brilliant idea

11 years ago

Perhaps it's not a brilliant idea but I was hoping to get your attention. I am still trying to get used to the new format and I want to give it a chance but I was wondering if there was something we could do to revitalize this forum which used to be so dynamic and fun.

I am sure the "older" posters don't want to retype (or cut and paste) recipes or answers to questions they have posted a dozen times already. However, some of those old, helpful posts are getting hard to find. And rather than repeating an answer some posters would attach a link to a previous discussion which was really helpful but those links seem to be broken, at least for me.

To give some direction to newbies without being burdensome to our resident experts I was hoping members would consider listing just the names of three favorites recipes and the source where it could be found (Ball Blue Book, NCHFP, Small Batch etc.) It would be the responsibility of the viewer to look up the recipe. For example, a poster could say "my three favorites of all time are ...", or "my three favorite pickles are blankety blank and my three favorite sauces are such and such"

No one wants to type (or read) endless lists but if you could share just three favorites in any category it would be fun for newbies to check out while not being burdensome for you! And yes, I know there is Leesa's list but this is different. You are limited to just three favorites but all you have to do is name them and refer the reader to a safe, tested site where he or she can look them up. What do you think?

Featured Answer

hawaiisam
Original Author

11 years ago

hey malna, I have a high regard for the opinions of "family raiding parties." You know they aren't just being polite with their praise when they rush in to take your last jars from the shelf. :)

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Comments (9)

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beesneeds
11 years ago
Geez, I have so many favorites, lol.

For berry jams- my favorite recipe is the one that comes with the Sure-Jell package. It's consistent, super easy to follow, and has never failed me.

For pickled beans and asparagus, my favorite recipe comes from the food in jars book, found here Food in Jars Though who am I kidding, I love many many recipes from here.

For canning up tomatoes, Ball Blue book.
pattypan
11 years ago
make any fruit preserve and spice it up with ZING ! peach or plum frangelico are wonderful. it's easy to explore combos by adding flavors to individual jars rather than one flavor to the whole batch. get the pectin free jam recipe and print out the signature jam flavor chart at : http://www.nwedible.com/
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Sheryl Gallant
11 years ago
I follow the recipes that come with the pectin also. it's the no-pectin-added-cook-longer jams that I have the most trouble with but I don't think there are any tried and true strict recipes for those that actually work every time.
annie1992
11 years ago
Many of my favorites didn't come from books, like LInda Lou's 10 day sweet pickles. I got that recipe here. The Habanero Gold came from a Bernardin/Canadian cookbook and my salsa recipe is all over here (Annie's Salsa) but it took me years to get it right. The real problem is that my "favorites" change from day to day, because I'm fickle, LOL.

Annie
hawaiisam
Original Author
11 years ago
I had to laugh. Annie's top three are all favorites of mine too. Her salsa, of course, is world famous and deservedly so.

I guess I will need to look at the pectin inserts more carefully. So far my recipes all come from this Harvest forum or books that have been recommended here. Will also check out Food in Jars which is not a cookbook I have. Pattypan, Thanks for the link to Northwest Edibles. I love it already! sam
malna
11 years ago
I have lots of favorites, but I will tell you which jars disappear first when the family raiding parties hit the pantry.

Annie's Salsa, but that's already been mentioned.

Spiced Blueberry Preserves - Gourmet Preserves Chez Madelaine (Madelaine Bullwinkel)
The recipe is in the M. Bullwinkle's Strawberry Rhubarb Jam thread. Her Strawberry Rhubarb is excellent, too. Carol (readinglady) helped enormously with the technique, since these are no pectin jams.

Chili Sauce (a combination of the Ball Chili Sauce and Grandma's Chili Sauce recipes in the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving). My tweaked recipe is in the Ball Blue Book Chili Sauce thread.

Raspberries with Chocolate from Mes Confitures by Christine Ferber. I use wild wineberries which are quite a bit tarter than cultivated raspberries (and they are free). I don't like my jam sickly sweet so the tartness works well for me.
malna
11 years ago
Here's another (that I have not made since September 2013 according to MY last hoarded jar). Apparently one of the raiding party hadn't forgotten, as I got this email last night which reminded me of your post):

Hey, Auntie,
When are pears in season? [When you see them at the farmer's market, sweetie. Keep checking until maybe August?] We just opened our last jar of the pear butter stuff you gave us. [No, you stole it out of my pantry, you pirates!] We really enjoyed it - it was excellent. Are you going to make it again? We hope so! Just wanted you to know we were thinking about you [yep, sure, uh huh...] and thanks for the goodies!

Love and kisses [I know you love me, darling, but the subtlety needs work.]

Seriously, I do love them dearly, and really don't mind sharing at all :-) It's the Caramel Spice Pear Butter recipe on the Desperately Seeking Pear Recipes thread.
annie1992
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
Malna, that sounds a lot like my family. My girls will go out with jars of stuff and I smile and say "Thank you for shopping at Mom's". (grin) Thank goodness my granddaughter, The Monkey Princess, is very interested in cooking and canning, so she's always game for a canning session. She's 11 now, and it's so much nicer to can with company.

And thanks for the reminder, I need to make more of Readinglady's Old Fashioned Pear Preserves. Darn, I love the stuff, and I'm out!

Annie