Harvest Tally 2015 & Tattler Reusable Canning Lid Update

I feel like I've been slowing down in the canning department these last couple years.  I think there may be two main reasons for this...

1) I'm sticking with canning projects and recipes I know my family likes eats.

2) As children grow, life becomes busier in a different way and there is less time for the physical and mental act of preserving.

I also spent time this summer freshening up some rooms with new paint and reorganizing in preparation for the school year and life in general (you can see a few pictures here).

Despite all this, our freezers and pantry are full and now we must set to eating, learning, and cuddling in front of the wood stove.  And I don't mind at all.

Harvest Tally 2015

2 (measly) 3-cup containers for sour cherries (from our injured tree), froze

11 pint bags chopped zucchini (for soups and casseroles), froze

14 loaves chocolate chip zucchini bread (our kids think it's dessert), froze

11 quarts blueberries (from a local organic farm), froze

10 quart bags packed New Zealand spinach (for soups, quiches and casseroles), froze

28 quarts corn, froze

36 pints and 28 quarts tomato sauce, canned

9 quarts (of our own!) peaches, canned

15 quarts (half our own!) peaches, chopped and froze (for smoothies and desserts)

5 quarts tomato soup

18 1/2-pint jelly jars of apple pie jam, canned

121 quarts applesauce, canned

LOTS of spaghetti squash, eaten, shared and stored

butternut squash, stored

potatoes, stored

sweet potatoes, stored

Tattler Reusable Canning Lid Update:  I'm getting the hang of these lids!  My sealing success rate this year was very close to that of my metal lid sealing rate- an improvement from last year.  My guess is that most folks quickly learn how to make these work well.  For others (like me) who have high expectations for their canning projects, when I didn't get things right (right away), I was frustrated.  I'm so glad that I didn't give up.  These lids work very well, have close to paid for themselves and they (the lids and rubber rings) all still look like new after using them for the 3rd year in a row.

When I can something that I share with others (like our applesauce below), I still use some metal lids so I don't need to worry about getting the Tattler lids back.  I've grown quite fond of them.

How are your canning projects changing from year to year?  Are you ramping up, simplifying (like me) or cutting back?

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Harvest Tally 2014

Finally, I'm able to wrap up our harvest tally for the year.  It's less in many ways than other years but it's so much more than I thought we were going to be able to accomplish. It worked well for me to lower my expectation to absolutely nothing and then be pleasantly surprised as our pantry slowly filled up.  God is so very good.

We used a pressure canner for the first time this year (green beans and soups) and this was our first full year of using the Tattler Reusable Canning Lids.  Overall, I'm still very impressed with them and had good success.  For some reason, I didn't get good seals on my peaches which was discouraging because of how much work canning peaches is.  I just chopped up the peaches that didn't seal and threw them in bags for the freezer.  I do love that buying lids every year or so is a thing of the past. Also, I can say that not one of our Tattler lidded jars has come unsealed- a problem I occasionally experience with metal lids.  Their seals are super tight.

I hope your harvest was gratifying no matter what it's size.  What a gift it is to grow your own food!

Harvest Tally 2014

2 gallons, 1 quart and 1 pint honey

zucchini, chopped and froze, 17 2-3-cup bags
New Zealand spinach, froze, 11 quarts and 11 pints
zucchini relish, 15 jelly jars, canned
zucchini bread, 20 loaves, froze
green beans, 37 quarts pressure canned

tomato soup, 6 quarts canned
chopped tomatoes, 13 pints canned

Brunswick Stew, 14 quarts pressure canned
tomato sauce, 17 quarts and 28 pints, canned

corn, 10 1/2 quarts froze
red raspberries, 1 quart and 3 pints froze (many just didn't get picked or what did were eaten)
vegetable soup, 13 quarts and 1 pint, pressure canned
bell peppers, 1 gallon froze
peaches, 23 quarts canned and 8 3-cup bags froze
peach jam, 12 jelly jars froze

tomato juice, 13 quarts pressure canned
pearsauce, 10 1/2 quarts canned

applesauce, 105 quarts canned

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Early August 2014

The summer is flying by.

I'm thinking this month will slow down a bit.  We're done traveling.  We've all adjusted to a wonderful sleep schedule.  Having a fourth little person feels more normal and natural now that we've had more than a month to adjust.  I am even finding the energy and time to do a few canning projects I thought wouldn't happen this summer (thanks in great part to Jamey, my partner in all things).

