Calling all fellow home preservers. Another International Can-It-Forward Day is almost here and we are looking forward to another day of live webcasts and demos with Jarden Home Brands. Are you with us?
Disclaimer: This post has been sponsored by Jarden Home Brands for Ball®. This brand has been a mainstay from my childhood and I am proud to support them. Come back Saturday for the special webcast and a giveaway, which will be added to the end of this post.
I love preserving food for winter. There is nothing like having summer produce all winter long. This year I am especially excited for the sweet pickle relish and zucchini relish I canned this week with zucchini and cucumbers from our garden.
No vegetable tastes quite as good as the one you plant and pick yourself! And how can you resist all these beautiful colors and flavors mixed together into a delightful relish?
Some have already asked for my relish recipes but I’m afraid they aren’t mine. I have very few canning recipes I will use as I try to be careful to use ones that have been tested and approved for water bath canning.
Someday my pressure canner will be in commission but until then I am limited in what I will can. FreshPreserving.com is my go-to site and both of this week’s recipes can be found on page 89 of Ball Blue Book Guide To Preserving, 37th Edition
, my go-to canning book.
More : Tips for Waterbath Canning
Growing up we use to use zucchini relish much like pickle relish – on hamburgers and hot dogs. We’ll see if my family notices. I made 4 half pints sweet pickle relish and 2 half pints zucchini relish. That should be enough to get us though until next summer, although my 9 year old says “That relish is good enough to eat by itself.”
I also made 4 pints of refrigerator pickles using a combination of this recipe and the zucchini relish mixture I had left over tonight, mostly the liquid solution. I’m packing those jars for the road but aren’t they pretty? I am so in love with the Ball® canning jars of the year. Purple is my favorite color and they are inspiring me to make plum preserves this year. Oh I cannot wait for those!
I also cannot wait to use my new rings and seals. They come in red and purple and I am saving them for a special occasion – like Christmas or hostess gifts. What a special way to jazz up a jar of homemade preserves. I must admit that I have already been using the rings with my new Sip and Straw Lids. I found them at Walmart and someone else mentioned Target.
More: Preserving Herbs
Details for International Can-It-Forward Day
International Can-It-Forward Day will be broadcast live online at FreshPreserving.com from 11AM – 4PM EST from the new state-of-the-art Jarden Home Brands headquarters in Fishers, Indiana. The webcast will have an integrated chat function where viewers can submit their home canning questions to be answered in real time. New this year, there will also be an exciting celebrity mason jar auction unveiled during the webcast!
Ready for a Giveaway?
One reader will receive a coupon for a case of Ball canning jars.
Rules:
- Must be 18 years or older
- Must live in the USA.
- Giveaway ends 8/12/2015
- Winner will be notified via the email address you comment with.
- Winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.
Entry Method: Comment below with how you plan on using the jars if you win!
About Heather McCurdy
Heather McCurdy writes at Real: The Kitchen and Beyond where she shows families how to slow down and savor life on any budget with tasty homemade recipes and family travel.
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Carrie says
I make applesauce every fall. And I give most away so I always need more jars! 🙂
Heather says
I admit that while I love giving jams and sauces to people it makes me a tiny bit sad to give up a jar. Haha.
Angie Mehrtens says
I would use them to can salsa and tomatoes with o ions and garlic or even some dilly green beans! !!
Heather says
Oh I do love dilly beans. Add a little bit of crushed red pepper and we are really cooking!
Kalesha Peterson says
We’re doomsday preppers, so they would be either used for canning random good buys or for storing certain dry goods.
Heather says
I love it!
Kristy Z says
I did my first garden this year so I would use them to make pickles!
Heather says
How exciting. Have you loved it? Homemade pickles are the best.
TABETHA says
I love to can! But I usually stick to jams, jelly, and preserves ’cause i am all scared like that. Made pickles and pickled jalapeno’s but they were refrigerator canned, not shelf stable. Hubby ate them all within a week anyway… 🙂 I think if I win I will give it a go at something a little more savory, sauces or something of the like.
Heather says
I hear you on ‘scared’. I like to stick to the Ball recipes because of that because they are all tested for safety.