Preserving Your Harvest

[Sally PB]

This could be the year I get ZERO butternut squash and ZERO cucumbers. Seven years ago, I had 90 (!!) butternut squash. Sigh.

Tomorrow I'll be canning some more tomatoes.

 

[Sally PB]

Last year when canning supplies were in short supply/non-existent, I got canning lids from Fillmore Container.

https://www.fillmorecontainer.com/70mm-generic-lids-silver-bulk.html

Good price, and I want to say that so far, 8 out of 8 have sealed. I know some people were getting lids online that were Ball knock offs that didn't seal worth a darn.

I put this on my Tomato Harvest thread, but I wanted to add it here and on the main garden thread, in case anyone needs this info.

 

[WthrLady]

Put up some ground beef today. There was a sale.
I have 5 pounds of sweet potatoes I may do tomorrow.

Canners have been going every day now for weeks, only missing two days.
I am falling hard in love with this presto digital pressure canner. No constant hissing or jiggling, just the occasional button push.

Soon I'll be dragging the dehumidifier out and doing scallions, lemons, and mixed veggies.

 

[WthrLady]

Anyone else WISH they had a freeze dryer?

 

[Sally PB]

Anyone else WISH they had a freeze dryer?

YES!!

Does anyone have one? What make/model? Do you like it? Tell us all about it, please!

We looked briefly into getting one. Pricey, as I recall, and when I read that they make a fair amount of noise, DH lost interest, as it would be going overnight.

That may all have changed; this was a couple years ago.

 

[WthrLady]

I've been waiting for the price to come down a bit.
Harvest right is the only one that makes them for home use I THINK>

THEN after I get one, I have to train DH how to eat freeze dried food. He just eats and eats and eats. I bought a bag of apples once and he ate the whole bag in an afternoon, like potato chips. It was like 6 apples worth or more!

I have to put 'no touchy' signs on things with portion amounts on them.

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

I've been waiting for the price to come down a bit.
Harvest right is the only one that makes them for home use I THINK>

THEN after I get one, I have to train DH how to eat freeze dried food. He just eats and eats and eats. I bought a bag of apples once and he ate the whole bag in an afternoon, like potato chips. It was like 6 apples worth or more!

I have to put 'no touchy' signs on things with portion amounts on them.

I hand dipped a gallon size bag of white chocolate pretzels. My husband's deer hunting friends and him ate the whole bag in a few minutes! (it wasn't even for them) I was furious it had taken me an hour and a half to do all that!
Rule: this is a "snack" not a "meal" and ask before you steal from the Christmas candies.

 

[BReeder!]

I canned 5 pints of salsa and filed a5 gallon bucket with cucumbers, salt (pickling/canning type) and water to brine overnight to make pickles. The bucket is full to the very top! I need to make it fit in the spare fridge in the garage, which is thankfully pretty empty right now.

Here's a pic of the bucket of sliced cucumbers and salt before I added the water and covered with a lid.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Nicely done there @BReeder!

 

[BReeder!]

Anybody source pink salt for curing meat? Looking for an inexpensive way of acquiring it. Send expensive where I find it online and nobody local seems to sell it. Even the butcher shops won't sell some to me.

I'm wanting to make homemade bacon again. I used canning salt last year and it worked, but I know it's not ideal.