[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Pressure Canning Tutorial (Page 1 of 3)
Posted: 3/4/2007 10:38:46 AM EDT
![]() Great post!!!! Gotta love a good canning thread. ETA:
As long as you're at home, home canned food will beat an MRE any day of the week. |
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Great post Couple other thoughts (mostly from the wife who's the expert, I just move things back and forth) 1. new pressure canners are not as good as old ones. Look on ebay, garage sales, etc, get a new seal and a new wobbly thingie for under $20 and do much better. Nobody trusts the new canners. (which is funny, cuz they probably are better made now, but this is what the wife tells me and I am smart enough to know not to argue) 2. buy big. 3. We can spaghetti sauce thru water bath without meat, then add the meat when we cook it up. Somewhat easier than Frozenny's, but both work. 4. NOTHING tastes better in the middle of Feb than real fresh garden fresh stuff. 5. You can have too many green beans. (I bet we have 100's of pints, i don't even like green beans, i told the wife we are NOT planting green beans this year) 6. Wal Mart has the cheapest jars/lids/rings, get lots, they are on sale now. Everything is reusable but the lids, buy LOTS of lids. Don't have a garden? go nuts at the farmer's market, get cases fo stuff and can it, still way better and way cheaper than the store. |
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My canner is available at local hardware/home stores for about $70. You can usually find one at the end of the season on sale for about $45. Shop around and buy you jars at end of season (or at garage sales). If you get into this serious, you can quickly have hundreds of jars of food set up. You don't have to go out and buy 3 zillion jars right off... LIDS!!! These are the only non-resuable item. I ALWAYS use a new lid. However, if the lids are looking reasonable after use, I wash em and stash em. If SHTF I'll use em (buy I do expect a much higher failure-to-seal rate). Dollar Stores: Keep an eye on em! I've done VERY well for lids and jars at Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Big Lots, etc. All told you can pick up 3 dozen jars, a canning funnel and a decent 22Qt canner for about $100. If you shop some jars are $5-6/dozen. Yes. THis COULD be done over fire or wood stove.... It'll take a little fussing but is entirely doable. You'll need to bring the heat up high enough to boil the water in the canner, and then simply keep feeding the fire for 60-90 minutes for most meats... Very low tech... SHTF food production usually means home gardens. This is great in August, not so good in February. The only really reasonable, reliable, practical way to rpeserve all that summer bounty for winter use is canning. You are limited only by the amount of jars and lids on hand... And the end result is GOOD! The only real disadvantage I can see to this method is weight. No one is going to lug 400 pint and quart jars of ANYTHING. Its too heavy. However, I seriously doubt anyone can reliably transport a year's worth of food easily in any way, except maybe the really expensive dehydrated stuff. Then again, I'm not sure I want to survive if I have to live on Textured Vegetable Protien and dehydrated turnip flakes....... |
All American canners are the way to go. No seals to mess with, no additional things to buy/stockpile. Built to be heirlooms. Pricey, but worth every penny. These aren't needed to accomplish pressure canning, but if you're into it, they're worth the investment. |
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First, GREAT post...we can using water bath, and have dabbled in pressure canning a bit. I was so inspired by reading it, I went to the pantry, opened some picante sauce we canned last spring, and had at it.....time to go do some more canning, I believe... And since we plan more for a "Bug-In" situation, canned goods are a perfect way to prepare...and as was mentioned before, Farmer's Markets are a great place to pick up good produce to "put away" for future use. Also, for those that want to start a little slower, water bath canning is a great way to get started. Jams & jellies take very little effort to make, and we've always ended up with products that are far superior in taste to store-bought, with the added bonus of being less expensive and we KNOW what the ingredients are used. Our collards, peppers and tomatoes are ready to go....think I'll grab some more lids while I'm at the store tonight.... Thanks for the motivation! |
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Nice post I believe that in teoki people with this skill will live much more comfortably that the average joe forager. I haven't canned in years due the size of my canner (7 quarts at a time) which seems to take way too much time. I like the 17 quart at a time unit on the link will be on my asset to aquire list. |
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My mother used to can the vegetables from our garden for use out of season. She used a woodburning kitchen stove out in our shop. It was nice because we canned alot in late summer and it kept all that heat out of the house. Its amazing how many people used to can, and how few people understand how to do it these days. If you plan on buying a pressure canner, get a SPARE GASKET. If the gasket along the lip goes bad or gets damaged, your canner can't hold pressure. |
