I also found out that it's really easy to make jelly, jam, butter and cream cheese, too! What I like is that not only are they easy to make and to preserve, I know what goes into the final products. I control what is going into the foods I make for my family and friends.
The best part is all of the things I thought would be hard to make at home, are so easy. I don't know why more people don't do it, too! I have found, for some things, putting it together is easy, the wait is the hard part. :) But I kind of like that the first step is the only "hands-on" I have with some of them, like yogurt and cream cheese. The apple butter is kind of hard, because it smells SO good while it's simmering in the crock pot. I highly recommend making this during the day if you can, because it will keep you awake if you make it overnight. LOL! But it's easy to make, put the ingredients in the crock pot, turn it on and wait about 8-12 hours. :)
I broke down and purchase the FreshTech Jam and Jelly maker. I feel like it is not only a time saver, but well worth the money because I don't have to stir, stir, stir, watch, watch, watch and keep check temps all the time. I did learn after my first couple of batches, to add about 5 minutes to the time, because I like my jams and jellies a little thicker than some people do. I highly recommend this product.
I make cream cheese and yogurt overnight. I start it before I go to bed and put the yogurt in the fridge on my way out the door in the morning. I try to time cream cheese so that each stage is complete when I get home from work. It's made in two steps and once complete, you add a little sea salt to taste, to help preserve it. The first stage is adding the culture to the milk and allowing it to sit in a glass bowl or large glass measuring cup (4 cup) for 12-24 hours. The cooler your kitchen, the longer it will take to culture. The second stage is placing the cultured milk into a cloth (I use flour cloth, tied to a wooden spoon over a pitcher) and allowing the whey to drain off, until it's the desired consistency (12-24 hours). I pour the whey off from time to time the first few hours and then let it finish draining. I like mine thick, but still spreadable from the fridge. Take my advice and add an 1/8 of a teaspoon of salt at a time, once it (the cream cheese) has reached the consistency you like. You can put salt in, but you can not take it out. Once you have added your salt to taste, place it in an air tight container and put it in the fridge, remember to date it so you know when it was made.
When making yogurt, I will take one of the jars and place the yogurt into ice cube trays and freeze it. I can then use one (1) of the cubes to make another batch of yogurt. I also use UHT (ultra high temperature) milk to make my yogurt. I don't have to heat the milk and then cool it down prior to making my yogurt. I do heat it to 90 degrees, then pour about a 1/2 cup into a small measuring cup and thaw one of my yogurt cubes in the warm milk by gently stirring. I then pour it back into the main milk, gently stir it and then pour into the jars in my preheated yogurt machine. (I turn my yogurt machine on while I'm putting it together.) We have the Total Chef and it was good money spent. I found one on eBay for $10.00. Most run around $25-40 and are well worth the money if you like yogurt. It's very easy to make and is good for you. The reason you put the yogurt straight into the fridge when complete (8-12 hours), is so it will stop incubating. I also add a 1/2 a cup of powdered milk to each batch and end up with very little whey in my jars. I want to try the crock pot method soon, too. I think it's a good idea to be able to make yogurt several different ways. We really love it and I'd like to know how to make it in larger batches.
Butter is something I thought would be very difficult to make. I can make it start to finish, using my food processor and whipping cream in about 30-45 minutes. This is another one of those add the salt a small amount at a time, to taste, as it also is used to preserve the butter. I keep some in the fridge for cooking and some on the counter in a butter bell. An added bonus? You get some buttermilk to use for pancakes, biscuits and any number of other things you may need it for or, you can just drink it! :) When rinsing and pressing the buttermilk out of the butter, use ice water. It makes the process go faster and the butter comes together more quickly.
I make gifts for my neighbors every year at Christmas. Last year, I made blueberry syrup. I got some cute little syrup bottles really cheap and juiced frozen blueberries for the recipe. I'd be willing to bet you could use blueberry juice and get the same results!! It was so easy and very little effort at all. I did preserve it (water bath canning method) so that it could be stored for a long period. I make all of my jellies from 100% juice and my jams from frozen fruit (no sugar added) and you can NOT tell the difference from fresh. Fast, easy, less prepping and tastes and looks just like fresh fruit jams. I water bath can anything I'm going to give away as a gift, because you just never know when someone will get around to eating it. I add a 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon to my apple jelly and it makes it taste like apple pie. Everyone wants to know my "secret"...it's no secret, it's cinnamon... :)
Photos are kind of random order...I'll come back and label and organize them for you...it's kind of late here... thanks for reading... :)
