It’s summer and it’s time for canning all the bountiful fruits and vegetables. The Richmond Food Security Society once again is hosting a number of Canning Drop-in.
The Canning Drop-in started on Aug 2nd and for the month of August, it will be held at Garratt Wellness Center. The Canning Drop-in is scheduled every Tuesday from 5PM to around 8PM. You can bring your own produce to can and use the equipment and jars there or you can help to preserve produce from the Sharing Farm for the food bank.
Some of the participants did take advantage of the facilities and brought their own fruits for canning.
The above are apricot jam and raspberry jam made by some of the participants.
For the first Canning Drop-in, chef Karen DW showed us how to can herb jelly and made some garlic herb pesto. Here is the link to the recipe of making easy herb pestos that Karen DW did last year.
We made two types herb jellies, i.e. basil jelly and mint jelly. The herbs are harvested from the Richmond Sharing Farm that morning.
Karen brought some of the jelly that she made earlier for us to taste. The green color is mint jelly (with food coloring) while the amber color is basil jelly. They were delicious. Anyone has any idea of how to use these herb jelly other than enjoying them with bread?
Ingredients
- 2 cups (500 ml) coarsely chopped fresh herbs, loosely packed
- 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) unsweetened apple juice or dry white wine
- 1 cup (250 ml) water
- 1 cup (250 ml) white wine vinegar
- 5 1/4 cups (1300 ml) granulated sugar
- 1 pkg (57 g) powdered Fruit Pectin
Source: Karen DW; Bernadin
Yield: 6 x 250ml jars
Chef Karen DW will demonstrate how to can Tomatillo Salsa in the next Canning Drop-In.
Instructions
Prepare canner:
Any large pot can be a canner. Just ensure that the pot is tall enough to hold water at least 2.5cm/1 inch deeper than your tallest jar. Place a cooling rack on the bottom of the pot, to raise the jars off the surface (helps to avoid excessive agitation). You can make a canning rack by tying a few old jar rings together with twist ties or twine. Otherwise, line the bottom of the canner with towels.
Prepare jars:
Wash with hot, soapy water, rinsing well. Inspect jars, and discard any with nicks. chips, or scratches, as these flaws can cause breakage. Set the jars into your canner, fill with water, and bring to simmering. Do not boil. Keep warm until ready to fill.
Prepare lids:
Wash with hot, soapy water, rinsing well. Heat the seals in hot, not boiling water, for 5 minutes. Rings do not need to be heated. When using, remove, remove lids from hot water using a non-metallic device, rubber gloves, or a magnetic stick. Avoid using any tools which may scratch or nick the sealing compound or the inside liner of the lid.
Karen also shared with us a refreshing drink made with club soda and basil infused syrup. The basil infused syrup is made by dissolving equal amount of sugar and hot water and steep with a couple handful of basil, roughly chopped, for at least 15 minutes (or overnight) and strained. Just combine a couple of tablespoons of the syrup with a glass of club soda.
Karen, thank you for sharing all the wonderful recipes.
*wow* Those herb jellies look AMAZING! I really want to try the basil lol~
Random potential uses:
– no-bake cheesecake with a layer of the jelly in middle
– or just any cheesecake w. a layer spread on top ^^
– bake pastry shells => fill w. fruit and jelly (maybe strawberries?)
– use the jelly to flavor mayo – toss w. cold chicken => stuff in a pita w. veggies
Mint jelly is delicious with lamb, and I bet also depending on the herbs, with chicken or pork.