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Show News about people and their lives ' i view Wednesday August 31, 1388 (CMfe Theyll light your pepper ARLENE LIPS HAMBLIN and Tips make canning smoother VALERIE PHIL- Lakeside Review correspondents he heat is on and its not just the weather! The chile patches are ripe and ready for harvest. The pungent green peppers are beginning to turn red and its only the end of August. Those in the know say the recent heat wave just may be the reason. Whatever the cause, those who wait until to get their green chile and jalapenos for roasting and freezing should be aware of this. With the increased popularity of Mexican food, many homemakers are learning how to process this vegetable, which is such a good source of vitamins A and VALERIE PHILLIPS Lakeside er summer slaving over a hot stove, peeling and pitting and bottling and boiling. But the empty Kerr jars down in the basement seem to beckon, and your garden is brimming with more produce than you can give away. A friend calls with a good deal on pears or peaches, and youre back in the kitchen again. Whether youre a veteran canner or a novice, here are some ideas to make the process faster and more pleasant. O Remember there is no need to ster- ihze jars and rings, or to warm lids, says JoAnn Mathis, Utah State University Extension home economist. In the past, these steps were done because the e method was used. This meant that foods were heated, placed in the jars, and allowed to seal. No addi-- " tional processing was done. Today, all foods are processed in a boiling water bath or pressure canner. Spoilage organisms on food and equipment are destroyed during processing, so it isnt necessary to do it in advance. Q Try not to do big batches at a time, advises Mary Carol Olsen of Kaysville. Olsen has a reputation as a canner; her neighbor maintains: If it grows, Mary Carol cans it. When you have your own garden, you can go out and pick whatever you have and process it each day, Olsen said. If you go out and buy two bushels of peaches, it will kill you to do" them all in one day, and you almost have to, or youll lose some of them. O Olsen also does a lot of canning at night when her children are asleep. Unless Im doing juice. They they can help by turning the gnnder. O Get your older children and husband to help. When it comes to freezing corn, the Olsen family (including husband, Shawn, a USU extension agent) becomes an assembly line. Children can also help in jobs like snipping green C. If the old adage variety is the spice of is true, then it goes double for chile lovers who find the many ways of preparing the pungent pod; canning, crushing, dried, pickled, frozen, baked, chopped, stuffed and for the true chile addict, eaten raw, a way of adding excitement to mealtime. What makes the peppers hot? The heat is found in the membranes or ribs inside the chile pepper itself. Because the seeds are in such close proximity to these veins, they too, carry the essence of hotness. There are many varieties of peppers and each has its own characteristics. They vary in their degree of hotness. The California Green, commonly called Anaheim, has a fresh bright-greeshiny skin. Its 8 inches in length, VA-- 2 inches in diameter at top and tapered. After canning or roasting, it becomes moss green in color and is mild to medium in hotness. The Ancho resembles the bell pepper. When red and dried it flattens out to about 3 inches in diameter and is a dull red to almost black in color. Is mild to life n, barely hot. thick-fleshe- d, 3-- beans. O Choose the best varieties for canning and freezing. Youll get better flavor and texture and the job may be easier. With peaches, there are some that cling to the stone, while with others the pit falls right out. low-aci- he Green Chile & Tomatoes 3 cups tomatoes, peeled 3 cups green chile, chopped Vh tsp. 1 Va salt and chopped peeled and This year were planting tomatoes Olsen said. This more meaty variety is called Rome. When you can slicing tomatoes, the bottle will be half full of water. Utah State University Extension agents can tell you the best varieties. O Kari Taylor, of Kaysville, finds its more convenient to use a steam canner than the water bath canner. You dont have to use so much water, says the former home economics teacher. O During the year, she stores her jars in their original boxes, along with the lids. Then when I need my jelly jars, I dont have to go searching all through my other bottles to find what I want. O Choose foods your family will enjoy, says Taylor. She spent hours canning cute little jars of baby food, only to have her baby reject them. O Try canning with a friend, or find a good TV show or video to make the used for tomato paste, high-aci- d in-t- . open-kettl- 6-- The New Mexico Chile is a early maturing pepper very popuse. Its great when ular for dried, frozen or canned. Its about 4 inches in length, Vh-- 2 inches in length. Big Jim is a fleshy pod similar to the Anaheim only longer and meatier with medium hotness. This pepper is great for making ristras or strings of dried chile. These are both decorative and useful for recipes calling for red dried chile. Jalapenos are a short stubby pepper, dark green in color (red when left on the vine to turn). This chile pepper is ideal for adding hotness to sauces. d Chile is a vegetable and by to be itself, should be pressure-canne- d safe. When combined with tomatoes or when sufficient vinegar is added they may be preserved by methods suggested for vegetables and fruits. Chile peppers and tomatoes go hand in hand preparation of many Mexican dishes as well as the ever popular salsa. A variation of the canned salsa is made by canning the tomatoes alone and roasting and freezing the chile peppers, then combining the ingredients in the salsa recipe to form a fresh batch whenever it is desired. The following three recipes are for those who do not have pressure-cannin- g equipment. These may be processed in canner or cold the boiling water-bat- h packer as some refer to