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Show Thursday, September 28, 2006 Page 7 The Gunnison Valley Gazette Canning Questions and Answers By: MARLENE ISRAELSEN, MS, RD USU Extension Family and Consumer Science Educator on the shelf show any signs of spoilage (loss of vacuum seal, bubbling, becoming cloudy, develops an offodor), don't eat it! Fa!! has always been my favorite season. It seems to be nature's way of celebrating the efforts and accomplishments of the previous year. Kids return to school, colors change, people go to county fairs, and families gather. Most of all, fall is a season for reflection and a time of harvest. Growing up, fall was meant canning produce, too. Now, as a Family and Consumer Science Agent for Utah State University Extension Service. I get several phone calls regarding food preservation and canning. Below is information from the USU Extension Website (extension.usu.edu) about some of the most common questions I receive. Canning Tomatoes Tomato requirements have changed in recent years to compensate for new varieties of tomatoes with higher solids and less acid. It is important to use current, scientifically tested tomato canning guides. Wash tomatoes and remove the tomato skins by dipping in boiling water for 30-60 seconds or until skins split. Dip in cold water, then slip off skins and remove cores. Add acid to jars of crushed, whole, or juiced tomatoes before processing. Add 1 tablespoon of bottled lemon juice per pint (or 2 tablespoons per quart}. Citric acid may also be used (1/4 teaspoon per pint or V7 teaspoon per quart). If you use salt, add 1/2 teaspoon to each pint jar or 1 teaspoon to each quart jar. Fill jars with tomatoes leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Adjust lids to be finger tight and process. Canning Safety Rules to Remember 1. Don't use recipes that have not been scientifically tested or approved by the USDA. If you have an untested favorite salsa recipe, freeze it instead of canning it. 2. Never add more onions, chili peppers, bell peppers or other vegetable to tomato mixtures than the recipe calls for. This can change the acid level and result in an unsafe product. 3. Never add extra cornstarch or flour to a recipe. This will change the time requirements for heat penetration. 4. Have your dial gauge pressure canners tested for accuracy annually. The USU Extension office will offer this service. 5. When using a pressure cooker, be sure to let steam escape through the vent for 10 minutes before closing the vent and beginning timing. This gets nd of air pockets which would not be as hot as the sleam environment. 6. In pressure cooking, if the pressure falls below that required, increase heat slightiy and start the timing again from the beginning when the pressure reaches the necessary minimum. 7. If using a tested recipe from another source, don't forget to make altitude adjustments. 8. Always can vegetables or meat with a pressure cooker. 9. If a bottle does not seal, change the lid and reprocess or refrigerate the product and eat it soon. 10. If home bottled products USDA canning requirements for tomatoes offer several options of pretreatment and processing limes. It is important to match the method to the appropriate time or pressure requirements. This includes whether or not the recipe calls for a hot pack (tomatoes are hot when placed in jars) or a raw pack. If the recipe calls for processing hot pack tomatoes and the tomatoes are no longer hot, the final product will be under-processed. The USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning is available online through the USU Extension homepage (extension.usu.edu) and at http://foodsafety. usu.edu. Canning Tomatoes - Crushed or Quartered Before processing crushed or quartered tomatoes, listen to the general message on canning tomatoes. Slip the skins and quarter your tomatoes. Heat one-sixth of the quartered tomatoes quickly in a large pot, crushing them with a wooden mallet or spoon as they are added to the pot. This will exude juice. Continue heating the tomatoes, stirring to prevent buming. Once the tomatoes are boiling, gradually add remaining quartered tomatoes, stirring frequently. Continue until all tomatoes are added. Then boil gently for five minutes. Place hot tomatoes in jars and process. For Sanpete County altitudes (3001 to 6000 feel), tomatoes should be held in a boiling water bath for 45 minutes for pints or 55 minutes for quarts. If you are using a pressure canner instead, process for 15 minutes at 13 lbs of pressure. For weighted-gauge pressure canners, use 15 lbs pressure. Canning Whole Tomatoes - Without Liquid Slip skins from tomatoes and fill jars with raw tomatoes, Press tomatoes in the jars until spaces between them fill with juice. Leave 1/2 inch headspace. In a boiling water bath, process pints and quarts for 95 minutes. In a pressure canner, process for 25 minutes at 13 lbs pressure (or 15 lbs pressure if using a weighted gauge canner). Clear-Jel for Cherry, Peach, and Apple Pie Filling Clear-Jel is a thickening agent that can be used for great fruit piefilling recipes. This modified starch is approved by the USDA and produces a high-quality filling. Clear-Jel is available at Maple Leaf Company (450 South 50 East Ephraim, UT). For prices, call 2834701. Recipes for Cherry, Peach, and Apple Pie Filling are available at the USU. Extension Office (325 W. 100 N. Ephraim, UT). The processing times and pressures given for canning pie fillings are for altitudes of 0 - 1000 feet. If you are canning at a higher altitude, follow these altitude adjustments: In a boiling water bath (3,001 - 6,000 feet), process apple pie filling for 35 