Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[MI chickens]

We do a lot of pressure canning in our All American including chicken. Unless you are canning with an antique canner, there is almost zero chance of blowing up a pressure canner. New canners have at least two overpressure devices usually a special rubber plug and the pressure weight.

We have an unidentified apple tree in our front yard, that has a lot of big (non buggy) apples, they're kind of tart but I'm going to try canning applesauce and apple butter with them this next week. I have most of them picked, the ones on the ground the chickens are taking care of. Usually the tree has nothing but small, bug filled, good for only chickens, apples. I didn't spray this year, but the apples are so nice that it looks like I did.

 

[MI chickens]

Actually, I think that jam in a pressure canner would take way longer. We water bath for only 10 mins & with a PC you need to vent for 10 mins alone, then get up to pressure, then do the processing time, then wait for psi to go back to zero.

I have never seen any recipe that uses a PC for preserves; always water baths. Might want to see if you can find any recipes/directions for preserves to make sure they would not be compromised by the higher temps of pressure canning.

Could be wrong, cuz I am no expert either

I don't think there would be any safety advantage either, jams really don't need much for a safe seal. I remember my mom wax sealing her jams when I was young, unexposed to air, the sugar is what preserves the jam and jellies.

 

[tdhenson86]

I'm in Cadillac with work through Tuesday. It is gorgeous here. I've never stayed in the area before.

 

[Trefoil]

I have a trio of pekins, one of which is constantly broody. If you kept them in their coop for a couple of days you should be able to herd them back to it every night. Although if they decide they aren't ready, the can make very fast detours, when they are in the mood they come to the coop on their own. They are nice ducks, good egg layers unless they go broody. My favorite is still the pet raised muscovies, they are sooooooooooo friendly.

 

[gladahmae]

Gladahmae, do you know how old your pullets pol was?
I have 14 week isa browns. My brother got some isa browns from a teacher who hatched eggs in her classroom. We are not quite sure how old his are, but at 4 weeks looked identical to mine. We are new to chickens, and didnt expect eggs for at least another month or so...
Nova, I usually don't do "jam" in pressure canner, but I easily could! It would go faster!
Do you have children? We live near a park.

I think they're between 18 and 20 weeks. She said she thought they were around 14 weeks when we got them and that was a little less than a month ago. A few of them are still pinking up but the amber links are quite red.

 

[RTFchickens]

Preciouskitty, just checked the PC guide (and the hubby) you are right. It would take longer. My hubby is a stay at home dad, so he does most of the canning. I have done it with him in the past, but follow his lead. When I did most of the canning, I made soup. When I made jam I did a water bath.
I just figured I could bust out the PC to show nova how to do it (when hubby home too ;-) )

Trefoil, thanks for the pekin info!
We are somewhat split between two houses right now. Our "city house" doesn't allow chickens (kind of) our city does, but our association doesn't. But I would like to sneak a duck of two into the pond behind our house and house them at night. And hopefully get a few eggs too. Our "country house" has our chickens. We are not up there terribly much. Often just on weekends. So would like something with wings here too. Are Pekin ducks self sufficient if left for a few days?

 

[NovaAman]

When I was asking if you were pressure canning anything, I didn't mean jams... LOL, those I can do in my stock pot. I tell ya though, I hate this flat surface range I have. I was waiting for ever for the stock pot to come to a boil yesterday, and got so made, I used my soup pot... Then I realised the stock pot has a concave bottom. Well no freaking DUH! LOL.

I just made two blueberry pies... home made. I feel like a "Suzie homemaker" this weekend!

 

[RaZ]

I do my canning out side using my beer brewing set up. Basically it is a turkey fryer with propane heat source.
So much easier and neater to do it out side.

 

[preciouskitty]

When I was asking if you were pressure canning anything, I didn't mean jams... LOL, those I can do in my stock pot. I tell ya though, I hate this flat surface range I have. I was waiting for ever for the stock pot to come to a boil yesterday, and got so made, I used my soup pot... Then I realised the stock pot has a concave bottom. Well no freaking DUH! LOL.

I just made two blueberry pies... home made. I feel like a "Suzie homemaker" this weekend!

You mention "flat top range". Alarm bells just went off. Most glass/ceramic top ranges are NOT to be used for canning, the warranty can be voided. In fact, for the All American, it specifically states glass top ranges not recommended. There are a few reasons, the major being weight & heat distribution. Most things I have read say that the pot/pan on a flat top should not overhang the burner by more than 1". I have read on many posts that people have used their flat tops with no probs. What I am warning about comes from the manufacturer's manuals that came with my AA & Presto.

While I do get a lot of helpful info from posts, on many subjects I do find there are opposing viewpoints (I.e., don't believe everything you read online !). Before you buy a pressure canner, please read the manual re: canning on flat surfaces.

A workaround is just what RaZ said above, a propane burner. I have read on many canning sites that is what a lot of people with flat top ranges have purchased for their canning needs.

Now. Water bath vs. Pressure canning.
The first couple of pages in the Ball Blue Book "Learning About Canning" does a fabulous job explaining why we water bath vs. pressure cook. It has to do with destroying molds, yeasts, bacteria, etc., without compromising the food's quality.
Temperature & the acidity of the food being canned is key.
High-acid foods (pH 4.6 or less) are generally water bathed cuz the main concern is molds & yeast (212 degrees destroys this).
Low-acid foods need 240 degrees at the specified processing time to prevent the growth of certain bacteria (salmonella, staph, botulism), hence the need for a pressure cooker.

I tried to find these few pages online, cuz there are nice diagrams that help explain, but can't find it. I guess I could scan them & see if I can post.

I truly did do a lot of research before beginning to can more than just preserves & tomatoes & salsa. While it is not hard to do once you get started & do it a few times, I believe it is very important to understand the "why" behind the different methods to ensure food safety.

Sorry for the long post.....I am a morning person & tend to babble...

 

[HollyDuckFarmer]

Good Morning PK.

I inadvertently lied, my PCooker is not a Presto, it is a Mirro. I did read thru Ball's Blue Book, I would also reccomend it.