Passata@home

[supersprout]

Two of my passata batches have extra-savoury black bits in ;)
Oh jitterbug look what you went and did, after reading your post this morning I got damsons in the country (whilst getting Autumn onion sets) and they are cooked and cooling so I can de-pip them for that very chutney now. It looks scrumptious! And I swore I'd never make chutney (no.1 son has developed a serious taste for it after sampling jennym's! ;D)

On the way, saw fountains of unharvested ripe crab apples on trees and strewed in piles on pavements :'(

[supersprout]

[valmarg]

 Supersprout, for  'extra-savoury back bits'  read - caramelised!!

valmarg

[supersprout]

good one valmarg ;)
btw have made four jars of your German whole green tomato recipe - even the ones that wouldn't fit in tasted great, they go fruity don't they? looking forward to three months' time! :P

[greyhound]

Once again I haven't really got enough green cherry toms to make more than a small jar ... I always mean to pick loads early for it, and forget.

Such a good book, shame it's out of print - would give it as a pressy to a couple of peeps I know.

[Common_Clay]

ah this is the post I replied to and got chucked off the server...

I spend hours there in winter and spring prepping the ground, and try and get it weed free by the start of June (which is coincidentally when our lottie inspections are!) and then it sort of looks ok till autumn again. And I've got raised beds made in the past two winters, so hopefully that will save me work for a couple of years.

see diary for gory details!

moonbells

Impressive Moonbells! Raised beds sounds like a much more organised system, I'd do it if I could just find the timber... but what do you do about harvesting and growing veg until autumn?!  ;)

[supersprout]

Impressive Moonbells! Raised beds sounds like a much more organised system, I'd do it if I could just find the timber...

you don't need timber to run an unedged bed system CC, just a lot of string to mark them out lol
http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/joomla/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,91/topic,24270.0


Back on thread ... this arrived from the US yesterday thanks to eBay, dead chuffed :D

[plot51A]

That is one SERIOUS pot!!  :o :o ;D ;D

[Emagggie]

Crickey, SS, you off to the moon then? ;D   


                                           

[tricia]

Makes great espresso, doesn't it? 8) 8) I mean, of course the Briehl not the American beast ;D ;D. (Mine was my Christmas pressie to myself last year ;).

Tricia

[supersprout]

chortle@all!
do love gadgets :-[ :P ;)
great smiley magggie! ;D ;D

[moonbells]

Impressive Moonbells! Raised beds sounds like a much more organised system, I'd do it if I could just find the timber... but what do you do about harvesting and growing veg until autumn?!  ;)

^;D _;D ^;D _;D ^;D _;D ^;D _;D ^;D _;D ^;D _;D

Sprout, is that a pressure canner? Looks amazing.

moonbells

[supersprout]

yes it is mb, I tried and tried to find one in this country for ages. If I ordered one new from the states the tax would be horrific ... so ebay it was, even tho the postage was more than the goods! It's a simple design and dead simple to use, the tall Bormoli bottles fit into it - bottled a load of green tomato slurry (for making 'mango' chutney later) with that *extra* reassurance you mentioned in previous posts :)

If anyone does know an agent or seller for pressure canners in the UK, I'll be looking for spares at some point so contact details would be very useful :D

[moonbells]

yes it is mb, I tried and tried to find one in this country for ages. If I ordered one new from the states the tax would be horrific ... so ebay it was, even tho the postage was more than the goods! It's a simple design and dead simple to use, the tall Bormoli bottles fit into it - bottled a load of green tomato slurry (for making 'mango' chutney later) with that *extra* reassurance you mentioned in previous posts :)

I know this is possibly a really basic question, but does the pressure canner just use the pressure to raise the temperature around the bottles, so that the inside gets hotter, or do you actually have to leave the lids off so the pressure equalises?
I just have visions of cans imploding!  :o

moonbells

edit: google is my friend. So it literally is a pressure cooker but larger!
I wonder if I could pressurecook jars using my old prestige...?
http://extension.usu.edu/files/foodpubs/canfs01.htm

[supersprout]

Remember I'm learning fast moonbells, but the story so far ... ::)

You're right, there has to be some way for air to escape from the jars during the heating to equalise the pressure. Then the jars are sealed at the H pressure, so the vacuum is created.

With screw top lids (one or two piece) I'm doing them up hand tight, then un-screwing very slightly. Then screwing them up properly when they come out of the hot water. The secret seems to be allowing enough headspace at the top to allow the liquid to expand into it and push the air out, and when they are screwed up tight after removing from the heat it can't get back in again. Fabulous vacuum this morning when the green tomato slurry was opened!

