Here is the mincemeat, I use it as filling for thumbprint cookies and in tart shells, it's yummy.

Old-time Pear Mincemeat
(Farm Journal's Freezing & Canning Cookbook 1973)
Makes 9 pints

7 lbs ripe Bartlett pears
1 lemon
2 lbs seedless raisins
6 3/4 c sugar
1 c vinegar
1 Tblsp ground cloves
1 Tblsp ground cinnamon
1 Tblsp ground nutmeg
1 Tblsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground ginger

Core and quarter pears. Quarter lemon, removing seeds.
Put pears, lemons and raisins through chopper.
Combine remaing ingredients in a large kettle.
Add chopped fruit mixture.
Bring to a boil over medium heat; simmer 40 minutes.
Pack at once in hot pint jars, leaving 1/2" head space. Adjust lids. Process in boiling water bath 25 minutes.
Remove jars from canner and complete seals unless closures are self-sealing types.

I have the pear preserves recipe at home, I'll try to remember to post that tonight, and not a canning recipe, my my all time favorite dessert is this Maple and Pear Cobbler, although Iusually make it in one big pan instead of little individual ones:

Maple and Pear Cobbler
3 pounds ripe Barlett pears, peeled, quartered, cored
2/3 cup pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon (generous) ground nutmeg
1 1/2 tablespoons butter

Topping
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
9 tablespoons half and half
9 tablespoons pure maple syrup
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melted butter
Sugar
Ground nutmeg

1 cup chilled whipping cream
Additional pure maple syrup

Preheat oven to 425°F. Cut pears crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Combine in large bowl with maple syrup, flour, vanilla extract and ground nutmeg. Divide among six 2/3-cup custard cups of soufflé dishes. Dot tops with butter. Bake filling until hot and bubbling, about 18 minutes.

Meanwhile, Prepare Topping. Mix first 3 ingredients in processor. Add 6 tablespoons chilled butter and cut in until mixture resembles fine meal. Transfer to large bowl. Mix half and half, 6 tablespoons syrup and vanilla in another bowl. Add to dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Working quickly, drop batter in three mounds, 1 heaping tablespoon per mound, atop hot filling in each cup. Brush topping with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar and nutmeg. Immediately return cups to oven and bake 8 minutes. Reduce temperature to 375°F. and bake until toppings are golden and just firm to touch, about 14 minutes. Let cool at least 15 minutes.

In medium bowl, beat 1 cup chilled cream with 3 tablespoons maple syrup to soft peaks. Serve cobblers warm with whipped cream. Drizzle additional maple syrup over.

Annie

Here is one for summer fruit jam (peach, apricot, yellow plum --- we're just coming up to these being ripe around here!), and one for a cranberry-apple relish I like for the holidays.

Cheers!

Zabby

Summer Fruit Jam
[from Foodland Ontario]

Yield: 8 cups

3 c Peaches, peeled & chopped
3 c Apricots, chopped
2 c yellow plums, sliced
2 Tb lemon juice
6 c Sugar

In a Dutch oven, combine 2 c each of the peaches & apricots with the
remaining ingredients excepting the margarine. Mash enough to break
the fruit. Stir in the remaining peaches & apricots.

Bring to a slow boil, stirring. Boil, continuing to stir frequently,
for 20 minutes or until setting point is reached.

Ladle into sterile 250mL (half-pint) canning jars leaving 1/2" headspace. Wipe
rim & seal. Process for 5 minutes in a boiling water bath. Remove,
cool, label & store.

Cranapple Relish
(from _Canadian Living_ magazine)

For each pint of relish:

2 apples
1 1/2 cups cranberries (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup golden raisins
4 tsp cider vinegar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
dash hot pepper sauce

Peel, core, and chop apples. Chop cranberries coarsely. In heavy saucepan,
stir together apples, cranberries, 3/4 cup water, sugar, onion, raisins, vinegar, cinnamon,
salt, and hot pepper sauce. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium; simmer,
stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes or until thickened and no liquid remains. Ladle into hot sterilized jars and seal. (Or simply refrigerate for up to 3 days.)

* I never bother to chop the cranberries.
* I assumed processing was 20 minutes, like for applesauce.

