Canning Supplies & Shortages

Folks, canning supplies were in high demand last year to the point we could not get jars or lids in our little corner of southwestern Ontario.  Our main sources are Home Hardware, Canadian Tire, Dollarama (lids only), Walmart and most grocery stores.  This was the first time I wasn't able to find jars but it was an odd year.  Now, I am a high volume home canner who cans year round averaging about 1,000 jars annually.  I have a very good supply of jars but what happens is some of those jars are gifted and while most of them make their way back, I lose a few each year.  Due to current restrictions, I'm down about two cases. 

In Canada, we have three jar mouth sizes:

• Standard - 70 mm
• Gem - 78 mm (very popular in our prairies), BTW, this size can be found under brand names like Imperial and Canadian Jewel but the size is always referred to as Gem
  
• Widemouth - 86 mm

Jars: 

• Bernardin, formerly Canadian owned is the best known and trusted brand in Canada.  I have the old Imperial pints and quarts as well as the new metric L, 500 ml, 250 ml etc.  Golden Harvest jars are available.  Back for y2K Home Discovery was available.  And there are numerous older brands still available used.
  
• Know your local prices!  Many resale venues are selling jars for well over their price new. 
  
• Buy ahead.  Yes you don't need 4 cases of jars right now but if you can't get them later you will be patting yourself on the back.
• Put the word out.  Networking is key to finding jars and there's always jars available given that each year some folks give up canning.  It's all about asking around and chances are they will give you the jars free for a filled jar of jam or salsa.
  

Lids: You can have all the jars possible but the barrier will always be the availability of lids.

• The most popular and heavily promoted lids are the single use metal snap lids.  This is a metal disc that uses a metal band during the canning process.  Both bands and snap lids are available for all three sizes.  The ping tells you it sealed.  Some of the rebel canners are reusing these lids out of necessity.  My concern would be seal failures.
  
• Glass inserts - Glass inserts require a rubber ring (Vicroy) and special metal (not the old zinc) bands  to use.  The rubber bands are still easily available.  These reusable lids are a must.  They are available for standard and Gem widths. 
• Glass shoulder lids - These are considered an antique, fitting the old Corona, Crown, Imperial and similar jars.  I have oodles of them for dry storage.  The rubber rings are available but my opinion is these jars should not be used in a pressure canner.  I'm iffy whether to use them in the steam/WB canner.  However, they are excellent for dry storage.
• Tattler reusable lids - Tattler's are amazing and I have 10 doz.  These are reusable plastic BPA free discs with rubber rings.  There's a different methods like the glass inserts so a learning curve.  The only problem I have with Tattler's at the moment is they aren't shipping to Canada.  I did find them on Amazon.ca but the reviews were not good as apparently the ones being sold aren't the real macoy.  However, if you have someone in the US they could send them to you.  Stock up on the rubber rings because they will be at some point the limiting factor.  You should be able to get 7-10 uses per ring and rings are very inexpensive.
• prices:  By far, Dollarama is the best price for snap lids, more expensive than last year but still the best price.  Their price has increased to $2.50 per box of lids so at 21 cents is still the best price.  You can order a case lot on line but have to pay for shipping which would increase the overall price to 29 cents per lid.  Still, delivery to your door is not a bad deal. Stay away from Amazon.ca for lids at 81 cents per lid.  The next best are Walmart/Uline (26 cents per lid), and Home Hardware, Canadian Tire (33 cents per lid)
  
• My opinion: Learn how to use the reusable lids even if you only use them for high acid foods.  If you are a high volume canner, it is the only way to go.  Aim for 10 dozen pllus extra rings.  Hands down, this is your best hedge to being able to home can.  Be sure to stock up on the rubber rings.  Buy a package every time you get a chance.  Stock up on snap lips as you will want to gift some of your goodies.  If you are high volume, 300 lids seems to be the amount most home canners are going for.
  

Pectin:

• I use Pomona's pectin.  I stock up when in the US but it is available in Canada at a rather inflated price but it really is the best.  It's non-GMO and shelf stable indefinitely.  I'm getting reports of Certo brand not setting properly but that could be a bad batch.  The biggest problem with the other pectins is availability.  Last year, after June you could not find pectin anywhere.
• green apples - if you have a source for green apples, you can make your own pectin and this is what I would consider a useful skill to learn.
• long cook - Many fruit jams can be made using no pectin but rather the long cook method.  Honestly, a very useful skill to learn!  Basically the fruit/sugar mixture is cooked to gel stage (220 degrees F) then bottled. 

Clear Jel:

• Clear Jel is the only USDA approved thickener for pie fillings.  I buy mine in the US but if you are lucky you can find it on Amazon.ca at a greatly inflated price.
• My opinion: If you are buying Clear Jel for a couple of jars of apple pie filling, don't.  If you want to can stews, gravies, etc. then yes.  There are a few recipes out there using flour for tomato soup rather than Clear Jel.  I've had wonderful results using that.  I typically use Clear Jel for stews, pie fillings and gravies BUT there are other ways to do it. 
  

Equipment:

• pressure canner - If you are considering buying a pressure canner, buy All American that does not require a gasket.  Folks have already sounded the alarm at not being able to find a gasket for their pressure canner.  Without a gasket, you cannot pressure can low acid foods but there are old school long boil methods.  These methods are not USDA approved but it's your kitchen, your rules.  And, I am well acquainted with many Amish families who put up all kinds of foods without a pressure canner.  My opinion is the USDA is another arm of government control without rhyme of reason sometimes.
• steam canner - Now available at a decent price on Amazon.ca.  This handy device replaces your waterbath canner.  It is about $70 CDN but well worth the price in time, fuel and water savings.
  

