FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[Intheswamp]

Ya'll are TERRIBLE!!!!! Now you've got me studying over canning!!!!!!

 

[Beekissed]

Ya'll are TERRIBLE!!!!! Now you've got me studying over canning!!!!!!

It's pretty much a necessity in homesteading to learn to can and it is incredibly gratifying to have all those beautiful jars on the shelves, filled with homegrown goodness that you cannot find in any store....nothing so fresh nor so flavorful, nor so filled with nutrition, nor so economical. It's like having a grocery store in your own home, so when everyone else is out there worried when storms hit, when the power goes out, when going to town is just not an option, all one has to do is walk into the pantry and choose some healthy meal options.

Look at all that fresh sweet corn!








....and tomatoes......





Turned into sauce....



Or slumgullion....




And chicken.....






And schmaltz!!!!




Apples....



Deer.....






Pumpkins....



Fire jam....hot pepper sandwich spread....





So, gotta get you a couple of these.....steam canner on left, pressure canner on the right....



....to fill several shelves with these and so much more!



So you can eat like a king when everyone else is eating commercially raised meats, fruits and veggies or highly processed foods. There's a freedom and certain level of independence from the system when you grow and can up your own foods.....it's not dependent upon if the power grid holds up nor if supplies of food to the grocery stores are cut off during times of crisis.



Now....did that drive you to want to can or what?

 

[Intheswamp]

You're killin' me, I tell ya!!!!!!

That all looks GREAT!!!!!

 

[ShanandGem]

@Beekissed I tried canning exactly once. Our old property had a lot of fruit trees and I thought I would make jam. My dad convinced me that any recipe I found would have WAY too much sugar and that I could easily cut it in half with no troubles. Well...... that didn't work out so well.
I remember my entire kitchen being covered in a coating of sugary slime and six little jars of nothing more than pancake syrup to show for it.
I envy your colorful shelves of food though! May be time to shake off my canning trauma and start hitting the thrift stores for equipement....

 

[Kiki]

@Beekissed I tried canning exactly once. Our old property had a lot of fruit trees and I thought I would make jam. My dad convinced me that any recipe I found would have WAY too much sugar and that I could easily cut it in half with no troubles. Well...... that didn't work out so well.
I remember my entire kitchen being covered in a coating of sugary slime and six little jars of nothing more than pancake syrup to show for it.
I envy your colorful shelves of food though! May be time to shake off my canning trauma and start hitting the thrift stores for equipement....

Thanks Bee....I am looking into canning now!
How exciting!

 

[Beekissed]

@Beekissed I tried canning exactly once. Our old property had a lot of fruit trees and I thought I would make jam. My dad convinced me that any recipe I found would have WAY too much sugar and that I could easily cut it in half with no troubles. Well...... that didn't work out so well.
I remember my entire kitchen being covered in a coating of sugary slime and six little jars of nothing more than pancake syrup to show for it.
I envy your colorful shelves of food though! May be time to shake off my canning trauma and start hitting the thrift stores for equipement....

We never waste time making jams or jellies anymore, though we used to do blackberries years ago in that manner....too much effort and materials put into too little output and who in the world eats that much jam anyway? Can't even give the stuff away most of the time, no matter how tasty. I wouldn't want to can if I had started out like that either!

Persistence is the key, though, as many a mishap or mistake is made in canning along the way of learning and one is never too old to make mistakes either. But, once you get a tried and true recipe or method down for your various crops, most of the canning you do will be successful enough that you become addicted to having those bright, beautiful jars of incredibly fresh tasting food right at your fingertips. Makes one feel more wealthy than folks in fur coats, I tell ya.

Here's something you'll need and the older Blue Books you can find, the better and more sound the information....the newer ones will may have all kinds of claptrap to scare you to death, but the older ones are more matter of fact about the whole thing.

https://www.amazon.com/Book-Thrifty...07083&sr=1-12&keywords=blue+ball+canning+book


Canning is not for the fearful, the germophobe or the lazy, so many either are too scared to try it or get discouraged over how much work is involved in working up the food prior to processing. You'll hear all kinds of cautionary tales from those who took a canning class from a "master" canner and such....when I can tell you the real master canners are not giving classes as they are too busy putting up the harvest, learning more each year and rarely do they ever consider themselves a "master" at it, no matter how many decades they've been at it. Books and classes will only take you so far before you have to acquire knowledge of your own, much like raising chickens.