Thanks, bookmarked I'm SUUUURE she wants that for her birthday. Add to her 50 year old monster one. (holds like 27 pints of green beans, i told you I'm sick of green beans right? Oh, another thing we've learned. electric stoves don't do so well You have to get it hot and keep it hot for a LONG period of time and electric (esp those flat models) can warp. Gas rules for this. You can also get those propane stand up car camping stoves (about 90 bucks, any big sporting good store) and do this outside. keeps a lot of heat out of the house (wonderful in August) |
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I've been interested in canning for years but haven't taken the effort to do it; until now. Please help me a bit, how large of a canner should I get. If I buy fresh picked vegies from a vegi/fruit stand, how long could I wait to can them (a week OK?). Is now the best time of the year to buy canning supplies? (Walmart?). I would like to order a canner tomorrow and pick up stuff from Walmart next weekend. TIA M OH yeah, great post. Thank you. |
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Thanks guys... I'm happy this helped someone... MDS: The key to GOOD canned food is to start with really nice, fresh, at-its-peak food in the first place. A lot of people pick a bushel of whatever, eat some, leave it kicking around for three days until its wilted and over the hill, then can it. And then they are disappointed with the results. Garbage in: Garbage out... If you want good stuff, can it FRESH. We do green beans. Wife and I pick a bunch of beans, washed em, stuff em in jars, add a bit fo salt and water and then stick em in the canner for processing. We don't use overripe or over-the-hill produce. Most times its 30 minutes from picking to canning.. To answer your question: Can you wait a week to can the veggies? NO. I wouldn't. Usually ythe best time to find canning stuff seems like end of canning season. Sept /October... My unit is a 22 quart canner. I can get something like 16 or 18 pint jars in it, or half that many quarts. Its a nice size. |
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My deal; I'm alone and live in the desert. Not ideal time or place to garden. My work takes 15-16 hours out of every work day. Often I leave for California after my last nights shift, I'm there for two nights and return during the third night. I could pick up some fresh produce there but wouldn't be able to can it until the following weekend, several days later. Am I nuts to have this canning desire? Thanks again. M |
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MDS: Canning is great if you have something to can. The economics work out because the produce is often 'free' (If you don't count the cost of $800 garden tillers and a lot fo sweat!). Flavor is another reason to can: Home canned often tastes better. If you have to buy produce, you loose many of the economic benefits. And then if you have to wait a week before canning it won't be great. No savings, and crappy product. Under those conditions, why can? You may find it better to simply buy canned goods... Furthermore, if you are a desert dweller, the odds of you growing your own food in substantial quantities for home canning are pretty slim... I cannot see it being especially practical for your situation. |
Pretty much what my wife used to say about canning. I pestered her about it for years. Thanks again. M |
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O/S tag, subscription, and tag. I really need to get this system in my preps. I think I'll buy the All American Pressure Canner 25 Quart, is this the best ETA are there any good links on canning meats and good stuff. canning for dummies or something like that
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Not at all. Since people have been storing their own food for thousands of years, and only recently has society become totally dumb to food preservation....its the sheeple that are crazy. BTW- I saw that my local Wal-Mart had canning supplies on clearance as well. Nows a good time to stock up on canning supplies. |
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Good post! Two other thoughts: First, it sounds like your pressure canner operates at 10# of pressure. Many pressure canners/cookers operate at 15# of pressure, and the cooking time with 15# is usually about half the time as with 10# (somewhere around there). So I assume that the canning time would also be reduced with the higher pressure. Second, even if you're not interested in canning, pressure cookers/canners are also great for reducing cooking time, and thereby saving scarce fuel, for beans, rice and all kinds of things. |
I've had the book for years and also really learned alot from ASG; and some lady that had articles on canning in there. Ah, the good old days. M |
I agree 110% with frozenny on the issue of freshness. It has to be fresh to make it worth canning. However, with that said, there is one slight exception to that rule: plum tomatoes. If you're putting up red sauce or salsa, you can "get away" with somewhat older stock. I'm not talking about tomatoes that are obviously "past their prime," but plum tomatoes store well enough that you can get away with holding them for a few days until you have enough time to process them. The extra cooking smooths things out. Ask me how I know :![]() ![]() Also keep in mind that pressure canning makes it possible to put up a wide variety of foodstuffs that aren't dependent on the whole "freshness issue." Stocks, soups, meat, stews come to mind. You always want to put the highest quality stuff in your jars, but these items can be packed year round with no dependence on large quantities of veggies. STOCK ![]() STEW BEEF ![]() GROUND BEEF ![]()
