Marisa McClellan's Blog, page 8

August Partners: Fillmore Container, EcoJarz, McDonald Paper, Mason Jar Lifestyle, and Sticker You

Happy October, dear readers! It’s the start of the month and that means that it’s time to thank the businesses that help make this site possible. Please do show them that you appreciate their support with your time and attention, especially as they continue to support the site through my maternity leave!

Lancaster, PA-based and family-owned Fillmore Container are with us again! They offer all manner of canning jars, lids, and other preservation gear and carry just about every Ball jar currently available, so if you’re looking for a particular style, check them out.

Our friends over at EcoJarz are another stalwart sponsor. They make an array of products designed to fit on top of mason jars, including cheese graters, coffee brewers, and stainless steel storage lids. Their PopTop lids are the best for toting smoothies and iced coffee during these hot summer months!

McDonald Paper & Restaurant Supply is gear emporium located in Brooklyn, NY. They are open to the public and sell all manner of culinary supplies. Restaurant supply stores are a great way to get affordable, durable kitchen gear (including jars!). I’m a big of their big food storage containers for macerating fruit for jam, as well as these disposable containers for those times when you know you’re not going to be able to get your containers back!

Mason Jar Lifestyle is a one-stop shopping site for all the jar lovers out there. They sell all manner of mason jar accessories and adaptors. If you’re in the market for lids, straws, sprouting lids, fermentation weights, airlocks, tea light converters, cozies, they are there for you. 

Finally, we have Sticker You. They sell custom die-cut vinyl stickers, labels, decals, tattoos, magnets and more, in any size, shape and quantity. They have a wide variety of labels you can order to make your preserves look slick and professional.

Related Posts:July Partners: Fillmore Container, EcoJarz, McDonald Paper, Mason Jar Lifestyle, and Sticker YouJune Partners: Fillmore Container, EcoJarz, McDonald Paper, Mason Jar Lifestyle, Sticker You, and Moxy & ZenOctober Partners: Fillmore Container, EcoJarz, McDonald Paper, and Mason Jar Lifestyle

Proudly Homemade Antipasto Relish from Ball® Fresh Preserving

This post is sponsored by Ball® Fresh Preserving.

Nearly every summer since 2012, I’ve partnered with my friends at Ball® Fresh Preserving to share recipes and spread the love of canning. Some years, they asked me to develop a few new canning recipes. Other years, I’ve trekked to New York or Indiana to offer canning demos.

This year, they’ve handed me an assortment of recipes. The task? Make and document the process of creating a preserve at home. I had to sit out the July recipe when my pregnancy took an unexpected turn in its final few weeks, but now that I’m back home with my twins, I’m making the time to hop back into the preserving fray (though admittedly, the time it takes me to prep, make, and write about a recipe has more than quadrupled).

This month, my featured recipe is this glorious, fragrant Antipasto Relish. It’s a sweet and savory combination of tomatoes, peppers, carrots, onions, celery, garlic, sugar, vinegar. It would be entirely at home with a spread of cured meats and cheeses. Though I haven’t tried it yet, I can also imagine it in place of a traditional tomato sauce on a homemade pizza.

I had a little bit that didn’t fit into the jars I processed, and my mom and I took turns nipping small tastes out of the jar while making dinner that it disappeared before ever making it into the fridge.

The bulk of the work of this relish happens on the front end and comes in the form of peeling and chopping. You peel and chop enough tomatoes make up about six cups (this took about three pounds of tomatoes for me), dice three multicolored peppers and a large onion, and slice up a couple carrots and a rib of celery. Click here for the exact proportion. 

Once all the prep work is done, you bring the rest of the ingredients together. First, you bundle up some bay leaves and peppercorns in either a length of cheesecloth or a stainless tea ball. Then you combine vinegar, brown sugar, salt, garlic, oregano, and the spice bundle in a large pot and bring it to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.

Then you add all the prepped vegetables, stir to combine all the ingredients and bring it to a boil. Once it bubbles vigorously, you reduce the heat so that you can maintain a gentle boil and let it cook down until it has the consistency of a thin commercial relish.

I think I cooked my relish down a little bit more than intended, because my yield was lower than the recipe indicated. However, knowing that yields can vary a lot, particularly when you’re working with tomatoes (mine were quite juicy), I’m not upset by it. Who could be upset with four half pints and one quarter pint of something so delicious?!

