Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[jbkirk]

Hey everyone! I have one day left on my trip but I wanted to share some pictures of feral chickens I saw (met) on Honolulu specifically the north shore.
According to a local man at the beach, people drop off their unwanted chickens where I found these but they appear to be more of a game bird - LOTS of chicks of various ages.

Oh my such a waste.

 

[Hinotori]

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Oven canning was developed for dry goods.

Air is a very poor conductor of heat. You need temps well over the boiling point of water to kill botulism. Only way to do that is under pressure.

I've had food poisoning before. It was a very horrible few weeks. I'm not going with any risk of food poisoning that can actually kill me.

I check the seals on every jar before I use it. Even on the high acid, high sugar jams and grape juice.


I know this is redundant for Dave, Hinotori, and some others, but pressure canning is only needed for some foods including meat, fish, and low acid foods like green beans, etc. Pickles, Jams, Jellies, and fruit are classic examples of foods that do not have to be pressure canned. I don't want newbie canners to be frightened off thinking everything requires a pressure cooker! My rule of thumb is, When In Doubt -- Freeze It!

I water bath the jams, juice, and fruit. Been doing that for years. Great Grandma used wax for sealing jams (which used to be standard). Grandma used water bath and lids because to many jars of jam would mold that way. With water bathing she very rarely had a jar not seal and no mold issues.

My SIL made tomato sauce a couple years ago. Didn't sterilize the jars. Didn't add acid to them. She thought you just had to add a tablespoon of vinegar to the water in the canning kettle to raise acidity. She ran them 5 minutes. My brother refused to eat it since he grew up with good canning practice. I guess it was a huge fight. Mom said the jars sat on the counter for a few months. Then the seals started popping from pressure. It was stupid. She'd asked my mom how to do them before starting because it was her first try canning and ignored what she was told. I almost got her a blue book for christmas that year.

Mom called me about 8 times yesterday because she was making pepper jelly for the first time, wanting me to keep looking up the recipe and canning instructions. Mom was worried the vinegar wasn't enough acid.

My uncle and I have Mom using extra acid in all jams now, too. Even on the fruits that don't need a little extra acid. Fresh lemon juice. It helps retain the color of the jams better.

 

[CarolynF]

Quote:

Quote:
Oven canning was developed for dry goods.

Air is a very poor conductor of heat. You need temps well over the boiling point of water to kill botulism. Only way to do that is under pressure.

I've had food poisoning before. It was a very horrible few weeks. I'm not going with any risk of food poisoning that can actually kill me.

I check the seals on every jar before I use it. Even on the high acid, high sugar jams and grape juice.


I know this is redundant for Dave, Hinotori, and some others, but pressure canning is only needed for some foods including meat, fish, and low acid foods like green beans, etc. Pickles, Jams, Jellies, and fruit are classic examples of foods that do not have to be pressure canned. I don't want newbie canners to be frightened off thinking everything requires a pressure cooker! My rule of thumb is, When In Doubt -- Freeze It!

I water bath the jams, juice, and fruit. Been doing that for years. Great Grandma used wax for sealing jams (which used to be standard). Grandma used water bath and lids because to many jars of jam would mold that way. With water bathing she very rarely had a jar not seal and no mold issues.

My SIL made tomato sauce a couple years ago. Didn't sterilize the jars. Didn't add acid to them. She thought you just had to add a tablespoon of vinegar to the water in the canning kettle to raise acidity. She ran them 5 minutes. My brother refused to eat it since he grew up with good canning practice. I guess it was a huge fight. Mom said the jars sat on the counter for a few months. Then the seals started popping from pressure. It was stupid. She'd asked my mom how to do them before starting because it was her first try canning and ignored what she was told. I almost got her a blue book for christmas that year.

Mom called me about 8 times yesterday because she was making pepper jelly for the first time, wanting me to keep looking up the recipe and canning instructions. Mom was worried the vinegar wasn't enough acid.

My uncle and I have Mom using extra acid in all jams now, too. Even on the fruits that don't need a little extra acid. Fresh lemon juice. It helps retain the color of the jams better.

I grew up using parafin to seal jelly glasses and did it for decades and never had an issue, BUT we were always careful to check them periodically and before serving. I freeze anything with tomatoes, but don't do much more than chunked up tomatoes to use for cooking. Same with pumpkin and squash. I had a jar of green beans go bad once because the seal popped loose, but it was super obvious. NO one would have touched those with a ten foot pole! hehe I've been researching the story behind water bathing, it's tricky trying to find actual documentation, why and where it started, etc. 99.99% of what I've found is simply writers quoting earlier writings, so I'm continuing to search. But it boils down to a few critical elements -- getting the food hot enough long enough to kill germs, sterilizing the containers, and creating an air tight seal. I love being able to preserve good fresh foods, knowing exactly what's inside and knowing I had a hand in it. If it's food I've grown myself I enjoy it that much more.

