Putting Food By - Janet Greene [70]
• Adjustment for my altitude_________________.
Mushrooms
Canned mushrooms have a bad track record as carriers of C. botulinum toxin, so use only fresh edible mushrooms—preferably those grown in presterilized soil, as most commercial mushrooms are.
GENERAL HANDLING
Pressure Canning only. Use Hot pack only. Use ½-pint or pint jars, plain No. 303 cans.
Soak them in cold water for 10 minutes to loosen dirt, then wash well. Trim blemishes from caps and stems. Leave small buttons whole; cut larger ones in button-size pieces. In a covered saucepan simmer them gently for 15 minutes.
HOT PACK ONLY
In jars. Fill with hot mushrooms, leaving ½ inch of headroom. (Optional: add ¼ teaspoon salt to ½ pints, ½ teaspoon salt to pints.) To prevent color change, add ¼ teaspoon of crystalline ascorbic acid to ½-pint jars, ½ teaspoon to pints. Add boiling water, leaving ½ inch of headroom; adjust lids. Pressure-process at 10 pounds (240 F/116 C)—45 minutes for either ½-pints or pints. Remove jars; complete seals if using bailed jars.
• Adjustment for my altitude_________________.
In plain No. 303 cans. Fill with hot mushrooms, leaving ½ inch of headroom. (Optional: add ½ teaspoon salt.) Add ½ teaspoon crystalline ascorbic acid. Fill to top with boiling water. Exhaust to 170 F/77 C (approx. 10 minutes); seal. Pressure-process at 10 pounds (240 F/116 C) for 45 minutes. Remove cans; cool quickly.
• Adjustment for my altitude_________________.
Okra (Gumbo)
Freezes well: but if you plan to use it cut up in soups and stews, it’s probably handier canned.
GENERAL HANDLING
Pressure Canning only. Use Hot pack only. Use jars or plain cans.
Wash tender young pods; trim stems but don’t cut off caps. Cover with boiling water and boil 1 minute; drain. Leave whole with cap, or cut in 1-inch pieces, discarding cap.
HOT PACK ONLY
In jars. Fill with hot okra, leaving ½ inch of headroom. (Optional: add ½ teaspoon salt to pints, 1 teaspoon salt to quarts.) Add boiling water, leaving ½ inch of headroom; adjust lids. Pressure-process at 10 pounds (240 F/ 116 C)—pints for 25 minutes, quarts for 40 minutes. Remove jars; complete seals if using bailed jars.
• Adjustment for my altitude_________________.
In plain cans. Fill with hot okra, leaving only ½ inch of headroom. (Optional: add ½ teaspoon salt to No. 303 cans, 1 teaspoon salt to No. 401.) Fill to top with boiling water. Exhaust to 170 F/77 C (approx. 10 minutes); seal. Pressure-process at 10 pounds (240 F/116 C)—No. 303 cans for 30 minutes, No. 401 for 45 minutes. Remove cans; cool quickly.
• Adjustment for my altitude_________________.
Onions, White
Onions that are properly cured and stored (see “Drying,” Chapter 21) carry over so well that many cooks don’t bother to can them—on top of which home-canned onions are apt to be dark in color and soft in texture. They are often canned in combinations; take into account that their processing time at 240 F/116 C is 25 minutes for pints, and 30 minutes for quarts.
Parsnips
This is probably the only vegetable that actually improves by wintering over in frozen ground—so why take the shine off it as the “first of spring” treat?
But if you can’t keep them in a garden or a root cellar: wash, trim, scrape, and cut them in pieces, then proceed as for Carrots.
Peas, Black-eyed (Cowpeas, Black-eyed Beans)
Pressure Canning only. Use Hot pack; jars or C-enamel cans.
Shell and wash before packing. Take care not to shake or press down the peas when you pack the containers: they swell in the containers.
PREFERRED: HOT PACK
After shelling and washing, cover with boiling water, bring to a full, high boil. Drain, saving the blanching water for processing.
In jars. Pack Hot, leaving 1¼ inches of headroom in pints, 1½ inches of headroom in quarts. (Optional: add ½ teaspoon salt to pints, 1 teaspoon salt to quarts.) Add boiling water (or blanching liquid), leaving ½ inch of headroom in either size jar; adjust lids. Pressure-process at 10 pounds (240 F/116 C)—pints for 45 minutes, quarts for 55 minutes. Remove jars; complete seals