Note: most of these recipes were written with the assumption that the reader has a good basic understanding of the technique(s) involved. If you have not tried a particular method of preservation, and particularly if you don't understand something in a recipe, it is highly recommended that you read up on the technique before starting. Many preserving (canning, freezing, etc.) cookbooks include good introductory chapters, and the National Center for Home Food Preservation is also an excellent resource.
There is good information on canning at: Appliance-Free Food Storage: A Guide to Home Canning
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Dilled Garlic
2 pounds garlic, peeled
4 sprigs chopped fresh dill
1 tsp. cayenne pepper, or to taste, divided
4 1/2 cups distilled white vinegar
4 tablespoons salt
4 pint canning jars, with lids and rings
Bring vinegar and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan. Fill each pint jar with garlic to within an inch of the top, a spring of chopped fresh dill and 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper. Pour the hot distilled white vinegar and salt mixture into the containers with the garlic mixture. Fill to approximately 1/4 inch from the top. Seal and store in the refrigerator.
From: Allrecipes.com
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Dilly Beans
6 cups water
1 cup pickling salt
6 cups distilled white vinegar
8 heads fresh dill weed
1/2 cup pickling spice
1/2 cup mustard seed
8 dried red chile peppers
16 cloves garlic, peeled
1 teaspoon alum
5 pounds fresh green beans, rinsed and trimmed
Sterilize 8 (1 pint) jars in boiling water for at least 5 minutes.
Bring the water, pickling salt and vinegar to boil in a large pot. Reduce heat to low and keep at a simmer while you pack the jars. In each jar place the following: 1 head of dill, 1 tablespoon of pickling spice, 1 tablespoon of mustard seed, 1 dried chile pepper, 2 cloves of garlic, and 1/8 teaspoon of alum. Pack beans vertically into the prepared jars. Ladle the hot brine into jars, leaving 1/2 inch of space at the top. Screw the lids onto the jars, and process in a hot water bath for 6 minutes to seal. Store for at least 2 weeks before eating.
From: Allrecipes.com
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Refrigerator pickles
12 pickling cucumbers, about 3-4 inches long
2 cups water
1 3/4 cups white vinegar
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh dill weed
1/2 cup white sugar
8 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons coarse salt
1 tablespoon pickling spice
1 1/2 teaspoons dill seed
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
4 sprigs fresh dill weed
Combine the cucumbers, water, vinegar, chopped dill, sugar, garlic, salt, pickling spice, dill seed, and red pepper flakes. Stir; let stand at room temperature for 2 hours, until the sugar and salt dissolve. Remove the cucumbers to three 1 1/2 pint wide mouth jars, placing 4 cucumbers in each jar. Ladle in the liquid from the bowl to cover. Place a sprig of fresh dill into each jar, and seal with lids. Refrigerate for 10 days before eating. Use within 1 month.
From: Allrecipes.com
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Basic Kale Chips
curly kale
garlic salt
nutritional yeast
Preheat oven to 250. Wash and dry kale; remove leaves from stems. Tear leaves into large "bite-sized" pieces and spread out across two jelly roll pans. The kale can be touching each other, but should generally be spread out. Sprinkle kale with garlic salt and nutritional yeast to taste. Bake for about fifteen minutes, and then start checking for doneness very 5 minutes. The leaves are done when they are totally dry, light, and can crumble easily. They should crunch like a potato chip. Remove the "done" leaves from the pan and return the rest to the oven.
From: Food.com
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Fruit leather
Fresh fruit (apricots, peaches, plums, berries, apples, pears, grapes -- 4 cups of fruit yield about one baking sheet of fruit leather)
Water
Lemon juice
Sugar (if needed)
Spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg (optional)
Rinse the fruit and remove seeds, pits, stems, and blemishes; peel if desired. Place fruit in a large saucepan. Add a half cup of water for every 4 cups of chopped fruit. Bring to a simmer, cover and let cook on a low heat for 10-15 minutes, or until the fruit is cooked through. Uncover and stir. Use a potato masher to mash the fruit in the pan. Taste to determine how much sugar, lemon juice, or spices to add. Make additions in small amounts (by tbsp for sugar, tsp for lemon juice, dashes for spices). Continue to simmer and stir until any added sugar is completely dissolved and the fruit purée has thickened, about 5-10 minutes more.
