Canning, Pickling, and Dehydrating!

Hens and Roos said:

that's great all the food items you put up! We do some but haven't had much time the last few years.

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Yes, it does indeed take a lot of time. I do not work out of the home. Putting up food is my job, and it started one project at a time over many years. Sometimes it feels like re-inventing the wheel! So much research, so many elderly brains to pick, so much trial and error. Next will be soap making.....

Wow! I hope to be where you are one day. We have blackberries, cabbage, fish, six or seven kinds of beef, and a BUNCH of blueberries in the deep freeze. I'm sure I'm missing something...

We have pears and plums canned for pies and desserts. Thus year we plan on milk from our goats. Maybe cheese, maybe soap. Haven't decided yet.

We have persimmon and.... Some other winter fruit I can't remember ripening right now.

Our summer garden was destroyed by rain this year. Supplies ran out. Having to buy tomatoes and veggies is a bummer.

babsbag said:

I didn't can much this year. Peaches and all things peach, fruit cocktail, and tomatoes are all I did this year. Life has been just too busy. I have not ventured into pressure canning, only water bath. I do dry onions, beef jerky, persimmons, and tomatoes (Just reminded me, I need to do the tomatoes still for my cheese next year). I usually freeze corn and butternut squash but didn't even do that this year. Building a dairy is pretty time consuming so I am a little off my game.

I might still do applesauce.

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I too just use the water bath canning- it is a bit expensive for us right now to get into pressure canning (from the prices I have looked up). I really want to get into making jerky at some point, as it will be a new experience for me. Any tips on freezing corn? We will be putting up ALOT next year, as we are clearing off a huge plot for nothing but corn for seed, meal, grits, and eating.

@mcjam - Whoa. What you described is the way my husband and I want to be- self sufficient as much as we possibly can be. It's going to be a long road, as our only income is small art projects and occasionally milled lumber. We currently have 2 female ducks, 1 rooster/4 hens, 2 bucks/1 doe rabbits.
We want to add on a pair of goats, two castrated steers to train for plowing/log pulling, and pair of cattle to breed. If our trapping season goes well this year, the goats will be next.

You have to tell me more about your experience making your own cheese! This would be a very valuable project to take on for us.
(My husband picks at me constantly on my addiction to cheese)

I also have to mention that it was very nice to see that your daughters help you around the homestead. My husband and I want to have children after we finish our cabin, and he naturally wants to have boys. BUT, it is all up to God! What has it been like raising your girls to take on such responsibility?

As far as freezing corn ... Just like any other vegetable you need to cook it first. Cook it thoroughly then drain it then immediately put it in a cold bath. Bring it to room temperature slowly ( let the ice melt ) then bag/jar/however you want to freeze it. If you don't it will dry out in the freezer unless you have an industrial freezer that will freeze it instantly. All of the moisture and sugars will make it rigid and hard.

HomesteaderWife said:

@mcjam - Whoa. What you described is the way my husband and I want to be- self sufficient as much as we possibly can be. It's going to be a long road, as our only income is small art projects and occasionally milled lumber. We currently have 2 female ducks, 1 rooster/4 hens, 2 bucks/1 doe rabbits.
We want to add on a pair of goats, two castrated steers to train for plowing/log pulling, and pair of cattle to breed. If our trapping season goes well this year, the goats will be next.

You have to tell me more about your experience making your own cheese! This would be a very valuable project to take on for us.
(My husband picks at me constantly on my addiction to cheese)

I also have to mention that it was very nice to see that your daughters help you around the homestead. My husband and I want to have children after we finish our cabin, and he naturally wants to have boys. BUT, it is all up to God! What has it been like raising your girls to take on such responsibility?

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Raising my girls has been and still is an awesome experience. We are HOME-steaders to the core. Home grown food, home births, home school, home church, home health care, home business. I think family is the most important thing there is, and we are not content to pawn off our responsibilities to "the experts". Raising children, girls or boys, is all about including them and expecting them to be responsible and helpful right from the get go. It means having them help at an age when they still a hindrance to efficiency. My eldest daughter became a sister two days after her 2nd birthday. We taught her that her baby sister was indeed hers! She was encouraged to care for the baby, including helping with diapers, clothing, laundry and snuggling of course. And of course, it took much longer than if I had just done it myself, without her "help". Now, at ages 19 and 17, they are indeed each others best friend. The same goes for the other three. Does that mean there were no issues or strife? Certainly not, but trials and strife are where we learn forgiveness, compassion, and true love.
Listening to the news, or reading history, my kids inevitably will ask, why are there wars? Why mass shooting, why prejudices and race issues, and my answer is always this: You know how difficult it often is, just to keep peace in our own house, with the people you love most in the world. How can we be surprised when governments, and strangers argue and fight. Let us first keep peace in our own family, then extend that to our friends, neighbors and strangers, and every time you feel anger at someone, understand how those other atrocities happen.

As far as the cheesemaking, I cannot really help. Daughters 1 and 2 took that on themselves, do the research and make the cheese. Lots of online research, a few good books and lots of trial and error, and a passion for it that does not let them give up when the errors happen. (pigs and chickens are very greatful for the errors however)

I encourage you heartfully to keep going, step by step. Try not to get too overzealous that you bite off more than you can chew. It has taken my husband and I over 25 years to get where we are and are still learning more. It is all about the journey!

I like to make cream corn. I blanch the corn on the cob for several minutes, drain and dump in ice water. I cool it off, then pile it up on cookie sheets. When cutting cream corn, it is important to spread lots of papers on the table, as it spatters and hardens to concrete. Good luck scraping it off! Soooo much easier to just wad up the paper and throw it away. I use a big roasting pan to cut the corn in. I use a sharp paring knife. Cut the tops of the kernels, from top to bottom, turning the cob as you cut. Cut off another layer, then another. I try to make 3-5 cuts on each cob. Then scrape it in a downward motion to get all the "milk" out. Pack in zip-loc bags, squeeze all the air out and flatten it out for easier stacking in the freezer.

I like to fry a skillet of bacon and drop a bag of cream corn in it. Crumble the bacon over the top and bake in a hot oven until the edges of the corn turns brown. It's yummy!

I'm not a cream corn fan, but that does sound rather tasty. Maybe it's the mere presence of bacon...

Latestarter said:

I'm not a cream corn fan, but that does sound rather tasty. Maybe it's the mere presence of bacon...

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Not a fan of cream corn??? Are we talking store bought canned nasty gook? Or home grown, home made, delicious food for the Gods?? (and us pore folks)