With the long history of preserving food in jars, it was inevitable that many of the methods and practices would change over the years as new knowledge came to light and better supplies became available. But, with the trend of returning to the old ways that many homesteaders and preppers have adopted, unfortunately some of the gains in safety made in recent times have been rolled back.  I don't want you to get me wrong. I am all for getting back to the lost ways of the past when life was simpler and people were more self reliant. But, when it comes to canning safety and avoiding food borne illness, the old ways are not always the best ways.  Take for instance the return to the practice of inversion canning to seal jars. I addressed this in detail in another post, here and the reasons why this is not a safe practice no matter what your Grandma said.  Another old practice I have seen some new canning enthusiasts make reference to is using flour or cornstarch to thicken a recipe befo

This month I wanted to share either a persimmon recipe or a quince recipe.  Well, after much thought and research on recipes for persimmon jelly here is what I learned. If you don't happen to have a persimmon tree in your yard or the woods nearby, they are not readily available.  If and when you can find them for sale, they are also expensive. Another thing I learned is that persimmons are persnickety and only taste good if you find them fully ripened, but if not ripe they can have a strong pucker power. Yikes! So with all this in mind and the fact that I like to share recipes with you that you can actually make and enjoy, I opted for the quince jelly recipe.   Here is what I learned about quinces. They are much easier to find at the local produce market. They look somewhat like a pear but have a texture like a hard apple. You can't eat them raw but they make a lovely pink jelly that has a delicate flavor with hints of apple and rose because they are related to both. Also the r

So here is your October canning plan list of seasonal fruits and the good news is that it is not as short a list as you might expect.  I was actually surprised by how many fruits are in season in the month of October.  apples (make apple butter !) beets (okay, not a fruit but check out this jam recipe !) blackberries (Check out my cool label for blackberry jam ! ) crabapples cranberries pears persimmons plums peppers pumpkin quince   I can see from this list that I will have plenty of new recipe ideas to be posting for you during the coming winter months!  But for my next October recipe I think I will be looking for something out of the ordinary like persimmon or quince jelly.   Stay tuned for that coming soon!   But in the meantime, here is a great cranberry chutney recipe to hold you over. This stuff will add the perfect finishing touch to your upcoming turkey dinner on Thanksgiving day!   This recipe has lots of ingredients and it certainly isn't low budget but my, my, is it eve