it. Remember the jars must be immersed in the water. Allow two to four inches of water above the jar tops with enough room for the water to boil freely. Remove the jars immediately after processing. Do not disturb the seal. Here are some tips that canners can use, depending upon their taste preference: Use lemon juice to replace vinegar (all or part). Use less chile than called for. Use more salt. Do not use more chile than is called for. Additional seasonings (cilantro, oregano, etc.) are better added just before serving). Those who prefer a less acid chile sauce, should not use the boiling water bath. They should use the pressure method or freeze it. Prepare each of the following recipes, Green Chile & Tomatoes, Taco Sauce with Green Chile, and Taco Sauce with Jalapeno, as follows: Combine all ingredients, bring to full rolling boil, cover, simmer for five minutes. Pack in hot sterilized jars. Process in boiling water bath for 40 minutes. Makes about four pints per recipe. This sauce, can be cooled packed in freezer containers and .frozen if desired). Review correspondent Youve vowed to stop spending your if desired. Taco Sauce with Green Chile Crushed Tomatoes cups tomatoes (peeled and chopped) cups green chile (peeled and chopped) cup chopped onion l1: tsp. salt 3 garlic cloves minced Vh cups vinegar About 22 pounds of fresh tomatoes are needed for 7 quarts about 14 are needed for 9 pints. One bushel weighs 33 pounds and yields 17 to 20 quarts crushed tomatoes. Wash tomatoes and dip in boiling water for 0 seconds, or until skin splits. Then dip in cold water, slip off skins and remove cores. Trim off bruised or discolored portions and cut in quarters. h of the quarters quickly Heat in a large pot. Crush them with a wooden mallet or spoon as they are added to the pot to exude juice. Continue heating tomatoes, stirring to prevent burning. Once the tomatoes are boiling gradually add remaining quartered tomatoes, stirring constantly. Boil gently 5 minutes. Add 1 tsp. salt per quart to the jars, 3 3 30-6- Taco Sauce with Jalapeno cups tomatoes green chile (peeled and chopped) 1 cup jalapeno peppers (peeled and chopped) cup chopped onion Vi tsp. salt 2 cloves garlic, minced l1: cups vinegar 3 one-sixt- 2 cups 1 Fill jars immediately with hot tomatoes, leaving headspace. Adjust lids and process. For quarts, process in a boiling water bath canner 55 minutes. Process pints for 45 minutes. '2-in- ch Minnesota Tomato Mixture (Stewed Tomatoes) 12 tered cups tomatoes, peeled and quar- 1 cup chopped celery cup chopped onion '2 cup chopped pepper 3 tsp. salt Vi Simmer the vegetables 10 minutes. Pack into clean hot canning jars and process in boiling water bath 64 minutes for quarts, 45 minutes for pints. Yield: 7 pints, or 3 quarts and one pint. USDA has new canning guidelines VALERIE PHILLIPS Lakeside Review correspondent Before you begin canning this years tomato harvest, be aware of the new g USDA guidelines that recommend much longer processing home-cannin- times. JoAnn Mathis, Utah State University Extension Service home economist for Davis County, says that some tomato varieties are now more dense and less mendations for each variety of tomato, Mathis said. Since guesswork is never safe in home canning, we must use the new tested recommendations for all varieties." Mathis also noted that USDA recommends adding lemon juice or citric acid to each bottle of tomatoes. But Utah State University food science specialist Charlotte Brennand stands by a USU n research study that found So tomatoes to be high-aciacidification of Utah grown tomatoes is optional, she said. k RAW PACK: The traditional method, where you simply slip the skins off the tomatoes and pack them raw into jars, calls for a boiling water bath processing time of 95 minutes (pints and quarts) for the local altitude. Pressure canned pints and Utah-growd. watery. Anytime you have a denser food product, it will take longer for the heat to penetrate through to the center of the bottle and thats why tomatoes now have a longer processing time. She said people have already called the Extension office about certain varieties of tomatoes. We do not have separate recom raw-pac- cups vinegar A iiMhimtMi unit ir imtoi quarts need 25 minutes at 13 pounds of pressure. k HOT PACK: With the hot-pac- method, where the tomatoes are boiled before going into the jars, the boiling water bath processing time is 45 minutes for pints and 55 minutes for quarts. Pressure canning time is 15 minutes at 13 pounds pressure for both pints and quarts. JUICE: Tomato juice that is boiling when you pour it into jars has a water bath processing time of 45 minutes for pints and 55 minutes for quarts; pressure canner time is 15 minutes at 13 pounds of pressure for both pints and quarts. Mathis said the revised bulletin will soon be available at the Extension Office. Until they are, copies of all changes have been inserted in the offices current canning bulletins. time go faster. Q By canning at night, you can take . ; advantages of cooler temperatures and avoid daytime peak energy loads. O Start with a clean kitchen. Its frus- -' trating and unsanitary to clutter jars and produce with dirty dishes. O If youll be working into the dinner ; . hour, plan something that requires a ' minimum of time and effort. Or send, everyone out for pizza. O Have all the equipment and ingredi-- ; ' ents ready before beginning. You wont have to stop and run to the store for more sugar or jars. O If you have several hours at a time , to devote, Phi Eckersley of West Point passes on this tip for apricot jam. Peel and pit the apricots, and put in the Fruit Fresh to keep them from turning brown. Then put them in freezer bags and freeze them. Later, as you have time, you can take them out to make into jam. Eckersley learned another rule from his wife, Becky, a home economist for Utah Power and Light, when some of his bot! . . didnt seal. O After youve filled the bottles and before you put the lids on, you need to wipe the top of the bottles off or they wont seal. tles ii nil |