Good To Know...

In an emergency situation it is always good to know what your blood type is and who you can give and receive blood from.

Mason Jar Collections

Just when you think you have a pretty awesome collection going, you run into something like this. Here is a man with a pretty serious Mason/Ball jar collection http://www2.wcoil.com/~aux/MB/MB.html. Although I have been seriously humbled, I have added the site so others can see the various styles and types of jars put out over the years. Apparently, they give tours, so if youre in the neighborhood and want to check out the jars and learn a lot you should check it out. Have fun!

Butter In A Mason Jar

What You Will Need:

2 Pints Heavy Whipping Cream

A Jar (I used 2 Quart Jars)

A Marble (I Made 2 Batches, So 2 Marbles)

Pour cream into the jar, drop in the marble, close the lid, and start shaking.

Keep checking the mixture every 3 to 4 minutes, the consistency will change from whipped cream, to little clumps of butter.

The texture will change from this...



to this.



Continue shaking for a few minutes then drain the liquid from the jar. **This is the buttermilk, you can keep it for future use or discard**

Drain Buttermilk

We have achieved butter!

Rinse until water runs clear

The butter is now ready for use; however, if you are going to store it, it should be washed. Add ½ C ice water to the jar and shake for another 3 minutes. Drain the water and repeat the process until the water is clear. Mash the butter to strain the remaining water from the butter.

If you would like to add more flavor to your butter, you can mix in salt or fresh herbs.

Scoop the butter into a mold, container, or wax paper to store in the refrigerator.

Butter can also be made in the blender if you aren’t up for the shaking. I’m thinking this is perfect for the Huckleberry to do during football season. ;)

Butter during the rinsing stage

Texture

**Note: I started with all of the ingredients in 1 jar, but it was taking to long (im impatient), so I split it up into 2 quart jars and the process went way faster.

Done!

Canning: Things To Remember

1. It goes without saying that the quality of ingredients you use for your home canned goods will reflect the taste of the creation you have made.

2. By using fresh pectin, you can ensure you get a good gel in your jams and jellies.

3. Always wipe the rims of canning jars before and after processing with a clean, damp cloth to ensure there are no food particles that could lead to fluid siphoning and poor seals.

4. Never use rusted or bent bands as they can prevent a good seal on your jars.

5. Remove bands before storing jars to prevent them from rusting.

6. Remember to use proper headspace to ensure good seals.

                                                        ¼ Inch- Jams & Jellies
                                                        ½ Inch- Fruits & Tomatoes

       1-1 ¼ Inch- Low Acid Pressure Canned Items

7. Never place a hot jar on a cold surface or in the refrigerator. They will crack or bust.

8. Never taste suspicious foods, although this is good general advice I should specify, never taste home processed canned suspicious foods. If something has spoiled, detoxify the jar and contents by placing the entire jar in a boiling water bath canner; bring contents to a boil, dispose of carefully so it is not consumed by humans or animals. Be sure to also dispose of wash cloths that came in contact with the spoiled jar.

9. Always refrigerate jars after opening.

Books To Consider

Blue Ribbon Preserves by Linda J. Amendt – I found this book at the library, it contains a wealth of information on fair competitions and canning various recipes.

The Ball Blue Book- A good starting point for canners.

The Complete Book of Home Preserving offered by Ball- This book has been noted as “The Canning Bible” by canners all over.

Homesteading by Abigail R. Gerhring- If the Ball book is “The Canning Bible,” this book could very well be noted as “The Homesteading Bible” as it contains everything one needs to set up a successful homestead.

Homesteading on Half an Acre by Storey- Comparable to Abigail Gerhring’s book, but has more information on animals and trees.

The Homemade Pantry:101 Foods You Can Stop Buying & Start Making by Alana Chernila- My new favorite book, if you think that the grocery store is your only option...think again. I was sure I would have to buy my pop tarts forever, she even has a recipe for Twinkies....yes! I said it, Twinkies. Can a book get any better? For me, it doesn't.

This is an on-going list… there will be more.

Heirloom Seeds

I started canning because I wanted to make jam, it began as a fun thing I could do in my spare time. Around the same time, I was taking Anatomy and Health courses to finish off my degree and both instructors were saying the same thing….do you have any idea what is in the food you are eating. I would seem simple enough, fruit cocktail is just mixed fruit and diet soda is with a sweetener rather than a can of sugar. We were very wrong, along with the fruit cocktail comes an array of chemicals may people, including myself, have a hard time pronouncing. The diet soda has sweeteners such as NutraSweet (Sweet N Low), which my mom uses and, admittedly, I do too or more recently Aspartame, or Equal. My Anatomy instructor, who will remain nameless because he publishes his own books, informed us that Aspartame probably would not be on the market had it not been for a friend at the FDA who helped push it through, and since its launch into society as a sugar substitute, diseases such as Alzheimer’s has been on the rise. Sweet N Low is pegged for causing cancer, although lab tests have shown that in order to get cancer from Sweet N Low, one would have to ingest substantial amounts, not just a morning cup of coffee, but gallons on a daily basis. In comparing the less of two equals, and because I don’t care for the taste of Splenda or Truvia, I’ll be sticking with sugar for baking and Sweet N Low for my coffee. 

After seeing posts and articles on Monsanto and other GMO products finding their way into the marketplaces unannounced and unlabeled, my desire to begin my own garden was given a healthy shove. I came across a company that is one of the few remaining heirloom seed providers; D. Landreth Company http://www.landrethseeds.com/ offers an online marketplace as well as a beautiful catalog ($5.00) to purchase seeds. Their staff is informative, unlike Lowes and Home Depot, who really don’t know “shit from Shineola” as that saying goes. The variety is amazing and the quality is excellent.

Recipe Exchange

I am thinking it would be interesting & fun to have a recipe exchange here on the blog so as the reader base grows new recipes can be found and traded. I’m going to try and figure out a way to post recipes directly into the blog without them having to show up as a comment. Maybe you can submit them to me and I can just post them in one general location for all to find? Sometimes you just wanna add a little extra pick-up in your jars. What do you think?