Category Archives: Canning and Preserving

Grape Butter

Grandma’s grapes were from the Lake Erie Islands.  She also used to make grape juice with them. There did seem to be something different about that “Ohio product” from the Concord grapes more easily available around the country.  You must stir this constantly while cooking. Cool until no liquid separates around rim of butter when a small amount is dropped onto a cold plate.  It should mound when dropped from a spoon when done.  Butter must be sealed in sterilized jars and paraffin, if used, must be ladled on immediately after pouring jam while still very hot.

Take blue grapes (Ohio product) and pick them off the stem as you wash them. Put in kettle with skins on and cook until juicy and done, stirring often so they won’t burn.  When done, strain thru sieve into another kettle.  Measure how many cups of juice you have, and add that many cups of sugar.  Cook for about ½ hour and put in jelly glasses with paraffin on top.

Corn Relish

Do use all the tumeric in this recipe. You should need in all 2 cups each of water, vinegar, and sugar.  You are safe (botulism wise) if you keep the vinegar and water additions equal.  Relish, especially corn, must be sealed and processed in sterilized jars.  Pack boiling hot and process 15 minutes for pints.

2 dozen ears corn – cut off cob and press out juice.  Combine in large kettle with 2 stalks celery, chp, 2-3 onions, chp, 2-3 green and red peppers, chp, small head of cabbage, chp, and 1 cucumber, chp.  Add 2 cups vinegar and 2 cups water and 1 ½  cup sugar (taste it, maybe you need more sugar), 1 Tbsp salt.  Cook moderately for about an hour.  Add more vinegar and water if it is not juicy enough.  When done, mix 1 Tbsp flour with 1 Tbsp Coleman’s dry mustard and 1 tsp tumeric (if you have it) and blend with a bit of cold water and stir thru relish and cook a little longer.  Sterilize jars and seal hot.  Taste occasionally, if too sour, add more sugar and water.

Tomato Cocktail

This sure doesn’t taste like tomato juice. The most current information says that a juice of this kind with added vegetables must be processed in a pressure cooker canner.  At 10 pounds pressure, process quarts 45 minutes and pints 30 minutes.  The cocktail could be  put in jars and frozen but flavor loss is questionable.

½ bushel ripe tomatoes, washed and cut in quarters
2 onions, cut up
Bunch celery, cut up, put in some of the leaves
1 sweet pepper, cut up

Cook all together until well done.  Strain through sieve, rubbing all the meat through good.  Put juice on boil.  Add 3 or 5 bay leaves, 3 or 4 whole cloves, about 2 Tbsp salt (taste to see if it’s enough), about 1 ½ c sugar.  Let boil perhaps ½ hour and shortly before done put in 1 Tbsp vinegar.  You have to sterilize jars and seal while hot, just as you would any canned fruit.