I guess "best" is a relative thing. What's "best" for you may not be what's "best" for me. We do large batches so capacity is important to us. This is the 30 quart AA: It's a big, heavy monster, that's for sure. It's also something that's certainly gonna outlast me. This would be a terrible canner to buy if you're planning on canning two or three times a year and will be doing small batches. It's too big, too heavy and too expensive for "occasional canning." On the other hand, if you're gonna put up a lot of canned goods, this is a great way to go. As far as the All American 25 quart model, I don't like it because it holds less than the 30 Quart (next model up) but no more than the 21 Quart (next model down). So, the 21 Quart canner is just as capable but will have a shorter heat-up period and shorter cool-down period. Look here to see the different capacities. Good luck. |
Is it still under warranty? Even if it's not, if you bitch enough the company might replace it.........they shouldn't break that quick! |
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Great post, frozenny! I've always wondered how this was done. feral: How did you do the ground beef that you canned? It looks from the picture like it was raw meat in the jars, but that might just be the picture. Do you pack the ground beef in water to can it? This has always been the food that I was curious about canning...meat. I can buy canned vegetables, fruits and the like, but good quality canned meats are not exactly available in abundance at the local grocery store. Chicken, ham, and tuna, yes - beef, not really. I like my chili better than any I've ever had from a can, so that would be great also. |
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I'll go ahead and reply, though I haven't read the tutorial yet. THANK YOU! I got my grandmother's large pressure canner and no instructions. So again, thank you. 96Ag ETA: IF I get a chance I'll post pics. The canner that I got is too big to fit on our stove top, would there be a problem using the turkey fryer set up that I also got? Thanks |
Canned goods will "keep" indefinitely as long as the seal is good. As a general rule of thumb, foods will store optimally for 12-18 months. After that, taste and nutritional value will decline even though the food remains edible. Low acid foods will keep somewhat better/longer than high acid foods. Despite that, we have some 4 year old jars of salsa that taste just fine. |
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Good post. I can produce out of our garden every year which includes; potatoes, grean beans, tomatoes, cabbage, lots of sweet corn, carrots etc.. I also can pheasants, chickens, rabbits, broth and a couple deer minus the loins and what I use for jerkey. It is messy and seems like a lot of work but it is neat looking at a full pantry that you created from start to finish. |
Nope, it's the pics. The ground beef is cooked.......this is pretty much the Ball book's spiced hamburger recipe. I pack it in its own cooking liquid. |
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Great post, thank you. I haven't canned yet, but The National Center for Home Food Preservation seems to be another great canning information resource. They cover the basics and also have many recipes. "The Center was established with funding from the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture (CSREES-USDA) to address food safety concerns for those who practice and teach home food preservation and processing methods." I don't see any reason why copying the information or sharing it should be a problem. I've copied the canning section to a Word document, if you'd like a copy let me know. Also, if anyone would like to copy the other preservation sections to an easily sharable/printable format and share it that would be appreciated. It's a lot of work to visit all of those individual pages and copy them. |
Thanks for the info feral! I like to cook a lot, so I have many different meat recipies. If I'm going to have to "rough it", it might as well be with the food I really like! |
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We use a small pressure cooker for dried beans and lentils. It gets them done in short order with no presoaking. Well worth the few dollars we paid for it at a garage sale and the replacement seal we bought. I certainly wouldn't try to make a cup and a half of beans in the canner that holds 14 quart jars. Get both. After canning produce, what is its texture like? Store bought canned asparagus is a disgusting paste-like thing with some fiber interspersed. Fresh asparagus grilled in foil steam packets is crispy and delicious. Thanks. |
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Great post. The pressure canner may be one of the most overlooked items for storage. We store all kinds of chicken and some ground turkey and beef stew. We have used chicken that is at least 3 years old and its great. Someone I ran across cans all sorts of things and often uses 3-5 year old items, including meats. It is so easy to pull out a bottle of chicken for pastas, burritos, sandwiches, etc. My wife does it all, but I'm a beneficiary. |
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http://www.pepperfool.com/recipes/canned_idx.html Great pepper canning site. http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/harvest/ Best preservation site on the web. http://www.homecanning.com/usa/ALBasics.asp http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/can_home.html http://www.sks-bottle.com/340c/fin18.html http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/tomato/ http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/pepper/ http://www.sweatnspice.com/recipes/hot_sauce_recipes.php http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/soil/ http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/cornucop/ I've been canning on multiple turkey fryers for a couple of years. Nothing better than gas for controling heat. I have a lady friend that cans on a Coleman stove. For the canning newbies.........NEVER EVER CHANGE A PROVEN AND CONFIRMED SAFE RECIPE...........especially in low acid mixtures. |
