Food Preparation

Tricks for preserving the highest quality of fresh cranberries. Cranberries are a wonderful fall fruit that are easy to preserve for use throughout the year. The very easiest preservation method is to simply store them in the fridge (refrigeration is preserving!), where they will keep for about 4 weeks…

Freezing eggs is a great way to ensure you always have eggs on hand. If you’re tempted by the better pricing of a 24-pack of eggs but are worried that you can’t consume them before they go bad, or if you raise …

Canning Basics: How to know that a gel will form when making soft spreads. How do you know when your jams, jellies, and other soft spreads are ready to remove from the heat? There are several tests that can determine that the gel point (aka gel stage) has been reached, including the sheet test and the…

Use a food-safe recipe to make this inexpensive, fun, creative play dough. Playing with play dough is a fun and creative activity for kids to engage in and making your own play dough at home has plenty of benefits: It can be cheaper, it can be softer and smoother, and you can even get the kids involved…

Understand the difference between hot pack vs raw pack for canning meat and poultry.Hot pack and raw pack refers to the method of packing food into jars prior to canning. There are advantages and disadvantages to each method; when both options are given, the one you choose comes down to personal preference…

What does "hot pack" vs "raw pack" refer to regarding canning produce? Hot pack and raw pack refer to the method of packing food into jars prior to canning.  There are advantages and disadvantages to each method; when both options are given, the one you choose comes down to personal preference…

Adjustments to recipe canning jar sizes is possible, within guidelines Is it possible to make changes to recommended canning jar sizes when canning your favorite recipes? In the case of canning with smaller jars, the answer is yes, you may safely size down and use a smaller jar. However, larger jar…

Canning Basics: Canning jar manufacturers specifically recommend against using their jars in the oven. Baking in canning jars (aka mason jars) is an unsafe practice, despite those cute pictures of miniature pies and cakes you see on the internet, especially around the holidays. Why? Canning jars are not…

Washing and sterilizing are two different things. Is it okay to wash canning jars in the dishwasher? Sure, it’s a convenient option, especially if you have a lot of jars to clean, and it’s a good way to keep the jars hot until they’re ready to be filled and go into the canner. (And just a reminder that…

Canning Basics: Make sure your canning jars start hot and stay hot Canning jars should always be washed and rinsed well before being used. And while they don’t always need to be sterilized (unless the processing time is less than 10 minutes), the jars do need to be hot when filled with food, and kept…