Feedback » Food/Canning/Preserving http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/Feedback Readers' letters about the magazine and website. Thu, 05 Jan 2012 18:53:11 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Apple Pie Crust http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/Feedback/2011/11/09/apple-pie-crust/ http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/Feedback/2011/11/09/apple-pie-crust/#comments Wed, 09 Nov 2011 16:14:50 +0000 admin http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/Feedback/?p=870 Hello,

My grandmother had a friend back in a small town in Iowa.  She used to bake me a pie every time I would go visit my grandmother and spend the summer.

My grandmother told me that her friend’s secret was to use 7-up in the crust. She won many prizes for her pies and the locals loved them at their diner.

Just a thought for a different angle on crust.

I look forward to trying your recipes.

Thanks

Ron Moffet

]]> http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/Feedback/2011/11/09/apple-pie-crust/feed/ 0 Canning http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/Feedback/2011/11/07/canning/ http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/Feedback/2011/11/07/canning/#comments Mon, 07 Nov 2011 16:21:14 +0000 admin http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/Feedback/?p=862 When I can a lot of meat I have a big pan I put oil in and heat it to 275 and can heat large quantity jars at a time. You do have to wipe the oil off the jars. But it’s not such a big deal. But I can do a lot more jars and it’s good when we do 250 to 300 jars.

We have a lot of fun canning our food. I believe this is one of the reasons people are sick, because the cans and the stuff added to the food. The safest way to eat is do it yourself. They are poisoning us and we keep finding out they have added something like MSG and trans fat and they know they cause us harm.

Steve

]]> http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/Feedback/2011/11/07/canning/feed/ 0 Slaughtering and Butchering article http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/Feedback/2011/10/27/slaughtering-and-butchering-article/ http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/Feedback/2011/10/27/slaughtering-and-butchering-article/#comments Thu, 27 Oct 2011 17:07:43 +0000 admin http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/Feedback/?p=858 The article by Dynah Geissal entitled Slaughtering and Butchering is definitely the best overall article available on the web that takes you from live pig to properly ready for consumption. Better than any, I searched hard and wide to find a perfect and easy to follow directive.

Super thanks and you now have a very happy family living in the backwoods of Oregon, slaughtering and butchering our kids’ greased pig caught at country fair. Now a couple of months and 100′s of pounds of food later he is skinned, split and cool from one night, ready to be processed.  We are very confident to move forward with Dynah’s instructions.

Roelle family

]]> http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/Feedback/2011/10/27/slaughtering-and-butchering-article/feed/ 0 Jackie Clay’s canning article http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/Feedback/2011/09/06/jackie-clays-canning-article/ http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/Feedback/2011/09/06/jackie-clays-canning-article/#comments Tue, 06 Sep 2011 15:16:10 +0000 admin http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/Feedback/?p=848 Hello and thank you for the wonderful article Canning 101. I agree with everything you have written in this article.

My wife and I have been canning for 45 years now and passed this procedure along to both our children (boy & girl).  We also can year round, venison or moose (when I’m lucky) chili, and stew.  One of my favorites is canning venison with just 1 teaspoon of salt nothing else added.  This makes a great meal over rice, noodles or bread as the canned venison turns out like it is in gravy.

Thanks again.

Jerry Lynch

]]> http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/Feedback/2011/09/06/jackie-clays-canning-article/feed/ 0 Canning 101 http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/Feedback/2011/09/03/canning-101/ http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/Feedback/2011/09/03/canning-101/#comments Sat, 03 Sep 2011 14:55:58 +0000 admin http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/Feedback/?p=846 Dear Editor,

Truly appreciated Jackie Clay’s article on canning.

The article was informative, personable, approachable and inspiring.

All in all  fun to read.

Thanks to both you and Jackie

Sincerely,

Koa Lavery
California

]]> http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/Feedback/2011/09/03/canning-101/feed/ 0 Buckboard Bacon http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/Feedback/2011/08/31/buckboard-bacon/ http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/Feedback/2011/08/31/buckboard-bacon/#comments Wed, 31 Aug 2011 14:41:47 +0000 admin http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/Feedback/?p=839 This is a great article. She laid it out clearly and completely.

Wish I knew this years ago. Why not? If you want bacon….

