Category: Around the Kisner Homestead

The middle of July may seem like an odd time to be canning applesauce, but actually, it’s the perfect time! This is the time of year when all my canning equipment is unpacked and ready for the tomatoes and cucumbers to ripen. While I’m waiting for other vegetables, it’s also the perfect time to work with apples. They usually have been stored commercially in climate-controlled areas since last fall and by July they are much easier to peel and are usually less expensive.

On Monday I made a drive out to the local fruit farm and picked up about 3/4 of a bushel of apples. I first picked out 1/2 bushel of the nicest Fuji apples I could find. Then I collected a peck of Ida Reds. Fuji apples are “sweet & mildly sweet” and the Ida Reds are “crisp, tangy & sharp.” As I cut them up, I chose some of each to get the benefits of both flavors.

How Much Exactly is a Bushel?

I looked up the definitions of bushel and peck, because it’s been a long time since I bought that many apples by that measure. A “bushel” is first a measure of volume. In the U.S. a bushel is equal to 8 gallons, 12 quarts, 64 pints or 4 pecks. (The Imperial Bushel, used in the U.K. is similar, but it can be used to measure dry or liquid products.)

A bushel can also be used as a measure of weight…and the government has established standard weights for each type of fruit, vegetable, nut and grain. A bushel of tomatoes, for example is supposed to weigh 56 pounds, as is a bushel of shelled corn. But if the corn is still in ears, a bushel is supposed to weigh 70 pounds. Leaves and greens take up more space with less weight.

A better way to clarify for the ordinary person like me, is to describe what you can do with a bushel of apples. For example, a bushel of apples typically holds about 125 medium apples. That’s enough to make about 15 quarts of applesauce or around 15 apple pies. That information is so much more helpful for me.

So, this week, I bought 1/2 bushel of Fuji apples and a peck of Ida Reds (shown above). For future reference, that many apples made 28 half-pints of applesauce (equal to 7 quarts) and two apple crisps with about 12 apples left over. Not sure what I’ll make now, but my hands are pooped out and I’ll have to make a decision soon. Once the apples come out of storage they don’t keep well.

A Fond Memory While Cutting Apples

I cut apples up for 3 1/2 hours on Tuesday and filled my 12 qt. pot to the brim with cut apples.

Cutting up apples is a pretty solitary job and I found myself thinking about all the times I watched and helped my mother cut apples for pies (my dad’s favorite). When I was very young, I fondly remember her singing a silly song called, “A Bushel and a Peck.” I finally took a minute to look up the lyrics and sure enough, I found them! It is really silly, but what a fond memory!

Continuing With the Canning Process

By the time the apples had cooked down, the full 12 qt. pot was filled only halfway.

Then I scooped the soft apples into the food processor and gave them a quick zap. I don’t mind the sauce being a little lumpy.

Then I put the sauce back into my smaller 6 qt. pot to simmer. I had to add a sauce pan for the overflow. At this point we tasted it and decided it needed a little sugar, so I added about 1 1/2 cups.

When divided up, the sauce filled 24 half-pint jars, plus 4 plastic containers that went into the freezer. The 24 jars went into the canner and were water-bath processed for 20 minutes. Now these lovely jars are ready for winter!

You might ask…do we really eat that much applesauce! While it’s great as a side dish for pork, I do use applesauce as an ingredient in some vegan baking, as a substitute for eggs.

Do you have any treasured memories that come up when you’re doing something your parents taught you to do? Enjoy!

Please comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net.

Remember that six pounds of green and yellow beans I picked a few days ago? (https://marykisner.com/garden-update-july-15-2022/) Over the weekend we managed to turn them into 18 pints of beautiful Four-Bean Salad!

I wanted to show you how we did it! I will tell you, canning in the Kisner household is definitely a team activity. I could not do it without Bert’s strong muscles to handle the canner. He was always willing to help, but years ago we invested in a canner that is hard for me to lift even empty…and it couldn’t be put on our glass-top stove burners. We now have a pretty slick set up…as long as Bert is willing to manage the actual canning process.

Since we can’t use the stove burners, he uses his propane burner that he set up to melt lead for reloading. It gets almost too hot so he’s had to put extra shields on top of the burner to help regulate the temperature.

Of course, that also means we do the actual canning in the garage. I’m grateful he knows how to do all this stuff!

My job is in the kitchen getting the jars sterilized and the food prepped. Since this recipe is basically making “pickled” vegetables, which includes mostly vinegar and sugar, the canning can be done with a water bath process. However, we use the same canner, he just doesn’t seal the lid and fills it with water.

When I can, I try to make a batch that will fill the canner…no point in going to all that work for 5 pints. So, I doubled the recipe…using 6 pounds of green and yellow beans, 4 cups of chopped celery, etc. Here is the recipe I’m using:

While Bert was getting the garage set up, I ran the dishwasher with the jars to sterilize them.

First, I mixed up the pickling solution and set it on a back burner to simmer.

Next, I prepped the vegetables. I had the beans all snapped and ready to go.

Then I had to chop the celery, onion and red pepper.

I measured out the kidney beans and chickpeas and rinsed them well.

I was using my largest pot that was full to the brim, before I added the beans! There was no room to add water to boil AND I didn’t have a long enough spoon to stir the pile.

Plan B kicked in! Bert went to the attic and found his HUGE stockpot that he uses to store cookie dough at Christmas. We dumped everything into the big pot (which of course, would not fit on the stove), moved it to the propane burner in the garage, and then added enough water to blanch the vegetables. I found Bert’s GIANT wooden spoon that he used to use to mix up cookie dough and we were able to finish blanching the vegetables out there.

The next dilemma was to drain the vegetables and move them back to the kitchen so I could pack the jars. I pulled out my HUGE colander strainer to scoop the vegetables into the original pot that did fit on my stove. By then, the vegetables had softened and fit back into the pot. Whew!

While I filled the jars, Bert emptied the hot water out of the big pot, set it aside, and put the canner on the burner to begin warming the water for canning.

When all divvied up, the vegetables filled 18 jars! The canner holds 19 jars. Perfect! So, the recipe, when doubled makes many more than 10 jars!

I used the pickling solution to fill the jars and had to add about 2 cups of vinegar to top them off. Once I got them filled, Bert took over, capped them and got them out to the canner. He handled the timing and watched the burner while I cleaned up the kitchen.

I now have 18 beautiful jars of pickled vegetables that will look and taste great all year! Of course, the recipe says to wait a month before opening, so along about Labor Day, I’ll check them out.

If you want to try this recipe, check your instructions that came with your canner to get the time correct for your altitude. Be mindful when you double a recipe…it might make more than you expect!

Please comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net.