How to Preserve?

Making your own preserves is easier than most people realize!  All it takes is the correct tools and a couple great tips to lead you along the way.  Like most things, trying it is half the battle.  Here are a couple stylicious tips to help inspire you to preserve the last home grown veggies of the year:

• Helpful Tools:
• Large Cooking Pot (porcelain finish) with jar rack
• Wide Mouth Funnel
• Vinyl-Coated Tongs
• Magnetic Lid Lifter
• Head Space Gauge & Bubble Remover
• Bernardin's Mason Jars & Snap Lids
• Bernardin's Complete Book of Home Preserving

• Canning Directions:
1. Fill cooking pot with water and bring to a boil.
2. Prepare vegetables/fruit as directed in selected recipe.
3. Place mason jars and screw bands on the jar rack in the boiling water for 10 minutes.
4. After 10 minutes, add snap lids into the boiling water with mason jars and screw bands for an additional 5 minutes.
5. Remove all items from the boiling water using tongs and magnetic lid lifter.
6. Ladle vegetable/fruit into hot mason jars using wide mouth funnel.  Fill jars as directed in selected recipe using head space gauge & bubble remover.
7. Place snap lids onto hot mason jars and lightly tighten screw bands onto jars.
8. Place all mason jars upright in the cooking pot and bring back to a boil. Follow directed heat process time in selected recipe and appropriate altitude boiling time (approx. 15-20 min.)
9. Remove jars using tongs and let cool.  Once jars have cooled, check the seals and store in a cool, dark place for up to a year.

Enjoy the fruits of you labour!

Stylicious Pear Salsa

This tasty salsa is not only great with chips but is even more enjoyable over baked brie served with Cristini's and/or crackers.  Bring this out at your next function and your guests will love it and they will also appreciate that it was homemade.

Ingredients:

• 9 cups of chopped, seeded Tomatoes (drain as much liquid as possible)
• 6 cups of chopped Pears (remove skin and core)
• 1 package of Bernardin Salsa Mix
• 2 Jalapeno Peppers chopped and seeded (optional)

Directions:

• Combine all ingredients into a large saucepan, stir constantly, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Reduce heat and continue cooking until mixture is cooked through.
• Preserve ingredients into hot mason jars, leaving 1/2" head space.  Makes 12 x 250 ml jars.  Watch out for our next blog on "How to Preserve" for proper preserving techniques.
• Or refrigerate after mixture has cooled.  You can store in refrigerator for up to 3 weeks or freeze for 1 year.

Enjoy!