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Posted: Andrea : July 23, 2007
Can It!
Wish you could keep the wonderful flavours of summer all year round? You can. That's right, can.
Canning isn't just something your grandmom did back during the
Depression to make the most of the victory garden. It is a simple way
to get quality, flavorful foods on your table. Plus homemade canned
goods make great gifts! There are so many options.
Pickles - pickling cucumbers is a snap.
Depending
on the type of pickles you like will determine the process. You can
make it as simple as refrigerator pickles that are ready in 24 hours,
or gherkins that take a few weeks for flavors to develop.
Jams/Jellies - abundant ripe fruit
just begs to be cooked down with sugar and spices to be made into
delicious jams, jellies and preserves.
Think how wonderful it would be to open a jar of your own berry jam on a cold wintery day.
Tomato Sauce - have a bumper crop of tomatoes?
Cook them down and can them. You''ll have summer fresh pasta sauce all winter long.
These ideas are just the tip of the iceberg. But, if you are new to
canning, be sure to follow the guidelines to ensure food safety. Be
sure to check out proper processing guidelines before beginning.
- Canning on the Aga is very simple. The Aga Simmering Oven is perfect for sterilising jars.
- Simply wash the jars and lids with hot soapy water.
- Rinse well.
- Place the jars upside down on a clean tea towel to drain.
- Then move the jars to to a rack set on the floor of the simmering oven.
- Leave them for 30 minutes.
- Remove and they are ready for use.
A large canning kettle or pressure steamer should be used on the
hotplates only. With the water bath method, follow the instructions to
the letter. Usually the water has to be brought slowly up to the
required processing temperature over a period of up to 2 hours before
being held for so many minutes at the destination temperature. Placing
the cooking vessel on the Simmering Plate makes this an easy task. If
it starts to heat up too quickly, partially offset the pan on the
hotplate.
Where a pressure cooker type requires to be brought to pressure
quickly, use the Boiling Plate and then transfer to the Simmering Plate
to maintain the cooker at the set pressure for the required time. Most
methods recommend a short period of steaming without the weight
initially, to exhaust the cooker of air before the steam is allowed to
build up pressure - this is to ensure accurate processing temperatures.
The Aga is brilliant for making all kinds of jams and preserves.
The Aga Boiling Plate is kept at a really high temperature and has a
huge reserve of heat which is just what you want to bring jam to a good
rolling boil ready for testing for a set. Another alternative would be
to use the Aga Cake Baker as that again is a brilliant utensil for fast
boiling preserves.
I would recommend you make small batches no larger than 8 lb (4kg)
yields. For some recipes fruit can be poached until it is tender in the
Simmering Oven - this also works brilliantly for marmalade. Warm the
sugar before adding as it helps it to dissolve quickly (use the
Simmering or Warming ovens or flash in the Roasting Oven in a shallow
layer in a roasting tin on the lowest set of runners for 3-4 minutes,
but watch it isn`t over-heated). Always add the sugar with the pan on
the Simmering Plate; when it has been stirred and every last grain of
sugar has dissolved, transfer to the Boiling Plate which then has it`s
full reserve of heat waiting to bring everything rapidly to the boil.
Here is Mary Berry`s delicious Strawberry and Raspberry Jam recipe from The Aga Book to get you started:
Strawberry or Raspberry Jam Strawberries are particularly low in pectin
and acid so a sugar such as jam or preserving sugar containing these is
a boon for quick reliable results.
Makes 7 lb (3.5kg) 3 1/2 lb (1.75kg) prepared strawberries/raspberries,
equivalent to 4 lb (2kg) unprepared strawberries/raspberries 2 x 1kg
bag of jam sugar knob of butter Check fruit, removing any over-ripe or
bad strawberries.
- Place in a large pan. Crush with a potato masher or purée first in a processor.
- Add sugar, heat gently on the Simmering Plate, stirring continuously until sugar is dissolved.
- Transfer to the Boiling Plate to bring to a fast rolling boil, that will not stir down, for 4 minutes.
- Remove from the heat.
- Stir in the butter.
- Ladle into warm jars and screw down lids tightly as each jar is filled.
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