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Saturday, May 27, 2017

Cold Pack Preserving - May Challenge

Bruschetta in a Jar - Tami Young (*see recipe at bottom of page)

A group of us are participating in a year long Food in Jars Mastery Challenge hosted by Marisa of Food in Jars, and May was Cold Pack Preserving.

What is cold pack preserving? Also known as raw pack, to cold pack something simply means something that it put into jars while cold and uncooked. If you’ve made dilly beans or garlic dill pickle spears, you’ve already tried your hand at a cold pack. Other things that get cold packed a lot are peaches, pears, and tomatoes that are peeled but uncooked, pickled vegetables where you’re trying to retain their crunch, and much of what goes into a pressure canner.

Why cold pack? The primary reason to choose this style of preservation is to retain texture. When fruits and vegetables go into the jars raw, they don’t spend as much time in contact with heat, which means that they don’t cook as much. That leads to a crisper, firmer texture. The secondary appeal of the cold pack is speed. Food gets peeled, pared, packed into the jars, topped with either water, brine, fruit juice, syrup, and goes into the canning pot. (Source: Food in Jars)

So off we set to begin our projects! It always amazes me the how totally different and unique they all are; everything from pears, to pearl onions, Bruschetta in a jar and crunchy dill pickles were submitted by the small group of us who are having fun with the monthly challenges, even though we are geographically separated.

RECIPES HERE:

Easy Carrot and Cauliflower Pickles - Sara De Leeuw - My Imperfect Kitchen
Easy Carrot and Cauliflower Pickles

Pickled Pearl Onions - Pamela Gram - The Pit Stop BBQ, LLC

Crunchy Dill Pickles - Mary Marshall - Cooking with Mary and Friends
Crunchy Dill Pickles

Pears in Apple Juice with a Cinnamon Stick - Nikki Carriere
Notes - I used apple juice instead of water; I peeled my pears; and I added a stick of cinnamon
Canning Pears

*Bruschetta in a Jar - Tami Young
From the magazine "Canning and Preserving" by the publishers of Harris Farmers Almanac

Yield 7 (8 oz) 1/2 pints (I got 10)
Skill Level: Medium
Method: Waterbath

WHAT YOU NEED:
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons dried basil
2 Tablespoons dried oregano
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
9 cups chopped, cores plum tomatoes (about 4 pounds)

WHAT YOU DO:
1. PREPARE boiling water canner. Heat jars in simmering water until ready for use. Do not boil. Wash lids in warm soapy water. Set bands aside
2. COMBINE garlic, wine, wine vinegar, water, sugar, basil, oregano, and balsamic vinegar. Bring to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat, cover , and simmer 5 minutes or until garlic is heated through. Remove from heat.
3. PACK tomatoes into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch head-space. Ladle hot vinegar mixture over tomatoes, leaving 1/2 inch head-space. Remove air bubbles. Wipe rim. Center hot lid on jay. Apply band and adjust until fit is fingertip tight.
4. PROCESS filled jars in a boiling water for 20 minutes, (I'm a mile high so I had to add 10 minutes) remove jars and cook. Check lids for seal after 24 hours.

Enjoy,
Mary

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