Thank you Dave. I actually have reviewed that thread in the past (and will again, as I know it has many great ideas) but since the bulk of the suggestions are from 7 years ago, it may not reflect the more current food trends. Hopefully folks can add some here.

Also, as mentioned, items don't need to be shelf-stable (some people pick up items to eat for dinner that night) so it's okay to make things like pumpkin butter, or soups, etc. and just indicate that they require refrigeration and should be used in a timely fashion. Items don't need to be typical "canning" items either-breads, cookies, quiches, tamales, homemade cheeses, spirits, brews, etc. all are welcome.

Thank you for the dehydrated onion suggestion. I never would have thought of that and it is a great idea.

Also, a question for the canning experts...does it look like this cranberry chutney can be safely canned? I would think between the ph of the cranberries, the sugar, and the vinegar it would be okay, but I've never been sure so I always just freeze it. Would love to can it if I could to free up freezer space, and to possibly share at the swap (it's fantastic!).

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cranberry-Chutney-104251

I've gone to a few of these food swaps and the food really varies. Simple food is equally as popular as fancy. I saw strawberry jam, homemade bread, home grown eggs, hand painted olive oil jars, home canned salsa, limoncello, etc.

You may find that they are not as fancy as you think. So just choose something that you think tastes delicious. :)

I posted a recipe in that other thread for a Blueberry Citrus Conserve. This has been EXTREMELY popular with everyone who has tried it.

bulk of the suggestions are from 7 years ago, it may not reflect the more current food trends

Keep in mind that food trends in canning/preserving aren't going to change much at all because of the safety issues and testing required. Only real change in the past 10 years has been the addition of the salsa info.

And if they don't need to be shelf stable items then you'll want to check out all the Cooking and Recipe Exchange forums over on the Home Site half of Garden Web since that is their focus.

No the Cranberry Chutney recipe you linked could not be safely canned with any assurance. It is designed as a fresh use/refrigeration recipe, not a canning recipe and the majority of the time they are not interchangeable. Not only is the oil an issue but the approved Cranberry Chutney recipe calls for much more added acid.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: NCHFP - Cranberry Chutney

msmarieh thank you for the thoughts and the blueberry citrus conserve sounds fantastic. I couldn't find the recipe when I searched. Would you mind linking to the thread in which it appeared? Also, do you think that I could frozen blueberries? I have scads of them and would love to find a good use for them.

Dave-thanks again. I had a feeling about the chutney. Was hoping but oh well. I'm going to post in the home forum too. Appreciate the suggestion.

Never heard of the food swap - sounds neat.

Since it's "up to my eyeballs in produce" time, I'm planning for what my friends/relatives love to get/snitch from my canning pantry.

July - I have a ton of wild raspberries to pick and Christine Ferber's Raspberries with Chocolate is a huge favorite. I make a case of it to send to my 90-year old mom for Christmas, who then indulges once a month. She loves it over ice cream, on her scones, and just out of the jar.

Spiced Blueberry Preserves are wonderful. I use local blueberries (frozen works, too). That recipe is in a thread here about M. Bullwinkle's Strawberry Rhubarb jam.

August - Must make cases of Annie's Salsa - everyone loves it. Also I've posted a peach salsa recipe - use Annie's basic recipe and sub half peaches for the tomatoes. My neighbor is addicted to it.

I also posted a recipe for cannable Cranberry Chutney, which my DH adores. I'm pretty sure it's in the "Cranberry Ketchup" thread.

Flavored vinegars (tarragon, raspberry)?
Pickled cherries?

There's probably more - I'll keep thinking about it.

This post was edited by malna on Wed, Jul 10, 13 at 14:11

Malna-thank you for the ideas. I do have Christine Ferber's book and despite hearing many raves I have yet to try the Chocolate Raspberry jam. I will have to add that to my list for sure. If I may ask though, do you process it in a BWB or just invert the hot jars to seal as she instructs? If the former, how long do you process?

I realize that I have several other Ferber related questions, but I should probably raise them on a new thread so as not to clutter this one up.

I use sterilized jars (I just put the jars into the BWB and boil them for 10 minutes while I'm making the rest of the recipe) and BWB process for 5 minutes. Otherwise BWB for 10 minutes.

I haven't updated my blog in forever, but I did do a post about this jam. Might help.

Here is a link that might be useful: Old Blog Post of Mine

I had great success with *anything* canned I take to the local food swap. Canning seems mysterious and intimidating enough that anything is popular!