Questions & Answers

Here and on my Facebook posts, I stress organic, home canned, homemade, in the descriptions.  Why?  The reasons are very simple, what I use will give different result than what you use.  So,

 

Q. Can I use _____ fill in the blank to make this recipe.

A. If it is similar likely but I can't guarantee that.  I do know the taste will differ.

Q. Can I use refined white sugar instead of organic cane sugar.

A. Yes but you won't get the same flavour profiles.  Refined sugar adds sweetness, organic cane sugar adds flavour and sweetness.

Q. Do I have to follow USDA canning rules?

A. No, your kitchen your rules.  I am Canadian, so USDA has no bearing here nor does any other government agency within your home.  I highly recommend following safe canning guidelines but even I am septal of some of those.  

Q. Why organic?

A. There are certain chemicals I do not want in my foods especially dried foods where the concentration increases.  Organic certification also ensures non-GMO.  

Q. Why homemade?

A. When you make something from scratch, you know exactly what is in it. 

Rainbow Stew

In very stressful times, folks turn to cooking out of necessity.  During the 1900's we had homecanning as a means of surviving the Canadian winters.  It made a resurgence during the Great Depression which also introduced a style of cooking known as Depression Era Cooking.  When women went to help the war efforts then remained in the work force, convenience foods like tv dinners and packaged foods made their appearance.  There was a resurgence in home canning with homesteading and survivalism.  That grew during the period leading up to y2K.  Cooking shows coined the term foodie, so anyone who  could cook was inspired by their favourite tv chef.  Now into the 2000's, we have the popularity of food kits and pandemic cooking.  

 

Once again we are seeing a resurgence in home cooking, canning and food preservation in general.  Many are cooking for the first time because they have to.  Restaurants are closed, take-out is limited and then there's stay-at-home restrictions.  People do not want to spend a lot of time at the grocery stores.  Two trends have emerged as a result: inexpensive food kit availability and most smaller food producers are offering online shopping with reasonable shipping.  This opened the door to people discovering a wide range of ingredients they normally wouldn't find locally and at the same time, they discovered a multitude of ingredients they could get from local food producers.

Earlier this year, I began buying organic produce from a local grower who delivers weekly.  I've dealt with this farmer for ages so when he offered the delivery service, I supported it.  Each week, I place an order based on availability so have been experimenting with a few neat ingredients.  

I made this delightful stew for dinner, quickly named Rainbow Stew because of the bright colours. Unlike most stews, potatoes are not included. It is chock full of nutritious ingredients including purple top turnips, celeriac, corn and rainbow swiss chard. The bay leaf (middle left) was fresh picked from my bay laurel plant! The new to me ingredient in this dish was celeriac.  It's definitely an ingredient I will use again.  Very tasty stew!

The Issue With Recipes

Back when I first started blogging, including a recipe was very important.  That has changed.  Why?  Despite a plethora of recipe books, you can never duplicate that recipe unless you have the exact same ingredients, environmental conditions and methods AND even then you might not be able to because everyone has their own little shortcuts, tricks and methods that are not always disclosed in the recipe.

Case in point, I shared a clone recipe with a friend for a particular dish.  One of the items is no longer available and another is no where near what it was 30 years ago when I created the recipe.  So even I could not make that recipe with the ingredients available now.  Another problem is variety of fruit or vegetable used and the fact those from even 20 years ago are not the same as today's varieties.   Adding to that is for many of my recipes I use homemade versions of store bought ingredients like mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard and so much more.  Then there are the regional differences like flours and differences from country to country.  From experience, dairy products in our corner of Ontario taste very different than those in Florida.  Adding to that, if you use commercially produced ingredients even something as simple as shortening changes usually in favour of the company making more money.  I do a a lot of soap making.  Back in 1998 one of the favourite ingredients was Crisco.  The formula has changed to the point the SAP values have changed.  The new Crisco formula uses palm oil whereas the old did not.  I don't use Crisco for soap making but that is important to know if you do.  Oh and right now Canada has an issue with butter staying hard at room temperature.  There's theories as to why but nothing confirmed.  So if you want room temperature butter for a dish, you just might be out of luck.All of this adds to the final product.

So at best, we as home cooks must come up with substitutions and tweaking based on personal experience and knowledge.  This is what keeps cooking interesting and sharpens your skills.  Like a willow tree, you have to be strong enough to bend.   Recipes are simply a starting point, they are not carved in stone!  This is what goes into what I made but your dish will not not should it be exactly the same.  I urge everyone to keep a cooking journal and honestly, do not get too attached to any one particular ingredient.  Know that ingredients change or become unavailable.  Be flexible!

Superbowl Menu Planning

My husband and I have been having a lazy Sunday, enjoying coffee and chatting about next weekends plans, pleased we don't have to go out in the rain.  Yes rain!  Here in beautiful southwestern Ontario, we are experiencing rain (heavy at times) and rather mild temperatures (highs in mid 40˚F) for this time of year.  We are lucky in that we were away for most of the cold weather but still folks in southwestern Ontario can't complain.  We have only shoveled once, haven't had to use the snowblower and the temperatures haven't been bad.  All in all, it has been a mild winter here.

Superbowl Sunday 2016 (February 7) is a week away!  We sent the invitation out last week so now have a good idea of the numbers.  It looks like we will be hosting our Superbowl Party for sixteen.  That means it is time to do the menu planning for this event.  Unlike many, menu planning does not nor has it ever played a large role in our day to day living however, it is a very useful tool I rely on for certain activities like camping and entertaining.

