What are you canning now?

[Dragonfly Ranch]

Got 5 pounds each of kidney and garbanzo beans to put up this weekend. Thinking about getting a second canner so we are not in the kitchen all day. Like SillyChicken I have a ton of berries in the freezer that need to be made into jams since our berries are starting to bud out and we'll be up to elbows in berries in March/April. We are also propagating some more boysenberries for next year. Also want to add some Raspberries but need to fine a variety that can take the heat we get in the summer 110+.

Sandee

 

[Patchesnposies]

Quote:
Sandee, I'd love any input you can give me on heat resistant raspberries. I want to put in a berry patch and, like you, we get the 110+ degree weather. So finding the right variety will be very important.

If I find any when I research them, I'll let you know. What other types of berries do you have right now?

Deb

 

[Dragonfly Ranch]

Quote:
Sandee, I'd love any input you can give me on heat resistant raspberries. I want to put in a berry patch and, like you, we get the 110+ degree weather. So finding the right variety will be very important.

If I find any when I research them, I'll let you know. What other types of berries do you have right now?

Deb

Deb

We have Boysenberries (10 plants) and thorn-less Blackberries (10 plants). We enjoy the flavor of the Boysenberries better than Blackberries. Plus Blackberries have harder seeds when you are standing out in the berry patch - picking one for the bucket - one for me type thing. The thorn-less plants are really nice though and we have talked about thorn-less Boysenberries but our research indicates that they do not have as much flavor. We also have a fruiting Mulberry tree and jelly made with a blend of Boysenberry and Mulberry is divine. This year I'm going to try a mix of all 3 and see what I get.

Yes, when I find information on the raspberries I'll let you know. What planting zone are you in - we are in 9-10.

Sandee

 

[Dragonfly Ranch]

OK have decided that we want to get another pressure canner. We currently have a 16 quart Presto canner. We're thinking about a 23 quart Presto. Any suggestions from all you canners here. Amazon.com has one for $79.999 free shipping and no tax, ebay is more expensive!

Sandee

 

[ScoobyRoo]

Quote:
Don't know about the price but keep in mind that if you are planning to do two at a time,,,,,,enough room on the stove for both and two large burners. My coil burner stove has only one large burner. When I use the smaller one for pots of stock, etc. it takes forever to bring to a boil. But of course when I bought it over 20 years ago, who whould've figured I would be a canning fool?

 

[Kim_NC]

Quote:
I have the 23 qt Presto and really like it. It'll do 2 layers of pints in one load, or a single layer of quarts. I also use it to WB can, it's tall enough to cover quarts without having the water boil/splatter over.

I finally got my garbanzo beans canned today - 12 pints

 

[breezy]

I got a really good deal today. Found an ad on craigslist and got a hundred canning jars of various sizes for 60 bucks. The ad had been up for 2 weeks and I was the only one who called on it. Im a pretty happy camper since jars run 13 to 16 a dozen in the stores currently and arent a whole lot better during the canning season. Im going to fill them with various types of beans so I can do all of Katys bean recipes

 

[Dragonfly Ranch]

Quote:
I have the 23 qt Presto and really like it. It'll do 2 layers of pints in one load, or a single layer of quarts. I also use it to WB can, it's tall enough to cover quarts without having the water boil/splatter over.

I finally got my garbanzo beans canned today - 12 pints

Thanks Kim - think I'm going to go ahead and order one today or tomorrow. I have 5 pound each of Kidney and Garbanzo sitting in the pantry waiting for me to get them done.

Would have done this weekend but was busy getting the nursery ready for our new one day old chicks that arrived yesterday!!

We got 12 each Black and Red Star hens (one Black didn't make it

but they sent an extra Red so we still have 24 new hens) and 28 Cornish Rocks for our annual chicken meat supply. So we will be canning chicken meat, stock and soup like crazy here in a few weeks.

Sandee

 

[Kim_NC]

Quote:
I have the 23 qt Presto and really like it. It'll do 2 layers of pints in one load, or a single layer of quarts. I also use it to WB can, it's tall enough to cover quarts without having the water boil/splatter over.

I finally got my garbanzo beans canned today - 12 pints

Thanks Kim - think I'm going to go ahead and order one today or tomorrow. I have 5 pound each of Kidney and Garbanzo sitting in the pantry waiting for me to get them done.

Would have done this weekend but was busy getting the nursery ready for our new one day old chicks that arrived yesterday!!

We got 12 each Black and Red Star hens (one Black didn't make it

but they sent an extra Red so we still have 24 new hens) and 28 Cornish Rocks for our annual chicken meat supply. So we will be canning chicken meat, stock and soup like crazy here in a few weeks.

Sandee

new chickies! I just love them. We have some due to hatch and some being shipped from Meyers in 2 weeks

. Sorry to hear about your little one not making the trip.

I have black beans to can next.....might be the weekend before I can get to it!

 

[ScoobyRoo]

Acres of Blessing, I'm sure you don't mind me hijacking this thread with a canner question. Every canner seems to visit this sight often so I thought this would be O.K. My question is a pro and con one. I saw a canner (waterbath) that will do 9 quarts at a time (Kim_NC, I wish I would have noticed the quart size of the pan) Anyway, I thought Hmmmmm.....? I could get a lot more done with that but my burner is not large enough to accommodate such a huge canner. I have read somewhere that the canner should not exceed more than 2" past the burner. What heat source would be used? Would it be too heavy to maneuver around? The canner was selling for $44.00 (around there, I think) Is it worth the trouble for a larger canner?