# ever try these?



## House faerie (Apr 29, 2007)

A few questions: 
Do you really need to bake your baked beans prior to canning?
Have you ever canned hummus or any type of bean dip?
Have you ever canned cream of whatever soups?


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## House faerie (Apr 29, 2007)

Also... do you can tomato soup?
How many quarts of strawberry jam do YOU can at a time?
Ever can sweet pots together w aomething else?


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## House faerie (Apr 29, 2007)

And.... how do you put up your speg squash and other winter squash?


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

#1: They are called "_Baked Beans_" for a reason, not "boiled beans".

#2: Not safe - too thick.

#3: Not safe. Add the cream when heating to serve.

#4: Yes.

#5: None. Recipes for jams and jellies don't multiply out well.

#6: No, why would you?

#7: I put up my winter squash on a shelf in my pantry. Nature provided a hard shell for keeping quality. No further procesing necessary.


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## marinemomtatt (Oct 8, 2006)

Suitcase Sally gave ya good answers...~lol~...
I give a couple too.
Baked Beans...could PRESSURE COOK the Baked Beans before PRESSURE CANNING them...quicker.
Cream of somethings...could do up a dry creamed mixture, put in jars, then add water or whatever when needed. 
Most folks do their jams and jellies in half to 1 pint jars for the reason Suitcase Sally gave.
Winter Squash...it's best to freeze spaghetti squash and Acorn, Butternut, Buttercup squashes can be pressure canned if done up in chunks...NOT puree!


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

marinemomtatt said:


> Baked Beans...could PRESSURE COOK the Baked Beans before PRESSURE CANNING them...quicker.


See post #4, answer #1. LOL!


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## NCLee (Aug 4, 2009)

House faerie said:


> A few questions:
> Do you really need to bake your baked beans prior to canning?
> Have you ever canned hummus or any type of bean dip?
> Have you ever canned cream of whatever soups?


If you don't already have it, get a current copy of the Ball Blue Book. And, spend some time here. http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/publications_usda.html 

These will have more details relating to the answers that you've already received. Especially those that have a "you shouldn't do it" response. For the others, asked, there's a wealth of how-to, that I'm sure will be helpful. 

Just 2-more cents.....  I keep the cream of something soup dry mix in the pantry. Then put it together with things like mushrooms to make it into the whatever soup at time of use. Far more flexibility and far less shelf space needed. Even if it were safe to can those, I wouldn't do it ahead of time. Often, the only thing i have to do is combine the mix and some cold water and add directly to a pot that's already cooking. Works as a great flavor enhancer and thickener without doing anything more. Use is like a soup base, rather than a nearly finished product. Hope that makes sense.

Lee


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## House faerie (Apr 29, 2007)

Thanks.

I already do dry mixes on the cream soups...
On the squash, I know about freezing speg. but I saw a discussion about canning puree and wondered if others did that w success.
As for sweet pots, I can them alone but often I fix them together w/apples, very yummy. I was thinking about canning them that way or other ways if there were some creative minds on that one...
The Ball book tom soup recipe isn't the best...
I have multiplied the recipe on straw jam..and gotten some really great straw syrup out of the deal 
As I plan to use up an abundance of white beans, I don't want to spend all that time and propane on mutiple batches of b beans... pressure cooking tho...great idea! I had resigned myself to baking them before use, but if that works...great!
Thanks so much for the replies!


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## House faerie (Apr 29, 2007)

I have never canned red potatos, do they can well?


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## judylou (Jun 19, 2009)

> but I saw a discussion about canning puree and wondered if others did that w success.


Guidelines don't recommend canning puree of anything. Too dense so heat can't penetrate effectively.  And all the winter squashes were removed from the approved canning list 3 sets of guidelines back (10+ years) except as cubed. Kinda hard to "cube" spag. squash. 

Agree the Ball tomato soup isn't the best but since tomato soup is milk/cream based, it's about the only choice. Making at serving time using tomato sauce is much better.

Like Sally said - PCing your beans won't give you baked beans, just boiled beans. Just can them plain and then a brief baking with the sauce at serving time.

And no, IMO red potatoes don't can well. Too soft due to their higher moisture content so go mushy. But you can can them and then mash at serving time for whipped potatoes. Freeze well though.


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

OH NO!! I deleted the recipe by accident!

I'm going to try to remember alll the extra notes I made when I posted the recipe. If I forget anything, please feel free to jump in and add what I may have forgotten.

I used to make the recipe by diligently using the three 2-quart bean pots as described in the original recipe, but was given two 6-qt. crocks from broken slow cookers and they work just as well.

This is a mixture of the recipe from the book "Stocking Up" and the Ball guide. I like the ingredients in the Stocking Up book, but the method used in the kBall Guide.

Baked Beans

3 lbs. (about 2 qts) dried beans (navy, pinto, or white)
3 medium onions, sliced
2 1/2 cups dark molasses
1 Tblespn salt
1 Tblespn dry mustard
1 1/2 lb. salt pork, cut in 2" pcs.

Sort and wash beans. Cover by 2-3" with water and soak 12-18 hrs. Next day, add salt to soaking water and bring to a boil and simmer until skins begin to crack. Drain beans, reserving liquid. Add the pork and onions to the crocks and pour the beans into the crocks. Mix the rest of the ingredients with 4 cups of the reserved liquid (add water to make 4 cups, if necessary). Pour the mixture evenly over the beans. Cover tightly and bake at 350Âº for 3 1/2 hrs., adding water as necessary. Beans should be "soupy", (this is important!). Pack hot beans into jars leaving 1" headspace. Process pints 1 hr. 20 minutes, qts., 1 hr. 35 min. @ 10 lbs. pressure. Makes 6 quarts or 12 pints. (From experience, if you don't get this much, you probably don't have the beans soupy enough. If they are too thick when canned, they may lose their seal in storage.)