On the menu:
  
Snacks

• crudites with avocado/herb dips*
• cheese tray with crackers*
• nachos with cheese sauce/salsa/sour cream/pickled jalapeno peppers*
• cashews
• potato chips
• seasoned popcorn* 
• [bacon wrapped jalapeno peppers*]

Dinner

• pulled pork sandwiches* with garnishes (romaine lettuce, shredded cheese, red cabbage slaw*, dill pickles*, pickled red onion*) 
• spring mix salad* with vinaigrette*
• chili with corn muffins*

Dessert

•  banana cake* with cream cheese frosting*
•  peanut butter cookies* 

* homemade, needs prep ahead

A few menu items like the pickled jalapeno peppers, dill pickles and salsa are homemade pantry staples.  This afternoon I will firm up the recipes I will be using then base my grocery list on that.  I bought a pork loin for the pulled pork with part of it reserved for peameal bacon.  The bacon wrapped jalapeno peppers are in brackets as they are dependent on the availability of the fresh peppers.  Next, I will create a priority for the prep.  For example, cookies and crackers can be made 2 to 3 days prior to the event, pull pork 1 to 2 days before the event, corn muffins the day before and dips the day of.  I'm experimenting with the seasoned popcorn so will make a few trials before deciding on one or two for the party. 

And Here We Go...

The new year is well underway with January proving to be very busy!  We had a very eventful ending to our stay at our vacation home that resulted in my husband dislocating and fracturing his shoulder.  So, we had first hand experience of the US emergency health care system.  They were very good to my husband who is now healing nicely.  It will be a long haul healing but we are very blessed as thing could have been so much worse!  Normally, we are home by the 22nd of December but this year did not return until the 5th of January.  We had actually planned on staying closer to the 10th but really wanted to be home for follow-up medical care.  Since being home, we have already hosted one large gathering and our family Christmas.  Now it's time to get into a bit of a routine before we are off again!

We spent a total of 15 weeks out of Canada in 2015 with the longest portion of that being 7 weeks starting in November.  Most of that was spent in Florida but one week was in Aruba, another in Tennessee and we even managed to get to Bermuda as a port of call on a short cruise we took.  In all, we had an amazing year filled with beautiful memories.  A lot of the food we enjoyed was stellar!  I'll share more on that shortly. 

For now, we are back to good old home cooking like this left over chicken stir fry I made.  Stir fry is one of my favourite quick meals.  This time I used an ancient grains pasta - whole wheat pasta with quinoa, amaranth, millet, sorghum and teff.  This pasta has a slightly grainy texture with a mild nutty flavour that paired nicely with the left over chicken.  I substituted Worchestershire sauce for soy sauce to reduce the sodium.  Mushrooms, onions and broccoli completed the stir fry. 

I'm planning on resuming regular posting after my hectic hiatus of 2015.  We are hosting our annual Superbowl Party so I'll be sharing a few dishes we will be serving.  This is always a fun gathering that starts just after lunch and running until after midnight.  Next I will be focusing on ideas for Valentine's Day.   Stay tuned...

I'm a Foodie and Proud of It!

Apparently there is a call to ban the word foodie.  Foodie by definition is a gourmet, or a person who has an ardent or refined interest in food and alcoholic beverages ^[1]. The term began in the 1980s giving rise to the Food Network, celebrity chefs, and specialty cookbooks and periodicals.  The interest in food as a hobby has been instrumental in the rise of specialized kitchenware stores and more importantly the food blog.  You seriously cannot be a food blogger without enjoying food!  Despite criticism of the word being childlike, it does no harm and has brought an undeniable awareness to food.  The word aptly describes how many of us feel about food.  As a result of the influence of foodies, folks everywhere are discovering and experimenting with new foods.  They are getting to know local food producers.  They are demanding greater food safety, organic foods, improved labeling, and putting pressure on the food industry to remove harmful food additives.   They have brought social awareness to how our food is produced, how our growers are compensated, improved how animals are treated and how our food production affects our environment.  Foodies are passing their love for food to their children as well.  In short the foodie movement has been nothing but positive.  To those wanting to ban the use of the word foodie, I say hogwash!  I'm a foodie and proud of it!

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1. Foodie definitionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foodie

A Brand New Year for Culinary Pleasure

Dear Readers,

Thanks so much for baring with me during 2014.  It was very much a year of change that oddly affected my desire to blog.  It wasn't like I didn't have anything to blog about it was more that my focus was elsewhere.  I've seen so many food bloggers go down the same path but after much soul searching concluded that this blog is a fundamental part of me.  It is written for my enjoyment and the fact that others enjoy it, is reason enough to keep writing.  So, here I am ready to start another season of sharing our culinary adventures with you.  I have a lot of ideas but in the meantime it is back to the kitchen...

As 2013 Draws to an End...

It has been an exciting culinary year!  We have enjoyed a lot of delicious foods, visited several amazing restaurants and made a lot wonderful foodie finds.  And yes, unlike some, I will continue to use the word foodie because it's a fun word that describes us as a family, in a good way. 

The few months have been a bit challenging as far as writing blog posts.  Over the past year, I have made three major life changing decisions.  Although I don't regret doing so, I am still adapting to those changes.  We extended our time spent at our vacation home which had an impact on the posts as well, especially during the last five weeks before Christmas.  I will be making a few changes in the New Year so you can expect to see an increase in posts.  As always the focus will be on home cooking.

Thank-you for being a part of my blogging family over the last year.  May you and yours be blessed in 2014.  Wishing you a Happy New Year...

The Holiday Season is Upon Us!

