Pressure canning in first class with Green Beans

On July 11th, during our first class, different styles of home pressure canners were discussed. All home pressure canners have basic things in common that must be in good working order before you start. Once you pressure can a few times, it is not as intimidating as it seems. A good basic knowledge of how it work is key and that is what we went over before we started. Knowing what foods need to be pressure canned as opposed to water-bath canned was also discussed.

After basic things like making sure your jars, lids, bands as well as utensils are washed and clean, it was time to rinse the green beans and cut them to size. There are different ways to can beans like “cold pack” and “hot pack”. We did the cold pack method during this first class. There are also different timings to use for different size jars, but we did pints. A great tip for keeping jars from getting a white line on them from the processing is to put vinegar into the water of the canner.

Experience is the best teacher because you can’t describe how a pressure canner should sound. The sound is how you know if your heat is too high or too low. Your timer starts when the sound is right. Learning by doing is often the best way to learn.

There are photos from the first and second classes below.

Second Class “Water-Bath” method – loads of fun

The topic for this second canning class, on July 25th, was “Fig Preserves.” Ms. Nora brought everything we needed, plus her favorite recipes for doing fig preserves two different ways. Before the class got started another member brought in more figs! It’s fig season and the time is right for preserving them before they are gone. What we do in this class progresses with whatever is needing to be canned at that time.

Figs are a versatile addition to your garden, and a very forgiving tree as we learned from some of the many stories that we heard during this class. One such memory shared was of the same fig tree that, when it grew too big to handle, would get severely cut back and in a few years was producing an abundance of figs once again.

Figs Two ways

We canned figs two different ways. One recipe cooked the figs with strawberry Jello added, which is a very popular recipe. This gave the figs a richer color and pushed the flavor to be just like strawberry. We were not required to peel the figs, but since we had plenty of helping hands, we peeled them to give it a smoother texture. These fig preserves were easy. Once boiled the mixture was put into jars and water bath canned.

A second method we tried was Ms. Nora’s favorite. She cooked whole figs in a lemon syrup with thinly sliced lemons added. This required the figs to be cooked in the syrup for a while and then removed to increase the heat and let the liquid boil down into a thicker syrup. Once reduced, the figs were gently put back into the syrup and then spooned into jars, still whole. More hot syrup was added to the jars and then they were topped with lids and bands then water-bath canned.

One participant brought about a bushel of hot peppers to share with the class! Another student had a brilliant idea to wash one of the cayenne peppers, chop it, and add it to one of the jars of whole lemon syrup figs! He then water bath canned it. After trying it a few days later, they really turned out excellent!

Did you know that a fig is actually an inverted flower?

What will we preserve at our next canning class?

Our next canning class is Thursday, August 8th from 6:30PM to 8PM at Long Cane United Methodist Church. (51 Long Cane Rd., LaGrange , GA). You are welcome to join us as we “learn by doing.” We will gab while we work and hear a few stories while learning tips, tricks and techniques. We aren’t sure yet what fruit or vegetable will need canned at that time.

Photos

Here are a few photos from both the first and the second canning classes. We did green beans during the first class, and figs during the second. We learned a great deal during both classes.

Interested in attending?

There is no charge for this class. Our next canning classes will be August 8th and August 22nd.

Please call 706-518-8869 if you are interested in attending.

Our other current summer 2024 class is “Sewing”, read more in this GHSF blog post: https://www.grayhillschoolfarm.org/2024/07/02/classes-still-going-strong/

Special Thanks

Gray Hill School Farm would like to extend a special thank you to our teacher, Ms. Nora Ayers and the Long Cane United Methodist Outreach. Also, thank you to the Grayhill Gabbettville Garden Group for supplying some of the figs!