More than ever before, I'm taking one day at a time.  I try to avoid looking ahead to the busyness of fall any more than I have to.  It may be August, but it in some ways it feels more like late November.  I have so much to be thankful for.

zucchini relish (recipe courtesy of Simply in Season) 

Next year we'll space the rigid fencing out a bit farther.  While we love the idea of a green bean arbor, having them this close together means picking in (and under) jungle-like conditions.  It also means lots of beans!

Back in January, a dear reader named Ann Marie contacted me.  She read that I was interested in trying my hand at pressure canning and happened to be helping clean out her grandfather's house.  She had come across his pressure canner and offered it to me.  Turned out, she is a local reader although we didn't know each other personally.  She allowed us to have it at a very generous price.  It's an All American.  So far, we've only used it for green beans and Jamey's been doing the canning.  I'm warming up to trying it myself but feel like I've been doing enough "new" this summer already:-). 

Our tomatoes are early and huge this year.  I'm not sure why my tomato projects are separating this much in the jars, though. Oh, well.  I was a bit nervous to can with Tattler Reusable Canning Lids again since it had been since last fall since I'd used them but it's been a lot less stressful than I thought (I used the word "since" three times in that last sentence).  I'm getting a 90%+ seal rate so I know there is some room to keep working on my technique but I'm very happy with the results and am so glad to not have to keep buying and tossing lids. 

 Thanks to all the rain this summer, Sam's sunflowers have been doing great.  He's not always excited about going out and cutting them but bringing in the money sure is fun.

More corn is coming! 

Honey bees enjoying a summer evening on their front porches. 

Home.

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Tattler Reusable Canning Lids SALE- This Weekend!

As you know, this past fall we tried Tattler lids for the first time (you can read our mini-series here- scroll down and read up to read the posts in order).  

During their last big sale, we purchased enough to do most of our canning this summer with them.  I promised to let you know when I heard about their next sale, so here is the latest sale information via an email I received....

Tattler Customers,

TATTLER REUSABLE CANNING LIDS IS HAVING A SALE THIS WEEKEND, FEBRUARY
15 – 17, 2014!

To celebrate President’s day, we are having a 3 day, 20% Off Sale
on our 12 dozen packs of Regular and Wide Mouth sizes! There is no
coupon code needed for this sale. Just simply click on the link below
and purchase!

To find the items for sale, please click here:
http://cts.vresp.com/c/?TattlerReusableCanni/315aec1c83/b45e9a885e/4c995b2039

Thank you, Tattler Fans! Have a great weekend!

I'll keep you posted as other sales come along, too!

Dreaming of steamy kitchens and bubbling canners,
Jane Pin It

Happy New Year!!

It's so good to be back!

I hope you all had a safe, healthy and joyous Christmas.  And I pray that at least once during all the busy-ness, meal preparation (and/or meal consumption thank-you-very-much), family and friends, you found some quiet moments to reflect.  If you didn't, it's not too late.  Steal a moment first chance you get.

my mother's Christmas cookie plate

December was a wonderful whirlwind.  First of all, thanks to all who ordered and gifted cookbooks this year!!  I had so much fun giving every 5th one away (13 were mailed off for free)!  That deal is over for now, but I will re-introduce it in time for Mother's Day gifting (and receiving).

After seven years of homeschooling, it finally occurred to me to use our two weeks off of school the week before Christmas and the week of Christmas.  This way I had extra time to bake, wrap gifts, visit with friends, and pack for holiday traveling.  New Year's week is not a big deal around here so we're back to school this week but mornings only to ease us back into things.

While I killed all three kids' Beta fish by not taking them to our willing neighbor while we were away, I'm happy to announce that our cat, chickens and bees are still with us!  Jamey can hear the bees buzzing when he puts his ear to the hives.  This is no guarantee that they'll survive until spring, we're sure glad they're not dead yet!

A semi-distant relative through marriage was given a white elephant gift of a vintage-looking bee hat/veil. Since she doesn't have bees (or mosquitoes, evidently), she thought of us and I was thrilled to be the recipient of it!  Thank you, April!! I will wear it with pride this summer and won't fear a bee getting caught in my hair any longer!

The seed catalogs are pouring in and our minds are busy with ideas and plans for this spring and summer. New gardens?  New animals?  I must admit, it wasn't long ago that I was SO happy for that garden and all its weeds to wither up in the cold and die.  But now, I'm longing to be out in the sun again- hanging up laundry in the warm breezes and digging in the flower beds while popping blueberries in my mouth.