My gosh!  Where does the time go?  Here it is December 4 with time quickly ticking away to Christmas Day and New Year's.  Folks are busy shopping, entertaining and socializing.  I'm going to do a bit of a shift here for the rest of December to focus on some of the food related topics of interest for the holidays.  These topics include: gifts from the kitchen, holiday entertaining, holiday recipes and so much more.  I've compiled a list of our favourite Christmas cookies, sure to become your favourites as well.  They are perfect for gift giving, holiday entertaining or filling Santa's plate.  There are several recipes in the archives for appetizers suitable for holiday entertaining as well.  I plan to add a few healthy or healthier alternatives for those who are currently watching their weight or hoping to avoid that seasonal weight gain.  Just wait until you read about one simple, yet effect method I use!  A couple of the gifts from the kitchen involve a crafty touch.  Stay tuned for the holiday fun starting Friday...

Happy Thankgiving!

Today is our Canadian Thanksgiving, always celebrated on the second Monday of October.  Thanksgiving Day in Canada is linked to the European tradition of harvest festivals.  This is a time when Canadians across our great nation give thanks for food, friends, families and everything good in our lives.  A common image seen this time of year is the cornucopia (Horn of Plenty), a symbol of bounty and plenty in ancient Greece.  The cornucopia is filled with seasonal fruits and vegetables like pumpkins, ears of corn and apples.

The traditional Canadian Thanksgiving Day feast differs from the American version.  Four foods traditional to both feasts aside of the turkey are stuffing, sweet potatoes, bread and pumpkin pie but there are differences.  Canadian stuffing (in the bird) not dressing (outside the bird).  Sweet potatoes are traditionally served baked or mashed in the Canadian feast, rather than casserole style.  They are not combined with sugar, spices, butter or topped with marshmallows.  Corn bread is traditionally the Thanksgiving bread for American Thanksgiving feasts but is rarely served at a Canadian Thanksgiving feast.  The Canadian choice is a wheat based dinner roll.  The Canadian pumpkin pie is spicy, infused with nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and ginger unlike the American version that is a custardy, sweet pie made with eggs, butter, milk and pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg.

My husband and I give thanks that we are blessed with a beautiful family both immediate and extended.  Today, we give extra thanks for the safe arrival of our youngest grandchild, just after 5:30 this morning.  Believe me, this Grandma and Papa are walking on sunshine today!  Today, we give thanks for the many wonderful friends in our lives.  We also give thanks to the abundance of healthy food, a safe food supply and our local farmers and food producers in beautiful Ontario, Canada!  Happy Thanksgiving!

Fire Prevention Week

courtesy of  Ontario Ministry of Community Safety & Correctional Services

I recently acquired my husband's iPhone when he upgraded to a new iPhone so immediately started customizing with all kinds of fun apps including one called Scanner911.  This app is a scanner for police, fire and emergency.  It just happens to pick up our local fire and emergency so I've been listening to it quite a bit as one of our good friends is the assistant fire chief.  Honestly, within a two day span there were at least five calls to house fires originating in the kitchen!  That is quite scary if you ask me.

In all our years cooking in various kitchens both inside and outside, we have had one small kitchen fire that was totally my fault.  Surprisingly, it wasn't cooking food but rather a flash fire when making transparent soap.  The process involved adding 95% ethanol which easily ignited by a spark from the mixer.  Luckily, I do have rather extensive WHMIS  and laboratory experience so knew immediately what to do.  The lid was on the pot in the blink of an eye without a second thought so there was no damage other than to my ego as I should have known better.   A few years ago, a neighbour fell asleep with a pot on the stove which ignited causing extensive damage and they had to go to the hospital for smoke inhalation.  It happened on a cold winter night.  Since the damage was extensive, they had to find emergency accommodations.

Kitchen fires can happen in the blink of an eye.  The sad thing is they are quite preventable.  This is Fire Prevention Week and this year's focus is preventing kitchen fires.  If you click the link under the picture it will take you to the Ontario Ministry of Community Safety & Correctional Services site where you can find lots of great tips for preventing kitchen fires.  Please take a moment to check it out...

Great News From NCHFP Regarding Reusable Canning Lids

Social media really is the place to keep up on a lot of food related information.  I am on both Twitter and Facebook one a personal and blogging basis.  A couple of days ago, I spotted an interesting post regarding reusable canning lids.  Now, in technicality, the only recommended closure for home canning is the metal two piece snap lids consisting of a metal disc with attached plastisol and a metal band.  Notice that I say recommended not approved?  The USDA does not approve anything including recipes, it only makes recommendations, something the canning police fail to recognize.

At any rate, reusable canning lids have been used for almost a hundred years.  I have used both glass lids and glass inserts as well as Tattler and 4ever Recap reusable canning lids.  Glass lids and inserts have been in use since at least the forties and while neither are no longer made as well as the gaskets for the standard mouth glass inserts, the gaskets for the glass lids and Gem jars are still in production.  Tattler lids are a plastic disc with a rubber gasket that has been in production since 1976 and 4ever Recap lids has only been in production a few years.  If the folks who are adamant about following the USDA guidelines to the point of it being a fault aka the canning police had their way, no one would be using the reusable lids.  Seriously, some of these folks are so insistent on the USDA guidelines that no substitutions are allowed in any USDA recommended recipe meaning sea salt should not be substituted for regular salt which is utter nonsense but that is another story.  What they fail to realize is the USDA makes their recommendations based on testing and that testing is paid for by manufacturers.  Recipes submitted to the USDA to be tested for home canning safety are tested at a cost to the submitter.  So, the large scale manufactures like Ball and Kerr in the US paid to have their closures, the metal two piece snap lids tested to the point the USDA would recommend them.  Note, recommend not approve.  Bernardin, a Canadian owned company and leading expert in home canning in Canada were purchased by Altrista Corporation (now Jarden Corp) in 1993.  They remain the leading Canadian home canning experts and are still well known for their jars, closures and publications.  Their jars and closures also are recommended by the USDA.