In the last half hour of cooking, prepare your canning pot and enough half pint jars to hold your finished yield. I used the Ball® Smooth Sided Regular Mouth Half Pint Jars. These jars are great if you plan on gifting your product, because the unadorned sides allow labels to adhere cleanly. It makes for a really lovely gift.

Once you like the consistency of the relish, it is done. Position a clean, wide mouth funnel in one of your previously prepared half pint jars and funnel in the relish, leaving 1/2 inch headspace (find all the necessary tools here). If you don’t have a headspace tool, make sure to pick yourself up a new Ball® Utensil Set. It also comes with a sturdy wide mouth funnel and a nice jar lifter, which are great if your old tools are starting to show signs of age. 

Make sure to use your bubbling tool to remove any trapped air bubbles, as a chunky relish like this one is prone to catching those little air pockets. Wipe the rim, position a new, clean lid, and screw on a ring until it is fingertip tight.

Return the filled and capped jar to the canning pot. Repeat this process, filling, bubbling, wiping, and closing one jar at a time, until all four half pints are full. Bring the canning pot to a boil and process the jars for 10 minutes (making sure to adjust your processing time if you live above 1,000 feet in elevation).

When the processing time is up, turn off the heat, remove the lid from the pot and let the jars stand in the pot for an additional five minutes (this allows them to cool more gradually, which helps prevent siphoning and can also help develop a more robust seal).

Remove the jars from the canner and set them on a folded kitchen towel. Let them sit undisturbed for 12-24 hours so they can fully cool and seal. Before storing, make sure to check that the seals are firm and unbending.

When the processing time is up, turn off the heat, remove the lid from the pot and let the jars stand in the pot for an additional five minutes (this allows them to cool more gradually, which helps prevent siphoning and can also help develop a more robust seal).

Remove the jars from the canner and set them on a folded kitchen towel. Let them sit undisturbed for 12-24 hours so they can fully cool and seal. Before storing, make sure to check that the seals are firm and unbending.

If you’re tempted by this Antipasto Relish, click here to get the full recipe.

You can also visit Ball Home Canning for new, seasonal recipes from Ball® Fresh Preserving, as well as to find new promotional offers throughout the summer! Right now, you can use their label maker to print your own, customized labels for your homemade preserves. 

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Ball® Fresh Preserving as part of a compensated partnership. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.

Related Posts:

Chocolate Applesauce Muffins with Ball® Fresh Preserving Products Maple Applesauce
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Honey Cinnamon Pears from Ball® Fresh Preserving Products

August Partners: Fillmore Container, EcoJarz, McDonald Paper, Mason Jar Lifestyle, and Sticker You

Happy August, dear readers! It’s the start of the month and that means that it’s time to thank the businesses that help make this site possible. Please do show them that you appreciate their support with your time and attention, especially as they continue to support the site through my maternity leave!

Lancaster, PA-based and family-owned Fillmore Container are with us again! They offer all manner of canning jars, lids, and other preservation gear and carry just about every Ball jar currently available, so if you’re looking for a particular style, check them out.

Our friends over at EcoJarz are another stalwart sponsor. They make an array of products designed to fit on top of mason jars, including cheese graters, coffee brewers, and stainless steel storage lids. Their PopTop lids are the best for toting smoothies and iced coffee during these hot summer months!

Back for another month is McDonald Paper & Restaurant Supply. Based in Brooklyn, they are open to the public and sell all manner of culinary supplies. Restaurant supply stores are a great way to get affordable, durable kitchen gear (including jars!). I’m a big of their big food storage containers for macerating fruit for jam, as well as these disposable containers for those times when you know you’re not going to be able to get your containers back!

Mason Jar Lifestyle is a one-stop shopping site for all the jar lovers out there. They sell all manner of mason jar accessories and adaptors. If you’re in the market for lids, straws, sprouting lids, fermentation weights, airlocks, tea light converters, cozies, they are there for you. I have a fun giveaway coming up with them later this month, so keep your eyes peeled!

Also returning this month is Sticker You. They sell custom die-cut vinyl stickers, labels, decals, tattoos, magnets and more, in any size, shape and quantity. They have a wide variety of labels you can order to make your preserves look slick and professional.

