# It's canning time **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 26, 2007, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-canning-time/413172 "2007-07-26T00:08:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2007, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-canning-time/413172/21 "2007-07-31T17:39:21Z")
[QUOTE=Ceejaytee] Thanks! [/QUOTE] :: preens:: You’re welcome. 🙂 I’m going to try **Oslo** ’s salsa recipe, if I can scare up some half-pint jars. ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2007, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-canning-time/413172/22 "2007-07-31T21:27:20Z")
I’ve never heard of freezer pickles, but they sound delish. How do you serve them? I just made a batch of mango jam – a guy at the farmers market had cases of mangoes for $5, so who was I to resist? Four cups of mango pulp, 1/4 cup of lime juice, a package of pectin and six cups of sugar (which turned out to be too much, I think). It’s a little too sweet, but it sure is tasty. My tomato and pepper harvest is starting to come in, so I’ll be canning away in a couple of weeks. Yay! ---
**Author:** ![Licentious\_Ectomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5e9695/32.png) [@Licentious\_Ectomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Licentious_Ectomorph)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2007, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-canning-time/413172/23 "2007-07-31T21:59:34Z")
For a second I thought the title said “It’s _caning_ time”, and I got all excited. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2007, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-canning-time/413172/24 "2007-07-31T22:45:15Z")
Yay! Canning! I am still trying to track down a cheap pressure canner, but I have been looking for the last 2 years, maybe it’s time to buy a new one. So far this year I’ve done half a dozen pints of pickled beets and about 12 pints of the “Spiced Red Cabbage” from the Ball Book. I have been adding cukes to a brine bucket as they get to the right size, eventually they will hopefully be real old fashioned fermented pickles. Oh, and speaking of fermented, I took 12 pounds of cabbage and am attempting homemade sauerkraut. So far not much activity, but I’ll keep my eye on it. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2007, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-canning-time/413172/25 "2007-07-31T23:07:53Z")
[QUOTE=Beadalin] I’ve never heard of freezer pickles, but they sound delish. How do you serve them? [/QUOTE] I have no idea. I’ll probably put them out with the rest of the finger food during the holidays. That’s the only time we eat pickles. I wouldn’t have bothered with these, but people kept giving me cucumbers! **August West** , my small freezer is filling up and I still have cucumbers. Tell us more about the brine bucket, please. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2007, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-canning-time/413172/26 "2007-08-01T12:28:41Z")
Stupid question - can a pressure cooker be used as a pressure canner? ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2007, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-canning-time/413172/27 "2007-08-01T13:02:40Z")
Since you haven’t gotten a response yet. Some recipes for pickles have you soak the cucumbers in brine for a period. You must use a non reactive container. A glass bowl or pickling crock. You put a boiling solution of 2 cups pickling salt to 1 gallon water into the container of cucumbers. You place a plate over the cucumbers to hold them under the brine. Recipes vary for how long to do this. You can add to this over a period of a few days extending the brine soak. Skim off scum daily if it forms. You don’t want to use this unless you are going to make pickles that have this as a step. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2007, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-canning-time/413172/28 "2007-08-01T15:09:38Z")
Yep, HD nailed it. I added some dill and a few other spices ot the brine as well. I use a large plastic bag filled with brine to keep the pickles submerged, it also makes a pretty airtight seal so I’m not seeing a lot of “scum” forming. Oh, and since I don’t have a crock I’m using a food-grade 5 gal bucket ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2007, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-canning-time/413172/29 "2007-08-07T00:50:41Z")
Might as well 'fess up. My first efforts look poor. I had one jar of sliced jalapenos that wouldn’t seal, so I put them in the fridge. Viciously hot little bastards, several times hotter than the commercial variety. I may have to pitch them if no one has an idea for reducing the heat. The salsa looks watery, and tasted way too tart before processing. Also, I used only Roma-style tomatoes, and they lacked the full-bodied flavor of the big boys. Oh well. I have another dozen or so half-pint jars, so I can try again. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-canning-time/413172.md?page=1)