To date, the reusable canning lids have not been tested by the USDA even though many experienced home canners including myself feel the reusable canning lids are safer than the metal snap lids as the possibility of false seals is eliminated.  Not only are they safer, they are the eco-friendly choice for home canners.  The the United States, university extension services do testing for the National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFP) on behalf of the USDA.  The University of Minnesota Extension service made the following announcement in their June 2013 newsletter:

Reusable canning lids have been around for 40 years and today, there is renewed interest in these lids. When using the lids, carefully follow the manufacturer’s (Tattler®) instructions. This lid should not impact the safety of the product as long as the food was processed properly. Currently, there is no research that looks at seal failures, rates, number of reuses or performance throughout reuses. The National Center for Home Food Preservation recently received a grant to study the performance of these lids with results available in 2014 or 2015.

This is amazing news!  Home canning is not exactly a high priority with respect to funding for testing.  On a per capita basis, home canning is a activity that is mainly low level and quite seasonal focusing mostly on jams, jellies, and pickles.  Those with higher level canning volumes tend to be rural folk, survivalists, and religious groups but there are a growing number of folk wanting to take control of their food supply.  These folks like myself want to put good, healthy foods on their table that are preservative free, additive free, and not laden with all those things the food industry puts into our foods that in turn are causing health problems.  Home canning is seeing a revival and has since the y2K scare as more realize it is a frugal and eco-friendly way to enjoy good food year round.

Like many home canners, I will be keeping a close eye for the results of the NCHFP's results testing the Tattler lids.  While the testing is specific to Tattler lids, the result will apply to the Gem glass inserts with rubber gaskets as well as the 4ever Recap lids.  The only differences are the discs for Gem are glass and the gaskets for the 4ever Recap are silicone.  Hopefully this will lead to the testing of the 4ever Recap closures.  I doubt testing will be done on the glass inserts because the inserts themselves are no longer in production and most Gem jar usage is in the Canadian prairie provinces.  At any rate, I am excited to hear about the testing and hope the results will finally put the minds of the canning police at ease!

Using Honey as a Sweetener in Homemade Jam

The busiest time of my home canning has started.  Ontario strawberries are in season just perfect for a few batches of homemade strawberry jam.  Of all the foods I can, strawberry jam is seldom a bargain in terms of cost.  Strawberries are expensive at as high as $5 per quart although you can get them a bit cheaper at the U-pick.  Even then, the price has risen significantly.  It takes on average 2 quarts plus the pectin and sugar to make the jam.  Certo (liquid or crystal pectin) adds about $1.50 to the price of a batch of homemade jam.  The average batch of jam takes 7 cups of sugar which further increases a batch of jam at a cost of about $1.40.  The yield for a batch of strawberry jam using traditional pectin is 7½ cups.  At the cost of homemade strawberry jam, it is hard to justify making it other than the fact you are getting a superior product to store bought. 

Pectin is the ingredient that makes the jam gel.  It is dependent on the sugar content which is why recipes using traditional pectin should not be altered.  The cost of traditional pectin (eg. Certo) really adds to the price of homemade jams.  Liquid pectin averages $2.89 for 2 pouches but I've seen it as high as $3.49.  The biggest problem for me with traditional pectin is their short shelf life which means I can't buy a lot of it on sale for the following year as the pectin won't keep that long.

Sugar as mentioned is necessary for the pectin to form the gel (eg. jam set).  Sugar is also a bulking agent that adds texture to the jam.  This is noticeable when making a low-sugar jam that gives a lower yeild.   It is a cheap ingredient that doesn't add flavour only sweetness.  Until a few years ago, those making homemade jams and jellies had two choices.

The first was long cook, no pectin added and the second was shorter cook, pectin added.  Both relied on adding a lot of granulated white sugar.  Low sugar pectin became available but while the amount of sugar was reduced it was not eliminated and sugar substitutes could not be used.  Then I discovered Pomona's universal pectin.  This is a low methoxy pectin that uses calcium water, a solution of monocalcium phosphate for the gel which is not dependent on sugar.  That means sugar substitutes can easily be used in jam making.  Pomona's universal pectin works out to 35¢ per teaspoon.  Only a ½ tsp to ¾ tsp of Pomona's is needed per cup of prepared fruit so it is less per batch than traditional pectin.  It has no expiry date and you can easily develop your own recipes.  Pomona's universal pectin can also be used to make sugarfree jello and gummy candies.

I made a batch of honey strawberry jam (pictured).  This jam has no sugar added, only honey and my gosh is it ever delicious!  Honey adds a wonderful flavour to any dish!  Not only that, honey is good for you.  It is easier to digest and has a wide range of health benefits.  I never use the pasteurized, homogenized honey found in the grocery stores.  This honey is a blend of several honeys with the end result being a bland, tasteless honey stripped of its natural nutrients and health benefits.  Rather, I use raw, unpasteurized honey usually local or from an area we are visiting.  Honey varies in colour (very pale amber to very dark amber) and flavour (light to strong)  depending on the nectar source.  While it is the same sweetness as sugar, honey has flavour! 

