Transcript Preserve your Harvest with Zack

Preserving Your Harvest
(Making Molasses
and Canning Apples)
Zack Holcomb
Appalachian History
December 2006
Molasses
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Hundreds of years ago, molasses was used to
sweeten food
Sugar was expensive, so farmers grew their
own sweetener–molasses
Farmers were more self-sufficient with
something they grew themselves–sorghum
cane crop
Molasses making was a skill that not everyone
possessed
Molasses
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Molasses has become more scarce, because
sugar is more available and cheap
Another reason for scarcity is the tremendous
amount of labor involved in making molasses
Nowadays, molasses making has become more
of a novelty than a necessity with modern
shopping
Molasses
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Work for making molasses begins in early
May by planting BB-sized sorghum molasses
seeds
A few weeks later, the ground is plowed to
remove weeds and loosen dirt
Then the plants have to be thinned with a
broad hoe–one plant to every 6 to 8 inches
Molasses
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A cane stalk in the field ready for harvest
Molasses
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Leaves must be stripped from the cane stalk
while it’s still standing in the field
Molasses
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The seed pods (tops) are cut off, and the stalks
are taken to the mill
Molasses
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In the early days, power to operate mills was
provided by mules or horses
The animals were harnessed to a pole that
turned the mill
Tractors are used today
Pulleys are attached to the engines to turn the
belt to power the various devices
Molasses
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The rollers squeeze the juice from the stalk
Molasses
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The juice from the cane stalks is piped into the
boiler pan and strained through clean cheese
cloth
Molasses
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The discarded cane strips are piled up for
disposal
Molasses
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This is the cooking location
Molasses
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Once the juice is strained, a fire is built
underneath
to begin
the cooking
This requires
a lot of
manpower
Molasses
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The juice must maintain a boiling temperature
for about six hours to make the liquid a thick,
golden-brown syrup
Molasses
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The juice must be constantly skimmed to remove
residue
Molasses
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The pan is removed from the fire when
molasses is done
Molasses
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The cooked molasses was strained into a large
pot
Molasses
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The molasses is now ready to be dispensed
into glass jars
Molasses
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My favorite part was “sopping the pan”
Any remaining residue was cleaned overnight
by bees (honey bees and yellow jackets)
Apples
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In the not too distant past, drying, salting and
live storage were the only ways for preserving
produce
In the 1790’s, Nicholas Appert discovered that
heating food in sealed glass bottles prevents
the food from deterioration; this became
known as canning
Apples
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Canning became widespread in the middle
1800’s, but nobody understood why it worked
Louis Pasteur discovered that bacteria caused
most food spoilage
He discovered that heating food in a closed
container killed bacteria and kept other
bacteria from getting in
This discovery sped up the canning process
and led to many new canning methods
Apples
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I learned to can apples at a workshop at the
SW Virginia Museum.
First, you
must wash,
peel, and
core the
apples.
Apples
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To prevent discoloration, ascorbic acid is
added to the water
Apples
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The sliced apples are placed in a large
saucepan to be cooked in a light syrup
Apples
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The apples are
boiled for five
minutes in the
syrup, sugar, and
water solution (this
is called a “hot
pack” because we
are precooking the
fruit)
Apples
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Wash jars and lids thoroughly in hot soapy
water
Apples
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After the apples have cooked, we fill clean jars
with apple slices and syrup, leaving a ½ inch
headspace
Apples
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The jars are placed in
a boiling-water
canner that has a
wire rack inside for
placement
Apples
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There should be 2 inches of water above the
tops of the jars
Apples
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After processing time is complete, remove the
jars with tongs and allow it to cool and seal
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As the jars
cooled, we
listened for a
“plink,” which
means the jar
sealed
Apples
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Here is my finished product
Apples
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Canning must be carried out with scrupulous care if
bacterial contamination and spoilage are to be
avoided
Most types of spoilage cause only minor illnesses
Botulism, however, is extremely dangerous and often
fatal
This form of food poisoning is caused by toxins
produced by germs that multiply in the right
environment
Apples
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Be sure to use the correct time, temperature,
and method of processing (because the spores
that cause botulism are killed only at
temperatures well above boiling)
Always take safety precautions and discard if
food is discolored, has a foul odor, or a leaky
rim
It pays to be careful when canning food
Other Preserved Foods
Pickled Corn
Apple Butter
Sources
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http://thelibrary.springfield.missouri.org
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SoEasyToPreserve.com
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Canning workshop at SW Virginia with
Susan Herndon and Paxton Allgyer
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Reader’s Digest – “Back to Basics”
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Doug Jones (Local molasses maker and farmer)
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Mary Rhoton (Grandmother)
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Charlie Morris (Local Farmer)