Posts Tagged ‘ food preservation ’

Tangerine Ginger Jam

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Tangerine Ginger Jam

My neighbor has a tree that is dripping with ripe tangerines. He came out and hollered at me the other day to pick some – lots of them – so I filled my market basket with about 15 pounds. It barely put a dent in his crop. It’s tangerine central around here right now. Let me be honest: I’m not a fan of marmalade. Those little bitter bits of peel? Very off-putting to me. Yeah, ick. I decided to modify the orange marmalade recipe from Pomona Pectin just a bit to see if I could come up with a less bitter citrus spread. I peeled the fruit before chopping it up, and of course used tangerines instead of oranges. Where the recipe called for water, I used tangerine juice for more flavor, and I added a bit of ginger and vanilla. It’s like marmalade, but without the peels. Let’s just call it jam. Tangerine Ginger Jam Yield: 8 pints 16 tangerines, peeled and seeds removed (this should net about 12 cups of segments) 6 cups tangerine juice 6 cups sugar juice from a 2″ piece of fresh ginger 2 teaspoons vanilla 1 package Pomona pectin Prepare the calcium water...

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Anatomy of a Canning Jar

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Anatomy of a Canning Jar

If you’ve never preserved your garden abundance by canning, the system can be a little confusing. A friend of mine – one who’s never canned before – was asking about canning and I was reminded that although I grew up understanding how a canning jar works, many people just don’t. The jars The jars most commonly used for home preservation these days come from Ball and Kerr. They are glass and come in a variety of sizes, from small four-ounce containers to half-gallon sized. All of these jars are approved for home canning use except for the half-gallon size. The small sizes are good for jams and jellies, especially those that you plan to give as gifts. (Even with a relatively small family of four, I wouldn’t dream of canning anything in a four-ounce jar unless it was for a gift basket; we’d finish a jar of that size in a day!) Pint and quart sized jars come in both a standard or wide mouth, referring to the size of the jar’s opening. Wide mouth jars are useful for preserving larger items like peach halves or for pickles that need the be placed in the jar by hand. Glass...

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Welcome

It’s one thing to think, “Hey, I’d love to be more self-sufficient!” and quite another to implement a lifestyle change that might require learning some new skills.

Attainable Sustainable is about bridging the gap between wanting change and making it happen without becoming overwhelmed. Nobody’s saying you have to go get a tractor and a cow. Attainable Sustainable is about discovering – one step at a time – how to make changes in your life to support a sustainable lifestyle.

The Author

Kris Bordessa has been gardening for most of her life. She's been authoring books and writing features for the past ten years or so. It's about time she combined the two, don't you think? [More about the author]