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Homemade Baby Foods
Refrigerator and Freezer, Approximate Storage Times
Breads, pastries and cakes can be stored in the refrigerator or freezer, for up to one year, depending on the type.
Unbaked breads and rolls can be stored in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks and in the freezer up to 1 month, longer time inactivates the yeast.
Cinnamon rolls that have been partially baked, baked quick breads unbaked fruit pies and unfrosted baked cakes can be frozen for up to 2 months.
Baked muffins, cookies, angel food cakes and fruit cakes can be stored in the freezer from 6 to 12 months and still have good flavor when they are thawed out.
Dairy products require different freezer times; Butter and margarine can be stored up to one year in the freezer, but only 3 months in the refrigerator.
It is not recommended that you freeze buttermilk, heavy or whipping cream, milks or commercial or homemade dips.
Cottage, cream cheese and ricotta cheese can be frozen up to a month but should be stored in the refrigerator for no more than 2 weeks. Natural, aged cheeses and pasteurized process cheeses can be frozen up to 8 months.
However, freezing changes the texture of soft cheeses and they become crumbly.
Eggs still in the shell should not be frozen, to freeze fresh yolks and whites for up to 12 months break shells and stir until well blended, adding a small amount of salt or sugar improves storage quality.
Most fresh fruits, except citrus fruits can be frozen up to a year, it is not recommended that you freeze avocados.
Opened canned fruit can only be frozen for 1-2 months.
The majority of fruits should not be kept in the refrigerator for more than 3 weeks.
Beef roasts and steaks can be frozen up to 12 months, veal or pork roasts and lam and veal chops should not be frozen longer than 9 months. Meats should not be kept in the refrigerator longer than 5 days.
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Pressure Canning
Tender Ribs
One of the favorite foods at most cook outs are ribs and tenderness is a major part of the enjoyment!
No one likes to bite into a rib and have to chew and chew just to get it off the bone, this recipe works for either pork or beef ribs, and everyone will want to know how you made them so tender.
To make ribs that are fall of the bone tender, boil them first in beer, or if you have a problem cooking with alcohol, use water with a couple of teaspoons of yeast, the yeast breaks down the meat, causing the tenderness.
I found out about this secret when I had ribs at a friends cookout one year, they were by far the best ribs I had ever eaten, I asked her the secret and she told me to boil them in beer first.
Cooking in alcohol removes the alcoholic content, but some people still have a problem with the idea of using alcohol to cook with, so yeast works just as well. (It is after all the yeast in the beer that does the trick!)
Boil the ribs in the beer or yeast water for about two hours, then place in a baking pan, cover with bar-b-que sauce and refrigerate until ready for use.
You can also prepare these in the oven or even in an electric skillet. In the oven, broil them approximately 10 minutes, coating with sauce and turning after 5 minutes, since they are already cooked, it is just a process of flavoring them with the sauce.
To cook in an electric skillet, turn the skillet to simmer, put ribs in pan and cover, do not open the vent, this allows them to cook in their own steam.
Cook for a couple of hours turning after the first hour, coat with sauce after you turn them. |
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Homemade Baby Foods
Pressure Canning
1Put 23 inches of hot water in the canner, using a jar lifter, place filled jars on a rack.
2.Fasten canner lid securely. Leave the weight off the vent or open the petcock, heat at the highest setting until the steam flows from the petcock or vent.
3.Maintain high heat and exhaust the steam for 10 minutes, place weight on vent or close petcock. In the next 3-5 minutes the canner will pressurize.
4.Begin timing when the pressure is at the recommended pressure or the weight gauge begins to jiggle or rock.
5. Adjust the heat to maintain a steady pressure at or slightly above the correct pressure.
6.When the timed process is complete, turn off the heat, and remove the canner from the heat if possible, let the canner depressurize. Do not force cool a canner, it can result in spoiled foods or damage to the seal.
Cooling with cold water or opening the vent before it has depressurized will cause seal failures and loss of liquid from jars. It may also warp the lid of older canners causing steam leaks. Older models will require about 30-45 minutes for depressurizing.
7.After it is depressurized, remove the weight from the vent or open the petcock, wait about 2 minutes, unfasten the lid and carefully lift away from your face, this is to prevent burning.
8.Remove the jars with a lifter and place on a towel or cooling rack. Do not retighten the lids when you remove the jars from a canner, this can cut the gasket and cause the seal to fail.
Cool the jars at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours. Place jars on racks or towels to prevent damage to the counter top.
After 24 hours, remove the screw caps and test the lids for proper seal using one of these methods:
*Press the middle of the lid with your finger, if it springs up when released it is not sealed.
*Tap with the bottom of a teaspoon, a well sealed lid will make a high-pitched, ringing sound.
*Hold at eye level and look across the lid, it should be slightly concave in the center, if flat or bulging, it is not sealed.
If a seal fails, the jar may be reprocessed and resealed.
Related Topics: Canning From the Ground Up,
Meal Planning, Cooking For the Holidays
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