Lemons aren’t something I have on hand at all times, which is why dehydrated lemon zest is a staple in my kitchen! Lemon peels dehydrate beautifully, and I love using the zest to add a hint of lemon to my favorite glaze recipe, cakes, and even homemade vinaigrettes!
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What Equipment Do I Need?
To dehydrate lemon zest, it’s helpful if you have a zester, a dehydrator, and silicone dehydrator sheets that fit in your dehydrator or parchment paper cut to size. If you don’t have a zester, you can use a food processor after dehydrating to break up the peels and turn them into zest!
Recipe Video
Instructions
Ingredients
Instructions
Using your zester, zest lemons.
If you don’t have a zester, the peels off of lemons and cut into small strips.
Using a silicone dehydrator sheet or a piece of parchment paper cut to size, cover a dehydrator tray.
Add the lemon zest to the covered dehydrator tray and spread the zest evenly.
Ensure no clumps of zest are sticking together.
Dehydrate at 135 degrees Fahrenheit for 2 hours.
Remove the tray from the dehydrator and check to see if the zest has dehydrated and ensure there are no clumps.
If the zest isn’t fully dehydrated, dehydrate at 135 degrees Fahrenheit for 2 more hours.
If the lemon zest is thoroughly dehydrated, store the zest in a covered, glass container in a cool, dark location for up to a year.
It’s pear season here in the southern United States, and that means it’s time to figure out how to preserve pears! In this post, I’ll teach you how to make pear pie filling for canning!
If you look in your safe, approved canning books, you’re not likely to find a pear pie filling recipe. However, according to North Dakota State University, you may safely:
“Substitute peaches for nectarines, or apples for pears, and vice versa with the same tasty result.”
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What Do I Need to Can Pear Pie Filling?
To make this peach butter you need jars, clean, new lids, and bands. You must also use ClearJel, which is a modified food starch. You can purchase it in a 1.5 pound container, but, if you plan on making more than one or two batches of pie filling, I recommend purchasing the 3 pound bag.
A fruit peeler will also come in handy for the recipe! I use a KitchenAid attachment to make the job faster!
I also highly recommend purchasing either a steam canner or the Ball freshTECH Electric Water Bath Canner and Multi-Cooker, if you are interested in another way to save stovetop space or if you have a glass stovetop and don’t want to put a heavy canner on top of it. I use the steam canner or the Ball Water Bath Canner exclusively for anything I that doesn’t need to be pressure canned.
The best feature of the Ball Water Bath Canner is that it can easily hold 12-14 half-pint jars!
Recipe Video
Recipe
This recipe has been safely modified from the Apple Pie Filling Recipe in the So Easy to Preserve Book.
Ingredients
Instructions
First, blanch your pear slices by placing about 1 quart at a time in boiling water, boiling for 1 minute, then removing from the boiling water and placing into a covered bowl to keep warm.
While blanching pears, combine remaining ingredients, except lemon juice, in a large stockpot.
Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
Once mixture begins bubbling, add lemon juice and continue cooking/boiling for 1 minute.
Remove stockpot from heat and fold in hot, blanched pears.
Store in refrigerator or continue with canning instructions.
Canning Instructions
Fill clean, warm jars with pie filling, making sure to leave 1-inch headspace.
Clean jar rim off to ensure no pie filling is on it.
Put a clean lid on and screw on band until fingertip tight.
Put in water bath canner or steam canner.
Fill remaining jars until pie filling is gone.
Process in a water bath canner for 25 minutes, adjusting for altitude.
Remove jars and set on towel or wooden cutting board to cool for 12-24 hours.
Remove bands and check seals. If any jars failed to seal, store in refrigerator and use first.
Did you know you can make a small batch of cowboy candy, or “candied jalapeños,” even with just a few jalapeños? In this post, I’ll show you how to use this safe, tested recipe to make something delicious with those jalapeños!
How Can I Use Cowboy Candy?
The possibilities are truly endless when it comes to how to eat cowboy candy! Here are some ideas:
Mixed into deviled eggs or a cheese ball
In potato, egg, or pasta salad
With cream cheese and crackers
On a sandwich
In corn bread, tacos, or burritos
As a baked potato, chili, or pizza topper
In jalapeno popper dip or cheese dip
If you have leftover brine, you can also can it and use it to make homemade barbeque sauce and pickle eggs or to baste meat with!
Bone broth is a great way to ensure nothing goes to waste in your kitchen and, as a bonus, it’s delicious and nutritious too! Bone broth might take some time to develop that delicious, rich flavor, but its mostly hands-off time!
Waste-Free Bone Broth
Making bone broth gives you a way to use bones and veggie scraps that would otherwise be thrown away. You can use bones from the butcher, leftover from a meal, or from a rotisserie chicken!
Sam’s and Costco have $5 rotisserie chickens, and we’ll often pick one up when we’re running errands. I put the bones in a reusable freezer bag and store them in the freezer until I have enough to make broth.
For veggie scraps, I save carrot peels and tops, onion tops, bell pepper cores, and celery stalk leaves! I also store these in the freezer until I’m ready to make broth.
Bone Broth Recipe Steps
1. Roast the bones and vegetable scraps.
First, you need to roast the bones and vegetable scraps. Just put your bones and veggie scraps in a single layer on a baking tray(s) and roast at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for about an hour, turning the bones over halfway through.
2. Put the roasted bones and scraps in a pot to simmer.
You can use a slow cooker, a pot on the stovetop, an Instant Pot, or, my personal favorite, an electric roaster! Cover the bones and veggie scraps with water, add in 1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar, and any aromatics you want. I usually keep it simple and only add some bay leaves and whole peppercorns.
