Can It & Ferment It: More Than 75 Satisfying Small-Batch Canning and Fermentation Recipes for the Whole Year
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About this ebook
Welcome to the world of produce preservation. In Can It & Ferment It, blogger and Certified Master Food Preserver Stephanie Thurow brings the canning and fermenting communities together by offering recipes that work for both canning and fermenting. From a first-timer to the advanced preservationist, Can It & Ferment It shows canners and fermenters alike how they can have the best of both worlds. Recipes include:
- Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
- Sugar Snap Pea Pickles
- Dandelion Jelly
- Pickled Fennel
- Fiddlehead Fern Pickles
- Spicy Spring Onion Relish
- Napa Cabbage Kimchi
- And much much more
Stephanie explains the differences between the canning and fermentation processes, emphasizes the importance of using local and organic produce, describes canning and fermenting terminology and the supplies needed for both methods, and offers more than seventy-five fun and easy recipes for every season. Readers will learn how to preserve each fruit or vegetable in two different ways; each can be enjoyed water bath–canned or as a healthy, probiotic-rich ferment.
Stephanie Thurow
Stephanie Thurow is a Certified Master Food Preserver and Master Gardener Volunteer from Minneapolis, Minnesota. She is a homesteader, creator of the Minnesota from Scratch blog, and author of four books including Can It & Ferment It, WECK Small-Batch Preserving, WECK Home Preserving, and forthcoming Small-Scale Homesteading.
Read more from Stephanie Thurow
WECK Small-Batch Preserving: Year-Round Recipes for Canning, Fermenting, Pickling, and More Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSmall-Scale Homesteading: A Sustainable Guide to Gardening, Keeping Chickens, Maple Sugaring, Preserving the Harvest, and More Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWECK Home Preserving: Made-from-Scratch Recipes for Water-Bath Canning, Fermenting, Pickling, and More Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
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Reviews for Can It & Ferment It
9 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I have been canning things for more years than I care to discuss but fermenting is relatively new to me. Sauerkraut is about the extent of my experience and I do that in a whomping big crock. That is what I like so much about this cookbook – it will allow me to experiment with small batches so that if I mess up I’m not doing it with a big whomping crock of food.The book opens with an overview of both processes and the equipment you need for each. They are written in a simple way that doesn’t make either intimidating. The book only delves into water bath canning, not pressure canning so keep that in mind. It deals with pickles, jams and relishes.The recipes follow by season starting with Spring. Options are given for both the fruits and vegetables that are commonly available at the time of year. Of course depending upon where you live, your season might be bit different. For example, for most people strawberry season comes in April or May but I don’t see my berries until June.The recipes are well written and easy to follow. You are offered recipes for either method for each fruit or vegetable. I’m interested in trying several for fermenting such as cranberries in honey, and green tomato salsa.I am glad I have added this cookbook to my library for dealing with the harvest. I know it will give me new ideas for all of the produce the hubby brings me.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I have been canning things for more years than I care to discuss but fermenting is relatively new to me. Sauerkraut is about the extent of my experience and I do that in a whomping big crock. That is what I like so much about this cookbook – it will allow me to experiment with small batches so that if I mess up I’m not doing it with a big whomping crock of food.The book opens with an overview of both processes and the equipment you need for each. They are written in a simple way that doesn’t make either intimidating. The book only delves into water bath canning, not pressure canning so keep that in mind. It deals with pickles, jams and relishes.The recipes follow by season starting with Spring. Options are given for both the fruits and vegetables that are commonly available at the time of year. Of course depending upon where you live, your season might be bit different. For example, for most people strawberry season comes in April or May but I don’t see my berries until June.The recipes are well written and easy to follow. You are offered recipes for either method for each fruit or vegetable. I’m interested in trying several for fermenting such as cranberries in honey, and green tomato salsa.I am glad I have added this cookbook to my library for dealing with the harvest. I know it will give me new ideas for all of the produce the hubby brings me.
