I just put 18 500 ml jars of red peppers into the pressure canner. This is my first pressure canning session of the 2023 harvest season. Attila and I worked together on the preparation for this project, he toted things up and down the basement stairs, including the pressure canner which weighs a ton. He also cut the peppers into eighths to go into the jars. I don’t add salt to the jars, and the peppers are canned with filtered water only, no spices or herbs. We still have almost a half bushel of red peppers left, so I may do a second load… I will have to see how tired I am when the first batch comes out of the canner.
My canner allows me to double stack 500 ml jars, but this is the first time I’ve tried it. I have my fingers crossed that it turns out well.
All of the jars of salsa I canned yesterday sealed. I canned two for the third time, plus one part jar, and used Tattler lids on those as I’d already wasted four expensive lids on failed seals. They all sealed, thank goodness.
Of the 12 jars of tomato sauce that were canned yesterday, one jar failed to seal. That was placed in the refrigerator, and will be used for either soup or a casserole later this week.
Our first experience with the tomato mill was interesting. The Roma tomatoes were washed, rinsed, the stem end removed, quartered, then placed in a large stock pot to heat and soften. The mill was assembled, and four cups of the softened tomatoes were run through. It was a bit of a disaster, the tomato water leaked out all over counter, and the bottom of the mill. It was easy to just switch off the mill.
When we had that mess cleaned up, the mill was taken apart to determine what went wrong. At first we thought that it was a gasket that we had missed and not installed. No. No gasket. The solution turned out to be very simple, the catchement tray had been placed incorrectly. After making that small adjustment the whole process was extremely easy. Over a half a bushel of tomatoes were sauce in less than ten minutes. It produced a lovely sauce, with all the skins and seeds removed.
Today the tomato skins are baking in the oven at a very low temperature. When they are completely dry, I will grind them into a powder. Tomato powder is a wonderful addition to soups, casseroles, and herb mixes.
Attila just brought the other half bushel of red peppers from the basement. Wow, lots there, I see a second pressure canning session coming up today!
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Updated on Mon, Sep 4 at 1:45 PM
31°C
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Wind 10 W km/h
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Sunrise 6:33 AM
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Ceiling 9100 m
Sunset 7:39 PM
Quote
“Let no man pull you low enough to hate him.”
Martin Luther King Jr.
1929 – 1968