Just before Christmas, I received a promotional email from Tattler Reusable Lids announcing a one-day 50% off sale on all their lids.  I announced it on this site's facebook page but for those who missed it, I'll make sure to announce the next one, too.  We went ahead and bought another lot of them since we'd like to make the switch all the way over this year.

In other canning news, after years of waffling, I'm in the process of saving my swagbucks to purchase a pressure canner.  Please say a little prayer for me.  For some reason, they make me nervous. Oh, maybe it's because a family member had a pressure canner lid fly off and hot food splattered all over their kitchen.  But I'm putting on my brave face (and maybe my bee veil and Jamey's new chainsaw chaps) and diving in.  You'll hear all about it when I get it and start using it and I'm counting on those of you who are pros to give me pointers when the time comes.

On another note (how many topics can I cover in one post?), I recently received a very nice email from a male reader asking if any other men read my blog (since they rarely comment).  If there are any readers out there (of the male variety) who would like to show Bob he's not the only one, let us know in the comments below and thanks for reading!

So, here we go! 2014 is here.  I'm so glad to have you along.

Blessings for the whole year through,
Jane Pin It

Tattler Lids: Notes for Next Year & A Giveaway!

This giveaway is closed.  Please see who won here.

You can read about my first experience with Tattler Reusable Lids here (Part 1) and here (Part 2).

After reading my posts, the president of Tattler Lids, Brad Stieg, contacted me via email to offer some advice regarding my results.  After exchanging a few emails, we spoke on the phone.  It was extremely helpful to talk through the process and my experience with the person who knows these lids best!  I was happy with my final results (especially for my first try) and have the sense that I have a pretty good handle on their usage going into next year.  Brad was not as happy about my results- he knows these lids perform even better and therefore wanted to give me some further advice to ensure even better results next year.

After talking with Brad, here are some streamlined concepts I want to remember for next year's canning projects:

*  There are two times that you tighten the metal ring on each jar when canning with Tattler Lids- once before it goes into the canner and then again after it comes out.  The "before" needs to be significantly looser than the "after" and is the "turn" that is most different than using metal lids.  The ways I want to remember this "before" metal ring adjusment are as follows...

~ Aim for the loose end of the finger-tip tight spectrum.  The definition of "finger-tip tight" might mean slightly different things to different people, but if you can imagine everyone's definitions of finger-tip tight, aim for the loose end of that spectrum.  One way to get a sense of this tightness, according to Brad, is to look on the top of the Tattler Lid at the space between the metal ring and the lid as you turn the metal band.  When the space closes between them and the metal band comes against the Tattler Lid, stop.

~ Another way to familiarize yourself with this concept is to place water in a jar, place a Tattler lid on top and then a metal ring.  Then turn it upside down over your sink.  If no water comes out, loosen the metal band slightly and try again.  Keep doing this until it starts to leak water.  Then tighten it slightly- just to stop the leaking.  Note how tight the band is on at this point by slightly loosening and tightening the band to get the feel for how loosely the band is threaded.  Aim for that when tightening the metal ring before putting your jar in the canner on canning day.

~  If you happen to make the metal band too tight before placing it in the canner, it can lead to a doming effect that can mess with your sealing success.  If a jar comes out of the canner domed up instead of dipped down (the lid's natural state) it means you tightened it too tight.  Air was not able to escape and pressure is trapped inside.  This can happen to metal lids, too, and can mean a sudden release of pressure that can make hot contents escaping, causing a burn.  Looser is better.

*  As soon as the jar comes out of the canner, tighten the metal ring to the tight end of the finger-tip tight spectrum.  This means (with a towel, of course, because the jar will be hot) using both hands and securely making the band press down on the lid.  No need to crank down as hard as you can.  Just tighten it down so the metal band presses the plastic lid firmly into the rubber ring.

* Watch Brad's own very helpful video. I watched a couple other videos on their site before canning applesauce, but missed this one.  It's the most helpful one in my opinion.  It can be found on the front page of their website or can be watched right here:

If you're new to canning, I recommend learning on Tattler Lids right from the start.  They're no more difficult to get the hang of than metal lids are for new canners.  If you can learn from these from the start, you won't have to make adjustments to your canning practices later.

If you're a veteran canner, I recommend learning how to use Tattler Lids.  Friends, we can and do learn new tricks all the time.  We learned how to can in the first place didn't we?  One reason I can comfortably recommend them is because of the quality of customer service available.  These folks believe in their product and the president will even patiently wait when asked to hold while you console a screaming child.  Why do they always act up when we're on the phone?

