Canning

[Rosyrain]

I really want to start canning pickles and other vegetables, but I am terrified to get started because of the potential for extreme illness if you don't do it the right way. Are there any websites that are good for beginners? Is it ok to boil your jars in just a big pot of water as opposed to getting a canning system? Any advise would be greatly appreciated! How did you get started?

 

[marlingardener]

Rosy, I've canned for over 40 years, and it isn't nearly as complicated as it sounds. Get a good hot-water bath canner ( the big pot you mentioned) which comes with a wire basket for your jars; a jar lifter; and Ball or Kerr jars with the appropriate lids and rings.
Make sure everything is clean--jars, lids, and of course the veggies!
I'd suggest that you invest in the Ball Blue Book, which gives simple, explicit instructions on canning different vegetables. Some vegetables that are low acid, like beans, require a pressure canner, but until you get comfortable with hot water bath canning you may just want to freeze the low-acid veggies.
Having a stash of home-grown, home-canned veggies for the winter is one of life's most satisfying joys.

 

[Chuck]

I really want to start canning pickles and other vegetables, but I am terrified to get started because of the potential for extreme illness if you don't do it the right way. Are there any websites that are good for beginners? Is it ok to boil your jars in just a big pot of water as opposed to getting a canning system? Any advise would be greatly appreciated! How did you get started?

I have been canning for more years than I care to remember. I started by having to help my mom. There are 2 ways of canning. The hot water bath way and the pressure canning way. The hot water bath is fine for pickling as you use vinegar which is acidic. You can also use the water bath method on acidic vegetables like tomatoes, but to be safe I pressure can anything that I do not pickle and I also add a tablespoon of concentrated lemon juice and/or a teaspoon of salt per pint. You do not need to boil you jars before using them, just make sure that they are clean and come out of hot water prior to filling. You will be boiling the liquid in any case thus sterilizing it. It is really very simple. Just do a google search on canning food and you will find more information than you will ever need. Once you get into it you can really save some money too.

 

[robinjopo]

I really want to start canning pickles and other vegetables, but I am terrified to get started because of the potential for extreme illness if you don't do it the right way. Are there any websites that are good for beginners? Is it ok to boil your jars in just a big pot of water as opposed to getting a canning system? Any advise would be greatly appreciated! How did you get started?

The Ball Blue Book for Canning is a good tool. I got mine on Amazon. I have been canning for 40 years and no one has ever gotten sick. I only started using a pressure canner 5 years ago. The secret is to make sure everything is heated properly.

 

[Durgan]

A few years ago I decided to start preserving particularly fruit and vegetables for off season use. Now I pressure can all, basically as s slurry or juice if you like. I make around 500 liter jars during the peak of the season. I ingest around 2 liters or thereabouts daily often mixing several types in the drinking glass. Never have I had a jar go bad. I consider much of the information from Ball to be too unnecessarily complicated. Probably written by a salesman.
Pressure Canning (My Method)
Posted on August 26, 2015 by Durgan
My Method of Pressure canning.
Only plant material is pressure canned. The produce to be canned for long term storage at room temperature is:
Washed, cut into smaller pieces, added to a large cooking pot, covered with water to make a drinkable texture. Cooked until soft, about 20 minutes. When soft, blended into a homogeneous slurry with a hand blender. The slurry is then strained through a food mill or screen usually about 2mm mesh. The residue from the food mill or screen is usually put through a Champion Juicer to recover the maximum nutrients. This product usually a small amount makes a fine soup base or can be mixed with the food mill juice.

The juice obtained is them placed in liter jars, which are placed in the pressure canner. The pressure canner, a Presto, handles 7 one liter jars per batch. The canner is set for about 50 minutes, without the rocking weight in place until steam pours vigoursly out the vent. This usually takes about 30 minutes or more. Then the weight is installed and when it starts to rock indicating 15 PSI, the 15 minute timing commences. At the end of the timing interval, heat is turned off and the pressure cooker is allowed to cool naturally. Lids are checked for seal and any not sealed are re-pressure canned with a new lid, or the jar of produce is used within a few days. I reuse the lids if not damaged and the failure rate is similar to using new lids each time, very minimal.

Water in the pressure canner is 3 liters. The gasket surface is lightly oiled by running the finger over the surface with kitchen vegetable oil. This extends the life of the gasket to years before replacement is required. The lid of the pressure canner should never be used like the lid on a normal pot. Such will overheat the gasket and dry it out, and will necessitate early replacement.

The chosen, 15 PSI and 15 minutes, is justified as being an overkill method and the product is not considered, since it is of the same overall homogeneous texture in every case due to being blended into a slurry.

I have processed over 2000 liter jars of virtually most food produce and ingested all with no spoilage or ill effects. Use the method at you discretion.

I keep a journal of all my processing. Probably the best on the internet even if I say myself. http://durgan.org/2011/

 

[aquaticneko]

I've been pushing the idea of canning around for a while now. It is something strange, new, not something I've grown up with. This thread and @Durgan finally gave me the inspiration I needed to try this out. My local farmers market have loads of produce out monthly. I'll keep an eye out and buy them in bulk for now until my garden is ready. I'm living in an area with limited outdoor space right now. So until we move, which I hope is coming up soon, fingers crossed. Thank you so much.

 

[Durgan]

I've been pushing the idea of canning around for a while now. It is something strange, new, not something I've grown up with. This thread and @Durgan finally gave me the inspiration I needed to try this out. My local farmers market have loads of produce out monthly. I'll keep an eye out and buy them in bulk for now until my garden is ready. I'm living in an area with limited outdoor space right now. So until we move, which I hope is coming up soon, fingers crossed. Thank you so much.

It requires little equipment. A pressure canner, blender, large pot, food mill ( strainer) and jars. I learned it all by myself to a large degree. I only use the best produce at the peak of the season. You probably have access to more produce than I do. Good luck.

 

[Rosyrain]

Oh wow, these are some good suggestions everyone and I think I am actually going to go out of my comfort zone this summer and do a little canning of my own. I think it is a great way to make sure food does not go to waste, and I can control the ingredients unliked the canned and jarred food you buy at the store.

 

[Durgan]

I use to buy canned tomato juice and assumed it was quality. Then I started canning my own tomato juice and discovered a major difference.. I only used tomatoes, where as the stuff in the can contains god knows what.
Posted on August 19, 2015 by Durgan


http://www.durgan.org/2015/August%202015/19%20August%202015%20Tomato%20Juice/HTML/ 19 August 2015 Tomato Juice
Forty pounds of tomatoes picked today and cooked in their own juice was made into 14 liters of juice. Each liter is about 2.8 pounds of tomatoes.The tomatoes were quartered, cooked about 20 minutes, blended into a slurry, put through a Victoria electric strainer. The residue output of the Victorio was put through a Champion Juicer to extract maximum nutrients.The juice was put into liter jars and pressure canned at 15 PSI for 15 minutes for long term storage at room temperature. A couple of ripe peppers was added since they were available.