Category: Canning & Pickling

Sweet Pickled Prunes

From 1917: Wash, dry and prick the prunes and arrange in jars or in a crock. Make a syrup, using 4 to 8 cups brown sugar and ¼ cup mixed cloves, broken stick cinnamon and allspice to one quart vinegar. The amount of sugar depends upon how sweet a pickle you desire. If the flavor is liked, a small piece of ginger and a bit of bay leaf may be… Continue reading

How to Bottle Pickles

From 1906:
When putting up sauces and relishes for winter use, care should be taken that the bottles and jars are perfectly air-tight, and this fact cannot be assured if the corks are simply fitted into the necks and tied down in the usual manner. Corks are more or less porous. The corks should be first dipped into a mixture of one quarter pound of beef suet and one half… Continue reading

How to Pickle Meats

From 1905:
Cut the meat into suitable pieces and pack into a barrel; then boil together six gallons of water, nine pounds of salt, six pounds of light brown sugar and one quart of good molasses. Remove the scum as fast as it rises; take the boiler off the stove and let the pickle get cold. Dissolve six ounces of saltpetre and add to the brine. Pour this over the… Continue reading

How To Can Strawberries

Pick over, wash, drain and hull strawberries. Pack berries tightly into sterilized glass jars, cover with fifty percent sugar syrup, adjust sterilized rubbers and tops. Partially seal, then sterilize on boiling water sixteen minutes. Remove from hot water bath, seal and cool.… Continue reading

HOW TO PICKLE OLIVES

From 1922:

Make a lye by using 3 lb. of fresh wood ashes, 6 oz. fresh quicklime, und 6 quarts of cold water. Boil them together for 30 minutes. When the olives are full grown, but quite green, gather them carefully without bruising. Put them in a clean vessel, which must not be made of iron, and pour over them sufficient strained lye, slightly warm, to… Continue reading

PICKLED NASTURTIUMS

From 1922:

Gather the seeds on a dry day, and leave them on a tray for two days. Then put into jars. To every quart of vinegar add one ounce of allspice, one mince of ginger, and a small saltspoonful of salt. Boil the vinegar and spice for ten minutes; allow it to get nearly cold. Then pour over the nasturtium seeds. When cold, tie down… Continue reading

PICKLED NASTURTIUM SEEDS

Gather the seeds on a fine day, and spread them on sheets of paper. Leave them for two or three days to dry off a little. Then put them in empty jars, pour boiling vinegar over them, and leave till quite cold. Then cover down closely. They will be fit to use next summer.… Continue reading

Tomato Piccalilli

Slice a gallon of unpeeled green tomatoes and six large onions: mix them and stir into them a quart of vinegar, a cup of brown sugar, a tablespoon each or pepper, salt, and mustard seed, a half tablespoon each of ground allspice, and cloves. Stew all together until the tomatoes are tender, put into jars, and seal, and let stand for two or three months to ripen before… Continue reading

PEAR GINGER

From 1922:

Pare, core, and quarter the pears, juicy green ones are best, and keep the cores and parings. Put fruit and ½ oz. whole ginger to each lb. of fruit into the preserving-pan with barely enough water to cover, simmer till soft, but not broken. Place pears singly on large dishes, add cores and peels to the juice with the ginger, and simmer one hour. Strain until clear… Continue reading

Preserved Beans

From 1922:

Prepare beans as for cooking, and place (uncooked) in jars. As the beans are packed in the jars, add a liberal covering of salt to every two inches. Continue until the jars are full. Tie down the jars, but they need not be airtight. When using, take out the quantity required, and soak well, boiling in the usual way… Continue reading

Raisin Stuffed Cucumbers

From 1922:

Soak largest size cucumbers (that are good for slicing) in strong brine for nine days. Remove and soak three days in fresh water, changing the water each morning. Scoop out seeds and fill with a mixture of raisins and finely cut lemon (rind and all). Tie up and cover with syrup made of equal measures of vinegar and sugar. Add whole cloves and cinnamon sticks to the… Continue reading

Spiced Beets

Use one cup each of water, vinegar, sugar. Add five sticks of cinnamon and one and a half dozen whole cloves and boil together for twenty minutes, counting the boiling from the time the water begins to boil. Have ready a pint of small beats that have been cooked, skinned, and cold. Simmer the beats a half hour in the spiced syrup and seal while hot. These will keep all… Continue reading

Old Fashioned Salt Pickles

From 1910:

Select large, thick green cucumbers and scrub lightly with a small vegetable brush; cover them with clear cold water, leaving a bit of the stem on, and let stand until the next day, then drain and examine carefully, discarding all that are soft at the ends. Cover the bottom of a wooden cask or large stone jar with a thin layer of common coarse barrel salt, pack… Continue reading