Did we do something really stupid - botulism

[digitS']

I make sauce with the tomatoes.

Mark the bags showing what I put in there and the other ingredients just depend on what I have handy and time for. It all goes in the "veggie freezer." We have become very good at using the tomato sauce thru the winter and spring months.

Other than jam, I have never canned. DW is pretty good at blanching a basket of veggies, dropping them in bags and into the freezer they go. Potatoes, onions and winter squash in the basement; carrots etc. under a big pile of pine needles in the ground not too far from the backsteps; drying peppers in the kitchen . . . that's how we finish the year.

Steve

 

[bj taylor]

I would like to learn about storing vegetables in the ground. here in Tx. it gets so hot for so long I can't figure out how deep I would have to dig to reach a cooler stable temp that would hold things like carrots.

 

[Gardening with Rabbits]

I blanch vegetables and put in the freezer. Tomatoes are put in hot water and then cold and the skins come off and then chopped and put in the freezer. I have not been that good with making sauce. I do use them in soup. I made spaghetti sauce the other day and it was very good. I need more recipes and ideas on how to use the tomatoes. I have a bad habit during the summer of eating tomatoes fresh and then freezing all the rest, but this year I am thinking of taking them and making sauce and having spaghetti more often or using in some kind of sauce and not freezing as many. I have stored potatoes and winter squash. I have some Delicata squash that are just now going bad that have been stored in a cardboard box in a cold room.

 

[MeggsyGardenGirl]

Canning isn't hard and shouldn't be scary if we just follow directions. I haven't had any spoilage yet and I process by both pressure and boiling water bath. Acid foods (those with 5% acid vinegar or natural acid from fermentation) are OK to process by boiling water bath according to USDA-tested directions and non-acid foods like most vegetables, meats and fish (even smoked) must be pressure canned according to USDA-tested directions. Sugar in jams is also considered a preservative as well as fermented food like sauerkraut. The Ball Book on Home Preserving is an excellent reference - just be sure you follow the recipes because they are written according to the acid level in the contents.

Because different tomato varieties have different acid levels, they should ALWAYS get a tablespoon of bottled lemon juice (not fresh squeezed) or 1/4 teaspoon of citric acid per quart to be sure it has a high enough acid level and then can simply be processed by boiling water bath.

I like to have some home made food self stable. Even though we have a generator for emergencies, I'd hate to lose everything in if/when we lose electricity for 3+ weeks, which has happened before. I don't can meats, but I do some soups and all broths.

Hope this helps.

 

[digitS']

Wow! Delicata squash from 2012?

I really liked having Delicata squash from my garden. Unfortunately, they only mature well enuf for months of storage 25% of the time. I'm guessing . . . The 1st year I had so many of them and they stayed for months. A couple years of failure after that and -- I was all done with trying.

Having the right conditions to store the squash probably makes a big difference. I had a few squash on the kitchen floor one winter and they did great! The basement shelves aren't the best, I'm sure. Anyway. I guess I need to be happy with primarily Buttercup and keeping them until January and that's it . . . No other variety has done so well but, I will continue to try a few this-or-that each year. I like Buttercup and having them for holiday pies is #1!

GwR, you and I are "fortunate" that so many tomatoes come late in the season. That means, it is cooling and we have more time to make use of them. Boiling them on the stove is a little more comfortable on a cool fall day, also. I'm not a very exacting cook so there is often just a set amount of time that I will put into processing. If I write on the bag what I put in there, I can tamper with the ingredients after I thaw the bag, sometime in the future. It lends variety to the effort. Of course, having 20+ tomato varieties also "lends variety."

Then, there are a lot of different pastas. Mostly, it is just shapes but - keeps me happy .

If I had a power failure during the dead of winter, the freezers in the garage probably wouldn't need any attention for several weeks. If push came to shove -- I and DW have some experience smoking meat. We'd probably lose the frozen veggies but not the ones in the ground or in the basement. The pasta and rice would go on and on . . . What?

Steve

 

[Gardening with Rabbits]

I planted Delicata for the first time last year. I started the plants inside and I think I had 6 plants. I got a ton of squash and I did get to pick some and eat before the plants died. I had butternut out there forever waiting to finish and I got a few of those. There might even be a couple of butternut left in that room. I really do not like winter squash. My DH who eats about anything does not like them either. Could be I just need a good recipe. The Delicata we really like and my DD and DS will eat some, but do not like it as much as I do. About a month or so ago I cut one up and cooked it. I put the seeds in a bowl that DH used in the compost bin. I walked by the bin a few weeks later and there were squash plants all over the compost bin, sticking out of the middle sideways. I dug a couple out and planted them in the garden. I am not sure how many Delicata squash I have planted because some volunteers came up and I do not know what kind they are.

 

[MontyJ]

Bj and GWR, if you are using a pressure canner, complete sterility is not required. That's what the pressure canning does. Clean jars, clean rings in good shape with no rust, and new lids. Follow proper directions and you won't have any problems. We pressure can beans, tomatoes and potatoes and eat them all year long. Sometimes I water bath the tomatoes, it just depends on the mood I'm in. I water bath Dew's pickled beets and they seem to last forever.

Some key things: Make sure the rings don't have any rust on them, especially on the threaded area. The rust can keep the ring from tightening properly. Be sure to wipe the lip of the jar with a paper towel before putting the lid on. Tiny food particles or seeds can prevent the lid from sealing. Finally, Use the proper head space. Over-filling your jars can cause food particles to be forced out of the jars during the processing, preventing the lid from sealing.

After your jars have cooled completely, (we wait 24 hours) remove the rings. The rings are only needed to hold the lid in place until it seals. Removing them as soon as possible after the jars have cooled will save you a lot of grief later. Also, by removing the rings, you will find the jars that may not have sealed a lot faster.

Botulism is a scary thing. It is more likely to occur in home processed foods, but it's not impossible for it to be found in store bought canned goods either.