Note: if you are working with grapes - strain the juice out of the mashed grapes to make grape juice. Force what is left behind, after straining, through a food mill, to make the purée for the next step.
Put the purée through a food mill or chinoise, or purée it thoroughly in a blender or food processor (less desirable). Taste again and adjust sugar/lemon/spices if necessary. The purée should be very smooth. Line a rimmed baking sheet with sturdy plastic wrap (I suggest waxed paper - dh). Pour out the purée into the lined baking sheet to about an 1/8 inch thickness. Place the baking sheet in the oven at about 140F, making sure the waxed paper does not fold back over onto fruit. If you have a convection setting, use it, it will speed up the process and help dry out the purée. Let dry in the oven like this for as long as it takes for the purée to dry out and become leathery; overnight is good. The fruit leather is ready when it is no longer sticky.
May also be made in a food dehydrator, or a traditional way of making fruit leather was just to tent the tray with some cheesecloth and leave it outside in the sun on a hot day.
To store, roll up in plastic wrap or waxed paper and place in an airtight container. Will keep longest if refrigerated or frozen.
From: Simply Recipes
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How to dry strawberries
Choose ripe, high quality strawberries for drying. Wash by spraying with white vinegar and rinsing with water. Remove leaves and any bad spots. Cut the strawberries uniformly into 1/2 inch slices. Spread them out for drying, making sure they do not overlap. Choose a drying method:
-Place the strawberries in a sunny window on a warm day with temperatures near 100 degrees and low humidity.
-Place the strawberries in the oven at 130 degrees.
-Use a food dehydrator, following the manufacturer's instructions.
Check them periodically during drying. Strawberries are dried when almost crisp but still pliable. Pack strawberries in a moisture proof container. Vacuum packing strawberries will further prolong their shelf life, but storage in a glass, moisture proof container also works well. Use within a year.
From: eHow
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Kale Chips
1 bunch kale
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar (or other vinegar if preferred)
1 pinch sea salt, to taste
Preheat an oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Cut ribs from each kale leaf and discard; tear the leaves into pieces of uniform size. Wash torn kale pieces and dry thoroughly. Place in a large resealable bag with about half the olive oil; seal and squeeze the bag so the oil gets distributed evenly on the kale pieces. Add the remaining oil and squeeze the bag more, until all kale pieces are evenly coated with oil and slightly "massaged." Sprinkle the vinegar over the kale leaves, reseal the bag, and shake to spread the vinegar evenly over the leaves. Spread the leaves evenly onto a baking sheet. Roast until mostly crisp, about 35 minutes. Season with salt and serve immediately.
From: Allrecipes.com
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Kale crisps
2 bunches kale, washed and dried
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Spray 2 baking sheets with cooking spray. Remove the stems and ribs from the kale, and shred the kale very thinly. Spread onto the baking sheets, and sprinkle evenly with Cheddar cheese. Bake 10 minutes, watching carefully to prevent burning, until the kale is crisp and the cheese is browned.
From: Allrecipes.com
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October butter
8 med. cooking apples, chopped
2 large firm Anjou pears, chopped
3 c orange juice
2 sticks cinnamon
2 c mashed ripe banana (3-4 bananas)
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
half as much sugar as fruit pulp (see below)
Chop apples and pears into small pieces without peeling or coring. Cook, covered, with orange juice and cinnamon over med. heat until very soft, 45 min.-1 hr. Put through a food mill, discarding skins and seeds. Combine with banana and lemon juice and boil gently, stirring frequently, until thick enough to mound slightly on a spoon. Measure and return to pan; add half as much sugar (e.g. 3 c sugar to 6 c fruit). Continue boiling and stirring another 20-25 min. until thickened. Fill about 5 hot, sterilized jars (8 oz. each) and seal immediately.
