Diamond in the Basalt

On the night of October 2nd, a large contingent of violets was spotted at the Terrain art and music show.

Early the next morning (at the crack of 11am), two drooping violets made the journey to Carol Bryan’s little red house down in Peaceful Valley. There they were greeted with warm coffee, home made salsa and blue corn chips, and a nicely arranged assortment of canning jars, lids, rings, pots and cook books.

We kicked off the event by walking out in back of the house to pick a pot full of grapes from a large vine growing in the neighborhood. Pure, local and organic grape juice is one of Carol’s canning specialties. You simply heat the grapes over a pot of boiling water, the grapes burst and the juice is collected in a funnel that drains into a collection chamber with a spigot. The juice is divine and is unlike anything you’ve ever tasted. No corn syrup or even sugar is added! Carol mentioned that she’d be willing to let the Violets borrow her equipment if they ever got an inkling to replicate the process.

“Raw Pack” Canned Tomato Recipe

Optional step: To remove skins, wash tomatoes and dip in boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds or until the skins begin to split. Then dip in cold water, slip off skins, core and remove any blemished or discolored parts. If leaving skins on, you can choose to leave the tomatoes whole or cut them in any way you like.

Pack hot jars with prepared tomatoes and press down until the spaces between them fill with juice. Leave ½-inch head space. Remove air bubbles. Before or after packing a jar full of tomatoes, add 1 tbsp. lemon juice or citric acid along with 1/2 teaspoon salt to each quart jar.  Wipe rim and screw threads and adjust lids and screw bands.

Process completed jars in a boiling water bath canner for 85 minutes. Remove from water bath and let cool until sealed. Ideal for use in soups, stews, casseroles and sauces.

Pears in Light Syrup Recipe

Choose ripe, mature fruits of ideal quality for eating fresh or cooking. Wash and peel pears. Cut lengthwise into halves and remove cores. (A melon baller or metal measuring spoon is suitable for coring pears.) To prevent discoloration, keep pear slices in an ascorbic acid solution.

Prepare a light syrup or pack pears in apple juice, white grape juice or water. For light syrup (20 percent sugar), use 5 3/4 cups of water and 1 1/2 cups sugar. This will be enough sugar for 9 pints or 4 quarts. Boil drained pears 5 minutes in syrup, juice or water. Fill hot jars with hot fruit and cooking liquid, leaving 1/2 inch head space.

Adjust lids and process in a boiling water canner, 20 minutes for pint jars or 25 minutes for quart jars.

The fridge of a proud Violets supporter.

There were two take home messages for this event:

1. Canning does not have to be intimidating or overly complex! It it actually quite fun and simple.
2. The cost savings really come into play when you are buying in bulk direct from a local producer, or are growing your own crops. That is the way to go if you want to be thrifty.