This is just a note to myself so I will remember what I did concerning the turkey scraps. After Thanksgiving, I had the bones and scraps from three large turkeys. That yielded 21 quarts of rich turkey broth. There was also enough broth for a stock pot full of turkey, vegetable and rice soup. I had a couple of meals from that and canned the rest. That gave me 12 pints of soup. One pint is enough for a meal with homemade bread or cornbread. Rice doesn't can well as it tends to turn a bit mushy, but I canned the soup anyway. Waste not - want not, as my mother used to say. Along with the meat Son took home from his turkey and the meat from mine that I froze, I'd say we got a lot of mileage out of those turkeys.
I have made turkey or chicken broth before and stored it in the freezer. But right now my chest freezer is full to the top - mostly with that 50 lbs. of cranberries I bought at the Farmer's Market to make into juice. I ran across a recipe the other day for cranberry jelly or jam that I think I will try to see how I like it. But I really need to quit being lazy and get busy processing those berries. I could use the freezer space!
The Last Gasps...
2 hours ago
I buy broth at the store for the dog food. I can't remember the last time I actually cooked with it for myself. I like bullion, those little cubes of chicken or beef, I make a drink with it. Probably, now that I think about it, broth would be better for that.
ReplyDeleteHarry...I use the little bouillon cubes too, as well as the powdered bouillon. But for me, making my own broth is kind of a bonus. It isn't free as I use gas to cook and can it, but even at that, it is still much cheaper than buying it. I use it in dishes that call for water - like sage stuffing or maybe chicken gravy - just for more flavor or as a soup base. Just another handy food for storage.
ReplyDeleteI love the little boullion cubes for a quick hot drink, but homemade broth just adds so much to anything that needs liquid. I am currently avoiding my stove after the marathon of canning the produce auction haul! I have bones and carcasses in the deep freeze to make broth with and that will start this week.
ReplyDeleteFiona...I completely understand avoiding the stove. :) There are days when I don't even want to look at another jar or pressure canner. But at the rate we as a nation are sliding downhill, it just seems foolish for me not to preserve whatever I possibly can. Those 12 pints of turkey soup are 12 meals for someone. I can't garden or raise animals, so the more I can, the longer my family will survive. But then I don't need to tell you that, do I!!
ReplyDeletevicki,
ReplyDeleteapropos of nothing today's post, have you ever canned store bought ketchup?
i found one on thee shelf that had a sell by date exactly 2 years ago. it looks darker than the new ones, AND THE PLASTIC JAR IS SPLITTING INTO TWO LAYERS.
OTHER THAN BEING DARKER THE KETCHUP LOOKS OKAY.
[sorry-cap key too close to 'a'.]
haven't opened it.
daughter says toss, and possible plastic contamination by now.
Deb...I have bought ketchup in #10 cans or in gallon sized plastic jugs and re-canned it in pint jars. I just used the canning directions for homemade ketchup. It turned out just fine. If I had the ketchup bottle you described, I think I would toss it. I have heard of ketchup going bad while stored in plastic, but not in glass jars. I don't think it would be worth taking a chance on a plastic bottle that is coming apart.
ReplyDeletevicki,
ReplyDeletethanks. i will toss. afraid to open it, really.
after i saw the plastic layers parting i began to worry about the rest of the ketchup, which is still good.
i have some small jars, so i hope to try your method.
thanks again.
i don't have much in plastic but the vinegar is in plastic, though it is much sturdier. wonder about leaching plastic chemicals even if stored in moderate temps.
deb
Deb...I haven't researched the effects of foods in plastic containers for long term food storage, but have read on blogs and seen a couple of homesteading type videos concerning ketchup spoilage when left in the plastic bottles. My local store just ran a sale on ketchup and I ordered a dozen bottles - plastic. I will be emptying those into a stock pot, heating the ketchup and re-canning it in pint jars using the hot water bath method for 15 minutes. The ketchup might be perfectly good stored in the original plastic bottles, but I just can't afford to take the chance. I really wish that companies used glass containers the way they did years ago.
ReplyDeleteI don't know about you, but I would really rather make my own ketchup so I knew for sure what is in it. Not being able to have a garden sort of puts a crimp in that idea, although if our world doesn't come crashing down before next summer, (not looking real good, is it!) I might just have to go ahead and get enough tomatoes at the Farmers Market to do just that.
I don't know about vinegar. I have had gallon jugs of vinegar stored for a couple of years with no problems. That's something I might have to check into.