From: The how-to book : canning, freezing, drying / written and compiled by Anne Borella ; Barbara Bloch, ed. Benjamin Co., 1976.
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Spiced peach jam
2 lb. peaches, peeled and with pits removed
1-inch piece of fresh ginger root
1/2 tsp allspice
1 tsp crushed cinnamon bark
1 tsp whole cloves
1/2 c peach juice or water
1 lb. sugar
Crush peaches, cook until soft, and press through a fine sieve or food mill. Tie spices into a cheesecloth bag and add to peaches, juice, and sugar. Boil until thick, or until it registers 222F on a candy thermometer. Remove spice bag. Fill jars and seal.
From: The home canning and preserving book / by Ann Seranne. Barnes & Noble, 1975.
Sweet and sour pepper jam
12 large red peppers, stemmed. seeded, and finely chopped
1 Tbsp. salt
1.5 lb. sugar
2 c vinegar
Sprinkle pepers with salt and let stand 3-4 hours; rinse in cold water. Bring peppers, sugar, and vinegar to a boil and simmer until thick, stirring frequently. Pour into jars and seal.
From: The home canning and preserving book / by Ann Seranne. Barnes & Noble, 1975.
Yellow Tomato Preserves
2 qt. yellow cherry tomatoes (about 3 lb)
3 c sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 lemon, thinly sliced and seeded
1/4 c thinly sliced candied ginger
After washing and drying tomatoes, cut a thin slice from the blossom end and press out the seeds, keeping tomatoes otherwise whole. Combine tomatoes, sugar, and salt; simmer slowly until sugar dissolves. Bring slowly to a boil, stirring. Boil gently 40 min. until it thickens, then add lemon and ginger. Boil another 10 min, stirring often. Fill about 4 hot, sterilized jars (8 oz. each) and seal immediately.
From: The how-to book : canning, freezing, drying / written and compiled by Anne Borella ; Barbara Bloch, ed. Benjamin Co., 1976.
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Beet relish
4 c chopped cooked beets
4 c chopped cabbage
1 c chopped onion
1 c chopped sweet red peppers
2 T grated horseradish
1.5 c sugar
3 c vinegar
1 T salt
Mix all ingredients and bring to a boil for 10 min. Pack into hot sterilized jars and seal.
From: The home canning and preserving book / by Ann Seranne. Barnes & Noble Books, 1975.
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Green tomato relish
12 lb green tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1.5 c coarse salt
1 med. head cabbage, chopped
12 c cider vinegar
6 onions, chopped
3 sweet red peppers, seeded and chopped
2 green peppers, seeded and chopped
7 c sugar
2 Tbsp. celery seed
2 Tbsp. mustard seed
1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. turmeric
1 clove garlic, peeled
Sprinkle chopped tomatoes with salt, cover, and let stand at room temp. overnight. Drain thoroughly and bring to a boil with cabbage and vinegar; simmer 30 min. Add remaining ingredients and cook until thick, stirring occasionally. Remove garlic clove. Ladle into hot sterilized jars and seal.
From: The how-to book : canning, freezing, drying / written and compiled by Anne Borella. Bejamin Co., c1976.
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Put the following through a food grinder (you can use food processor but a grinder gives a more even result):
24 med. green tomatoes, cored but not peeled
2 red peppers
4 green peppers
8 small onions
Add:
4 Tbsp. salt
Mix well. Let stand 2 hours. Drain. Squeeze out as much water as you can.
Heat:
2 cups sugar (up to 4 cups if you like sweeter relish)
3 cups vinegar
4 Tbsp. mustard seeds
2 Tbsp. celery seeds
Add tomato mixture; boil 10 minutes. Pack boiling into hot (sterilized) jars, cap with hot (sterilized) lids, and hope they seal. Unsealed jar(s) will keep all winter if refrigerated.
Makes about 10 1/2 pints.
From: Dorothy Huffman's recipe collection
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