That said, the ones I've made that go the fastest are the Habanero Gold, Strawberry Gingerale, Rhuberry, Bluebarb, and a white chocolate raspberry spread that came from (I think) BHG's canning magazine.

I think anything with a gingham label and a twist of raffia goes over boffo....

Malna, that raspberry-chocolate jam sounds delightful! I don't have raspberries, but have scads of blackberries. Do you think the blackberry - chocolate combo would be equally complementary with each other?

Jill

I have never done a food swap, but when I read your post I thought about the Spicy Carrot Pickles I made from Canning for a New Generation cookbook last year. I have given jars to close friends who are all foodies themselves and they are a huge hit. They go great as a side to a gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches, a toasty panini, or as my hubby eats them.. right out of the jar on the way by the fridge. They also look fabulous in the jar.

I am a stickler for an approved book with approved recipes, but I figure there can't be much wrong with an almost all vinegar pickling recipe.

Jill2761,

About blackberries and chocolate - I visited a local really fancy-schmancy handmade chocolate place. One of the samples was a blackberry chocolate truffle. Blackberry center with kinda of a jam-like texture with Cointreau in it (I asked what the citrus flavor was) coated with dark chocolate. Amazing combination.

The orange somehow elevated the berry-chocolate combo into a whole 'nother level of flavor. If I had scads of blackberries, I'd really be tempted to use Ferber's recipe and use fresh orange juice instead of lemon. Or add a dash of Cointreau or Triple Sec.

Now I'm jealous of your blackberries. Really, really jealous :-)

There's a higher risk of seal failure with inverted jars. Processing (or just jarring for refrigeration and short-term consumption) is a better alternative.

Madelaine Bullwinkel's Gourmet Preserves is a stellar resource with fabulous unique recipes to die for. Her spiced blueberry preserves and her raspberry red currant preserves are stellar.

Don't get too hung up on the age of a recipe. Good food is timeless. In that vein, I recommend Helen Witty's Fancy Pantry. Mustards, vinegars, brandied fruits, sauces and toppings (i.e. White Chocolate Sauce with Toasted Hazelnuts), Ginger preserved in Syrup and candied nuts, just for starters.

Her book was published in 1986 but there's a reason it's a collectible classic. I don't know of any current book that's its equal.

Consider also:

Homemade granola
Shortbread (a shortbread trio is nice - traditional, brown sugar and chocolate for example)
Curds (lemon, boysenberry, cranberry, lime)
Mostarda
Nuts in honey
Pesto (traditional basil, sun-dried tomato, chive)
Baclava
Homemade cheese
Glace fruits
Sourdough starter (with some recipes)
Quick bread, cookie or cake "kits"

Carol

I think you could wow foodies with anything fig. Especially if your preserves are made from fresh figs, as most of the commercially available ones seem to be made from dried. A basic fig jam recipe is easy to find, but also you can do strawberry/fig (a favorite), peach/fig, etc. Adding vanilla or some other flavoring ingredient would also attract foodies.

Here is a link that might be useful: strawberry fig jam recipe

I do a wine braised fig sauce with tawny port, figs, balsamic vinegar, and honey. Generally freeze in small 2Tbsp batches to pull out for vinaigrette on a wedge salad. It turns out wonderfully, and can be used in many ways, depending what you add to the base. Add spices to put with a sweeter application, or dijon, garlic, and oil for more savory types. Works with either fresh or dried, though the seeds in the dried figs leave it with a crunchy mouth feel.

Thank you for all of these great suggestions. I am making a (long) list that I will look forward to working through. I'd love to try a mostarda, but I've never made one before. Have any favorite recipes that you would recommend? My parents have blackberries and it looks like it will be a bumper crop this year so I think that there will be blackberry/chocolate jam on the horizon. I have a lot of elderberries that will be ripe later this summer f anyone has any favorite elderberry recipes to add to the mix. Likewise my parents have a lot of apples and pears so recipes using those too would be appreciated.

After searching for recipes to use some of the beautiful lavender that grows in my front garden I made some banana blueberry lavender muffins today that were fantastic so those will be reprised for the swap next month.

Really loving all of these ideas. Keep up the good work (and LOL about the gingham/raffia comment)

The Greatest Hits thread really has some wonderful recipes.

How about some Lavender Wine Jelly? It's delicious. Here's a safe and approved recipe from Bernadin.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lavender Wine Jelly

My favorite jam is pear vanilla. I just use the ball pear butter recipe, omit any spices, & add a vanilla bean (which I get cheap from Costco). For apple butter, I like doing ground cardamom instead of cinnamon. Makes it taste very apple-y