3. Simmer as long as you want!
I love letting my broth simmer over a day. It smells delicious and I know it’s just making the final product richer and more nutritious the longer it goes!
4. Let cool slightly, then remove bones and strain the broth.
Take your broth off of the heat and leave uncovered for 1-2 hours to cool. Then, remove bones and strain the broth.
5. Cool in the refrigerator overnight or until fat solidifies on top.
Cool the broth in the refrigerator overnight or until the fat solidifies on top. Even if you can palate consuming this fat, you definitely do not want to skip this step if you’re planning on canning or freezing your broth! The fat can go rancid faster than the broth, even in the freezer, and, when canning, the lids can fail to seal if any of that fat gets under the seal.
6. Remove fat from top of broth.
Once the broth has cooled and the fat has solidified on top, remove the fat. I use a slotted spoon to scoop out the large chunks of fat and a small, fine mesh strainer to skim the little pieces of fat off the top.
7. Consume, freeze, or reheat if you’re canning the broth.
At this point, you can either drink the broth or use it to cook with. You can also freeze the broth if you have the freezer space, or reheat the broth if you’re planning on canning it!
Canning Bone Broth
If you want to can the delicious bone broth you just made to consume later, you must pressure can it. Water bath canning is reserved only for acidic foods, like most jams, jellies, and pickles, and it is not safe to water bath can non-acidic foods. I will include canning instructions below. Check out my must-have canning supplies post here!
Recipe Video
Making and Canning Bone Broth
Ingredients
Instructions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Arrange bones and vegetable scraps in a single layer on a baking tray(s).
Roast in preheated oven for one hour, turning halfway through.
Once bones have browned and vegetables smell aromatic, put into a stock pot, slow cooker, or electric roaster.
Simmer for 24-36 hours.
Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Once cooled slightly, remove bones and strain the broth.
Set in refrigerator overnight or until fat solidifies on top.
Once the broth has cooled and the fat has solidified on top, remove the fat using a slotted spoon to scoop out the large chunks of fat and a small, fine mesh strainer to skim the little pieces of fat off the top.
Consume, freeze, or reheat if you’re canning the broth.
Canning Instructions
Reheat broth to boiling.
While broth is reheating, prepare pressure canner according to instructions that came with your canner.
Once broth is boiling, fill pint- or quart-sized jars, leaving 1-inch headspace.
Apply a new, clean lid and a band fingertip tight.
Put jar in canner.
Once jars are filled and in the canner, put the lid on and process according to the instructions that came with your canner.
Once pressure canner comes up to pressure, process 20 minutes for pints or 25 for quarts at 10 pounds PSI if you live at 1,000 feet or less above sea level or 15 pounds PSI if you live above 1,000 feet above sea level. For dial-gauge pressure canners, follow these instructions.
When it comes storing food long-term, the best course of action is to store them in sealed Mylar bags! Dry goods that contain very little moisture can be successfully stored for up to 25-30 years or longer, including sugar, oats, white rice, dry beans, ground coffee, and wheat berries.
NOTE: If storing sugar, do NOT add an oxygen absorber. It will make the sugar extremely hard.
Long-Term Food Storage Materials
To store food long-term in Mylar bags, you need Mylar bags, oxygen absorbers, and an impulse sealer or another way to seal your Mylar bags. Some people report success using a hair straightener or a clothes iron.
When it comes to Mylar bags, you want quality! You can find cheap Mylar bags, but they are often thin or not durable enough to store food long-term. One of my favorite brands to purchase Mylar bags from is Wallaby. They often have discounts, bundle packs, and even free oxygen absorbers with purchase! I’m not sponsored by them nor do I receive anything in return for promoting the brand. I just love the products!
Help! My Mylar bag is full of air!
If you have a Mylar bag that you filled with dry goods, added an oxygen absorber, sealed, and it is still puffy, have no fear! This is completely normal!
Oxygen absorbers only absorb, you guessed, it, oxygen! And the air we breathe is only about 21% air. So your sealed Mylar bag may be completely free of oxygen but still contain air, and that’s okay. To prevent this, press as much air out as you can before sealing. Some people even go as far as to use a vacuum to suck out excess air!
Is it enough?
If you want to protect your food from pests, such as mice, it is a good idea to go the extra mile and store your sealed Mylar bags in food grade storage containers. Some people have reported mice chewing through even food grade containers, so, if you live in an area where mice are rampant, you may want to opt for a glass or metal option with a locking lid.
How many oxygen absorbers do I need to put in my Mylar bag?
The chart I use to help me determine how many oxygen absorbers are needed for any particular Mylar bag can be found at this link.
However, you can never add too many oxygen absorbers! It is always okay to err on the side of caution and add extra absorbers, as the recommendations on the list are intended for individuals at sea level altitude or lower.
How To Video
Instructions
First, ensure you have Mylar bags, oxygen absorbers, a way to seal your Mylar bag, labels, and the dry goods you’re going to fill your Mylar bags with.
Fill your Mylar bag or bags with your dry goods. It’s a good idea to fill all of the bags you’re going to use in this step, as you’ll need to work quickly once you open your oxygen absorbers.
Write your labels and label your Mylar bags. Make sure to complete this step before sealing!
Working quickly, add suggested amount of oxygen absorbers to your Mylar bag(s). If using sealable Mylar bags, press any excess air out before sealing.
Using your heat-sealing mechanism, seal each Mylar bag.
Gently pull the top apart to ensure a good seal and to check for any gaps indicating that the Mylar bag did not completely seal.
If there is no seal or if you see any gaps, use your heat-sealing mechanism to seal the bag until no gaps remain.
Store sealed Mylar bags in a glass, metal, or food-grade container.
