....."females squawking and begawking"
Can't really afford a good pressure canner.....and have virtually no canning experience, I'm getting old and lazy about learning new things.
Thinking of trying an experiment.
- Thread starter bobbi-j
- Start date
....."females squawking and begawking"
Can't really afford a good pressure canner.....and have virtually no canning experience, I'm getting old and lazy about learning new things.
A pressure canner big enough to process a few quarts at a time can get kind of expensive. Most of the other stuff you need to can like a jar lifter, funnel, or kitchen timer you already have or are not all that expensive. But my other big expense was a 12 quart stock pot. I can a lot of veggies, I’ll be canning green beans later today, and a large stock pot is pretty much necessary. I got a stainless steel one since I can a lot of acid foods like tomatoes and I don’t want the metal leaching into the food. I just looked on Amazon and they show some relative inexpensive ones. I was surprised at how cheap they are. I spent a lot more but have a really good heavy one, marked in quart graduations. I’ve had it a lot of years and it is as good as new.
I agree canning isn’t that hard to learn, even I can do it. It does take some strength to handle the canner when it is full of product and some water, especially if you water bath instead of pressure can. My biggest hassle is often getting the product ready. Picking the green beans, washing them, and breaking them. Or picking the corn, husking it, silking it, and taking it off the cob. These take a lot of time and can be kind of tedious. I don’t do meat though, just veggies and jelly/jam.
Since people like photos I’ll show what my Christmas basket looked like last year. This was water bath, not pressure canning, but I think it is pretty.
I agree canning isn’t that hard to learn, even I can do it. It does take some strength to handle the canner when it is full of product and some water, especially if you water bath instead of pressure can. My biggest hassle is often getting the product ready. Picking the green beans, washing them, and breaking them. Or picking the corn, husking it, silking it, and taking it off the cob. These take a lot of time and can be kind of tedious. I don’t do meat though, just veggies and jelly/jam.
Since people like photos I’ll show what my Christmas basket looked like last year. This was water bath, not pressure canning, but I think it is pretty.
Aart, don't despair. Think outside the box. Surely you must know someone near by who does do a lot of canning. Ask if you can bring your produce, and do a canning session with them. Perhaps you could do a mix and match session, doing both a HWB and pressure canning at the same time. It would be fun, and get a lot done at once, as there is synergy when folks work together. Many women (and some men) just love to pass on the homesteading skills, and would feel honored to mentor you.They may start crowing again once they are used to their new digs......
....."females squawking and begawking"
Can't really afford a good pressure canner.....and have virtually no canning experience, I'm getting old and lazy about learning new things.
My canning skill is limited at this time to: some pickles, dilly beans, jams (using Pomona's pectin and freezing the jam. This pectin does not require sugar, so you can make a nice product that doesn't have that cloying sweetness) Most of my other preservation has been in the freezer. But, hoping to expand my repertoire. Bought a pressure canner late last fall (have yet to use it) and have a dehydrator that arrived last week. Like you, I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed with the learning curve. But, I realize that almost all projects are hardest to build up the gumption to get started, and then the doing part makes me wonder why I put it off for so long.
I have had 3 pressure canners - got them all second hand. They are well made, and last forever. I like to pressure can my tomatoes cause it is so much faster.
My family loves pickles, so I put those up- hot water bath.
It gives me such a frugal feeling to put up food for the long cold winter. Where I do not come anywhere close to supplying all our needs, it is fun to say, oh, this is from my garden.
I like canned meat, and canned chicken is so handy. With just DH and I, I can now in pint jars.
Mrs K
My family loves pickles, so I put those up- hot water bath.
It gives me such a frugal feeling to put up food for the long cold winter. Where I do not come anywhere close to supplying all our needs, it is fun to say, oh, this is from my garden.
I like canned meat, and canned chicken is so handy. With just DH and I, I can now in pint jars.
Mrs K
At Bobbi-j
Last year, I locked my bachelors up, no free ranging. Kept them in and fed them well. Free ranging is kind of like grass fat cattle, when covering the territory, they stay naturally lean, and all that exercise makes the muscles firm and tough. I did keep them until nearly 5 months old, but so far, they were my best eating chicken.
I see that you will can a great deal of them, do you butcher and can the same day?
Mrs K
Last year, I locked my bachelors up, no free ranging. Kept them in and fed them well. Free ranging is kind of like grass fat cattle, when covering the territory, they stay naturally lean, and all that exercise makes the muscles firm and tough. I did keep them until nearly 5 months old, but so far, they were my best eating chicken.
I see that you will can a great deal of them, do you butcher and can the same day?
Mrs K
I splurged on a nice stn stl 6qt pressure cooker a couple years ago,
it's great for quickly stewing those old hens, making bone stock (way way better than a slow cooker/crock pot),
and cooking dried beans in a jiffy.........wish I had gone larger so I could can meat in it too.
I think even pints are too tall to can in it, given the 2/3 liquid rule for pressure cookers?