I like pairing the honey variety with the fruit to enhance and accent the flavour of the fruit.  I used a medium amber (golden) honey in the strawberry jam which accented the flavour of the strawberries nicely without being overpowering.  Honey differs from granulated sugar in that it is a liquid as well as a humicant (attracts moisture).  It does not add the bulk to jam that sugar does but I used less honey than what I would have sugar if using a traditional pectin.  Jam foams as it cooks and normally that foam is skimmed off.  Jams made with honey have a finer foam that is a bit more tedious to skim off but there is a lot less of it than there is if using sugar.  The butter trick works to reduce the foam when using honey the same way it does if using sugar.  Everything comes back to the flavour and for that honey certainly does not disappoint in creating a gourmet, delectable jam!

Happy Canada Day!

146 Years Young
Strong, Proud and Free
Oh Canada!

Normally, a Frugal Kitchens 101 post would appear today because it is Monday.  But this isn't any Monday, it's Canada Day!  I wanted to write something special in celebration of Canada's 146th birthday.

Happy Canada Day to all our friends, family and readers wherever you may be!

Canada is a land of plenty in many ways and especially so when it comes to Canadian grown and produced food.  Our food safety is second to none!  Each province and territory is known for a particular food or foods not only in terms of growing and producing but also one or more dishes (eg. muskrat dinner, poutine,  Quebec style green ketchup, pork tourtière).  Not only are some of the finest beers, rye whiskeys, liquors, and wines produced in Canada we even have our own national drink, the Caesar.  Butter tarts and peameal bacon are truly Canadian culinary creations.  Canada is home to many top notch, world class culinary chefs as well.

We are celebrating Canada Day by hosting an outdoor gathering for a small group of friends.  The food choice focus is on Canadian foods!  Most of the food (eg. hormone-free and grass fed beef, strawberries, watermelon, cucumbers, tomatoes, homemade bread, cheeses, potatoes, corn) being served was grown or made with food grown within a short distance of our home.  Drinks will also focus on Canadian brewed beers, Ontario wine and Canadian rye whiskey as well as other Canadian produced liquors.  After dinner we will sit around chatting about our next trip to the great Canadian wilderness that we will return home from with a cooler full of Canadian whitefish, wild blueberries and honey.  We will definitely be talking about Dillon's Small Batch Distillers, a new distillery in the Niagara area featuring rye whiskey, gin and vodka.  I'm sure our wonderful 5 course meal enjoyed last weekend at Vineland Estates in Niagara will also be a topic of  discussion.  As the evening fades into darkness, we will still be enjoying the celebrations, tummies filled with a wonderful assortment of great Canadian foods!  I'll be crocheting a toque while chatting about food, listening to the guys chatter about hockey. 

Here's to Canada - 146 years young - the true north strong and free!  Eh!

A Bit of a Pantry Update

It is hard to believe we have only been in this house nineteen months!  It is amazing how much the house has changed in such a short time especially when a total of 4 of those months were spent at our vacation home.  For the past month, I was busy preparing for the arrival of our new bedroom furniture.  What this really meant was furniture and things being moved about affecting the master bedroom, guest room, and office.  However, since I had to do a bit of shopping for accessories that spilled into the kitchen, upper bathroom, laundry room and pantry.  It never fails, as soon as you change one thing in the house it snowballs!

My pantry is always evolving to meet the current needs.  When I first starting setting up the pantry, we knew mice were getting in.  I bought four large wheeled totes to store boxed and packaged foods to protect them from any rodents until we had the problem under control.  Thank goodness it took very little time for the exterminator to solve the rodent issue, still I want all food protected just in case.  It did not take long to realize the storage totes while protecting the food, created a couple more problems.

Two of the storage totes (pictured) were stacked beside the industrial shelf unit on the west wall.  One was on a shelf on the industrial shelf unit on the east wall and one was under a serving table in the games room.  I started dismantling the tote setup before remembering to take a picture.  The wire racks on top of the totes hung from hooks on the rack.  Five larger plastic shoe box containers sat along the back of the top tote with a few odds and ends in front and four medium sized plastic containers on top of the shoe boxes.  The immediate problem was having to move everything to get into the lower tote.  The second problem was food easily became hidden ergo the potential for spoilage.  I decided that a one storage locker of some sort would be an excellent solution.

Last Wednesday I went to Jysk which is a bed, bath, and home store similar to IKEA but on a very smaller scale.  They had a one door pantry on sale for $59.99.  I had a couple of specifications I was looking for aside of size.  There had to be a back on pantry and I wanted the door to close in such a manner that there were no gaps a mouse could get through.  I found that the pantry at Jysk would work nicely.

I brought the pantry home and my husband put it together that evening.  The pantry measures 15¾" W x 16" D x 70½ H.  It  has three adjustable shelves plus the bottom shelf.  The door fits inside the frame ensuring no gaps wherIe a mouse could get in.  I may put a snap strap on the door just to be sure there is no give.  The back is smooth so there shouldn't be any leverage for a mouse to chew through either. 

I immediately started organizing the new pantry cabinet that night, surprised at how much the unit held.  All three plastic storage totes were removed from the pantry freeing up a surprising amount of space both physically and visually.  What I really like is I can immediately see what is in the cabinet. 

The new pantry cabinet gives a nice sleek look to that small bit of wall space.  It takes up less floor space than the two totes did plus I gained that storge space on the east wall unit for more filled boxes of home canned foods.  There is now another pail on top of the two pails to the left of the cabinet. 

I spent a bit of time the next couple of days tidying and organizing but there is still more I would like to do.  The window well is about a foot deep so I could gain more storage space by hanging mini blinds in place of the curtains.  It would be a good spot for some items that aren't used a lot.  There is room over the small freezer (south wall from where picture was taken) where a small cabinet or open shelving could hang.  I also need to find a new storage location for the drying and cooling racks but that is minor.  

