-I thought that I would take another look at canning pineapple since many of you have become very excited about what you can do with it. I am sharing pics from Kelly, one of my followers, to show that you can can it in rings, chunked, and also diced just like any other commercial brand “can” you find in the grocery store. In addition I have added a pineapple jam recipe from the Ball Blue Book, a pineapple butter done in a crockpot, and a canning pineapple juice.
One of the short cuts I found a few years ago is using a pineapple corer. I am adding a video I found on youtube for you to see how cool this simple gadget is and how quickly it will help with your processing of pineapple in chunks and rings. I am also attaching at the bottom of this post a link of how to purchase it.
Two tricks to testing a pineapple sweetness and ripeness:
1. Sweet pineapple is best to smell it.
2. The trick to ripe pineapple is to pull out one of the frons from the top. If it comes out easily its ready!
Pineapple Chunks, Rings, Diced
Average is 3 lbs per quart or 1.5 lbs per pint
If you are going to use the pineapple corer from the video you will just need to then cut the rings into chunks or cut one side to get them into rings. To cut it the conventional way: (See step by step below)
Using a sharp knife peel and remove eyes and tough fiber. Cube or slice the pineapple and set aside. Pineapple may be packed in water, apple juice, white grape juice, or in very light, light, or medium syrup. For the syrup mixture see the combination here.
In a large saucepan heat syrup, water, or juice, and simmer for 10 minutes. Fill hot jars with pineapple pieces and cover with hot cooking liquid, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Remove
air bubbles and adjust headspace if needed. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened clean paper
towel. Adjust lids and process in a water bath for 15 minutes for pints and 20 minutes for quarts.
Pineapple Jam
Ingredients
- 5 lbs pineapple (1 large pineapple - recipe only uses 1 quart chopped)
- 2 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/2 pc. lemon thinly sliced
- 1 cup water
Instructions
Preparation:
- Prepare 3 half pint jars, lids, and rings. Sterilize the jars and keep them in the hot water till its time for processing. Make sure to fill your water bath canner and get the water to a simmer. Dice pineapple, measure 1 quart chopped.
- Cut lemon in half and remove seeds. Thinly slice 1/2 lemon, discarding the ends
Cooking:
- In a stainless steel or enameled dutch pot combine all ingredients.
- Bring mixture slowly to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to 220 degrees stirring to prevent sticking. Remove from heat and test for gel. Use Sheet test below.
Filling the jars:
- On a dishtowel place your hot jars and fill with the the mixture.
- Using your funnel ladle into each of the jars leaving 1/4” headspace. Remove air bubbles and refill to the proper headspace if necessary.
- Taking a clean paper towel wet it with warm water and wipe the rims of the jars removing any food particles that would interfere with a good seal.
- Using your magic wand extract the lids from the hot water and place them on the now cleaned rims. Add your rings to the tops of each of the jars and turn to seal just "fingertight".
Processing:
- Make sure your rack is on the bottom of the canner and place the jars in the water bath making sure that the water covers each of the jars by 1 to 2 inches. Add hot water to the canner if it doesn't measure up.
- Cover the pot and turn up the heat under the canner and wait for the water to start boiling. Once the water has come to a boil start your timer for 10 minutes.
- When complete turn off the heat and remove the cover and let the jars sit for another few minutes.
- Remove the jars and place them back on the dishtowel in a place that they will sit overnight to cool. Do not touch or move them till the next morning.
Sealing:
- Some time in the next hour your jars will be making a "pinging" or "popping" noise. That is the glass cooling and the reaction of the lids being sucked into the jar for proper sealing. Some recipes may take overnight to seal. Check your lids and reprocess any jars that did not seal.
Notes
Pineapple Butter
Ingredients
- 1 lbs pineapple scraps or diced pineapple
- 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 T. vanilla
- 1 T. ground cardamom (optional)
Instructions
Preparation:
- Prepare 3 half pint jars, lids, and rings (this may vary depending on how much you cook down the mixture). Sterilize the jars and keep them in the hot water till its time for processing. Make sure to fill your water bath canner and get the water to a simmer. Dice pineapple if not already scraps.