Related Posts:Check the recipe index for more tasty preserves!

Stonefruit for the July Mastery Challenge

Hey folks! I am very late in posting this reminder to participate in the July mastery challenge, but I have a good excuse. On June 28, I went to a regular OB appointment, was diagnosed with preeclampsia, and spent nearly two weeks in the hospital.

My twin boys were born early in the morning on July 12 and have been in the NICU ever since. So, I’ve been a little distracted.

However, I did want to drop in and remind you that if you like to can in community, we’re focusing in on Stonefruit this month. That includes cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, and plums.

There is a huge well of recipes on this site for this category of fruit. Click one of the links below to explore a particular fruit!

Peach



Apricot



Nectarine



Cherry



Plum
Related Posts:July Partners: Fillmore Container, EcoJarz, McDonald Paper, Mason Jar Lifestyle, and Sticker YouSubmit your Jam for the June Mastery ChallengeJam for the June Mastery Challenge

July Partners: Fillmore Container, EcoJarz, McDonald Paper, Mason Jar Lifestyle, and Sticker You

Happy July, dear readers! It’s the start of the month and that means that it’s time to thank the businesses that help make this site possible. Please do show them that you appreciate their support with your time and attention!

Lancaster, PA-based and family-owned Fillmore Container are with us again! They offer all manner of canning jars, lids, and other preservation gear and carry just about every Ball jar currently available, so if you’re looking for a particular style, check them out.

Our friends over at EcoJarz are another stalwart sponsor. They make an array of products designed to fit on top of mason jars, including cheese graters, coffee brewers, and stainless steel storage lids. This month, all their products are 25% off for Plastic-Free July. Just use the code PlasticFree2019.

Back for another month is McDonald Paper & Restaurant Supply. Based in Brooklyn, they are open to the public and sell all manner of culinary supplies. Restaurant supply stores are a great way to get affordable, durable kitchen gear (including jars!). I’m a big of their big food storage containers for macerating fruit for jam, as well as these disposable containers for those times when you know you’re not going to be able to get your containers back!

Mason Jar Lifestyle is a one-stop shopping site for all the jar lovers out there. They sell all manner of mason jar accessories and adaptors. If you’re in the market for lids, straws, sprouting lids, fermentation weights, airlocks, tea light converters, cozies, they are there for you. I have a fun giveaway coming up with them later this month, so keep your eyes peeled!

Also on board is Sticker You. They sell custom die-cut vinyl stickers, labels, decals, tattoos, magnets and more, in any size, shape and quantity. They have a wide variety of labels you can order to make your preserves look slick and professional.

Related Posts:June Partners: Fillmore Container, EcoJarz, McDonald Paper, Mason Jar Lifestyle, Sticker You, and Moxy & ZenApril Partners: Fillmore Container, EcoJarz, McDonald Paper, and Sticker YouMarch Partners: Fillmore Container, EcoJarz, McDonald Paper, and Mason Jar Lifestyle

Proudly Homemade Strawberry Honey Butter from Ball® Fresh Preserving

This post is sponsored by Ball® Fresh Preserving.

Nearly every summer since 2012, I’ve partnered with my friends at Ball® Fresh Preserving to share recipes and spread the love of canning. Some years, they asked me to develop a few new canning recipes. Other years, I’ve trekked to New York or Indiana to offer canning demos.

This year, they’ve handed me an assortment of recipes. The task? Make and document the process of creating a preserve at home. As someone who is directing the bulk of her creative energy towards gestation right now, I am grateful they didn’t ask for anything more ambitious. Still, I know I will be proud to have some preserves from this season on the shelf later in the year, so I’m very happy to do it. 

The first recipe they asked me to tackle was one for Strawberry Honey Butter. As someone who loves a good fruit butter (particularly one that involves honey!), I was delighted to take this on.

You start by getting your canning pot set up. I used the canning mat from the new Preserving Starter Kit and four of the new Vintage Aqua Jars in their half pint size (these jars really are so pretty). These Collector’s Edition mason jars feature a vintage design, color and logo originally produced between 1910 and 1935. The Ball® Aqua Vintage Jars are available in Quart, Pint and Half-Pint Sizes.

