For pickling, we use both depending on the recipe as long as they are 5%. I posted on a homesteading site hat you shouldn't use homemade vinegar for canning, since most people don't have the ability or knowledge to titrate the vinegar. Homemade is great for salad dressings and anything used fresh, but not for canning/preserving. I got jumped on for "being a toll of the Establishment". I left that site never to return. Those people didn't understand what 5% vinegar meant. I have never used balsamic vinegar for canning. We do a lot of vinegar preps--chive vinegar is particularly popular here. Those are used for marinades and salad dressings. Chive vinegar is made by simply packing a jar with chive blossoms and pouring (we use heated vinegar but not everyone does)vinegar (usually white) over them and let them sit for 3-4 weeks, then strain out the flowers. It makes a very pretty red vinegar that is attractive on the table, especially if you blend the oil and vinegar at the table. You can do the same with almost any herb. It will keep almost forever at room temp if there are no flowers or herbs left in it.
Mostly pickles @Kate Ellery but you can add it to non-sweet sauces as well. We can all kinds of pickles from regular dills and sweet pickles to vegetables--wife calls them end-of-garden pickles--that have everything left over in them such as carrots, cauliflower, peppers, etc. If you like and have carrots around, you could try Copper Penny Carrots. Here is a link to one recipe, but there are others. link
I canned my first batch of chicken broth. I'm not sure what I think of this. There is sediment in the broth (I strained it through cheesecloth), but a quick web search says this is normal. Tomorrow we'll see if the seals take. Things were complicated because I had 3 large posts on my residential stove at the same time, so 2 of them were not centered on the burners: -A large pot of hot water to preheat the jars (they had to be submerged) -The canner itself -A pot with the broth, which had to be boiled for 60 seconds before being put in the jars It seems that most everything gets hot-packed and/or covered with boiling water. How do you all manage 3 huge pots on a non-commercial stove? Could I take the pot with the hot water and jars and set it aside somewhere, knowing that it would be "hot enough" to not get thermal shock? I also filled the empty space in the canner with jars of water. I hate to waste a perfectly good seal on these, and I have no desire (space) to save pressure-canned jars of water. I guess I could save & reuse the seals from these for future jars of water. Ideas?
We often use the dishwasher to preheat the jars. It was the thing that convinced my new wife years ago to get a dishwasher. For water bath canning, we preheat the jars in the water that is heating on the stove. We start the water bath heating with the jars in it. No thermal shock there. We do not bring it to boiling though, just hot enough to warm the jars. We pull the jars out to fill them after the fruit, pickles, or whatever is warmed and ready to go. Pull the jars out, fill them and replace in the water bath and turn up the heat. Put the lid on the canner and start the timer when the water reaches a full boil. For the pressure canner, we warm the jars and keep them warm in the dishwasher, but it isn't terribly important as you can put your full jars into the pressure canner cold I think and bring everything up to temp at the same time. I hope I got that all right Congrats on your first canning project @John Brunner !!!
This is kind of weird, but my little granddaughter asked me last night if I had made apple jelly recently. I told her that I haven't made jelly this year. They are coming for Christmas next weekend, so I decided to dig in the pantry and found a single remaining jar of apple jelly. I have several of strawberry and blueberry, but just one apple left. I guess y'all can figure out who's going to get that one.
@Beth Gallagher @Don Alaska I read about people sterilizing the jars & lids in the oven, but nothing about using it to get the jars preheated. It's a good idea...it frees up a burner from a huge post that's required to hold all those hars (I ended up heating them in batches.) I think the thermal shock issue might come as much from putting hot/boiling food in the jars as from putting the jars in the hot canner. I tell you one thing...it went fine, but I'm not gonna be doing that every night to save leftovers!!! The American Canner is a beast compared to the thin aluminum Presto I've got. Makes me glad I got a deep under-mount sink. Cleaning it is a darned workout.
The oven works great, John. Last year I used my Breville to keep the jars hot; it will hold quite a few at a time.
Do you worry about the "Use It Within A Year" guidelines? And it's funny what kids remember. My niece was like that with the homemade cranberry sauce that was my usual Thanksgiving dinner contribution. I guess she thought she was eating straight jelly and getting away with it.
No; I don't worry about using it within a year. As long as the jar seal hasn't been compromised the jelly is fine for a couple of years (probably longer). I check for any off-smell or sign of mold and keep it refrigerated after opening. If I felt better I'd whip up a few jars for her; it's easy to make using store-bought apple juice.
Apple stuff has always been my favorite. I got apple pie for my birthdays instead of cake. And I love me some apple butter. I've never had apple jelly. The church ladies around here can all sorts of jellies for fundraisers. Jalapeño jelly is "interesting."
I like apple stuff, too. My mother made the best apple butter; I wish I had her recipe. You need to try apple jelly. Buy a commercial jar at the grocer and see what you think. If you like it, it's really easy to make.
We don't worry about the year outdate either. Most things are fine for years if kept in a fairly cool, dry environment away from direct light. As for leftovers, freeze them until you have enough to make it worthwhile. If you feel the need, then can several things at one time. That works for meat, fish, chicken, and even produce of many kinds. Lots of people, maybe even @Beth Gallagher has mentioned this, freeze tomatoes until they feel like canning.