With rubber kilners, the theory is that the rubber seal allows the air to escape outwards from the headspace, but not return inwards. Not tried them yet, but I've every confidence in The Booke:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canning-Preserving-Dummies-Dummies-/dp/0764524712/ref=sr_11_1/202-1970606-0279044?ie=UTF8

I was happy oven bottling fruit and hot-bottling passata, but thought I'd better get genned up for low-acid fruits/veg and anything more adventurous - can highly recommend this book to all would be bottlers :)

The pressure canner makes a mean hot water bath too - tall Kilners wouldn't fit into my pressure cooker!

I have bottled in the pressure cooker before, but could only do it one (short) jar at a time, and was feeling wasteful of fossil fuel.

[moonbells]

I just found this website which is excellent!

http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/nutrition/components/DJ0516section1.html

(Jar lids do need to be screwed on tightly, it appears!)

I now have a serious question now I understand the situation more - I bottled ratatouille with a conventional hot water bath last year, with added citric acid. Probably ok for the tomatoes but there were obviously lower acid veg in there as well. Is is likely to be ok? Def a 64-million dollar one, and so I'll probably junk the last one (already eaten several!)

Small jars too, so I *could* have done the beggars in the pressure cooker if I'd known! Still, got this year's supply of ratat now, so can practice on it...

hey ho!

moonbells

(I could do with one of those canners!)

[supersprout]

Tis a moot point :o
imo chances are slim that there'd be anything wrong with it - but it wouldn't do to take chances would it? That's why I forked out for the canner, to be sure :-\
Great reference website, bookmarked, thank you MB :)

[moonbells]

For anyone thinking about canning passata in a normal bath, here's an excerpt on tomato acidity from
http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/nutrition/components/DJ0516section3.html
Bold text mine! I did add citric acid to my San Ms so I'm glad I did...

"Quality: Select only disease-free, preferably vine-ripened, firm fruit for canning. Caution: Do not can tomatoes from dead or frost-killed vines. Green tomatoes are more acidic than ripened fruit and can be canned safely with any of the following recommendations. Unfortunately, a few varieties may have insufficient acidity. These include Ace, Ace55VF, Beefmaster Hybrid, Big Early Hybrid, Big Girl, Big Set, Burpee VF Hybrid, Cal Ace, Delicious, Fireball, Garden State, Royal Chico, and San Marzano. Individuals using varieties which they have not canned previously or which have unknown acidity or who wish to be certain of proper acidity may choose the following method.

Acidification: To ensure safe acidity in whole, crushed, or juiced tomatoes, add two tablespoons of bottled lemon juice or ½ teaspoon of citric acid per quart of tomatoes. For pints, use one tablespoon bottled lemon juice or ¼ teaspoon citric acid. Acid can be added directly to the jars before filling with product. Add sugar to offset acid taste, if desired. Four tablespoons of vinegar with 5 percent acidity per quart maybe used instead of lemon juice or citric acid. However, vinegar may cause undesirable flavor changes. Recommendation: According to USDA, the use of a pressure canner will result in higher quality and more nutritious canned tomato products."

moonbells

[tim]

The teaching I've been plugging all through!!

I never realised that only some toms lack acidity. But easier to treat them all the same?

Standard pressure cooker? We've always bottled that way. Only 3 jars at a time , of course. But remember that (according to HMSO) you need one that will operate at 5lb/psi.

In passing - SHE said the spoon needs to stand up in it................!!

[grawrc]

Sorry to have taken so long to reply but that is the fate of grandmothers who have intelligent and lively 4 year old living with them..... ;)

The passata experience is WOW!!! I finally got it all together today and produced some - not much- following Sarah's recommendations. But the little I produced is fabulous.

The disappointment is not the passata but the toms. 2 weeks ago they were all green but I was advised to "lift" them all, green though they were, but unfortunately I didn't have the time. The ones I brought home have ripened beautifully, the others all have developed blight sometime between then and now. :-[ :-[

I'm trying to use the parts that are unaffected but they are mostly green so my choices are more limited.

However the passata process was fabulous. Pressure cooked and strained. Liquid boiled. Pulp through the Franchi machine 4 times, then about 25 minutes boiling with the pulp added? The end product is a joy to behold. No 1 son spent quite alot of time sniffing the air and saying "mmmm.."

I'll listen better and be more careful next year.

Thank you Sarah for the excellent advice and giving me the shove I needed to get started. :-* :)

[supersprout]

So pleased you got a good result anne :D
Thank goodness there's always next year ;) :)