Part of me is glad every year that the canning season is over.  That's a pretty large part of me, actually.  But I'm already having a little fun setting aside my Tattler Lids and rubber rings after they come off our applesauce jars.  Those lids will end up on jars of tomato sauce, peaches, salsa and more- not in the trash.

Nice.

Giveaway! TWO lucky commenters will each win a box of a dozen regular sized Tattler Lids AND a dozen wide mouth Tattler Lids thanks to the generous Tattler folks.  To enter, leave a comment telling me how many years you've been canning (zero is a valid answer!). Please one entry per household.  It is most helpful if you can leave me your first name or some initials so I can identify you if you win.  I will draw two winners randomly on Friday afternoon.

Happy entering and I'm so curious to see how many years of combined canning experience we have between us!

Also, I am having  SO MUCH fun giving away cookbooks!  I've given 5 (make that 6!) away so far- read here for more details. Pin It

Canning Applesauce with Tattler Reusable Lids (for the first time): Part 2

You can read Part 1 here.

So.  After three trials of canning water with Tattler Reusable Lids using (what I thought were) different "methods", we just had to guess as to how we wanted to try it on applesauce day.  Here's what we decided to try:

1) I would put the metal rings on (over the rubber ring and plastic Tattler lid) just finger-tip tight- slightly less tight than I would tighten a ring on a metal lid.

2) When Jamey pulled them from the canner, he would tighten the rings down hard IMMEDIATELY (as in RIGHT after taking EACH ONE from the canner).  In my mini-trials, I was removing all six pints and then tightening down the rings.  He was going to remove them one at a time and tighten them right away.

These lids are interesting.  While you can't rely on a visual dip in the lids like you can with metal lids, some of the jar lids did appear more sunken than others.  Many didn't look any different.  This was discouraging as we looked at them throughout the day, wondering how many would seal.

The jars stayed outside on tables after coming out of the canner.  It was a warm day and the sun shone on them for much of the afternoon.  About 100 jars sat on a long rectangular table very close together, with the remaining 60 or so on our round patio table- these were spaced apart a bit more.  

I set my alarm earlier than normal because we would be checking the jars before church.  I was going to need some processing time of my own before worship if things went terribly wrong.

Jamey and I headed outside and started checking them.  Jamey removed the metal rings and let me attempt to lift the jars by the plastic Tattler lid (how you tell if they've sealed).  We started with the smaller table.  Of those 60-ish jars, 7 lids lifted off.  This was discouraging, but not tragic.  We moved on to the larger table of 100-ish jars.  Of the jars on that table, only 3 did not seal.  I was so very relieved.

The final stat was that 10 out of 165 quarts did not seal.  I quickly set my indoor canner water to boil and reheated the applesauce in those 10 jars.  I washed the jars, re-filled them and re-canned them- this time with some metal lids I had on hand.  I had an afterthought that it would be nice to have some applesauce canned with metal lids for giving away (so I didn't have to worry about getting my Tattler lids back).  One of the 10 didn't seal.  Such is canning life.

Jamey thinks that maybe our success rate was poorer on the smaller table because those jars were spaced further apart while cooling, meaning that they cooled faster.  Those were also the last ones to be canned, so the water in the canner may not have been as clean (some applesauce bubbled out of some) so maybe some sauce residue got between the rim and the lid.  Or, maybe I didn't tighten them the same.  Who knows.

sealed jars waiting to be stored in the pantry

My Verdict:  I was somewhat frustrated by them, but I like them.  I like them enough to keep trying. And try I will have to come next summer.  Even though I made detailed notes of what worked with the applesauce, next summer's projects won't be canned in the big Amish canner (that's just for applesauce weekend) and I likely won't be cooling my jars outside.  Also, Jamey will likely be at work, so I'll be doing the tightening down of rings myself.  All in all, I'll be starting all over.  But, I'll do it.

These lids have too many things going for them for me to give up so easily.

It was a roller coaster of a weekend, but after wiping the jars down and lining them up on my shelves in the pantry, it was such a good feeling.  The project was successful and I'm excited to fine-tune my Tattler skills next summer. Pin It

Canning Applesauce with Tattler Reusable Lids (for the first time): Part 1

I have honestly never been as nervous about a canning project as I was a couple weekends ago.

Even my very first time canning wasn't as nerve-wracking because I had seen my mom do it countless times and my project was fairly small- 10 pints of stewed tomatoes.  What made this project different wasn't it's size, even though we'd be canning a lot. We would be using different lids and my trial runs with those lids didn't go very well.