Cooking:
- In a crockpot combine all ingredients. Bring mixture slowly to a medium and allow to cook for at least 6 hours to overnight until mixture mounds on spoon. Stir occasionally and prop lid up with spoon so that condensation doesn't drip water back into the mixture.
Filling the jars:
- On a dishtowel place your hot jars and fill with the the mixture. Using your funnel ladle into each of the jars leaving 1/4” headspace. Remove air bubbles and refill to the proper headspace if necessary.
- Taking a clean paper towel wet it with warm water and wipe the rims of the jars removing any food particles that would interfere with a good seal.
- Using your magic wand extract the lids from the hot water and place them on the now cleaned rims. Add your rings to the tops of each of the jars and turn to seal just "fingertight".
Processing:
- Make sure your rack is on the bottom of the canner and place the jars in the water bath making sure that the water covers each of the jars by 1 to 2 inches. Add hot water to the canner if it doesn't measure up.
- Cover the pot and turn up the heat under the canner and wait for the water to start boiling. Once the water has come to a boil start your timer for 10 minutes.
- When complete turn off the heat and remove the cover and let the jars sit for another few minutes.
- Remove the jars and place them back on the dishtowel in a place that they will sit overnight to cool. Do not touch or move them till the next morning.
Sealing:
- Some time in the next hour your jars will be making a "pinging" or "popping" noise. That is the glass cooling and the reaction of the lids being sucked into the jar for proper sealing. Some recipes may take overnight to seal. Check your lids and reprocess any jars that did not seal.
Pineapple Juice
Instructions
Preparation:
- Dice pineapple and extract juice by either pressing through a fine mesh strainer or using a steam juicer. Strain out all pulp to have a clear juice.
Cooking:
- You can use sugar but that is optional. Bring mixture slowly to 190 degrees for 5 minutes. DO NOT BOIL.
Filling the jars:
- On a dishtowel place your pints or quart hot jars and fill with the juice leaving 1/4” headspace.
- Taking a clean paper towel wet it with warm water and wipe the rims of the jars removing any food particles that would interfere with a good seal.
- Using your magic wand extract the lids from the hot water and place them on the now cleaned rims. Add your rings to the tops of each of the jars and turn to seal just "fingertight".
Processing:
- Make sure your rack is on the bottom of the canner and place the jars in the water bath making sure that the water covers each of the jars by 1 to 2 inches. Add hot water to the canner if it doesn't measure up.
- Cover the pot and turn up the heat under the canner and wait for the water to start boiling. Once the water has come to a boil start your timer for 15 minutes.
- When complete turn off the heat and remove the cover and let the jars sit for another few minutes.
- Remove the jars and place them back on the dishtowel in a place that they will sit overnight to cool. Do not touch or move them till the next morning.
Sealing:
- Some time in the next hour your jars will be making a "pinging" or "popping" noise. That is the glass cooling and the reaction of the lids being sucked into the jar for proper sealing. Some recipes may take overnight to seal. Check your lids and reprocess any jars that did not seal.
Dehydrating
Another great trick for pineapple that has been cut perfectly with the pineapple corer is to dehydrate the rings. They are all equal size so they will dry evenly.
Dry at 135 degrees
Dry time: 6-8 hours
Step by step to cut a pineapple:
SHEET TEST
Dip a cold metal spoon into the boiling
soft spread. Lift the spoon and hold it horizontally with edge down so that the syrup runs off the edge. As the mixture cooks, the drops will become heavier and will drop off the spoon separately but two at a time. When the two drops join together and “sheet” off the spoon, the gel stage has been reached.
FREEZER TEST
(Note: To prevent overcooking or scorching, remove the soft spread from the heat before performing this test.)Chill a small saucers in the free
zer. Place a teaspoonful of soft spread on the chilled saucer and place in the freezer for 1 minute. Remove the saucer from the freezer and push the edge of the spread with your finger. A mixture that has reached the gel stage will be set, and the surface will wrinkle when the edge is pushed.
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