That first year I didn’t manage a successful hand pollination. But once I saw this technique illustrated I never had a problem. Here’s some help for anyone else who might be wondering how to do it.

I always go out the afternoon beforehand and tape shut the flowers due to open the following morning. The main challenge with this is to recognize those flowers, as a prematurely taped flower will simply abort. The general rule I follow is that I can tape flowers after 2:30 PM up until dark.
Most varieties "yellow up" the day before. A few varieties hardly "yellow up" until the night before. But once I get to know a variety it isn't difficult to recognize the ones I need to tape shut. Notice in the above picture that there are both mature male and a female blossoms as well as some immature blossoms of both sexes. If you accidentally tape a flower not ready to open, just remove the tape in the morning. It will probably be okay.

I'm going to be building a new home next year, which will be a relatively small cottage in the country (1,396 sq ft) built on the edge of an heirloom fruit orchard and large organic garden. The cottage is currently still in the design phase, but nearly complete.

I'm going to be doing a lot of canning and preserving, but know of the headaches and inconveniences of doing a lot of canning in your own kitchen during the hottest months of the year. I want to avoid these inconveniences by adding a small separate "summer canning kitchen" that is close to the main kitchen, but still completely separate from it, allowing me to keep the associated steam and heat and chaos confined to its own space.

I've got a couple of challenges, the primary one being available space. I'm intentionally building a small house because I've spent enough years in a home heating and cleaning a lot of house that just wasn't being used. So I hired an architect who has done a great job keeping holding the reigns and making sure I'm only building as much house as I truly need. The result of this is that I've got a room measuring only 7' x 8' in which to create this seasonal canning kitchen. Fortunately, it's only 5 feet and two doors away from the main kitchen in the house.

I'd really value some input from the canning experts out there in taking this 7' x 8' room and maximizing the capabilities of this new space. I'm new to larger-scale canning and therefore don't know how best to design this space and what exactly I'm going to need.

Foremost, I will be making sure that this space is as well-ventilated as possible, both with a ventilation fan as well as a 12" x 72" dormer window above the workspace that can be opened as needed.

The basic components I believe I'm going to need for this canning kitchen are:

1) A couple of high-output burners that can be used indoors.

2) A utility sink.

3) A prep area (with butcher block)

4) A full counter work space for canning and the subsequent cooling, labeling and packing of what I've canned.

5) As much storage as I can allocate for canning supplies, both in the way of counter space and cupboard space.

6) Waste containers for hauling off organic material to the compost area.

Beyond these, I'm at a loss.

I'd really appreciate some expert advice in how to design and equip this space. One advantage that I've got is that a full kitchen will indeed just be 5 feet away, so I'll be able to use that space as well for things that aren't going to fill the house with heat and steam (dishwasher, refrigerator, extra sink and counter top space, etc.)

I'm envisioning two 8' long counters (24" deep) with a 36" wide aisle between them. A utility sink will be part of one counter, or possible at the opposite end of the room between the counters. I'll also have two high-output burners ( this model specifically ) for accommodating both a 40 quart stock pot and a 40 quart pressure cooker/canner.

Here's where I hit the wall though and need your advice.

Would any of you experts be kind enough to offer me some advice as to how YOU would set up a seasonal canning kitchen given the space constraints I've got to work with?

By the way, here's a part of the floorplan that will give you an overview of the main kitchen and where it will sit relative to the canning kitchen:









Thanks in advance for your input!

John

1. I only use FoodSaver bags for foods that will be placed in the freezer for more than a month or two, or what I call long-term storage. A plastic storage container or well-wrapped foods will work fine for short-term storage. I also vacuum-seal cheese purchased in bulk amounts, in the refrigerator.

2. I never vacuum-seal wet food, only frozen or partially-frozen. I quick-freeze (freeze just long enough to be nearly solid) all fresh-cuts of meat on a cookie sheet before bagging for freezer storage. It helps if you dry the excess moisture off meat before you quick-freeze it.

-Some wet food items I'll place directly in the FoodSaver bag/s, placed flat on a cookie sheet with the opening to the side, and quick-freeze it in the bag. Then vacuum-seal the bag when the contents are solid. I make sure I place a wad of plastic wrap over any portion that might poke a hole in the vacuum-sealed bag (such as a sharp bone), before sealing the bag.

