Canning -from a reader

This list is about food so I may as well talk about food. Well preserving food anyway. I have a recipe to put up later. First I may as well talk about Canning. Canning is an almost lost art. I say art for it is that. Some have the knack for it some do not. Some try. I have a Niece that I should buy a Canning book for. She never ceases to amaze me with how she does her canning. I have often wondered why she has not poisoned someone. OK! Made someone pretty sick, that better. I have had the opportunity to try to teach her how to do this art. I was going to say dieing art, but I can not say that any more.  But with my Niece somewhere I must have failed her. That or she is afraid of the pressure canners. If she has been a lucky lady to have the food be OK after the way she told me she done beans and ham soup and carrots. Water Bath is so not the way to do these.  Foods class drums it into our heads that you need to kill the bacteria that comes with canning. Vegetables and meats are done in a Pressure cooker for a specified amount of time. Fruits and pickles can be done in a water bath. Jams and jellies are done in a water bath as well.  Or you freeze produce and meats etc. I have been after the new Blue Ball Book for a year now and I found one in Wal Mart of all places.  I was wondering if there was anything new in it. Yes I read it, I read everything anymore. And I take the time to read until I understand it to. I actually found some new things in the book and it has a section of Drying stuff in it and that is real helpful.  You are suppose to add lemon juice to your home canned tomatoes now. The book has a bunch of new recipes in it to. I have been buying jars again. I had about a thousand before we moved in to an apartment and there was no room for canning jars. I got rid of them all, except for some new ones I had in a box. I was looking at one other box I had and they was only $ 3.59 for a box of 12 wide mouth quart jars. The box had a bunch of rings and lids in that I kept, along with the canning tools. Will never see that price again for jars. Jars are hard to find, at least the used ones are. You could find them all over at one time. Now it is getting difficult to find new ones in stores, and they are not cheap. Ten years ago they was cheap compared to now. People are going back to this art, they are putting in gardens or buying produce and putting it in jars. The health thing is raging. Not to mention the stores are expensive with the healthy stuff. More and more people are needing to change their diets whether if they want to or not.   Will email the recipe later.  I need sleep.   Thanks for your time,   Kori       Don't let what you can't do interfere with what you can do! I said I would write a recipe. And here it is!!! I have lots of summer squash already in the freezer so I wanted to do something with the squash and not let it go to waste. I know a lot of people do Squash bars and bread. I can do them any time with the squash I have in  the basement canned up. As I was saying I got the new canning book so I was looking in there to see if there was any options for the stuff I got. There is just so much you can eat raw of squash. I found Zucchini Pickles. Now do I have the ingredients? Oh! Yes! And I have jars, yippee!! I read over the recipe and it sounded just like the one my Mom use to make with cucumber chunks that was so good. I never found a recipe to match it yet so will see. I also have some cukes from the garden that I can put in jars also with the same brine.   Zucchini Pickles 2 pounds Zucchini sliced (about 8 small) (I also added some crookneck summer squash) 1/3 pound Onion  ( 1 small, I had a nice red candy bunch left over from a huge onion that got sliced up for hamburgers for dinner) 1/4 cup canning salt 2 cups sugar (I used Splenda) 2 teaspoons mustard Seed 1 teaspoon celery salt 1 teaspoon turmeric   (I love this stuff) 3 cups vinegar  (Clear or they call it white)  (I found some made from white clover wine Yummy)  I also had as much for the cucumbers ( done the same way as the squash)   Combine zucchini and onion, sprinkle with salt, add cold water to cover. Let stand 2 hours. Drain, rinse, drain thoroughly. Combine remaining ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Pour vinegar mixture over squash and onions. Let stand 2 hours. Bring all ingredients to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Pack hot vegetables and liquid into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Remove air bubbles. Adjust two=piece caps. Process 15 minutes in a boiling water bath canner. I got four half pints each using the 2 pounds. I made quarts after for I have four in my family. Once opened they do not last long.   Please be sure to wash and rinse jars real good, check for nicks, etc if any toss out. And keep hot until ready to use, boil some water to put the lids in. Put jars in boiling water making sure water is over tops of jars and when boiling again time from there for 15 minutes. Take out and  let cool. Test for seal and remove ring if you want, store in basement for 3 weeks  or more and then eat. Check online at your local home economist web site for proper ways to prepare jars. You can get your pressure canner tested there also to see if it is on as far as weights and sealing. Well you use to anyway.  I can not get use to the new terms they use in the new books and on the web sites. Telling my age there. Any questions! Please Ask!   Kori     Don't let what you can't do interfere with what you can do!