Preserving the Harvest: 10 Canning Recipes for Fall

4 by Becky Striepe on October 17, 2011

Holy fall, ya'll! Can you believe that it's already sweater weather?

I just got back from a gorgeous wedding that was full of canning inspiration. Instead of floral centerpieces, the bride spent all summer canning beautiful north Georgia produce, and she set out arrangements of canned fruits and veggies in a rainbow of colors. We got together for a crafternoon a few weeks before the wedding and fancied up all of those lovely Mason jars:

At the end of the evening, we all took home some tasty preserves. It definitely put me into a canning state of mind.

We often associate canning with summer, but there's lots of lovely fall produce that's worthy of whipping out your canning supplies. Fall means cozy knits, comfy boots, but it also brings a whole slough of delicious produce! If you want to make it last well into the winter, canning is a great way to preserve fall's bounty to enjoy it all winter long.

Have you guys been doing any fun canning lately? I'd love to hear what you're putting up!

Image Credits:
Pickles Okra and Beans. Creative Commons photo by marika
Crafternoon. Photo by Becky Striepe

caroline scott

Hi, my hubby started to grow his tomatoes a bit late this year so they didn’t have time to fully ripen, consequently we ended up with loads of green tomatoes! Luckily my Mum has a good recipe for green tomatoes chutney so that’s her job for tomorrow . Weve been to Ikea today to buy some Slom jars to put it all in. Weve got so much tomatoes, we are making a double batch and still have loads left over lol!!! Gonna have to get some more recipes I think!
Nice blog by the way

Becky Striepe

I would love to hear her green tomato chutney recipe, if it’s not a family secret!

caroline scott

Hi,

The recipe asks for 1lb marrow but we couldnt get any so we just used extra apple.

Right, here goes….

Green tomato chutney

1lb green tomatoes
1lb apples
1lb marrow (or extra apple)
1lb onions
4oz dates
8oz raisins or sultanas
2lb soft brown sugar
1/2oz salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (we used cumin)
1oz root ginger (we used ginger in syrup)
1oz mustard seeds
11/2 pt malt vinegar

1. wipe tomatoes, cut into small pieces
2. peel, core and chop apples
3. peel marrow, remove seeds, cut flesh into 1/2″ cubes
4.peel and chop or mince onions
5. chop dates finely
6. place prepared fruit and vegetables in pan with raisins or sultanas, sugar, salt and pepper
7. bruise the ginger, tie in a piece of muslin with mustard seeds and put into pan
8. add 1 pint of the vinegar
9. stir over a gentle heat to dissolve the sugar, bring to the boil, cover and simmer for approx. 2 hrs stirring occasionally, adding more vinegar if mixture thickens before contents are quite soft
10. to test, draw a wooden spoon across the mixture, there will be a mark which should disappear slowly. If mixture is too thick add a little more vinegar and bring to the boil. Chutney thickens a little on cooling.
11. remove muslin bag and press out juices. Mustard seeds can be added to the mixture if you like them.
12. pour into hot, sterile jars. Cover with waxed paper disc and leave until cold, covered with a cloth.
13. use vinegar proof lids (we used SLOM jars from IKEA) If these are not obtainable, pour on 1 to 2 teaspoons of melted paraffin wax, allow to set, then cover with jam pot covers. If chutney is not sealed, it will shrink on storage. Plain metal topsshould not be used, as vinegar will corrode them.
14. label and then store in a cool, dark place for at least 2 months before eating

Phew! we I hope it comes out ok since we changed some things for stuff we had in our store cupboard. Fingers crossed!! It smelled nice though.