If you are just going to make these for supper, use 1/3 of the recipe and after putting the beans in the crock, cover and put in oven. Turn the heat down to about 300Âº and let them cook all day, up to 10 hours, adding water if needed so they don't dry out. About a half-hour before dinner, take the cover off and let the top brown a bit.


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## Kimmie Quilts (Mar 14, 2010)

Sally, that sounds wonderful! I don't have any crocks...would there be another acceptable method?


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## marinemomtatt (Oct 8, 2006)

Baked Beans..YUM! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
You should've seen my horror at the amount of molasses though...~lol~... Like with my Honey I'm a bit stingy with molasses...costs too much! (un-sulfured, blackstrap)
I'll have to make 2 batches...Oh my Molasses!...One with the pork for my guys and one meatless for me.


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## House faerie (Apr 29, 2007)

Which beans do you think work best? I just happen to have two of those crocks...did you cover the beans in the crocks?


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

"*Cover tightly *and bake @ 350Âº for 3 1/2 hrs."

Kimmie Quilts, you can use any container that works - even a pot. I think the idea of using a bean pot or crock came from the old days when people didn't have big, steel pots. The bean pots held the heat very well.

As for the molasses - I agree it's expensive, but as I said, DH thinks my beans rock! Many recipes use brown sugar. This is just the recipe I prefer.

BTW, Big Lots sometimes has molasses for $1.50/jar. I stock up when they do.

You can use Agar syrup, if you have it.


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

House faerie, I have only used navy beans. I buy 15 lbs. at the elevator each year. They only charge 70Â¢ lb. there.


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## beaglebiz (Aug 5, 2008)

you can buy molasses by the gallon if you have a restaurant supply store
Sally, are you going to repost your recipe??
Thanks!!


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

Yes, I did. Go back up, it should be there. I hope I didn't leave out anything. If I did, it was just "comments".

Thanks for the tip about restaurant supply stores. We have one in the next town. I'll have to check it.

I went online and found it, but it was actually cheaper to buy it in the 12-16 oz. jars at the store.


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

One place to buy molasses by the gallon. Online ordering and CHEAP!:

https://goldenbarrel.com/blackstrap-baking-molasses.php

NOTE: For me, buying (5) 1-gallon containers plus shipping comes to $1.78/pint. At the grocery, it is $2.79 for 12 oz., which comes out to $3.72/pint. This is for the baking molasses, blackstrap is cheaper.


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## calliemoonbeam (Aug 7, 2007)

Sally, I took a copy of your recipe (sounds yummy!) and will try it soon. My son loves baked beans but complains no one makes them like his grandma (my mother-in-law) used to, and I never got her recipe but know she used molasses. If this is as good as hers, he'll be eternally grateful, lol. 

Thanks also for the molasses tip! I've never noticed it in our Big Lots, though I might have just missed it since I wasn't specifically looking, but it sounds like this place might be just the ticket! I already order honey in one 5-gallon bucket, what's five 1-gallon jugs of molasses? lol I assume it stays good a long time like honey, doesn't it? 

Any other suggestions for molasses use? Anyone? Bueller?


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## House faerie (Apr 29, 2007)

Yeah... I saw the cover tightly part after I posted...lol
Great price on the mollassis at that site!!
Cheapest place we have here for beans is Aldi... and the selection is limited to pintos and navy....
Thanks...tryin the recipe today....smells great!


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

calliemoonbeam said:


> Any other suggestions for molasses use?


Be careful what you ask for! LOL!

http://homecooking.about.com/library/archive/blmisc52.htm


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

For whatever reason, the "Edit" button has disappeared from my post. I wanted to add that the Baked Bean recipe above was made in two 6 qt. crocks from slow cookers. I left that out in the original recipe.


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## House faerie (Apr 29, 2007)

Should the sauce be more liquidy or syrupy? Basically what should the consistancy of the sauce be?


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

If you follow the directions in the recipe, it will come out right. It calls for 4 cups reserved bean cooking liquid with the molasses and spices mixed in. It will thicken as it cooks in the oven. You may need to add water on occasion to keep the beans from drying out. Cover the beans tightly to keep as much moisture in the beans as possible. If you are going to have the beans for supper, by making 1/3 of the recipe, you can have the sauce as thick as you want. If you are going to can these beans, you will want the sauce to be about as thick (or a little less so) as cream of mushroom soup after adding the can of water. For canning, you want the beans to be soupy. If too thick, the jars may lose their seal in storage. Hope this helps. Just remember, the beans will thicken in the canning process.


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

Has anyone ever used feed grade molasses? I see it in 5 gallon jugs at the feed store.


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

In my research on food grade molasses, one site I came across discussed feed-grade molasses. I believe the purity isn't the same, plus supplements are added for livestock.


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## House faerie (Apr 29, 2007)

When you serve the canned product, will it be soupy or thick syrup?


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

Read post #25.


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## calliemoonbeam (Aug 7, 2007)

suitcase_sally said:


> Be careful what you ask for! LOL!
> 
> http://homecooking.about.com/library/archive/blmisc52.htm


Ha! That doesn't scare me. I have about 500 cookbooks...cut down from when I used to have almost 2000, lol! I even have an old cook booklet from the 1930s or 1940s that is full of nothing but molasses recipes, can't remember what brand, haven't looked at it in a while. I'll have to dig it out and have a look-see. I just thought maybe someone had some tried and true recipes or other uses for it that I wasn't familiar with. I think I'm going to order 5 gallons and try to incorporate more into my diet. It says it's good for iron, as well as other things. Thanks Sally!


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