57f this morning, with thin clouds. Rain possible tonight.
Yesterday I posted these photos of our cellar. I thought that today I would try to list what's in there, as well as other foods we put up/store. So, let me see...
- Meats: ground beef, venison, turkey, and chicken. Chicken of the Woods mushrooms.
- Vegetables: green beans, pinto beans, tomatoes, garbanzo beans, black beans, pumpkin.
- Pickles and relishes: dill and bread and butter pickles, cucumber relish, sweet pepper relish, pickled jalapeños, pickled banana peppers.
- Fruits: pears, peaches, applsauce, pineapple
- Pie fillings: apple, cherry, mincemeat.
- Soups: corn chowder, cabbage, stuffed pepper, white bean, split pea, bone broth, vegetable, venison stew.
- Sauces: pasta sauce, pasta sauce with meat, chili sauce, cranberry sauce.
- Juices: apple cider, pear cider, grape, tomato
- Jams: blackberry, strawberry, cherry, mixed berry, peach, apple butter.
- Condiments: salsa, corn salsa, pepper mustard, wicked weenies.
Then there's the two freezers. They hold pork, ham, venison, chicken, liver, corn, peas, limas, cabbage, brussels sprouts, various greens, stuffed peppers, chopped pepper, chopped celery, chopped onions, squash casseroles, shelled hickory nuts and black walnuts, cheeses, strawberries, blueberries, broccoli...and I have probably missed a few things.
In storage: onions, potatoes, butternut squash, garlic, pumpkins. And dried basil, thyme, sage, oregano, dill, chives.
Not all of this was put up this year. Some is from last year, and a few things are from 2021. I rarely keep anything older than that. The food will stay good longer if the jars stay sealed and vacuum seals hold, but could lose quality.
I have not tried to catalog everything since the late 70s, basically just keeping a mental record. Back then we had no electricity so I canned 1000 quarts a year; with 4 growing boys you can see why. We had a smokehouse then too, for pork. Now I probably do about 300-400 jars a year for the cellar, but some are pints and half pints. One of our freezers is a largish upright, the other a small chest freezer. We sort the freezers and the cellar every year.
Wow, that is very impressive. Lots of hard work indeed but you should be very proud of accomplishing all of this. Happy eating and weekend. :)
ReplyDeleteI have always put up food, Bill, just a way of life for us. And we enjoy doing it. You have a good weekend too!
DeleteDitto what Bill said. It looks like you all could survive a couple of years or more on what you've stored away between freezers and canned goods. I just shopped and was not interested in how much I spent (for a change I gave myself permission to find what I really wanted). I got mashed potatoes already made, in little single serve pots. I hope they are as good as the bigger containers which I've bought before. And barbecued pulled chicken...which is silly because I already have lots of chicken cooked in the fridge. But this if for maybe next week. And my big buy was seafood salad on sale. Only one tub was marked down, and I didn't look at the "sell by" date. See, I was letting my inner child make decisions. Some avocados, green beans, and organic pears. I am so amazed how much better the skins of organic pears taste...just shows the chemicals the others must have. OK, bread stuff, and frozen apple juice (which I usually make about 1/2 strength with extra water.) And I got some little canning jars, thinking I might try again to make yogurt.
ReplyDeleteThat's the goal, Barb. When the pandemic happened, we had no worries. I quickly ordered what we might need to supplement what we had, like flour, cooking oil, etc. We didn't go out for a month, lol.
ReplyDeleteGadfrey!
ReplyDeleteHoly Moly! What a haul! I'll know where to come for dinner when I'm in the neighborhood. Am I signed up to receive this blog? Please sign me up Granny Sue!
ReplyDeleteI'm coming to your house to live.
ReplyDeleteWow is right! All that sounds terrific and I am so glad you have it! We spotted another loaded pear tree today. Doubtful we can scale the slope it is on, but you never can tell. They looked larger than the other pears we were getting for free, but I don't know that it'd be worth the effort. Annie
ReplyDeleteYou're ready for ... something. 😊
ReplyDelete