Let me start at the beginning.  While Tattler Reusable Lids have been around since 1976, I hadn't begun to hear about them until just a few years ago.  I was intrigued by them- loving the idea of not having to toss expensive metal lids every year (or every couple as I've been known to reuse them but have/will never advocate that practice).  But I didn't know anyone who used them or ever saw them being used.  Blog posts about them popped up here and there but I was a bit apprehensive because of the cost.

It was two weeks before our annual applesauce weekend and I knew I had to buy lids.  Was I going to buy metal lids once again or should we take a leap and try the reusable ones?  We decided we couldn't bear spending that much money on disposable lids when for a little over twice the price we could purchase lids we could reuse for 15 years or more.

After refreshing my memory about their product online, I called the Tattler folks.  First, I asked if my order would arrive on time.  The helpful woman put me on hold and spoke with the shipping manager.  Yes, they would arrive in time.  Next, after asking if she uses Tattler lids herself (she does), I asked if I was crazy to be using the lids for the first time on a big project.  She was very honest and said something to the effect of, "Yes, you kind of are."

She went on to explain that you use the Tattler lids differently than the metal ones and that for people who have canned for a long time making the switch has a learning curve and can be challenging.  She gave me some tips on making the adjustment including doing a trial run by canning water before the actual project so I could get a feel for them.  I decided to take the plunge and ordered 180 lids for $150.

I usually don't track things I order, but I tracked these lids.  I checked on them a couple times a day even. I really, really, really needed them to arrive in time for me to do at least one trial run.  We would begin making applesauce Saturday morning.  They arrived Thursday mid afternoon and I immediately pulled out jars to get started.  Here are the tips the Tattler folks provide on their website:

In addition, the nice lady on the phone suggested using only one hand to place the metal rings on the jars after lidding them, stopping when the jar starts to rotate on the counter.

My first trial run consisted of canning 6 pint jars of water.  I turned the rings until they just caught in the thread and stopped.  After pulling all 6 from the canner, I tightened the lids to finger-tip tightness.  Four out of the six jars sealed. Ugh.

My second trial run consisted of canning 6 pint jars of water.  This time I put one hand behind my back and turned the ring with one hand, stopping when the jar turned on the counter.  After pulling all 6 from the canner, I tightened them tighter than finger-tip tight.  Again, four out of the six jars sealed. Boo.

My third trail run (Friday night!) consisted of canning 6 pint jars for water.  THIS time, I tightened three of the lids finger-tip tight and the other three slightly tighter than finter-tip tight.  I kept track of which ones were which in my canner.  After pulling all of them from the canner, I tightened them down firmly.  The next morning, while Jamey was already chopping apples, I checked the seals and one of each set of three didn't seal (again, four out of six sealing).  I didn't feel like I was learning much of anything- except getting four out of six jars of water to seal.

Of the 150-180 quarts we were planing on canning that day, I could hardly stand the thought of 50 jars not sealing.  Our only other option was to run out and buy metal lids.  The thought did cross my mind.  But I REALLY wanted these lids to work.  I REALLY wanted to get a handle on them.

I avoided thinking about how we had little-to-no freezer space to freeze what didn't seal and how I had just given all my extra containers to my sister to use so short of eating applesauce non-stop for the next week (or filling zip-lock bags and distributing them around into neighbors' freezers), we were going to be up a creek if this didn't go well.

We wash the apples the afternoon before to get that step out of the way.  Here they are clean and ready to go.

Sadie and her Grandpa working the "Squeezo" with the beautiful, pink applesauce in the forefront (Cortland apples are our favorite)

Once again, Jamey's parents brought down their large, Amish-made outdoor canner for us to use.

Jamey's parents had brought the apples down from Pennsylvania for us and were such good sports in light of our, what felt like, dare-devil canning pursuits.  One by one, the saucing team of four adults and three kids ate breakfast and got to work.  The day was fun despite the cloud I couldn't shake. We wouldn't know until the next morning how successful our Tattler practices were because...

1) Tattler lids don't make a popping sound.
2) you can't tell for sure if they're sealed by looking at them.
3) the way you tell if they've sealed is by waiting until the jars are completely cooled, removing the metal ring and then lifting the jar by the plastic lid.

If the jar has sealed, you can lift the jar by the lid.  If it hasn't the lid lifts right off- I had experienced this first hand.

So.  In the spirit of camaraderie (hee hee), I'm going to let you go a day (or two) to wonder. Just like we did.

Stay tuned for how it all turned out (and forgive me for being a tease...please?). ;-)

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