At this point, all food in the pantry is protected by glass, metal, plastic and now the cabinet.  The exception is one squash and a half bag of potatoes so I need to make a rodent proof storage locker for holding these types of foods.  If a rodent were to get in which is unlikely given the measures we have taken but with our location (farm field behind) still a possibility, I can rest assured it won't get fed!   The pantry is on the lower lever so partially below grade.  Our house is in a location where flooding is possible.  While we have a sump pump and back-up sump pump system (runs on municipal water), I took the extra precaution of storing in glass and plastic as much as possible.  Insects have not been a huge problem other than carpenter ants graciously left behind by the former owner's woodpile but the exterminator took care of that problem as well.  I am rather pleased with this as it is surprisingly more difficult to keep all the foods stored in a pantry protected.   Any food stored in mason jars that could be affected by moisture (humidity) is vacuum sealed.  I am rather pleased I have been able to get the pantry to this stage of preparedness. 

I'm gearing up for the heavy canning season just around the corner.  I've been testing out the 4ever Recap canning lids while getting enough things like stocks and dried beans canned to last until the end of the heavy canning.  I'm also working on emptying one of the freezers for our 2013 beef on the hoof purchase and prepping for our vacation home plans this year which is looking to be over two months total there.  I'm also trying to finish up a bit of the inside decor before turning my attention to outdoor landscaping and gardening.  It's busy times here but all in all very enjoyable!

My Somewhat Restocked Pantry

I was beyond excited when we bought this house last year knowing full well the fifth bedroom would be used as a full size pantry.  The room is located on the lower level of a bi-level home.  It is approximately 11' x 10' so has ample storage space.  The pantry is home to all of our home canned foods, dried foods, two chest freezers and specialized kitchen appliances.  I have spent a considerable amount of time restocking and organizing the pantry  over the past few months.

The pantry is located off the large games room (out of camera range) on the lower level, on the north wall of our house, across from the lower bathroom and adjacent to a door leading to the outside.  It does of course have both AC and heating to maintaining a constant temperature is not an issue.  Not only is the room spacious, it is almost square with a nice window that really isn't needed in a pantry but the depth can be used for extra storage.  There is a nice size closet that when cleaned out of the boxes from moving can be used for additional storage.   It is by any accounts one of the nicest and most spacious pantries we have ever had.  Oh, and I did notice the walls in the pictures look purple.  They aren't.  The walls in the hall and games room are almost a chocolate brown and the walls in the pantry are a taupe with a funky black racing stripe.

As you enter the pantry to the left (west wall) there is a large closet ( just barely shown to the left).  It is home to a few boxes we haven't unpacked yet.  I do have a nice over the door rack to hang a few things on the pantry door.  The west wall has large plastic storage totes that are going to be replaced with a storage locker.  An industrial wire mesh shelving unit hold a lot of staples like baking needs, dried pastas, commercially purchased foods and home canning.  Our house backs onto a farm field so everything in the pantry is protected from rodent damage.  Rodents did get in last year when the field was harvested but since hiring an exterminator, we have had no problems.  Still, everything is protected as we spend an average of three months outside of the country.

The north wall has a nice size window that will end up being blacked out with the new deck in 2013.  What I would like to do with that space is turn it into storage as the window well is a good foot deep.  I have pails of dry food in recycled ice cream bins (right) and other recycled rodent proof food grade containers.  There is a smaller wire rack to house recipe books, canning supplies and basically whatever else I can fit on it.  Beside that is our largest chest freezer.  We down sized this freezer when we moved to our last house.  It is just borderline small but will hold a half a beef with a bit of extra room and it is EnergyStar rated.  To the front of the north wall are three boxes of mason jars.  I was in the midst of home canning when I took the picture so that's where they were.  They will be filled with home canned goodies shortly.

The east wall of the wall has a huge, industrial strength shelving unit we got from one of our friends who has a grocery store franchise during their renovation.  It houses a lot of our small kitchen appliances.  Not seen but to the back of the top shelf are two knitting machines and on the bottom adjacent to the freezer are boxes of my candlemaking supplies.  The second to the top shelf has 206 jars of wonderful home canned tomato product.  The bottom shelf is home to home canned products in cases waiting their spot on shelves.

If you look close, I like using painter's tape for labeling.  It comes off cleanly without causing any damage to the cartons or shelving.  I use a Sharpie to write on it.  It's not high tech but it works for us.

The south wall of the pantry is short as that is the entrance wall.  It has the smaller freezer, home to poultry, pork and fish.  To the corner, there is enough room to stack two rows of empty jars which was stacked to the ceiling before I started the busiest canning season.  BSo eside the freezer, there is a small wire shelf that is used for plastics, cook books and extras.  I don't have much in the way of plastic storage so don't need a lot of storage space to begin with.

There is a bit of space above the freezer where we are thinking of adding a cabinet.  So there is still a fair amount of potential for increasing the storage in our pantry.  It is still not fully stocked but I'm working on it.  I am pleased that so far the pantry is organized and progressing nicely.

Back From Our Spring Vacation

For the past two years we have spent our time between our permanent home in Ontario, Canada and our vacation home in Florida, USA.  We left for our vacation home on May 8 with another couple, then flew from there to beautiful Aruba on May 12 where we stayed at the gorgeous Costa Linda Resort.  We returned to our vacation home on May 19 and our friends departed the next day leaving us to enjoy the sunny Florida weather until May 29.   I have spent the last few days getting my home kitchen back to full gear.   That means I have a lot of foodie fun to share with you!

