Canning cowpeas
I canned my homegrown cowpeas in quarts at 15 lbs pressure for 50 minutes leaving 1.5 inches headspace. My canner has a weighted gauge and my elevation is a little over 1000. When the jars came out the liquid (water) had gone down a little below the level of the peas, but it was still liquid, still boiling. After the jars cooled the liquid was congealed and in some cases almost half the peas were exposed. The seals seem good. I tried both raw and hot pack with the same results. I understand liquid loss from uneven pressure, a likely result of the way my electric stove cycles, but these cowpeas are like a solid mass. Is this normal? Should I use more liquid and fewer peas?
Lisa McNamara (Altom)
Marietta, Georgia
This happens, with the cowpeas absorbing liquid during and after processing. If you use more liquid and less cowpeas, your end product should be less of a solid mass. — Jackie
Pectin
Where do you order your bulk pectin from?
Margie Buchwalter
Palmer, Alaska
I got my bulk pectin from Kauffman’s Fruit Farm (kauffmansfruitfarm.Com). — Jackie
Dried tomatoes
I have a recipe for oven dried tomatoes. It calls for Roma tomatoes cut in half lengthwise with thyme, garlic, salt and pepper, and olive oil. Bake 300 degrees for 4hr. 30min. You can cool and keep in frig. 1 week or put in jar and cover with olive oil to within 1/4 inch of the top. Cover tightly with lid and keep one month in frig. Instead of cooling after baking, could I pack in hot 1/2 pt. jars and pour hot olive oil over the tomatoes and cap and process for 5 min. @ 5 lbs. pressure? What do you think?
Do you think I could put the herbs on the cut tomatoes and dry them in an electric dehydrator instead of 300 degrees for 4 hours or so in an oven? Then can them?
J from Missouri
Recipes like this, canned with olive oil, are not recommended for home canning. There have been quite a few instances of botulism in recipes like this, so I can’t recommend them. Keep the dried tomatoes/olive oil in the fridge, instead. — Jackie
