This kind of can. Why is canning if you use jars?
What an adventure! I had big plans to take beautiful pictures of the whole process, but I literally ended up with with too many pots on the stove and the camera was lost in the mess for a good portion of the event. Those food shows on TV are like Vickie Secret's models, they set unrealistic expectations for the average person. My kitchen could not look anything less like a TV show kitchen during this process, it was mad chaos! When the Food Network folks finally give me my own show they will have to hire twice as many production assistants than their other shows, I am messy in the kitchen. Anyway, the canning was a success: I can CAN! Here is the story and some recipes.
There it is; everything I need to create and can four different condiments. Wait... something is missing....
OK, now we are ready to can!
The challenge was to can condiments: salsa, zucchini/pepper relish, pickled radish and sweet pepper relish. I started with my tried and true salsa. It really was the same old recipe, just added some vinegar and cooked it for 20 minutes. Tastes great! While the salsa was cooking I started the zucchini/pepper relish and sweet pepper relish. I have to go an a small tangent here to share my new found love of the Cuisinart. At the risk of sounding ignorant, I had no idea what all those crazy attachments were for and have only used my Cuisinart with the blade that chops. I only own it because it is somehow a required item on all wedding registries so I got it as a wedding gift years ago. The slicer and shredder are pure brilliance! I had no idea the Cuisinart could do all this and since it has the safety locks I could let me 3 year old son help me by pushing the button. Pure joy for a small boy to watch a whole zucchini shredded to bits in a matter of seconds (I sort of thought it was cool too).
Sorry for the diversion, but I am really excited about the Cuisinart.
After shredding a lot of zucchini and a variety of peppers, I started slicing radishes. I hand sliced way too many radish. I never would have had enough jars for all the radish I sliced and was not sure how well the pickled radish will taste, so I only sealed about 6 jars of radish. Once I made the pickling juice it only filled one jar, I hadn't planned for that, so I had to make a bigger batch to complete the task. All in all, I was able to create all four condiments and they all came out pretty good. And most importantly all my little lids popped shut - no botulism here!
Salsa
Source - my own version. The quantities may vary. I didn't really measure this, just kind of threw stuff in until it looked and tasted great.
INGREDIENTS
14 Large Ripe Tomatoes - skinned, de-seeded and chopped small
1 Large White Onion - chopped
5 Large Tomitillo - chopped
6 Jalepenos - chopped small
1 Green Bell Pepper - chopped
1 Cup Fresh Cilantro - chopped
Juice from one Lime
4 Cloves Crushed Garlic
1 Tablespoon of Salt
1/3 Cup Vinegar
Combine all ingredients in a large stock pot and simmer for about 20 minutes. Don't actually bring it to a boil. Pour the hot salsa into warm jars and complete the canning process.
First I had to parboil the tomatoes then peel and de-seed them. Such a simple process; drop whole tomatoes into boiling water for 2 minutes, remove and place tomatoes into a bowl of ice water for a few minutes. Once you remove them from the ice water the skin just falls right off. Cut and remove all the seeds and water so you only have tomato meat left.
Zucchini Pepper Relish
Source: What's Cooking Havre Boucher Cookbook. A community cookbook put together by the Volunteer Fire Department in the small rural Nova Scotia town that my mother-in-law grew up in and still lives. Small town full of truly amazing home cooks.
INGREDIENTS
10 cups shredded zucchini
4 cups chopped onion
4 tablespoons salt
3 each red and green peppers seeded and finely chopped
2 yellow peppers, seeded and finely chopped
2 1/2 cups white vinegar
3 cups white sugar
1 tablespoon each ground turmeric, celery seed, ground nutmeg, mustard powder
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
Note: I shredded everything, nothing was chopped, we were just having too much fun with the Cuisinart. I also did not salt the zucchini first. I can see how competing this process would make a less water relish than I got.
Combine zucchini, onion, salt and peppers. Let stand for 1 1/2 hours. Drain and rinse with cold water. Combine remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Combine all ingredients in a preserving kettle or Dutch oven; simmer, just below boiling point, for about 30-40 minutes. Pour into sterilized jars and seal.
Shredding frenzy!
Shredded the peppers too!
Sweet Pepper Relish
I used the same recipe as the zucchini relish, just added jalapeños and a bit less sugar.
Pickled Radish
Source: Ugh! I can't remember or find it again. It was on another blog. Radish recipes are generally not too common, so not sure why I can't find it again. Anyway, this recipe came from a great blog about canning.
INGREDIENTS
13 Radish - very thinly sliced
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon mustard seed
1/4 teaspoon coriander seed
1/4 whole peppercorn
1 bay leaf
Combine all ingredients except the radish in a small saucepan and bring to a boil then simmer for 10-15 minutes. Fill jars with sliced radish then top the radish with the pickling juice. Complete canning.
Soooo many radish!
They are really pretty though.
CANNING
Here is the actual process and turns out it is very simple. Wash and sterilize all the cans and lids. I used the dishwasher for this as it completes two tasks - sterilizes and keeps the jars warm till canning time. When the contents are complete, simply fill the warm jars with the warm ingredients leaving an inch or so at the top. Wipe the top clean. Place the brand new can lid with seal on top, then screw on the ring, not really tight. Submerge closed jars into a pot of rapidly boiling water. Must have at least 2 inches of water over the top of the jar. Boil jars for the amount of time directed on each recipe. I boiled all 3 recipes for 20-30 minutes each. Remove jars from boiling water, place on cooling rack or dish towels and wait to hear the "pop" of each jar sealing as it cools. Screw the lids on tight now. Let cool for 12 hours on the racks then store and use as you would grocery store purchased jars. It was ridiculously easy!
Please don't take my word as the hard fast rules of canning. Botulism scares me so I don't want to be responsible for any canning mishaps. Check out the following link for a more detailed explanation of the canning process.
