A Couple of Canning Short Stories

Canning my own hot pepper sauce - July 2015
For years "Trappey's Bull" has been our favorite bottled sauce. Should I find that I must once again purchase hot sauce from the store, "Trappey's Bull" will continue to be the choice. Long ago my friends, Steve and Sherry Daugherty, introduced me to it and I've never found one that tasted better.


We eat a lot of hot sauce so I decided to try my hand at it. A few ingredients from the garden and I was on my way!


Since I have been picking tomatoes every other day this summer, I decided to put them to use as hot sauce. The recipe I found called for eight cups of tomatoes. You would be surprised how many tomatoes it takes to make up eight cups! Trust me, it's more than you would guess. I guessed and I was wrong. lol


Fortunately, I had plenty of tomatoes with me so it didn't hold up the production of the sauce. I'll make note so I have enough for the next batch. In canning I find that note taking is essential. I always think I'll remember little things that happen or that "make" the recipe but that's not the case at all. Rather I always forget. My recipe books are full of notes for next time.


My friend, Claudia, and I love growing hot peppers. I'm not sure why when we can only tolerate just a little heat but we do love growing them. We grow jalapenos, habaneros, ghost peppers, cayenne peppers, hot banana peppers, etc. These are especially handy when you want to make your own hot sauce. It doesn't take much! I think my recipe called for a cup and a half. I used two cups, couldn't help it, they were too pretty not to use them.


You'll definitely want to use gloves for this process and you'll want to be careful not to nip the gloves while chopping the peppers, it's easy to do!


While the ingredients were cooking on the stove top, the whole place smelled like a wing house... mmm! After cooking down for about 45 minutes, the mixture goes into half pint jars and into the water bath canner. The recipe said it would make six half pints, I somehow ended up with fifteen half pints... don't ask me, I've no idea!


The batch does have to go in a blender to make it smooth. Well that turned out to be fun in itself! I put about three cups of sauce in the blender, turned it on and out of the top it splashed! All down the blender, all over the buttons, all over the counter and all over my hands. So much for wearing gloves to protect me from the hot peppers! lol!


After that, you guessed it, one cup of sauce at a time, holding the blender cap very tight! I made note in my book to help remember this next time...


I'm excited to try this sauce on some smoked chicken, ribs, and so many other things. I'll put it in chili, beans, tacos, etc. Anytime I can use it, I will!


I might even share it with those friends of mine who like a little heat when they eat. It's hot but not too hot. It's tasty without being wimpy. No one likes a wimpy hot sauce.


This recipe could certainly be made without canning it but I've no idea how long it would be safe in the refrigerator (if there's even any left to refrigerate). For me, canning is the way to ensure quality and safeness.


The making of it was a bit of a lengthy process but it's fun and it's so worth it to have all that hot sauce on the shelf. My tomatoes won't go to waste and Claudia and I have another reason to keep growing all those hot peppers!


Have you made your own hot pepper sauce? I'd love to hear your experience and I'd really love to see your recipe!


Canning Vegetable Soup - July 2015
So for my first attempt at canning this soup I got just a little over-anxious. I cut up my fresh vegetables, got them measured and in the pot. As directed they were to boil five minutes before ladling them into the jars.


The directions clearly said 'hot jars.' But in my haste, I let my jars cool down too  much and the bottom of the jar cracked as poured the first cup of soup into it.


What a shame to waste so much food but with the possibility of glass being in the mix, I had to let it go. Of course I quickly recovered because there were still three quarts waiting to be filled.


I ran the jars under very hot water then proceeded to fill them with soup and with no more breakage. Whew!


I ended up with three quarts and a pint to put on the shelf. I was sure hoping for more but I'll make a bigger batch next time, now that I know. Duly noted in the canning book!


This canner holds seven quarts and that would be much more worth it as they have to stay at ten pounds of pressure for an hour and fifteen minutes. For that kind of time, I'd like a bit more to show for it.


Ingredients: Tomatoes, carrots, green beans, corn, celery, onions, water (I used homemade vegetable broth), salt and pepper.


*I'm thinking about adding cabbage to the ingredients next time!