Hey Veeky Forums
First time poster here.
I'm starting up a garden in my back and side gardens with the intent of growing berry bushes of multiple varieties with the end goal of making jam and jelly. Can gherkin and pickled onion jars be reused for making jam? Or am i going to be running into broken jars when i sterilize/boil them?
Also if I get into other preserves that aren't jam will i need a better way of storing them?
Preserve general I guess.
>Can gherkin and pickled onion jars be reused for making jam?
yes.
Just make sure that their seal is not borked.
First off, invest in chicken wire to cover up your berry bushes. I had a lot of greedy asshole bird issues before I started covering them up.
Second ball jars are already cheap, why risk it for a jar that you'll get maybe 2 uses out of max?
Thanks for the input. They seem fine.
I'm going to buy netting once the plants grow to a certain height. Currently building a scarecrow and making the local scrub turkeys afraid of me.
But yeah if there is a risk I'm not against buying jars. I get quite a few pickled goods and thought I could recycle them directly. I also plan to give them out to family/friends/work friends if it goes well. So giving them use and throw out jars seemed like a good idea.
i wouldn't use them
the glass is made for one time use, it's thin and it is more likely to explode
invest in some canning jars
What do you guys and gals preserve?
Some of the stuff im going to try out will be american beautyberry (jelly), blueberries, siberian crabapple and i'm going to see what i can make with indian strawberries.
Yeah I think i'm going to go with new preserve jars now. Last thing I need is exploding glass.
everything
fruit, veg, meat, beans, stews, soups and stocks
if you have lids and rings, check craigslist or whatever
you can get them super cheap
I live in Australia so i might have to source them differently. But thanks for the tip.
How do stews and other more "perishable" ingredients go?
Add preservatives? Use less perishable ingredients?
I've recently started adding alcohol to my preserves, I did an orange/strawberry/pomegranate preserve with tequila that turned out fantastic
That actually sounds amazing.
Does this alter the process at all?
I know this sounds silly but are there any fruits i should avoid mixing that don't go too well?
I have a don't mix soft drink mentality sometimes.
>I live in Australia so i might have to source them differently
freshpreserving.com.au
They're about 2x the price listed vs the US site, but that's probably the Kangaroo $ conversion.
Stews, soups, meats, sauces all can very well!
Start here freshpreserving.com
Not at all, most of the alcohol gets cooked out during heating anyway
I don't think there's any rule about not mixing certain fruits together, it's all about your personal taste and what you like. I'm sure if you experiment with unusual combinations it'll end up tasting bad but that's the only thing that will come out of it
>that's probably the Kangaroo $ conversion
Plus markup and tax. I think the aud gets 75ish cents atm but I'm used to that.
Bookmarked! Thanks a berry bunch.
Thinking of practicing with some store bought foodstuffs before i cook my own. Recommend a good starter? I'm thinking of boring ol' strawberries.
>Recommend a good starter? I'm thinking of boring ol' strawberries.
If you want to start out with practice runs of store bought goods, Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries are all good places to start and (at least in the US) are easy to find in frozen foods section. If you want to go for fresh produce...... APPLES!!! Apple sauce, and one of my all time things, pie fillings. I have nieces and nephews and love camping, so hobo pies are a staple. There are about a million and one websites/recipes/videos for making fillings. They'll give you the practice needed for gelling that will come in handy once you start going down the full jelly/jam/chutney path
Also, don't forget about tomatoes. Pasta sauces and salsas up the ass!!
>Also, don't forget about tomatoes. Pasta sauces and salsas up the ass!!
To add to that, then you're moving into the pressure canning style, as opposed to water bath. Which will require a canning pot. Don't cheap out on a pot. You can probably get a decent 2nd hand one in 'roo land if you are in a bigger city. Hell, check estate sales if you son't have lots of money. But a good pot will last lifetimes if maintained
Ah, fruit pies aren't nearly as big here. Everyone just wants meat in their pies.
I love blueberry pies though. And apple and rhubarb with a bit of cinnamon is amazing.
Im going to stick to water bath till i feel more competent with what i'm doing first.
Shipping between states here isn't usually expensive so which city i'm in shouldn't pose a problem when i decide to get a pot later on. Thanks for the advice.
With fruit come the inevitable insects though along with other potential pests.
You should be prepared.
Don't worry, these plants are my babies.
I have done plenty of gardening before but it was mainly shrubs, trees, flowers and such. First time growing edibles but i think i have it handled.
berries play well with each other and with apple, in my experience. You can run into trouble with pineapple and kiwis, but that's about it.
>Can gherkin and pickled onion jars be reused for making jam?
It's not worth stockpiling jars that weren't meant for reuse vacuum sealing. What you put into your jars will be far too PRECIOUS and rare to you to lose to a vacuum that didn't work, or opening it later and finding dangerous mold on top. Think about your effort in maintaining those plants, washing, preparing, sterilizing, sealing, etc. A simple palette of jars 12pk is meant to be reusable, ring seals and all, and only about 50 cents each. Almost all of your questions are now answered on the Ball website, or the pectin sites.
Freezer jam? Instant use stuff like pickled mushrooms? Go ahead and make things in your cool jar collection that you intend to each in 1-5 days of pickling.