 

[Tikkijane]

If you roast the halves, the pulp will just spoon out of the rind. Or you can steam it over a water bath if you don't want the smoky flavor. Just an option if you're feeling the lack...

I steam, scoop, strain, and pack in bag. Because there is no consistency to pumpkin pulp, the only 'safe' way to can pumpkin is in cubes. That really stinks, but does make sense. Usually my frozen pumpkin is in my house freezer and not my meat freezer. I really need to plant some pumpkin next year. It's one of the things I actually use a lot of.

Although..... once upon a yonder, I did can some pumpkin butter and it was fine. But we ate that *fast.*

 

[Tikkijane]

It's pretty much a necessity in homesteading to learn to can and it is incredibly gratifying to have all those beautiful jars on the shelves, filled with homegrown goodness that you cannot find in any store....nothing so fresh nor so flavorful, nor so filled with nutrition, nor so economical. It's like having a grocery store in your own home, so when everyone else is out there worried when storms hit, when the power goes out, when going to town is just not an option, all one has to do is walk into the pantry and choose some healthy meal options. Look at all that fresh sweet corn! ....and tomatoes...... Turned into sauce.... Or slumgullion.... And chicken..... And schmaltz!!!! Apples.... Deer..... Pumpkins.... Fire jam....hot pepper sandwich spread.... So, gotta get you a couple of these.....steam canner on left, pressure canner on the right.... ....to fill several shelves with these and so much more! So you can eat like a king when everyone else is eating commercially raised meats, fruits and veggies or highly processed foods. There's a freedom and certain level of independence from the system when you grow and can up your own foods.....it's not dependent upon if the power grid holds up nor if supplies of food to the grocery stores are cut off during times of crisis. [COLOR=006400]Now....did that drive you to want to can or what?[/COLOR]

Most pressure canners are good for water bathing, too. I'm moving to Bee's house!

How many ears of corn for all that? I assume that's from your garden? I'd love to do fruit trees. I need more space!

 

[Tikkijane]

@Beekissed
 I tried canning exactly once.  Our old property had a lot of fruit trees and I thought I would make jam.  My dad convinced me that any recipe I found would have WAY too much sugar and that I could easily cut it in half with no troubles.  Well...... that didn't work out so well.
I remember my entire kitchen being covered in a coating of sugary slime and six little jars of nothing more than pancake syrup to show for it.
I envy your colorful shelves of food though!  May be time to shake off my canning trauma and start hitting the thrift stores for equipement....

Light syrup.... not everything needs sugar-like veggies. I usually water pack most everything if I can.

 

[Tikkijane]

We never waste time making jams or jellies anymore, though we used to do blackberries years ago in that manner....too much effort and materials put into too little output and who in the world eats that much jam anyway?  Can't even give the stuff away most of the time, no matter how tasty.  I wouldn't want to can if I had started out like that either! 

Persistence is the key, though, as many a mishap or mistake is made in canning along the way of learning and one is never too old to make mistakes either.  But, once you get a tried and true recipe or method down for your various crops, most of the canning you do will be successful enough that you become addicted to having those bright, beautiful jars of incredibly fresh tasting food right at your fingertips.  Makes one feel more wealthy than folks in fur coats, I tell ya. 

Here's something you'll need and the older Blue Books you can find, the better and more sound the information....the newer ones will may have all kinds of claptrap to scare you to death, but the older ones are more matter of fact about the whole thing. 

https://www.amazon.com/Book-Thrifty-Canning-Freezing-Paperback/dp/B000RQ4Z2Q/ref=sr_1_12?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1469207083&sr=1-12&keywords=blue+ball+canning+book


Canning is not for the fearful, the germophobe or the lazy, so many either are too scared to try it or get discouraged over how much work is involved in working up the food prior to processing.  You'll hear all kinds of cautionary tales from those who took a canning class from a "master" canner and such....when I can tell you the real master canners are not giving classes as they are too busy putting up the harvest, learning more each year and rarely do they ever consider themselves a "master" at it, no matter how many decades they've been at it.    Books and classes will only take you so far before you have to acquire knowledge of your own, much like raising chickens. 

^^^^ this. I'd suggest finding an experienced person to help you get started learning. I've had canning parties with friends who wanted to learn.

A friend of mine helped me get started. I went visiting her one day and that's what she was doing. She had the Ball Blue Book and several older books {= outdated info}, but it was fun. Sure does make the time go by faster, too!