Kathryn Elich

]]> http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/Feedback/2011/08/31/buckboard-bacon/feed/ 0 Liquid apple pie http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/Feedback/2011/08/15/liquid-apple-pie/ http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/Feedback/2011/08/15/liquid-apple-pie/#comments Mon, 15 Aug 2011 16:50:16 +0000 admin http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/Feedback/?p=837 [In response to letters in Issue #96]

If I recall I did see and article back in 94-95.
1 gallon cider
1 liter Everclear
9 cloves
3 cinnamon sticks.
Mix cider and Everclear, place cloves and cinnamon sticks in mixture, and place in a dark cabinet for approximately 3-6 months.
Enjoy.
Pat Cox
]]> http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/Feedback/2011/08/15/liquid-apple-pie/feed/ 0 Wheat article http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/Feedback/2011/06/21/wheat-article/ http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/Feedback/2011/06/21/wheat-article/#comments Tue, 21 Jun 2011 15:57:57 +0000 admin http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/Feedback/?p=824 I appreciated seeing the article on wheat in the July/August  issue.  It had some helpful information on preparing fresh wheat for storage.

I am glad the editors made comment on using trash bags in  buckets.  They are not recommended and are unnecessary when a clean  food grade bucket is used, which is the only kind that should be used  when storing wheat in buckets.

The “bulgur” described in the article is not actually bulgur.  It is  steamed or cooked wheat and can be made in several ways in addition  to the one described.  Bulgur is steamed wheat that has been dried  and cracked.  It is an “instant” form of cracked wheat.  Bulgur is  commonly used in Tabbouleh and similar salads as well as in bulgur  pilafs.  Steamed or cooked wheat is normally used in different ways  than bulgur.

There are far more grain mills available than are indicated in the  article.  One can purchase simple inexpensive hand mills, moderately  priced and expensive hand mills that can also be motorized and  moderate to expensive electric mills.  One can purchase steel burrs,  stone burrs or an impact mill which pulverizes the grain.  I’m sure  readers would have appreciated reference links for more information.

The author also indicated that flour loses most of its food value  within a month.  Since flour is primarily the macronutrients protein,  fat and carbohydrate and flour is not a good source of the most  labile vitamins found in grain, that statement cannot be true.  Flour  is quite stable but it is better to store whole grains and make your  own flour especially if you find yourself living entirely on your stored food.

Thank you for providing a variety of articles in your  magazine.  There is always something I am interested in even though I  live in the suburbs.

Cheryl Driggs
Spring TX

]]> http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/Feedback/2011/06/21/wheat-article/feed/ 0 More on sweet potatoes… http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/Feedback/2011/04/13/more-on-sweet-potatoes/ http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/Feedback/2011/04/13/more-on-sweet-potatoes/#comments Wed, 13 Apr 2011 15:54:34 +0000 admin http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/Feedback/?p=801 Thanks to Vernon Lewis for “The Under-Appreciated Sweet Potato” article in the May/June issue – I learned quite a bit from it about one of my favorite foods.  I’m delighted and amazed to know that they’re actually low-glycemic, even though sweet! – and to have that much more reason to indulge.  (BTW, I tried to grow them – slips of 6 different types – in clayey soil, and they were very unhappy.  Maybe I’ll try planting them in compost-and-straw, as one can do with nightshade potatoes… perhaps after growing my own slips.)

I wanted to mention another use for them that I discovered this past year:  dried slices make wonderful, healthy, teeth-cleaning dog treats – expensive to buy (if you can find them), easy to make.  Precook the tubers (to “al dente” stage, before mushy), slice 1/4 – 1/3″ thick.  (And like beets, dehydrated sweet potatoes are gorgeous in color and rehydrate very well – for humans!)

Sherry Gordon
Idaho

]]> http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/Feedback/2011/04/13/more-on-sweet-potatoes/feed/ 0 Dandelion greens http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/Feedback/2011/04/13/dandelion-greens/ http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/Feedback/2011/04/13/dandelion-greens/#comments Wed, 13 Apr 2011 13:49:30 +0000 admin http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/Feedback/?p=797 I picked some dandelion greens from my yard a short time ago. I wanted to prepare them but didn’t know the best way. So I searched the Internet and found a website with the name John Kallas mentioned. I knew that the name had to be Greek. Having lived in Greece and visited there many times, this had to be the right source, remembering how the Greeks love dandelion greens. I found Dr. Kallas’s article very interesting, informative, and well written. His explanation of the bitterness of the greens and how to reduce it was most helpful. Thanks for a great article.

Ellen O’Neill
Virginia

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