Want to can... a little intimidated!

[CarriBrown]

Thanks for all of the great info, everyone! I think I'll buy a new canner since I'm a little paranoid of problems.
debakadeb- What is your salsa recipe? I have a zillion tomato and pepper plants about ready to ripen!

 

[spatcher]

Fuse??? They are rubber "blow plugs" that will "pop out" under pressure. They are a lot safer than in your Moms day. I use an 18 qt pressure cooker/canner. That dont mean it holds 18 qts of liquid, it holds 18 qt jars or 32 pt jars at a time! I can on the deck with a coleman heavy duty double burner stove that I bought at Sam's club about 5 years ago. Ceramic stovetops wont hold the weight wthout crackng and it covers the most part of 2 burners on a regular stove. Works for me and I can every year!

 

[The Chicken Lady]

My mom always canned using the water bath. She made salsa, pickles, pickled beets, strawberry jam, canned peaches, and "chili mix" (tomatoes, onions, and green peppers in a jar together). We also did a lot of blanching and freezing, which is better for things like green beans and rhubarb.

The safety rules I've always heard are: always use new lids, and if the lid is pushing upward don't eat whatever is inside. Label everything with the exact date.

 

[spatcher]

Good rule of thumb Chicken Lady and if after cooled and you push the cap down and it stays I wouldnt trust it either.

 

[debakadeb]

Carrie,

I'll look around and see if we still have it. It's one my husband came up with by combining several.

Deb

 

[Lydia]

I recently took a canning/food preservation class through the WSU Extension Service, the instructor was a Master Canner. She talked about steam canners and said that they don't kill off all the anaerobic bacteria that can grow once a product is canned and stressed not using them at all for canning. She also impressed on the class the importance of using the right type of canner -water or pressure- depending on the pH of the food you are canning. If using a pressure canner, get one that has weights as opposed to a dial gauge because the gauge can be inaccurate in it's readings and will need to be constantly monitored for the entire pressure canning process. Some pressure canners will come with both a gauge and weights which I was informed is fine because it does have both.

As far as recipes, the instructor recommended the Ball Blue Book of recipes and a canning recipe book that is published through the University of Georgia. The reason she recommended these recipes is because they have been tested time and time again to make sure the food will stay preserved and not spoil. She was adament about staying away from recipes that haven't been tested.

Also, don't can food that is over-ripe, bruised, or headed for the compost bin. It's best to use food in it's prime.

For more information on canning, check out www.homecanning.com and if you're interested in the canning cookbook put out by the Universtiy of Georgia, you can find it here http://www.uga.edu/setp/ and then there's The National Center for Home Food Preservation http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/, which also has a link to the "So Easy to Preserve" cookbook.

I'm going to be canning for the first time this year also. Once I'm done buying all the supplies for my coop, I hope to have enough money to get a nice pressure canner from Lehman's.

Hope this helps!

Lydia

 

[Dilly]

Lydia, Please let us know which canner you decide on. I am fascinated by this thread and may just take the leap into canning.

Dilly

 

[Lydia]

I'm considering one of the All American Pressure Canners because it has no gasket seal that will need replacing, it has both the weights and a pressure gauge and I hear they last forever! I know it comes highly recommended by people who have been canning a long time. I've been pricing them online and I think that unless you want a used one, the new pressure canners on eBay are more expensive than the ones in the Lehman's catalogue. The pressure canner that the instructor for the canning class had was under $100- I think maybe $70 or so- where the All American brand pressure canners are more expensive-starting at $185 and up. My mom always told me to buy the highest quality item if possible so I figure that if I'm only going to buy one, because it's going to last a lifetime, then I'm okay to spend a little more.

I believe I need to contact the manufacturer of my new ceramic top stove (LG) because I want to know what their recommendation is on using the stove for canning. My biggest burner is 11 1/2 inches but if that isn't going to be big enough I may have to find an alternative and can outside like some of the other posters here. I read on a home canning forum that it may be possible to use a canner on your ceramic top stove but call the manufacturer to confirm that. I have a feeling that they're going to tell me to avoid it.

Enough chatter from me....

Lydia

 

[spatcher]

It will depend on what size you buy Lydia. Read my previous post

 

[Zookeeper9000]

Well I for one would like a tried and true spaghetti sauce recipe. I would also like a sauerkraut recipe. I found a crock with no chips or cracks in it for $5 at a garage sale just for this purpose but have no clue how to do it LOL. The crock is big 13 inches across and 17 inches high. I am soooooo happy with that find and my two sisters were sooo mad LOL. Not funny but it is, if someone would please share the spaghetti sauce recipe and the sauerkraut I would be grateful thanks