I had ordered 4 bottles of ketchup in my last grocery order to use in making Barbecue sauce to can, knowing I had another 4 bottles in my closet pantry to add to them for the amount of sauce I wanted to can. However, when I brought the ketchup from the pantry out into the light of day, I found it had turned a dark brown in color. Granted, it was a year past it's 'best by' date. But when I opened the bottles I found they had an off smell to them. Into the trash they went.
The new plan for ketchup is to buy #10 cans of ketchup at Sam's Club and re-can it. I have done this before with good results even several years after canning. Apparently, storing food like ketchup or salad dressing in plastic bottles for long term isn't working, at least not for me. After checking prices on Sam's website, I find it is very cost effective to buy the large cans as opposed to bottles at the grocery store.
Last post told you about canning baked beans. I got 8 pints and 19 half pints from four 1 lb. bags of dry beans. I haven't done an exact figuring of cost, but an educated guess tells me I would be surprised if I had used over $7 worth of ingredients total. And considering an 8 ounce can of baked beans was costing me $1.38, I think it was well worth the time and effort. A taste test told me I will can these again.
Unless something really ticks me off and I decide to write a rant, I likely will be AWOL until the end of this coming week. It is hot. It is humid. I am doing small, quiet things right now because heat and humidity are not kind to me. However, I am ordering ingredients to be delivered Thursday to can beef stew. I'll tell you all about that when the stew is in the jars.
I whined so much last winter about the snow and cold that I don't dare complain about hot weather. So I will make another batch of iced tea and patiently wait for fall. :)
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I think you are correct about storing things long-term in plastic. I even buy peanut butter for use now in glass jars. And, they are great for storage with straight sides and a rubber seal.
ReplyDeleteI may groan about the heat but I do not wish it would go away. I like the heat but can no longer stand it like I could years ago. It was 96F yesterday and was supposed to be warmer today, I think. I have to fight my way through the humidity outdoors, but I am going from ac to ac...lol.
Linda...I have just had to many things go bad when they come in plastic jars or bottles. I have several large plastic jugs of apple juice that I am seriously thinking about dumping into canning jars and running them through a water bath.
DeleteWe here in the North are wimps when it comes to heat and humidity. We complain about the winter cold, but we actually handle that better than the heat.
40+ years ago, I bought apple juice for my children in glass jars even though it was cheaper in plastic.
DeleteI'm not sure a person can get apple juice in glass any more unless you buy the cider at the apple orchards in the fall. Guess I will just re-can it, for I love fruit juice of nearly any kind.
DeleteVicki~ I like the idea of re-canning ketchup. I also agree on the humidity. Since the cancer treatment I have issues in dealing with heat and humidity.It sucks rocks. Stay cool. Red
ReplyDeleteRed...Since I can no longer garden, I am finding that buying some products in #10 can size containers and re-canning it makes sense to me. The products are usually way cheaper in quantity than store bought and once re-canned, they last longer.
DeleteYou have a way with words, Red.....heat and humidity definitely sucks rocks. :) Here, the humidity makes breathing interesting, so I stay as cool and quiet as I can. Hope it isn't too miserable where you are.
to be in the 90's here in ne ohio with terrible thunderstorms and t heir humidity courtesy of barry hurricane
ReplyDeletenot looking forward to it
a man sealed the basement backwall so i hope there won't be a flood there this time. all you need is money!
deb...It has been hot and humid here, too, but without the storms. The rain seems to be going around us and I kind of wish it would rain here just to cool things off a bit. Hope the fix to your basement wall works. That's got to be miserable to have water leaking in.
DeleteStay cool its just ugly out.
ReplyDeleteI don't plan to go out until maybe October. :)
DeleteHope all of you are OK.
Vicki, I am with you. Staying inside in the AC works for me. I could easily stay inside until October...one of my favorite months to be outside. Then it's back inside for a period of hibernation. Actually, I am no social butterfly so I enjoy my alone time.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of hibernation, I wish some of the radical "nuts and squirrels" would disappear for a good long while or as Trump says, "Go back to where they came from and fix a few problems there." I think maybe I have watched too much news today...ya think?
Be aware and prepare, CWfromIowa
CW...No social butterfly here either. If it weren't for my kids and grands, I think I might have made a pretty good hermit. :) I do dearly love my alone time. Some I know can't fathom being alone, but it doesn't bother me one bit. Of course, I guess I have never been very good at having someone around telling me what to do and when to do it. :)
DeleteWe had a small storm blow through a while ago, so the temp has cooled down to the tolerable stage and I could open some windows. But the forecast is for just plain ugly the next week or so, and aside for some canning planned for the end of the week, I will be observing quiet time!
Aha! You have been watching the same news outlets as I have today. They called a press conference so they could scream "Racist.' But if you think about it, that's all they've got. I don't know if you saw it, but I loved the part where Tom Holman (former ICE director) shredded AOC and her ill informed attempts to blame him for separating families at the border. If you haven't seen it, check this YouTube link. It is classic!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRrc8m1INVE
Enjoy!
Vicki,as you already know, it is nearly impossible to "fix stupid"! That AOC was a classic example of "deer in the headlights"...complete bewilderment.CW
DeleteCW...Personally, I loved that one. When she spends her time calling the detention centers at the border 'concentration camps' and the Border Patrol Agents 'Nazis,' she deserves to be owned by someone who knows what he is talking about. And you are right. Stupid is not fixable.
Delete