Last summer (2009), I spent some time with my mom and grandma learning how to can. I did pretty good, so this year I decided to attempt water-bath canning on my own. Armed with my very own copy of the Ball Blue Book, an Amish canning book, and the biggest stinkin' pot known to man, I set out. This is what I accomplished this year:
Dill pickles...70 quarts
Berry Peach Jam...17 half-p*ints
Strawberry Syrup...4 pints (was supposed to be jam, but didn't set up right. It sealed properly, and tastes good, so it has now been re-named)
Peaches...15 quarts
Peach pie filling...3 quarts
Blackberry jam...10 pints
Tomatoes...99 quarts
Pizza Sauce...10 pints*
Strawberry Pie Filling...4 pints
Blueberry Pie Filling...4 pints
Cherry Pie Filling...4 pints
Spaghetti Sauce*...8 pints
Corn...6 pints
Green Tomato Relish...6 pints
Caramel Apple Butter...8 pints
for all of the items marked with *, I used canning mixes by Mrs. Wages
Last night, I was making supper, and wanted some corn. So, I headed down to the basement pantry where all of the glass jars are stored, picked up a jar full of beautiful golden corn, and came back upstairs, excitedly telling Steve and Jake that we were going to be eating the corn we canned. I got out the saucepan, opened the jar, and promptly gagged into the sink.
OH. MY. LORD. Soured corn has got to be the most foul smelling substance on this earth. I still don't know what happened, the seal was intact, and I followed the directions exactly. I'm scared to open another jar, because almost 24 hours later, I can still smell rotten corn in the kitchen.
I think from now on, I'll stick with freezing my corn!
I'm linking up at www.milehimama.com Glamour of a SAHM, even though I'm not a full time SAHM!
5 comments:
I've never smelled rotten sour corn, but moldy corn bread has a stink in its own league!
I just bought 36 ears of corn - I'm glad I'm planning to freeze them!
Thanks for linking up!
OH NO!! You are even braver than I for even trying canning in the first place.
Milehimama - never thought to freeze corn - on the cob or do you take it off?
I just reread your post - corn has to be pressure canned. Only acidic foods (pickles, tomatoes, fruits) can be water bath canned! Is that what went wrong?
Most veggies (corn, okra, green beans, carrots, beans, squash including pumpkin) have to be pressure canned.
Milehi,
I didn't pressure can the corn, so that was probably it. I have ceramic top stove, and can't use a pressure canner on it, so I found a water canning recipe. I won't be using that again. I'm looking for a regular coil stove to put in the basement so I can do all of my canning down there, instead of lugging jars up and down the stair all of the time.
Oh my, AmandaL, what Milehi said! You can't can those kinds of things without a pressure cooker (why I don't do them). I am also a new(ish) canner, but rely on the Ball Blue Book first, and always ask about internet recipes. People do a lot of dumb things. As milehi said, water bath is only for high acid foods. Acid makes heat work better for protein denaturation (therefore sterilization). Whenever in doubt, think of eggs. Would you boil an egg and then leave it in a jar on a shelf? No acid, no water bath.
Theresa (the speedy sci one)
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