How To Preserve Wood Slices For Wedding

“Over 3,000 feet? If you don't correctly adjust for altitude by increasing processing times, increasing pressure settings, allowing canners to cool until depressurized and allowing jars to cool to room temperature, there is a good chance that your canned...

To achieve optimal food preservation, note the first year or two what, when, where and how you stored your produce. Cut oval finger grips along the front edge, using a 1-inch spade bit to create the ends and a jigsaw to create the straight edges.

Ferment your knowledge. Learn more about this fascinating—and tasty—kitchen method. It might have been due to the development of modern conveniences, such as electricity and refrigeration, or simply a change in food preferences.

For her birthday, Lisa received a small, portable speaker to play music and listen to podcasts off her iPod, which is a great way to keep things engaging and lively as we work on more mindless activities, like shucking peas.

(Doing so crystallizes the syrup.) When you hear the seal pop, you've succeeded in making and preserving one pint of maple syrup that will keep with or without refrigeration for 10 to 12 months.

Acids in some foods, such as fruits, help inhibit that bacteria and can be canned with a water bath canner if desired, though I use my pressure canner for these as well because it's faster.

Dig a moat or ditch around the outside to keep run off from filling in and around the can. If your environmental surroundings make constructing a root cellar impossible, consider these storage options to make your harvest last through winter.

Cool to room temperature. You can also dry hot peppers in a food dehydrator if you have one. Leave the stem fully intact. My husband is a hot-pepper junkie. You can hang your ristra wherever you'd like, as long as the location is bright, dry and well-ventilated.

Can't tell the difference? Peter picked a peck of pickled peppers … or maybe they were fermented. While you can go on to process fermented foods in a water bath for shelf-storage, the high temperatures can kill off the good bacteria, thus nulling their...

Observe your jar before using for an unusual signs and discard if you notice anything out of the ordinary. Fresh herbs will often turn brown in the canning process and tint the meat green.

Mix and match various herbs with other additives, such as lemon zest or berries, to create unique flavor profiles. Just because winter is right around the corner, you don't have to stop utilizing your garden herbs.

For safety's sake, place a glass plate underneath the jar and, as with any candle, never leave these unattended. One Christmas, I hired a candle-maker friend to take some of my antique jars and make candles out of them for gifts (I kept several for myself).

Puree into a salad dressing. Chop, and mix into a homemade tartar sauce. Top sandwiches and wraps. Add to a pie or cobbler filling. Dried Tomatoes Dana/Flickr Add to pasta cooking water to plump while noodles cook.

Check out these other sweet, spicy, sour and salty options. Make use of different carrot varieties (purple, white, yellow and orange) to add color to your condiment plate and pantry shelf, but keep in mind that with some varieties, the color will bleed...

“Open Kettle Canning” or “Upside Down Sealing” (still often recommended in European texts) are both vintage sealing methods no longer considered safe. With home preservation “close enough” is not enough in terms of food safety.

The marked difference between the various flours is their gluten content. “I never use anything imitation, fake, packed with preservatives or with food dyes—never ever,” says Ashley English, author of Homemade Living (Lark Books).

And so do humans! Wild-plum jam, jelly and pie are yummy! You can dry wild plums for later use, too. Plum trees bear globe-shaped, thick-skinned, red or yellow fruit about 3/4 to 1 inch in diameter.

The fix: “The fruit is fine,” says Loe. “Also, if your fruit was [not fully ripe] and you added commercial pectin, you may have upset the ratio.” The fix: Make sure your fruit is at its prime, or that you have a mixture of less-mature fruit combined...

Botulinum and the other bacteria that contribute to spoilage are easily destroyed when cooked for the right amount of time at 240 to 250 degrees F—the temperature in a properly-regulated pressure canner.

Both types work. Both are time-tested and safe. Because she was still alive and canning, I threw in my vote for the newer design. At this point, you begin timing, reducing/increasing heat to the canner as needed to cause the gauge to jiggle four to six...

Caper Substitutes However, since capers are in actuality just pickled flower buds, there's no reason to not experiment with more bioregionally appropriate fare. Here are some other plants whose flower buds can be harvested and preserved in a similar manner.

Andress says there hasn't been enough research completed to accurately give the time and pressure needed to process tomatoes or tomato sauce without the additional acid. “A common misperception is that as long as the jar seals, it is safe even if they...

Use these tips and tricks to help your sauerkraut and other ferments from becoming soft, moldy or otherwise undesirable. Adding spices also often inhibits mold growth, in addition to providing exceptional flavors.

Start Fermenting Begin the vinegar-making process in a clean environment to encourage fermentation and discourage mold growth. You can also simply shake the vinegar and consume it naturally.

Some More Canning Help In prior decades, sometimes jars didn't seal because the jar lids weren't properly prepared. The Cure Take a second to examine each ring before you use it, and discard any that seem bent or have rust on the inside.

Bugs won't spoil vegetable ferments as much as they will wine ferments, however, and fermentation is inherently sanitizing. Pick Your Vessel The vessels you can choose to make your ferment in are numerous, but avoid reactive metals or any material that...

The Fourth of July is thereby the perfect time of year to take gratitude to the next level by recommitting ourselves to true food independence, the ability to “shop” these abundance garden “aisles” and not need to rely on products off the supermarket...