-I quick-freeze fruit/vegetables/cooked beans/rice, etc. in a single layer, either on a cookie sheet, or in the open FoodSaver bag (with the bag opening to one side, not on the top). When completely solid I'll vacuum seal them shut maintaining that single layer.

-Single layers work very well because you can tap the bag to loosen the contents after you open it, and remove a portion of the food, and then flatten it again and re-seal. I can also "file" these bags in plastic baskets in the freezer. I write what's in the bags on the end of the package and it's easy to flip through the "file" of food to see what I have/need.

-I'll separate items that are packaged into one bag (quick-frozen chicken parts, chops or small steaks, etc.) with parchment paper so I can remove the amount I need and re-seal the bag without having ALL the meat being fused into one lump - which happens when you freeze wet meat.

-Small portions of cooked ground, shredded, or sliced meat I use in wraps and sandwiches I place in fold-top sandwich bags, lay them flat on a cookie sheet and quick-freeze those before stacking them into a FoodSaver bag, plastic bag and all.

-I portion mashed potatoes with an ice cream scoop and quick-freeze them on a cookie sheet lined with a Silpat (foods easily come off the silicon mat). Then I place them in a FoodSaver bag, in a single layer, and vacuum seal it shut. I only need to make mashed potatoes a few times a year using this method because I make them in large amounts.

-As others have mentioned, quick-freeze food in plastic containers in user-friendly portions, remove it from the containers when solid enough to do so, and vacuum seal the frozen "blocks" in bags. Now I can take out one block of chili for one serving for lunch, or it's enough to top 2 baked potatoes, or top two taco salads. You free up your plastic containers to use again, and you have like-kinds of things together in user-friendly amounts in one bag. I use this method with spaghetti sauce, sloppy Joe mixture, fresh and pre-cooked ground beef purchased in bulk amounts, soup/stew/broth, ground beef stroganoff (meat mixture only - I cook the noodles or rice as needed). Most of these things I place in amounts for one or two servings, or amounts I use in recipes.

-When I make a casserole that freeze well, I'll either divide it into small casserole dishes (meal-for-two), or multiply the recipe to make more than one. Line the dishes with RELEASE aluminum foil and quick-freeze the casserole in the dish. Once frozen, remove from the dish and store in a FoodSaver bag, foil and all. When I want to make the dish I pop the whole thing back into the same dish it came out of. You can also quick-freeze casseroles in foil bakeware, then vacuum-seal in a FoodSaver bag. Freeze and bake in the same foil pan.

3. For dry food storage I use canning jars and vacuum-seal canning lids on the jars using the FoodSaver jar sealer. These are also what I place in long-term storage (longer than a month or two).

-If you want to vacuum-seal flour for storage, you should place it in a jar where it will remain free-flowing, rather than a FoodSaver bag. There is enough moisture in flour that it can smell moldy if you compact it in a FoodSaver bag. This was recommended in the user's manual from my first FoodSaver. Other foods that store best in a jar where they remain free-flowing are: marshmallows, chocolate chips, nuts, anything crispy (including home-dehydrated food) and dried foods that remain sticky (raisins, prunes, apricots...). After I open cans of freeze-dried foods I place them in jars and vacuum-seal them shut.

4. When I move food from my long-term storage area to the pantry I'll replace the vacuum-sealed canning lid with a FoodSaver Universal Lid. I use the Universal Lid on dry foods I keep in my pantry and use frequently. The Universal Lid turns almost any rigid container that has a smooth opening into a canister and is easy to open and reseal. I've had too many FoodSaver canisters crack over the years to justify their price, but I've had great success using the Universal Lids.

-Grainlady

I'll link the thread below...this picture was added as a comment on the thread.

Not cheap, but who says you cannot make one for yourself?

Anyway, I put the link below, you can design your own frame if you know the model nummber of your tv.

Somebody mentioned this a while back, thought I'd put it in the hopper for folks to explore the options.

So, just keep it simple, "We would like the cabinets that are installed to be the cabinets we ordered originally". Then nothing. They might come back with "well the factory says it will take 6 weeks". Then just repeat your original statement. They are counting on you to be the weakest link and cave in.

You need to be the "Strong Silent Type"

Good luck.