 

[Hinotori]

I grew up using parafin to seal jelly glasses and did it for decades and never had an issue, BUT we were always careful to check them periodically and before serving. I freeze anything with tomatoes, but don't do much more than chunked up tomatoes to use for cooking. Same with pumpkin and squash. I had a jar of green beans go bad once because the seal popped loose, but it was super obvious. NO one would have touched those with a ten foot pole! hehe I've been researching the story behind water bathing, it's tricky trying to find actual documentation, why and where it started, etc. 99.99% of what I've found is simply writers quoting earlier writings, so I'm continuing to search. But it boils down to a few critical elements -- getting the food hot enough long enough to kill germs, sterilizing the containers, and creating an air tight seal. I love being able to preserve good fresh foods, knowing exactly what's inside and knowing I had a hand in it. If it's food I've grown myself I enjoy it that much more.

After tasting that tuna I canned, hubby wants to go get a lot more and have me can it up. I need to get more of the 10 oz jars from the oyster place if we do. They were much cheaper than any half pints I can buy.

I need another freezer. One big one isn't enough. I even have the old little one from our apartment days and the one on the fridge stuffed full. As we've eaten the beef, it's space has been taken up with other things.

I don't can veggies, I prefer them frozen. Anything I freeze gets vacuum sealed to help prevent freezer burn.

 

[CarolynF]

Quote:

I grew up using parafin to seal jelly glasses and did it for decades and never had an issue, BUT we were always careful to check them periodically and before serving. I freeze anything with tomatoes, but don't do much more than chunked up tomatoes to use for cooking. Same with pumpkin and squash. I had a jar of green beans go bad once because the seal popped loose, but it was super obvious. NO one would have touched those with a ten foot pole! hehe I've been researching the story behind water bathing, it's tricky trying to find actual documentation, why and where it started, etc. 99.99% of what I've found is simply writers quoting earlier writings, so I'm continuing to search. But it boils down to a few critical elements -- getting the food hot enough long enough to kill germs, sterilizing the containers, and creating an air tight seal. I love being able to preserve good fresh foods, knowing exactly what's inside and knowing I had a hand in it. If it's food I've grown myself I enjoy it that much more.

After tasting that tuna I canned, hubby wants to go get a lot more and have me can it up. I need to get more of the 10 oz jars from the oyster place if we do. They were much cheaper than any half pints I can buy.

I need another freezer. One big one isn't enough. I even have the old little one from our apartment days and the one on the fridge stuffed full. As we've eaten the beef, it's space has been taken up with other things.

I don't can veggies, I prefer them frozen. Anything I freeze gets vacuum sealed to help prevent freezer burn.

I'll be opening our first jar of tuna on Thursday, I'm looking forward it. It's a pint so will last for at least 2 lunches. Are the 10 oz jars wide mouth??? Where do you get them?

We have 2 small-ish freezers and keep them both pretty full. We have to be careful not to get carried away. My aunt died with 2 or 3 big chest freezers totally packed! Some of that food was probably older than me! I agree about freezing veggies, except string beans. And I don't freeze snap peas either.

 

[YNOT2K]

My wife Kim is having her custom backyard chicken coop delivered next Saturday, October 4th.

She will be looking for some laying hens to start her flock - probably 3-5.

We are located in Granite Falls, WA. Can anyone suggest where to get some chickens locally?

Thanks!

 

[Hinotori]

I'll be opening our first jar of tuna on Thursday, I'm looking forward it. It's a pint so will last for at least 2 lunches. Are the 10 oz jars wide mouth??? Where do you get them?

We have 2 small-ish freezers and keep them both pretty full. We have to be careful not to get carried away. My aunt died with 2 or 3 big chest freezers totally packed! Some of that food was probably older than me! I agree about freezing veggies, except string beans. And I don't freeze snap peas either.

The 10 oz are oyster jars. They are straight up and down, but regular mouth. I got mine at Brady's Oysters last time we went down to Westport

 

[Hinotori]

My wife Kim is having her custom backyard chicken coop delivered next Saturday, October 4th.

She will be looking for some laying hens to start her flock - probably 3-5.

We are located in Granite Falls, WA. Can anyone suggest where to get some chickens locally?

Thanks!

Very cool!

I don't have any hens for sale at the moment. I'm not really sure where you can get hens.

 

[Carolei]

Please do post some pics of Luna so we can see what he/she looks like.

If your girls are 16 weeks you should get started on those nest boxes. I had a pullet that started laying at 17 weeks. Of course they will lay someplace even if there are no nest boxes. It is always easier to get them in the habit of laying in the boxes from the beginning rather than trying to "retrain" them later.

Keep us posted on how your flock is growing up!

HEN OR ROO???? Here are some pictures of Luna the Speckled Sussex. She is 16 weeks old. Her comb and wattles are still pretty small and pale. She hasn't crowed or shown any roo-like behavior, however, she has those pointy tail feathers!! I really hope she's a hen. What do you think?






Here's a picture of feathers she recently lost.

 

[Hinotori]

Quote:
Looks like a girl to me.

Rooster would have saddle and hackles in by now as well as big comb and wattles. The tail doesn't really give away sex unless they have those big rooster sickle feathers.