit. It's a vinegary/sweet taste. No notes on this one, except that they soaked in salt water for a bit over 3 hours (possibly 4) because I had to go to the grocery store to get more mustard seed.
4. Hamburger Dills, Ball Blue Book (pg 48) - All remaining pickles, which was probably close to a full batch. These were similar to the first type, but contain peppercorns in their jars. Again, didn't have dill heads, but the first recipe said to use either 3 heads per jar or 3 tsp of dill seed, so I decided I could use this a 1 head : 1 tsp seed conversion ratio for this recipe. Pickles get sliced, then put in jars with spices and salt / vinegar liquid. I made several different pickle slice configurations of this recipe, too.
All of these pickles have to sit for 4-6 weeks to develop their final flavor, so I won't know if they're any good for another month or so. At that point, I'm going to have a pickle taste-test. Next year, if I like any of them, I'll go pick cucumbers earlier in the season so I can get smaller, younger ones. Then I can make only one or two types that we really liked.
5. Sliced peaches - No notes, except that the light syrup in the Ball book has more sugar in it than the light syrup online. My peaches are all floating, which leads me to believe that I used too much sugar. Online syrup recipe next time! I love canned peaches (and pears, but we're almost out of those) with cottage cheese. I'm going to pick peaches again later in the season and can more of them. They're my favorite!
6. Peach Butter - Peach butter is not as good as pear or apple butter. For one thing, when you cook apples and pears long enough, they just sort of fall apart. Peaches don't seem to do that. They're quite a bit more fibrous than apples or pears. The butter is somewhat oddly textured, even after I ran it through my food mill several times. This recipe also over-spices the peach butter. It's very cinnamon-y and strongly flavored. It's also not very sweet. I wouldn't make this again; there are much better things to do with peaches. On the plus side, I have a lot of it so if anyone wants to try it, you're more than welcome. :)