Last night we had our first frost. The leaves on the squash plants had a thin coating of ice on them. Today Attila is picking the last of the green tomatoes and peppers, which will not be canned. The peppers will be used in cooking over the next few days, and the green tomatoes laid out in a cardboard box to ripen. The estimate is that there will be ripe tomatoes for sandwiches for at least another week.
The cabbages and the squash have not yet been harvested, they will be good out in the garden for the next week or so.
When discussing what to do with green tomatoes, yesterday when we knew the frost might arrive, the topic of green tomato mincemeat came up. Our favourite mincemeat is Brandied Cranberry Apple Mincemeat, which does not use green tomatoes. The decision was made to make the favoured mincemeat, and let the green tomatoes ripen after harvesting. This is the time of year to make mincemeat, local apples are on sale in bulk at the grocery store.
The mincemeat canning project began this morning around 10:30 a.m., and was completed just after 5:00 p.m. It was time consuming, as there are many ingredients, all needing preparation. Eighteen 500-ml jars of mincemeat were canned. Four of the jars did not seal, so in the morning they will be reprocessed with new lids.
Manufacturers and the USDA both indicate that lids are to be used once, and it seems such a waste. I have to wonder about it. All through canning season this year, I kept two canning jars full of just water, each with a used lid and a ring. When I wanted to process just one or two jars these jars of water would be put in the canner to make sure the minimum number of jars were processed. Every time I used the jars in the canner, I would first pop the seal. They were canned over and over and over again. Those used lids sealed every single time, never failed. So I have to wonder why are we told to throw them away after one use?
Although the nights are cold, falling almost to, but not quite, to below zero, the house remains warm and cozy. The heat has not been turned on yet this autumn, and last week we had to run the cooling system because it was getting uncomfortably warm in here. Food processing activities use a lot of power, and give off a lot of heat. Now that canning season has come to an end with this last binge canning session, we may need to turn on the heating system soon.
Worldly
Weather
7°C
Date: 8:00 PM EDT Thursday 10 October 2024
Condition: Mainly Clear
Pressure: 102.1 kPa
Tendency: Rising
Temperature: 7.0°C
Dew point: 3.7°C
Humidity: 80%
Wind: WSW 6 km/h
Visibility: 24 km
Quote
“I have no faith in human perfectability. I think that human exertion will have no appreciable effect upon humanity. Man is now only more active – not more happy – nor more wise, than he was 6000 years ago.”
Edgar Allan Poe
1809 – 1849
I think I disagree with Edgar Allen Poe. Now 200 years in the future, I think some of us are more happy. Of course, it’s very individually dependent because people do need to learn to be grateful for what they have.
Do you find it easy to ripen green tomatoes, Maggie? I don’t think I’ve ever succeeded ripening a tomato unless it had already started turning color on its own.
My cynical view is the manufacturers tell you you should only use the lids once because then you’ll have to go out and buy more. More profits for them. The mincemeat with apples sounds really good.
Teri, we spread the tomatoes out in a cardboard box and leave them. Most of them ripen, but the very small, very dark green ones do not. We don’t have many this year though, so there won’t be many that ripen or are lost to the compost. Attila reckons I have one week left to enjoy toasted tomato sandwiches for breakfast, then I will need to find some other good thing to eat.
Sandy, I agree with you. The metal doesn’t usually wear out, but the lining of the lid and the seal material do after time. I know a lot of. people reuse the lids, I am not quite so brave. There is a company that sells stainless steel lids, and I have some of those but haven’t used them yet. I think with those I will try using rubber rings to can with them, and reuse them over and over again. I’ve tried the plastic lids, reusable, but the seals fail with too great a frequency, although the manufacturer consistently says it is because the consumer is not using them right, they are too finicky for me! I want something that seals every time, and stays sealed, which the plastic lids do not do here at my house.