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Chicken Feet
Has anyone ever cooked chicken feet? I've seen it on TV - apparently makes nice, gelatinous broth and is used in Asian cuisine - but I've never tried it. I love kitchen experiments, but somehow this one I can't quite get myself to doing.
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Tomato harvest in freezer waiting to be made into sauce
My tomato harvest did fairly well this season. I have been putting them in bags in the freezer until they are all finished ripening and I will process all of them at once into sauces. Mostly spaghetti sauce as we use a lot of that. But I do want to try making some other types of sauce as well. Anyone have a great ketchup…
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Apple jelly
Does anyone have an apple jelly recipe?
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What's Your Favorite Way To Preserve Food?
I don't own a dehydrator (yet?) and am curious if that is anyone's first choice method for preservation? I do some canning and still like the idea of having stuff on the shelf ready to go but seem to end up freezing stuff more than canning...lately I'm thinking that I should be better rounded in my food storage in case of…
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Sweet pepper harvested-ready to prepare for storage
My little greenhouse garden experiment went well. Lots of peppers, thought they are smaller since we got such a late start. Now I need to get them processed for storage. We live off grid so freezer space is tight. I plan on freezing a few whole, but want to try dehydrating most of them. Mainly dices or sliced but plan to…
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Anybody pressing pear cider?
One thing I miss about Europe is the pressing days. People could take their apples, pears, quince to the press and get their cider pressed. Ermagerd I don't think i've ever tasted anything as good as quince apple cider. And pear cider, yum. And then there were the mixes with the local sour cherries. ahhhh heimweh, again.…
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Ripening Fresh Peaches
I got very lucky today and was asked if I would like a bushel of organic fresh peaches. Seems an organic grower from Virginia was visiting a local 100% beef farmer who is local and he had some extra crops in his vehicle. I jumped at that chance. They really are beautiful peaches considering they are organic. (If you don't…
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A Legacy of Flavor - my grandmother's pickles
A Legacy of Flavor A lot of people are getting into canning and preserving these days. Every book and website will give info on how long what you prepare is supposed to last. Well, I just opened these pickles my grandmother made. Not only is the taste and texture perfect, but my grandmother... who passed away nearly 20…
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Wild pears. How can one use them?
Yesterday I saw many wild pear trees. The memories from my childhood urged me to collect quite a few. I remember my grandmother and my mother baking them. And we - then children loved them! I also remember my grandmother drying pears, but whether they were these wild ones??? Unfortunately I can ask neither of both. It is…
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Have you ever dehydrated frozen vegetables?
I just watched this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hafdtE5Wz_I I know some people can previously frozen food, but admit there is a marked loss of quality and nutrition. This looks like the food is still relatively good. I don't know if I would do vegetables from the store, but if I have leftovers from last year…
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Freezer 🍅 sauce preserves
I apologize for offending anyone since i know this topic has been addressed. I looked for thread w/o success. Tonight's date night plans are to preserve home grown tomatoes. A concern was mentioned about glass jars breaking. I would think ball & mason jars should be fine but what about other jars that have been…
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How do you use/preserve chestnuts?
It seems to be a good year for chestnuts and my 3 trees are producing madly. Unfortunately, I really don’t know what to do with the bounty after I eat a few roasted. If anyone has ideas for ways to use them I’d be very grateful and, if anyone wants some for seeds, I’d be happy to share. They germinate easily and are pretty…
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cider press question
We have never made apple cider but would like to. What kind of a homemade press is best, or is commercial better, or can one use a juicer?
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Plums!!
I have a ton of plums and no idea what to do with them! Suggestions please!
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Jelly
Is there a way to make jelly/jam without sugar?
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Do you feel that canning is a necessary skill?
So background is, no one ever taught me to can. And while I'm all about learning new skills on my own (which is what I've done for most I have), canning scares the heck out of me. I usually just freeze or lacto ferment items items that I want to preserve. But in getting pushback from some local acquaintances that without…
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Canning Fruit- Fruit Cocktail
Have you ever had a quandary about what to do when the fruit doesn't ripen at the same time. It dawned on me the other day that I couldn't remember where I put the canning lids I thought I had and sure enough after I looked in several places, there they were. I also found the rings too. I finally decided to can some…
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Z U C C H I N I
opportunity to sign up for free printable instructions at end of article ENJOY!!! 👀
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fruit leather- the simplest way to preserve fruit
As I've mentioned before, my kids have all worked at a local farm and orchard. If there is one thing farmers hate, it's seeing food go to waste. As a result, we are given a lot of tired fruit that couldn't be sold. The fruit is far past the canning stage. Occasionally, it's good enough for making fruit sauce or butter, but…
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Pickled peppers
Good day y'all, this is my first year canning. Hooray homesteading skills. And dishes. Haha Any ways I'm following recipes from the NCFS and my pepperchinis came out mushy. They are tasty. Just not as crisp as I'd like. Anyway, any one have a canning recipe they like to share? Vinegar, mustard seed were the main…
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Old Catsup recipes - oyster, walnut, mushroom and tomato
From The Virginia Housewife From The Complete Cook
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Finding Food to Can
Does anyone have any ideas for obtaining food to can when the garden isn't doing to great?
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From the Almanac: CANNING FOR BEGINNERS
Good article on canning: CANNING FOR BEGINNERS: WHAT IS CANNING? LEARN HOW TO CAN YOUR OWN FOOD AT HOME By Robin Sweetser July 15, 2020 Home canning is experiencing a resurgence of interest. Imagine the shelves of your pantry stocked with homemade pickles, tomato sauce, and jams. Whether you are blessed with an…
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Freezer Full of Food --Quit!
Yeah, it was really bad. We had it full, my husband went out to get some meat for supper and came in looking distressed, everything had thawed, no ice crystals anywhere. We were using it in a shed right behind the house. Apparently, because of the heat when ever we opened the door a little condensation occurred and it…
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Dehydrating in your microwave - Using fabric or parchment paper
I've been dehydrating in my microwave for a while now. You use a microwavable plate with 2 layers of paper towel, the herbs laid out on the paper towel, and a single paper towel on top. Pop into the microwave and use short bursts of power with rest times in between, to dry your herbs. My problem is that most paper towels…
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Filling the canner with jars of water
We aren't getting enough green beans or cucumbers to fill the canner either way. Green beans are pressure canned and pickles are water bath canned. I have always filled enough other jars with water, put the flat and ring on, and canned water. When it's done it is labeled and goes in the pantry too. Hubby asked my why I…
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Can anyone add more ways to ensure crispness when processing?
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recipes for green apples needed
My daughter has brought home about a bushel of Pippen apples from work. A lot of them are beat up and could never be sold. Some of the best are about to go into the jelly bag for green apple- ginger jelly. It's very nice on toast or plain crackers when little ones are getting over tummy aches. I still have about a half…
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Wow, sardines are good!
Honestly, I don't know why I have to keep having this revelation.... But, every time I eat a good quality brand of canned sardines, I'm amazed just how good they are! I just had some, dressed with a little mustard vinaigrette, and some dill pickles on the side.... even better is ON a Caesar salad. But, best may be simply…
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How much freezer space is needed for 50 whole chickens?
Anybody have any idea of how much freezer space it takes for 50 whole frozen chickens? I was spoiled at the homestead in Texas with a huge freezer and I never worried about space... I am guessing about 3 birds / cubic foot? Maybe 4? If it's 4 birds per cubic foot, that means I need about a 12.5 cubic foot freezer for 50…
