# I thought I was about done!



## dinytcb (Sep 20, 2009)

The garden only has a few peppers and loads of tomatoes left in it, which I'm letting a friends son have. I was only going to make jams and jellies with fruit from the freezer. today I got 90 lbs. of potatoes, 45 lbs apples, 7 lbs. pear & 23 lbs. plums today! All are a little past their prime so I can't just store them. I have a dehydrator full of apples, a pot of apples on the stove for applesauce & a jar of peels & cores in the pantry making vinegar. No time to rest yet! Can you all give me ideas for the potatoes & plums other than canned? I'm starting to run out of jars!


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## redneckswife (May 2, 2013)

It'll be nice this winter, when all the work of preserving is behind you and it's a cold day and your enjoying something from all your labor right now:stirpot:.

:bow:


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## dinytcb (Sep 20, 2009)

redneckswife said:


> It'll be nice this winter, when all the work of preserving is behind you and it's a cold day and your enjoying something from all your labor right now:stirpot:.
> 
> :bow:


Your right, I find myself going into the pantry just to look and smile. :hysterical:


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## Kristinemomof3 (Sep 17, 2012)

How do u make your vinegar, I tried and must have had it too full with peelings, fruit flies were all over and some of the liquid evaporated. Can I use an airlock?


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

Potatoes: Shred them & freeze them for hash browns.


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## hercsmama (Jan 15, 2004)

Yesterday was all about beverages for some reason. 
I made 5 more qts. of Cranberry juice, that finished off the berries in the freezer, and 2 1/2 gallons of Apple Pie ala mode Moonshine. :buds:
Yea boy, that's some tasty stuff, but dangerous! I kept having to "sample" as I went to make sure I hadn't added too much sugar. :gaptooth:

Also managed to get 12 pints of venison cubes done.

:ashamed:Whoops! I posted this in the wrong thread! So sorry for the hijack!:ashamed:


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

Try dehydrating the plums; they are yummy that way! I dehydrate some every year. As for the potatoes, they can also be dehydrated.


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## dinytcb (Sep 20, 2009)

Kristinemomof3, I used a you tube video that was suggested here ( just search hoemade vinegar). It said to weigh down the peels and cover with cheesecloth to keep the flies out. I rubber banded a jelly bag over mine.

Lorichistie, I'm going to dehydrate some plums today and thoght about just juicing some. Do you have to blanche the potatoes first? This is my first year dehydrating so I'm not very skilled in this.


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

The potatoes should be cooked first, the sliced into 1/4" slices, and dehydrated. You can also grate the cooled off cooked potatoes and dehydrate. The plums can just be sliced or dehydrated in halves.


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## dinytcb (Sep 20, 2009)

Thanks all!


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## bluebird2o2 (Feb 14, 2007)

freeze the plums you can use them for tarts or jams later.


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## HoofPick (Jan 16, 2012)

How about making fruit leather out of the plums?


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## dinytcb (Sep 20, 2009)

I've tried fruit leather twice and I've gotten it to thin both times, I found a book at Rual King called How to dry foods, so hopefully I can become skilled with my dehydrator!


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## HoofPick (Jan 16, 2012)

I just did about 20# of apple leather and it turned out great. In my experience it's better to lean towards a "paste" than a liquid. Apple sauce consistency has worked the best for me. Using an offset spatula, like the ones used for frosting cakes, makes a huge difference in spreading it out in an even layer. Using big spoons creates streaks that are either too thick or too thin.


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## dinytcb (Sep 20, 2009)

Thanks HoofPick, I'm trying to make healther snacks for my grand kids. I've dehydrated apples, pears and plums. Now I'm going to try the fruit leathers again. Then work on all those potatoes i got. The hash browns really soumd good to me!


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## redneckswife (May 2, 2013)

Did the hashbrowns with all the extra potatoes today.
Spent 2 hours processing.
Peeled, shredded, packed tight in a zipolc and put in the deep freeze.
Was I supposed to blanch them before doing the above steps?

They were all brown in the freezer within 30 minutes:grumble:

Did I boo-boo?

If they still taste the same brown, I don't care about the browning, but if I messed up please tell me the process you use when freezing shredded potatoes for hashbrowns.

I always make a hashbrown casserole and hadn't thought about doing this instead of buying some frozen Ore-Ida hashbrowns.


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

I soak the shredded potatoes in water (to help pull off extra starch), changing the water at least once. I've never blanched before freezing.


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## redneckswife (May 2, 2013)

okay so I found out to keep any potatoes from browning(regular or sweet potatoes) to dip them in 1/2 cup of lemon juice to 1 quart of water for 5 seconds. Then freeze.


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