If you have been following this blog, you will know that we also cook while at our vacation home.  The timeshare in Aruba also had cooking facilities.  At the same time, we very much enjoy exploring the local culinary opportunities when we travel.  One of the highlights of this trip was the manager of a very, very lovely restaurant in Aruba with dining on the beach took me on a tour of their kitchen!!! [more on that shortly]  Another in Florida where we have dined several times and knows I blog about them came out to great us at the table. 

Over the next couple of weeks I will share our culinary and travel adventures with you,  Mind you I'm into full gardening mode, took on a huge community project and starting the heavier canning season.  I'm hoping to still be able to get local asparagus and strawberries are just around the corner.  A lot of exciting culinary chit chat and recipes are just around the corner!

Frugal Kitchens 101 - The Frugal Kitchens 101 Series

I introduced the Frugal Kitchens 101 series of posts on November 24, 2008.  From its inception, the posts were designed to discuss frugal kitchen practices going live each Monday morning. About a year later I ran a reader poll to help me decide whether or not to continue the series.  Hands down readers voted a resounding yes to keeping the series going.  Here it is going on four years later and the series is still going strong.  There are days I struggle to write an interesting post simply because a lot of the frugal practices I use in the kitchen are so deeply ingrained I honestly just do them without thinking about them.  Of all the cooking and foodie post I write, the Frugal Kitchen 101 posts really are the most challenging.  There are no pictures of food, seldom any external links to help with the writing just pure writing. 

I really do hope these posts help others with frugal kitchen ideas.  While they work for me, they may not work for others and that's what it is all about.  Take what information you can use and will help you then leave the rest behind :)

Custom Kitchen Bulkhead and Trim

Yesterday was a whirlwind of activity here rendering my kitchen inoperable for a little over eleven hours without the clean-up today.  I will apologize in advance for the glare on the pictures.  This kitchen is absolutely horrid for taking pictures in due to the natural lighting and reflections from the marble tile floor.  Our friend who is doing a lot of custom woodworking in our home arrived with his crew of one at 9 AM.  Now this is my husband's busy time of the year meaning he works 16 to 18 hours a day.  He came up with a plan to skirt some of his DIY projects and that was to get our friend and his crew to do them.  At the end of the day, the kitchen bulkhead and trim were finished, the front door was fixed, the replacement garage door opener was installed and I had a nice, new central vacuum cleaner to play with.  Had we waited, none of this would have been done until after tax season (April 30) but in reality likely not until after our spring vacation.  Anyway, this work was finished in one day and while I didn't get any cooking done, I am pleased with the results.

Marble tile flooring is a bit  more on the delicate side than I thought it would be.  I can't even use my standard vinegar solution for washing it as the pH needs to be neutral so the steam mop works nicely.  The guys protected the floor with a heavy quilted throw.  This was to be the kitchen scene for the next almost eleven hours.  It doesn't show the two ladders being used or the guys standing with work boots on my counter or even remotely describe the sound of the power nailer powered by the air compressor (bottom centre).

All of the cutting was done in his mobile workshop which is quite impressive!  At least most of that mess stayed outside.  It was a very long day though!

We moved here last September.  The original kitchen was taupe tones.  Our friend made a custom shelf for my cookbooks giving a home to some of my most used cookbooks.  I recently painted the kitchen the same colour as my dinner plates, a colour that matched nicely into the colour scheme I chose for the house. 

The kitchen cabinets had an open bulkhead, the space between the cabinets and ceilings.  One of our houses had the same open bulkhead as does our vacation home.  When our friend suggested enclosing it, I was all in favour.  An open bulkhead is a work-maker, dust collector, and borderline clutter collector.  Anyone with an open bulkhead knows it is a greasy dust collector as well.  Our friend recommended building in the bulkhead.  True we would lose a bit of storage space and we could have designed it to have extra storage but we chose not to.

Pictured is the finished bulkhead along the long wall of the kitchen.  There is a slight tone difference in the woods, something our friend is really not happy about but quite frankly I think the new tone suits the kitchen better.  In reality, the tone difference shows more in the pictures than it does in the kitchen.  At this point we have a few options.  We decided to take the kitchen cabinets from their yellow tones to the taupe tones of the new trim.  While this does mean more work to be done, the end results will be nicer.  Seriously, we dealt with this very same problem at our last house.  The fix is not as complex as it sounds.  So, the kitchen isn't completely finished but that's ok.

The refrigerator wall of the kitchen had a bank of cabinets separated by jut out wall we cannot change.  At first, the plan was to leave that wall with no trim but then I thought it would look better with the same trim.  What do you think? This is one good reason why the homeowner should be there when any custom work is being done especially in the kitchen.

All in all, I am quite pleased with building in the bulkhead.  While it removes a bit of storage, it removes a dust collector that is much appreciated given my allergies.  Ideally, kitchen cabinets should go to the ceiling eliminating this problem entirely but if they don't this is a viable option.  In vacation homes that you rent out when not using this is a great spot to build in secured storage for items you don't want your renters to use. 

We extended the oak trim around the entire kitchen.  This added continuity and character to the kitchen.  The deep cove molding added a touch of elegance without being pretentious as well.

This was a very long day of workers in the house.  In the end, everything was done that needed to be done that day.  True, it has led to more work but that is the nature of any home renovation.  The next step is the cabinets, bringing them to the tone of the new bulkhead.  And with that the kitchen should be finished but is it?  My husband wants to add a sunroom off of the kitchen making that portion of the deck usable three seasons or year round.

This is precisely what happens when two people who love to cook are faced with a brand new kitchen.  Nothing happens in one fell swoop and the plans keep getting changed but in the end we get what works for us.  I will post a picture of the finished cabinets and keep you updated on the sunroom.