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Yesterday was our first Hen Party....and it was so much fun!  Thanks to Lucy and Carla in their assisting prepping for the workshop.  We peeled, cored and sliced 5 bushels of apples in 2 days...
Ten ladies came to the workshop.  Most had some experience home canning and one had some limited experience cannery canning.  They all jumped right in washing and prepping the apples for our recipes.
The first recipe of canned apples in light syrup went as planned.  We ended up with 49 quarts of this batch....The second recipe of apple pie filling was going as planned until the syrup became too thick and would not pour into the filled apple jars.  Backup plan came into action when Kay suggested we pour the apples into the filling and fill the jars with the completed recipe...how much fun did we imagine this to be?  Well, between jars slipping out of gloved hands with gooey filling and hand packing the jars, applying the lids and washing them before cooking....lots of fun!  Especially seeing Kitty in her pearl necklace and hands dipped into the apples....she was right...we will all remember this batch when we make our pies. Despite all the hiccups, we ended up with 58 jars of pie filling plus another 10 jars that we took home to eat immediately.
Well, these ladies are declared charter members of the Hen Party Club and most if not all confirmed they would be back for our next party of canning pumpkin....

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A few weeks back when Mr. Howell's turnip greens first began coming into season, he and his wife, Glenda decided to can a few quarts for the year.

The basics of canning any type of "green" is to begin by thoroughly washing and re-washing the greens.  After the initial washing, it is best to allow them to soak for a few hours in a salt water brine.  This encourages any creature or dirt from the garden to release more easily.  I typically use 1/2 - 1 cup salt to a sink full of water and greens.

You will then thoroughly rinse the salt water brine from the greens.  Re-rinse.  Remove the big stalk stems from the green at this time.  You want to have only the leafy part of the green remaining.

Place the cleaned greens into a large kettle of boiling water (212F) and blanch apx 3-5 minutes to wilt the green.  Remove from kettle, strain liquid.  I normally make several criss-cross cuts into the greens at this time to make them into smaller eating sizes and more easily pack into jars.

Firmly pack into prepared sterilized jars.  Add brine liquid if needed to fill jar to within 1" headspace (lower rim line at top of jar).  Add 1 tsp salt if desired.  Salt's sole purpose is for seasoning.  Contrary to belief, it is not used as a perservative agent in home canning.  Now, clean the rim of each jar and apply hot, sterilized lid.  Hand tighten.  Do not overtighten lids,

Place jars into pressure canner and process at 240 F at 12-15 psi for 105 minutes.  It is important not to short-cut the cook cycle as the purpose of cooking under pressure is to eliminate as much e-bot bacteria as possible.  The botulism bacteria is an active soil borne bacteria and cannot be eliminated at boiling temperature (212F).  This is an important part of home or cannery canning that demands a blog post all on its own.

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We are launching a series of canning workshops in October and November introducing everyone to cannery canning....these workshops are aptly named "Hen Parties".  Don't laugh....what is the first question that comes out of man's mouth when he sees more than two women in a kitchen; "what are you ladies cackling about"?  Am I right?

The first Hen Party is scheduled for next Tuesday evening at 6:00 PM.  The participant fee is $20.00 per person and includes hands-on instruction on canning basics, snacks and 8 jars of finished product.  What are we cooking?  Apples!  Two recipes, canned apples in light syrup and apple pie filling.  There are a few remaining spots open if anyone else likes to join us.

We have two Hen Parties scheduled in November.  The first will be on Tuesday, November 06 and sure to be a Fall favorite, Pumpkin Canning.  The second is on Tuesday, November 13 and will be just in time for the holidays for Cranberry Sauce Canning.  Do you know how many recipes are out there on cranberries?  These will great for the holiday meal and gift giving.

Future Hen Parties will include soups, pickling and jams.....to name a few.  We look forward to seeing you at one soon.

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Thank you for your patience this summer with our cannery...good news has arrived...the cannery is now open to the public!

We obtained our approval from GA Depart of Ag which cleared the way for our final CO from Cherokee County. 

Starting in October we will begin hosting a series of canning workshops otherwise known as "Hen Parties".  The first of the series will be Oct 19, 6-8 PM and will Canning Apples.  Bring your apron and paring knife....and prepare to have some delicious fun!

November will feature canning both Pumpkin and Cranberry Sauce just in time for the holidays.  Future "Hen Parties" will include soups, pickling and jams...or one of your choice....

Look forward to seeing you soon!

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Alisha and her husband will be cooking up some bar-be-que at Jake's this weekend, September 25....stop by and try some of her bar-be-que, brisket and ribs along with her amazing award winning brunswick stew....they will be serving from 10 am to 5 pm this Saturday.

With our cumstomer's approval, we hope to have Alisha's Kitchen back on a regular schedule of two weekends monthly.....give us your comments please...

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