minutes, cherry filling for 40 minutes, and peach filling for 40 minutes. Preventing Fruits from Darkening After they are cut or peeled, light colored fruits such as apples, pears and peaches will begin to turn dark. Also, the stem ends may darken after cherries are pitted or after grapes are removed from the stem. To prevent this, as you prepare the fruit for canning, place it in a holding solution made from one teaspoon or 3000 mg of ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) and 1 gallon water. If using tablets, crush thoroughly, before adding the water. For a commercial ascorbic acid mixture, read the label on the container for the amount to use. Hold the fruit in one of these solutions until you're ready to pack the fruit. Then drain fruit well. For more information on food processing, canning, and other family and consumer science issues, contact the USU Extension office at 435-283-7596. Utah Shakespearean Festival Cedar City is famous for its' Shakespearean Festival that kicks off in the summer, and again in the fall every year. This fall's season started on Friday, Sept. 22, and goes until October 28, 2006. Set against the backdrop of the colorful fall leaves, and the brisk autumn air, the festival is just a lot of fun-and you don't even have to turn on your television to be entertained, In spite of its name, the Shakespearean Festival run plays that are not just by Shakespeare. The press release said, "If variety is the very spice of life, as William Cowper declared it to be, then Utah Shakespearean Festival patrons are in for a very "spicy" fall season." you back to the community," said your big chance. Besides putting on a variety Terry. Some of the plays featured of fantastic plays, the festival's ed- The Pumpkin Festival is from this year are "Peg o' My Heart," ucation department also hosts the 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The cost is S5 directed Jim O'Connor from J. annual high school Shakespear- per child, and that covers their Hartleys' Manner's Broadway hit ean competition from Oct. 5th to choice of a pumpkin to carve or written in the 1920s. The script the 7th. High school students will paint. is actually so old, and so rarely have the opportunity to attend the "A lot of parents think it's performed that they had to pull it festival productions, and then they worth the cost, just for that, be- from the archives. The story takes perform their own Shakespearean cause the mess stays there," Terry place in the depression with an scenes or dances and are judged, said. Irish-American girl whose father or "adjudicated" by the profes- Last year they had over 500 can't take care of her. She goes to sionals. The high school competi- kids at the Pumpkin Festival, and England to be trained in the "prop- tion has grown bigger and bigger as Terry said, they're expecting er social graces," and finds a cold through the years. more this year. reception from snobbish relatives, "We have high schools from The Shakespearean Festival But if your tastes run toward Nevada, Arizona, even a couple is hosted on the campus of South- something a little more rowdy, from California that come," said ern Utah University, and is "dedi- you'll be more inclined to see the Kami Terry from the festival mar- cated to professional "hit musical romp, 'Jonny Guitar."1 keting department, It's really be- theatre that illuminates the human While "Peg o' My Heart" is so old come a region-wide event." condition in an atmosphere where But if plays of any kind are playgoers can watch, participate find the script, "Johnny Guitar," is not your style, on Oct. 14, the an- in, and be immersed in experi- so new this is its premier season. nual Pumpkin Festival offers re- ences which entertain, enrich and It's a spoof about old westerns, laxed fun for everyone who enjoys educate." So go out on a limb this and tells the hilarious story of two a good fall pumpkin. They carve, year, turn off that big screen televi- "pistol-packin' women who face paint, or cook pumpkins, and also sion, and get down to Cedar City off over men, land, and just plain have a leaf corral that is just a re- for the Shakespearean Festival. cussedness." The show is directed ally big pile of leaves. by Festival veteran Brad Carroll. The Shakespeare classic fea- For tickets, go to www.bard. "We just set the kids loose in org, or call 800-PLAYTIX, or if you happen to be in Cedar City, you there," Terry said. is can go in person to the Festival Venice," directed by Festival As- on the grounds of the Randall L. Box Office at 300 West Center. sociate Artistic Director J.R. Sul- Jones Theatre, and is hosted by The cost ranges from S16-S34 livan. It is one of Shakespeare's the same people who put on the per play, but there's a discount for long-time favorites, and if you Shakespearean Festival. those who want to see all three tured this year is "The Merchant of The Pumpkin Festival It's our way of saying thank in Ut*ul is sponsored by: plays. Derek Overly, M S PT • J o e H o w e , R P T Dallas Overly, M P T • Blain Bradford, O T UNIVERSITY Karen Eisenbrandt, PTA THERAPY WEST, ;-• Pin sical Thcrap> A; Sports Medicine EXTENSION repertory they had to search the archives to haven't seen it for a while, here's UtahState ourtesy Photo From The Merry Wives of Windsor. CONNECTION 13 East Center Street, Gunnison • 528-7575 GUNNISON ¥ ALLEY C£NT£NNIAL A history of the Gunnison Valley from its early beginnings in 1859 to 1959. The Gunnison Valley Gazette has a limited amount of Centennial Books. Get them while supplies last at the Gazette Office, 328 North valley Drive in Gunnison Or call 435-528-5178. we can even ship them wrapped and ready for Christmas! |