Several of my personality aspects have rendered me pretty isolated as far as 'community' goes.....
...... I have asked a few people, but they don't do meat.
I've done some jams and fruit in the past and have water bath equipment.
Am now really keen to do chicken as I don't have much freezer capacity and no generator to save all that work from the regular power outages around here.
I could invest in a large pressure canner....or invest in another freezer and a generator....canner seems to make more sense, just have to get over dipping into mortgage savings to do it....now I'm just babbling, sorry for the thread diversion bobbi-j.
it's great for quickly stewing those old hens, making bone stock (way way better than a slow cooker/crock pot),
and cooking dried beans in a jiffy.........wish I had gone larger so I could can meat in it too.
I think even pints are too tall to can in it, given the 2/3 liquid rule for pressure cookers?
Exactly! That's a big part of it, have lost a large majority of my once prodigious gumption in the last 4-5 years.
Several of my personality aspects have rendered me pretty isolated as far as 'community' goes.....
...... I have asked a few people, but they don't do meat.
I've done some jams and fruit in the past and have water bath equipment.
Am now really keen to do chicken as I don't have much freezer capacity and no generator to save all that work from the regular power outages around here.
I could invest in a large pressure canner....or invest in another freezer and a generator....canner seems to make more sense, just have to get over dipping into mortgage savings to do it....now I'm just babbling, sorry for the thread diversion bobbi-j.
- Thread starter
- #98
Diversions are quite welcome! Do you still have the instructions for your pressure cooker? When I can in my big canner I don't need to have that much water. It's a specific amount, but I don't remember how much. Too bad you're in Michigan - I'd can with you!I splurged on a nice stn stl 6qt pressure cooker a couple years ago, it's great for quickly stewing those old hens, making bone stock (way way better than a slow cooker/crock pot), and cooking dried beans in a jiffy.........wish I had gone larger so I could can meat in it too. I think even pints are too tall to can in it, given the 2/3 liquid rule for pressure cookers?Exactly! That's a big part of it, have lost a large majority of my once prodigious gumption in the last 4-5 years. Several of my personality aspects have rendered me pretty isolated as far as 'community' goes..... ...... I have asked a few people, but they don't do meat. I've done some jams and fruit in the past and have water bath equipment. Am now really keen to do chicken as I don't have much freezer capacity and no generator to save all that work from the regular power outages around here. I could invest in a large pressure canner....or invest in another freezer and a generator....canner seems to make more sense, just have to get over dipping into mortgage savings to do it....now I'm just babbling, sorry for the thread diversion bobbi-j.
Speaking of diversions here are those green beans I was talking about.
Back on one of your latest posts though not the original topic of the thread, boy can we ramble, I think not having the cockerels in there makes a big difference in them going to bed. Chickens don’t like to be intimidated so they stay out where they feel safer. I have four 21-week-old cockerels that range with the flock during the day but they go back to the grow-out coop to sleep by themselves. They make it hectic during the day but cause no problems at night. In a couple of weeks I’ll drop that to one cockerel and move him to the main coop while moving several 14 week old cockerels to the grow-out coop. But that’s irrelevant.
I have eight grown hens, four 21-week-old pullets, nineteen 14-week-old chicks, and five 8 week old chicks all sleeping in the main coop. The 21-week pullets are laying and fulling integrated with the older hens. The pullets and older hens go to bed first. The 19-week-olds don’t go to bed until much later. The 8-week-olds are last to go in the coop. I find that fairly consistent. The more mature or the more dominant go to bed first, the others wait so they don’t get beat up while waiting for dark.
Back on one of your latest posts though not the original topic of the thread, boy can we ramble, I think not having the cockerels in there makes a big difference in them going to bed. Chickens don’t like to be intimidated so they stay out where they feel safer. I have four 21-week-old cockerels that range with the flock during the day but they go back to the grow-out coop to sleep by themselves. They make it hectic during the day but cause no problems at night. In a couple of weeks I’ll drop that to one cockerel and move him to the main coop while moving several 14 week old cockerels to the grow-out coop. But that’s irrelevant.
I have eight grown hens, four 21-week-old pullets, nineteen 14-week-old chicks, and five 8 week old chicks all sleeping in the main coop. The 21-week pullets are laying and fulling integrated with the older hens. The pullets and older hens go to bed first. The 19-week-olds don’t go to bed until much later. The 8-week-olds are last to go in the coop. I find that fairly consistent. The more mature or the more dominant go to bed first, the others wait so they don’t get beat up while waiting for dark.
Similar threads
New posts New threads Active threads
-
Latest threads
-
4.5 week black australorp with unusual poops- Started by my beautiful girls
- Replies: 0
-
Chicks have chicken lice!- Started by GonzoJoey
- Replies: 1
-
-
-
-
-
Threads with more replies in the last 15 days
-
-
-
-
-
Please Help! Eggbound & Possible Prolapsed Vent- Started by Elspeth Dinsmore
- Replies: 102
-