1 person found this helpful
Book preview
Can It & Ferment It - Stephanie Thurow
CANNING AND FERMENTATION: EXPLAINING THE DIFFERENCES
Water bath canning: Allows us to preserve food with freshness and flavor after going through the high-heat process of a boiling water bath. This method of preservation creates an airtight, high-acid environment in which bacteria and other harmful contaminates cannot survive. Through this preservation process, canned goods become shelf-stable and can be stored in a pantry or cupboard for up to a year, or even two. But after twelve months, texture, quality and flavor can start to decline so I personally try to eat or give away canned goods by the eighteen-month mark.
Fermented produce: Fruits or veggies that are fermented with salt or in a saltwater brine. The process of vegetable fermentation creates an acidic environment by converting sugar into acid that bad or unsafe bacteria cannot survive in, while allowing the good bacteria to thrive. This is known as lactic acid fermentation, more popularly called lacto-fermenation, or wild fermentation.
The process of fermentation can take days, weeks, months, or even years depending on the flavor desired and the specific fruit or vegetable used. The recipes in this book generally take only a few days or weeks.
The studies on fermented foods are endless and truly fascinating to read. If you haven’t already, I encourage you to take some time to research the topic and the health benefits linked to fermented food. Refer to the Resources section of the book for recommended reading.
The importance of local and organic produce as it pertains to canned and fermented foods: Ferment and can with the freshest available fruits and vegetables whenever possible; they are going to have the best flavor if they are picked at their peak and will retain more nutritional value compared to produce from the grocery store. Most produce sold at the grocery store is picked long before it’s ripe, so by the time it reaches store shelves, it’s lost much of its vitamins and nutrients. Per the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, produce that is canned promptly after harvest can be more nutritious than fresh produce sold in local stores. The USDA goes on to say that within one to two weeks, even refrigerated produce loses half or more of some of its vitamins. So, even after exposing the freshly harvested produce to the high heat of the water bath canner, it still holds more nutritional value than eating raw, uncooked produce that has been on the grocery store shelves for weeks.
I always try to find produce at the farmers’ market that has been harvested the day of or the day prior; that way I preserve the produce within 24–48 hours of when it’s harvested. Use organic produce whenever possible and always use produce that is not treated with a food-grade wax sealant or harsh chemicals. In addition to using freshly harvested foods, be sure to pick fruits and vegetables that are not bruised or damaged. I also recommend trying to select produce that’s uniform in size. Having uniformity allows the food to pickle/ferment evenly, which will result in a consistent end product.
I have found that most farmers are happy to explain their farming practices, and that many produce items are often farmed organically, but the farmers have not gone through the process of making that official due to the cost incurred. Do not be too shy to ask your farmer questions about the way they farm, because you might be pleasantly surprised by their answers. Be sure to always ask when produce was harvested to ensure freshness.
CANNING SUPPLIES
Salt: Canning salt, also known as pickling salt, is preferred; it is pure sodium chloride. Kosher salt is also acceptable, though the amounts may vary depending on the recipe. Be sure to check a salt conversion chart. You can find one at: mortonsalt.com/article/salt-conversion-chart/. Never use iodized salt.
Vinegar: Only use vinegars that indicate a 5–6 percent acidity level. Many bottles will note pickling vinegar
on the packaging. Store-bought vinegar offers reliable results and is safe for home canning. For the sake of simplicity, every recipe in this cookbook will call for 5 percent acidity, distilled white vinegar, or organic apple cider vinegar.
Water: The purest water you have available to you is the best option. I have a reverse osmosis system at home that I often use. Water with minerals such as iron could cause discoloration but it is safe to use. I’ve canned with tap water for many years and it’s worked great with the water from the city where I live. Some chemicals added to city water could possibly cause an adverse reaction to the end-product, but you may need to learn by trial and error to know if your tap water is suitable. If you are in a rural area and have well water as your main source, you can have the water tested to see if there has been any contamination. If you are unsure, store-bought water is an