While the jars heat, you wash three pounds of strawberries, remove the hulls, and cut them into quarters. Then, you place the prepped berries in a food processor or blender and puree them until smooth. When you like the consistency, you pour the puree into a pot that’s large enough to contain the butter during a pretty vigorous boiling phase. 

Then you add the rest of the ingredients to the puree. They are honey, sugar, bottled lemon juice, vanilla, and salt (make sure to visit the Strawberry Honey Butter recipe for the exact measurements).

Once you have all the ingredients in the pot, you put it on the stove over medium-high heat and bring it to a boil. Once it reaches a vigorous boil (all the while making sure to stir frequently), reduce the heat to medium-low and cook at a low simmer for 60 to 90 minutes.

If you have a splatter shield, position it on top of the pot while it cooks down. It’s a great tool to use for any stove top butter, as it helps contain the mess and keeps errant splashy bits from landing on hands and feet.

Once you like the consistency of the butter (it should stand tall and proud in the bowl of a spoon), it is done. Position a clean, wide mouth funnel in one of your previously prepared half pint jars and funnel in the butter, leaving 1/4 inch headspace (find all the necessary tools here).

Make sure to use your bubbling tool to remove any trapped air bubbles, as fruit butters are particularly prone to catching those little air pockets. Wipe the rim, position a new, clean lid, and screw on a ring until it is fingertip tight.

Return the filled and capped jar to the canning pot. Repeat this process, filling, bubbling, wiping, and closing one jar at a time, until all four half pints are full. Bring the canning pot to a boil and process the jars for 10 minutes (making sure to adjust your processing time if you live above 1,000 feet in elevation).

When the processing time is up, turn off the heat, remove the lid from the pot and let the jars stand in the pot for an additional five minutes (this allows them to cool more gradually, which helps prevent siphoning and can also help develop a more robust seal).

Remove the jars from the canner and set them on a folded kitchen towel. Let them sit undisturbed for 12-24 hours so they can fully cool and seal. Before storing, make sure to check that the seals are firm and unbending.

This gorgeous butter is really rich-tasting and has a gloriously deep berry color. I like it dolloped onto a scone or stirred into plain yogurt, but it can be used anywhere that you enjoy jam (it would make an excellent bar cookie). Click here to get the full recipe for Strawberry Honey Butter.

You can also visit Ball Home Canning for new, seasonal recipes from Ball® Fresh Preserving, as well as to find new promotional offers throughout the summer (all of June thru July 8th you can get a free Ball® Real Fruit Classic Pectin when you buy a 4 pack of Ball® Aqua Vintage Jars and upload your receipt)!

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Ball® Fresh Preserving as part of a compensated partnership. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.

Related Posts:

Summer Vegetable Braise with Roasted Garlic Roma Tomato Sauce
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Submit your Jam for the June Mastery Challenge

Hello Mastery Challengers! It’s hard to believe, but we’re rapidly approaching the end of the sixth month of the challenge. The topic this time around is jam and it has been such a pleasure to see all the fun things you’ve all made on the Food in Jars Community Group and the #fijchallenge hashtag on Instagram.

Remember that you don’t have to share your post on social media to participate in the challenge. The option to share on a blog, on Instagram, or in our FB community group is simply there as a way to help you connect with other challenge participants and build your virtual and real life food preservation communities.

If social sharing isn’t your thing, that’s okay too. Just skip the field in the form that asks for the link to your project.

The deadline for submission is June 29, but if you’re already done, feel free to submit them now. I do ask that you only submit the form once, so that I can get an accurate count of the number of people participating this month. If you don’t see the form below, click this link to find it.

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Mason Jar Lifestyle Cold Brew Coffee and Tea Maker

This post is sponsored by Mason Jar Lifestyle.

It happens every spring. I go from loving a cup of hot tea or coffee in the morning, to someone who can only deal with iced drinks (I blame the Philadelphia humidity).

My favorite way to make these iced morning drinks to cold brew them in mason jars. It’s a simple process of putting ground coffee (I use 4 ounces of ground coffee in a quart jar) or loose leaf tea (2-3 tablespoons) in a jar, covering the grounds or leaves with water and letting them steep overnight.

I’ve been through a number of cold brew coffee and tea set-ups and techniques over the years, but I think it’s fair to say that this new stainless Cold Brew Coffee and Tea Maker from Mason Jar Lifestyle has totally changed my game.

