No, this is not a recipe for canned weeds. I just wanted to write a short post about something I read about during my last search for unique jelly recipes to share. I ran across some historic recipe sites that talked about how things were in America during the great depression of the 1930's and in particular some families that endured living through the dust bowl right here in my state of Oklahoma. Times were hard then, I mean really hard, the only things that grew in the summer was weeds. People of all ages were dying from dust related respiratory illnesses and hunger and despair were widespread.  In order to feed their families, moms learned how to forage. They learned which weeds you could eat and they would can them up for eating in the long lean winter months. Tumbleweeds and lambs quarters were the weeds that kept them from starving, and many who remember eating them say that canned they tasted not much different than any other greens. I have actually eaten lambs ...

With the current events in the world caused by the Covid-19 outbreak and so many people facing uncertain times while also being confined to their homes, I have been searching out recipes that can be made on the cheap. I found many of them from the era of the great depression when moms had to get creative in how to feed their families on limited funds and supplies, and in addition to this one, I intend to share more of them in future posts. Canning is a great sheltering at home pass time that will keep you busy and at the same time provide you with delicious tasty treats to enjoy now and later. Biscuits and jelly is a classic comfort food and easy to make and we can all use some extra comfort right about now! In my search for budget recipes I ran across this unusual jelly that sounds delicious and thrifty!  Corn cob jelly!  So when you have a meal with corn on the cob save those cobs and try your hand at this recipe that is reported to taste like honey.  Whether you...

Let's face it,  no matter how much you enjoy canning it can sometimes feel like work and we can always use some advice and tricks to make things easier! So I have compiled a collection of eight handy tips to make things go more smoothly. You know? Less like work and more like a fun pass time! 1. Line your workspace with foil, wax paper or even old newspapers for easy clean ups...  2. DIY water bath set up: using a large stock pot and a homemade rack that you create by tying jar rings together with string... 3. Can in smaller batches and lighten your harvest workload by freezing part of it until you are ready to can it. 4.You can use store bought frozen fruits for jams and jellies. 5. Have all your ingredients and equipment gathered and prepped ahead of time 6. If you don't use a divided wire rack for your jars, you can wrap a large rubber band around the middle of each jar to keep them from bumping together and breaking in the boiling water bath. 7. When yo...

Today I am just posting a pure personal anecdote that you may or may not find interesting but I thought it would be fun to share this little bit of insight with you. If you have ever browsed in my shop The Jelly Jar you have surely seen many of the custom products have the name Penelope on them as a sample placeholder for you to change to your own name. I want to share the back story to why I use that name. First of all when choosing a sample placeholder name you need one that is long enough to work for many different lengths of names so that the buyer doesn't run out of space on the template if they have a really long name like Anastasia or Genevieve. Penelope works well for this purpose. Secondly you need a name that is pretty aesthetically and Penelope  fits that bill also. But while these are important, Penelope is not a random choice of a sample name for me. Penelope (Fitzpatrick) Potter was my sister in law and very good friend. She was an avid canning enthusiast a...

Well winter is still trying to linger here in Oklahoma and I am still in the root vegetable mindset, so since we ate lunch at an amazing Italian bistro yesterday, I still have a craving for garlic and onions! I ran across this tasty sounding recipe for onion and garlic jelly, that I have high on my to do list!  I adapted one ingredient from the original recipe though.  It called for course ground black pepper and at our house we always use red pepper flakes and powder instead of black pepper. You could go with the original if you prefer but once you have tasted red pepper powder with it's sweet heat, you will wonder why you ever used black pepper! I grind my own from dried Anaheim chili pods. Yum!  But I digress! Back to garlic and onions! Not only are they tasty and exciting but they are also so good for you! They are both chock full of vitamins and also have probiotic properties that help keep your gut healthy. So this sweet spicy treat is one we can indulge in with...

When reading the canning recipes on this blog or anywhere else you find them, you will notice that they all have one thing in common. They always say to cook foods in a non reactive pots and pans.  Or they might word it differently and say "do not use aluminum or cast iron". Actually aluminum and cast iron are not the only reactive types of metal cookware out there. You need to be aware that copper and brass are also reactive and not suitable to cook your foods in for canning. I know that copper and cast iron cookware are making a huge comeback lately and if you just spent a small fortune on new sets for your kitchen don't despair!  Just add a few special non reactive dedicated pots for your canning adventures! Note: I have read conflicting data regarding copper pots, some saying that they are okay for sugary jellies and jams but not for pickling. As for myself, to avoid wasting food, I would just err on the side of caution and not use them for any canning recip...

Summer is fast approaching and I have two prolific rose bushes in my yard that make me smile just by how beautiful the flowers are. Sometimes when I am out there dead heading them I look at those rose hips left behind and think I really should harvest them and use them for something. So I was looking for things to make with rosehips and ran across this recipe that I want to try later in the year! Rosehips are the seed pods left behind when the petals fall off the roses. They are about the size of a marble and look like cute little round pouches. They are a great source of vitamin C and people have been using them to make teas, jams and jellies for ages. The best sources for you to harvest  rosehips for making this recipe are either in the wild where no pesticides have been sprayed or in your own backyard from your own pesticide free bushes. If you can't get them from these places then you may need to shop around or a source of dried culinary grade rose hips. A health food store...