Putting Food By - Janet Greene [95]
Blueberry Pie Filling: USDA-CES
1 or 7 quarts
1 Quart 7 Quarts
Fresh blueberries 3½ cups 6 quarts
Granulated sugar ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons 6 cups
ClearJel ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon 2 cups
Cold water 1 cup 7 cups
Bottled lemon juice 3½ teaspoons ½ cup
Blue food coloring (optional) 3 drops 21 drops
Red food coloring (optional) 1 drop 7 drops
Pick over, wash, drain blueberries, set aside. Combine sugar and ClearJel in a large kettle, stir; add water and optional food coloring. Place over medium-high heat and cook until the mixture thickens and begins to bubble. Add lemon juice and boil 1 minute, stirring hard. Immediately fold in the berries and fill jars without delay, leaving ½ inch of headroom (¼ inch for ½ pints). Adjust lids, process in a Boiling–Water Bath 30 minutes for pints (and ½-pints) and quarts. Remove jars; complete seals if using bailed jars; cool upright and naturally.
Apple Pie Filling II: USDA-CES
1 or 7 quarts
This recipe giving one-pie and whole-batch quantities, calls for the apple slices to be blanched, drained, and kept warm until they are added to the sugar syrup. Simplest ascorbic acid anti-oxidant holding treatment: 1 teaspoon ascorbic acid crystals dissolved in 2 cups warm water—and sprinkle, turn freshly cut slices in it to coat.
Have some ½-pint jars ready, to hold any extra filling: handy for tarts and toppings.
1 Quart 7 Quarts
Blanched sliced Golden Delicious apples 3½ cups 6 quarts
Granulated sugar ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons 6 cups
ClearJel ¼ cup 1¾ cups
Ground cinnamon ½ teaspoon 1 tablespoon
Cold water ½ cup 4 cups
Bottled apple juice (not cider) ¾ cup 5 cups
Bottled lemon juice 2 tablespoons ¾ cup
Ground nutmeg (optional) ⅛ teaspoon 1 teaspoon
Yellow food coloring (optional) 1 drop 7 drops
If the apples lack tartness, add an extra ¼ cup of lemon juice for each 6 quarts of slices. Wash, peel, core apples; slice ½-inch wide and treat with ascorbic acid while they wait to be blanched. In a blanching or steaming basket, dip 2 quarts at a time in boiling water for 1 minute. Hold blanched apples in a large covered pot to stay warm until all are treated. Meanwhile combine sugar, ClearJel, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large kettle with the water, apple juice, and optional food color; stir and cook on medium-high heat until the mixture thickens and begins to bubble. Add lemon juice and boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Drain the warm, blanched apple slices and immediately fold them into the sweet mixture, and fill jars, leaving 1 inch headroom. Adjust lids and process immediately: 25 minutes for either pints or quarts (and ½-pints). Remove jars; complete seals if using bailed jars; cool upright and naturally.
13
Getting and Using a Freezer
What Freezing Does
Freezing does NOT destroy the organisms that cause spoilage, as canning does—it merely stops their growth temporarily. When they become suitably warm again, they multiply as quickly as ever. This matter will come up repeatedly.
Freezing correctly means subjecting each sealed-from-the-air parcel/ container of food to the sharpest cold we can manage to give it—ideally –20 F/–29 C—for 24 hours, and then storing it at a sustained Zero F/−18 C for as long as its quality holds well; thereafter it is wasting scarce storage space, even though it has not become dangerous to eat.
Food does carry a startling bacterial load, a load that increases geometrically if it is held too long at thawing (usually when it is allowed to thaw at room temperature, especially if it’s low-acid, and occasionally if an unrecognized power failure has ruined whatever was stored in the freezer).
Freezers are available in both chest and upright models. The best freezers