The filters come sized to fit wide mouth pints, quarts, and half gallon jars and make the process of cold brewing so easy. The leaves and grounds are contained so that when steeping is done, you can remove the filter with little mess.

Each filter also comes with a stainless lid and two silicone seals to ensure that you can brew without leaking all over.

This week, I’m giving away two of these stainless Cold Brew Coffee and Tea Makers over on Instagram (winner gets to choose the size they want). So head over and enter for your chance to win!

Disclosure: Mason Jar Lifestyle is a Food in Jars partner and contributes financially to the upkeep of this site. The cold brew filters you see pictured here were provided at no cost to me. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

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Facebook Livestream Monday Night, June 17, 2019!

Join me on Monday, June 17, 2019 at 9 pm ET/6 pm PT over on the Food in Jars Facebook group for some livestreaming goodness. I’ve been getting a lot of questions lately about pectin and when to choose one style over another.

So, instead of doing a demo, I’m going to take some time to talk about the various pectin types and why we choose different pectins in different situations. Make sure to gather up all your pectin questions and plan on joining me!

I’ll also show you some of the cool new gear from Ball Canning that I featured in this post last week.

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New Ball Canning Products for 2019

All products pictured below were provided by Ball Canning .

Every spring, I look forward to seeing what new products the folks at Ball Canning are going to bring to market for the start of the canning season.

This year, there’s a whole lot of new stuff and it’s all so good. Topping my list for most exciting new product line is this series of Vintage Aqua Jars, made in the style of the “Perfect Mason” jars that were manufactured between 1910-1923.

They come in half pint, pint, and quart sizes, are sold in boxes of four and are really beautiful. I just wish they would have included a half gallon size in the product line. They’re currently in stock at Amazon, Target, and Fillmore Container.

As you can see in this side-by-side picture of one of the new vintage-style jars (on the left) next to an actual vintage jar (on the right), they’ve done a beautiful job of evoking the old jars, while also streamlining the shape slightly.

While the old jars do have a certain charm, the new jars are made from smooth glass that is free from imperfections. That makes them appropriate for canning and preserving, adding a new array of interesting jars to a home canner’s options!

The next product that I’m totally thrilled by are these Leak-Proof Storage Lids. They are available in both regular and wide mouth sizes, come in boxes of six, and are safe for the dishwasher and freezer.

They are the perfect thing to use to shake up a jar of vinaigrette and do an excellent job of ensuring that a smoothie transported in a Pint & Half won’t leak all over your backpack.

I also appreciate that they don’t have removable gaskets, as there’s nothing to lose and crud doesn’t get stuck under a rubber or silicone seal. Find them at Target and on Amazon.

They’ve also paired those leak-proof lids with smooth-sided 4 ounce storage jars, creating Leak-Proof Storage Jars. They are just the thing for freezing pesto, fruit curds, and baby food (in six months or so, I plan on putting these things through their paces!).

I can’t currently find these online anywhere, but I’ve seen them at area Targets, so keep your eyes peeled.

Now it’s time to talk tools. The first tool-based release is this new, streamlined Utensil Set for Preserving. It features a sturdy wide mouth funnel, an easy-to-use jar lifter, and that handy tool that allows you to remove bubbles and measure headspace. It no longer contains a lid wand (because Ball no longer asks you to simmer your lids before using).

This is another one that I can’t find online yet, but you should start to see it popping up at retailers as we get deeper into the canning season.

If you want a kit that’s a bit more inclusive, the new Preserving Starter Kit is the way to go. In addition to the funnel, jar lifter and bubbling tool that the smaller set contains, it’s also got four half pint jars, a packet of pectin, and a really useful flat canning rack.

I think that the flat, flexible canning rack is worth the price of the whole kit. It’s sized to fit a standard 12 quart stock pot nicely and doesn’t fold up like my beloved blossom trivet. It’s already become the rack I reach for most often.

And that’s it for the new products now available from Ball Canning! I am working on some partnered recipe posts with Ball this summer, so stay tuned for those!

Disclosure: Everything you see pictured here was sent to me by Ball Canning for photography and review purposes. I was not compensated for this post beyond the jars and tools seen here.

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