lekkercraft's Profile

Hi Marisa,

I've just begun with canning, and your blog has been so helpful and inspiring. I did my first water bath canning over the weekend (your dilly bean recipe, a vinegar onion), as well as a LOT of recipe reading, and have come up with a inquiries:

I am looking for a spicy tomato jam recipe that can be canned. I would like one of the recipes that is more like a chutney, uses whole tomato (not just juice), and doesn't use pectin. I made a delicious recipe over the weekend, but I don't think it has a high enough acid content for it to be canned long-term. I just made one jar and it is just refrigerated. (I used this recipe: http://www.frontiercoop.com/store.php?Screen=recipe&recipe=736 Is there a way to alter it for canning?)

In a similar vein: How do you determine the correct acid content for canning? For example, many recipes I am interested in include bell pepper, which I don't like. I would like to replace the bell pepper with another vegetable, but am not sure how to adjust the amount of lemon juice the recipe calls for. Or if I wanted to spice up a relish recipe with an extra jalapeno or 2, how much extra vinegar do I add? Would I have to change the processing time? Is there a rule of thumb?

I don't eat steaks very often, but I'll have access to an outdoor grill when I go housesitting for the month of August. I'm really looking forward to cooking my own steak on the grill, all marinated in red wine and soy sauce.

I tried to do the candy with the show when I was about 7 years old -- It didn't seem to work with Aunt Jemima. Then again, I was 7 and had no idea what I was doing...

So cozy-looking. I'd happily change the color of my walls for this set.