You're gonna need a pressure cooker no matter how you slice it. The trick'll be finding an existing "tried and true" canning recipe that mimics your wife's recipe. There are a fair number of beef stew recipes out there, so it shouldn't be too much of a chore. Shoot me her recipe if you'd like...I'll compare it to some of my paper references. P.S. Hi Reeldoc....nice to see you posting......got the garden planned? |
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Yeppers......garden peas, beets and onion sets are within days of pushing through the dirt. Brocolli and cabbage transplanted two weeks ago and moving right along. Taters went in the ground last weekend. Planted 4 more blueberry bushes the first of February. Have the spring garden all planned out. Corn, 8 types of peppers, bush beans, cucumbers, squash, zuccini, Chinese and regular okra. May add watermelon and cantelope this year back in the woods and see if they will grown on their own. I dang near put too much mulch in the garden last year. It's breaking down but gonna be a tight squeeze. Another six weeks and we're good to go on planting. Almost 4 year old grandson has been 'helping' me all winter. He and his battery powered John Deer tractor and trailer have moved dirt from one side of the garden to the other a half dozen times. Holes everywhere.......I laugh til I cry at that little turd. He's got all my tools memorized, where they go, what they do and how to use them. Of course some of my tools have mysteriously disappeared into little boy world wherever that is Last weekend we threw grass seed and straw. He couldn't quite get the hang of opening his hand at the right time hence there are multiple little handful piles of fescue seed that need to be spread out.Edited....forgot 2 types of eggplant, plus a load of dryable and fresh herbs. Girlfriend makes a kick butt fresh lemon dill sauce for grilled salmon |
Thanks pal but the recipee is a pressure cooker recipee. It dates back to my mom in the 50s. Pressuring it some more to can it will not only not hurt the taste but help a little. My concern is the beef broth for I had read, please correct me if I am wrong, for it to keep canned it should be slightly acidic by adding like vinegar etc. or hell monosodium gultamate like the store canned stuff. If I could pressure can it as is, that would be great. Tj |
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TJ.......here's a full night's reading on canning beef stew......these folks are smart! http://search.gardenweb.com/search/nph-ind.cgi?term=beef+stew&forum=harvest&forum_name=Harvest Would also suggest that if you use taters in your stew that you not can them with the stew. Much better if you cook the taters just before you open the can and then mix them in. The starch from the taters tends to booger everything up. |
Sounds like you're underway..... You have a bit of a headstart on me.....we still have 3" of snow sitting on our plot. Got some onions under lights, but that's about it, except plans... Gonna do the usual Romas and bell peppers.....probably plant more beans this year than we did last year. The usual herbs. Gonna do two different kinds of pickling cukes this year....we'll see. Sounds like you're having fun with your grandson......must be nice to have some garden "help."
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TJ: I've done a lot of stew in a pressure canner (canned it that is, not cooked it). I use my own recipe. While I make no guarantees, I eat my stuff without concern. Pressure canners don't need acid. Thats why we can do stuff like low-acid veggies. No problems there. I simply look closely at my recipe, and figure out what has teh longest process time. In my case, the broth and veggies are fine, but the meat has a longer process time than the other stuff. Therefore, the meat process time becomes process time for the whole damned stew... Cooking it MORE than required isn't going to be harmful So cook up your stew, stuff it in jars, and process according to longest ingredient. One recommendation: do NOT simmer the stew until its 'done', then can it. It will be overdone. I usually mix my stew well, bring to a low gentle boil, cook it 15 minutes fo so to make sure its all good and hot, then pack and process. Let it cook in the jars. 75 or 90 minutes cooking under pressure could make an old boot tender... And I do mine with the potatoes and all. |
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Vic: The wieght is determined by the processing and the altitude. You need to get Ball Blue Book. Everything I can is 10# pressure for XX minutes, unless your are at a higher altitude, then use 15# pressure. The Blue Book is cheap, and is a great guide to canning. Provides all the required info: Process this stuff in pints for XX min and quarts for xx minutes at 10# pressure for 0-2000 ft etcetcetc |
Gotcha, our recipee is cook the meat in a pressure cooker, add veggies and gravy, and cook then cool. Recipee calls for oinions, celary, and salt. Sounds like all I would have to do is just pressure can. I'll have to give it a try. Tj |














, what is the shelf life of canned meats, veggies, and fruits. Just looking at those pics made my stomach growl with hunger.