What are you canning now?

[PioneerPrincess]

I'm curious, have any of y'all ever canned pumpkin before? I heard that you couldn't but not sure if it's true?? I haven't researched any on it yet. I would love to hear your thoughts on canning pumpkin. Also, we're planning to can apples (we're thinking slices & apple sauce and maybe jam & apple pie filling) on Friday. I'm so excited! It will be my first time canning/ helping with canning.
: )

 

[akelley]

I'm curious, have any of y'all ever canned pumpkin before? I heard that you couldn't but not sure if it's true?? I haven't researched any on it yet.  I would love to hear your thoughts on canning pumpkin.  Also, we're planning to can apples (we're thinking slices & apple sauce and maybe jam & apple pie filling) on Friday. I'm so excited! It will be my first time canning/ helping with canning. 
: )

Pumpkin puree is too dense to can safely at home, no matter what method you use. Pumpkin butter is also considered unsafe to can, although I think I remember soneone here saying they do it.

You can can pumpkin in chunks, I believe, but I have never done it. I personally prefer to freeze my pumpkin puree. It keeps for a long time, and thaws quickly.

Your house is going to smell divine after canning apples all day!

 

[donrae]

Pumpkin puree is too dense to can safely at home, no matter what method you use. Pumpkin butter is also considered unsafe to can, although I think I remember soneone here saying they do it.

You can can pumpkin in chunks, I believe, but I have never done it. I personally prefer to freeze my pumpkin puree. It keeps for a long time, and thaws quickly.

Your house is going to smell divine after canning apples all day!

Yep, pumpkin puree is a no-go at home, even with a pressure canner. The USDA has tested and can't get a good temp for safety. Chunks are apparently okay, but I don't know how large the chunks should be. I also just freeze my pumpkin puree. Thaws pretty fast in a bowl of hot water.

 

[PioneerPrincess]

Pumpkin puree is too dense to can safely at home, no matter what method you use. Pumpkin butter is also considered unsafe to can, although I think I remember soneone here saying they do it.

You can can pumpkin in chunks, I believe, but I have never done it. I personally prefer to freeze my pumpkin puree. It keeps for a long time, and thaws quickly.

Your house is going to smell divine after canning apples all day!

Yep, pumpkin puree is a no-go at home, even with a pressure canner. The USDA has tested and can't get a good temp for safety. Chunks are apparently okay, but I don't know how large the chunks should be. I also just freeze my pumpkin puree. Thaws pretty fast in a bowl of hot water.

Okay, wow, I had no idea! Thanks so much for letting me know! I really appreciate it. I have frozen our pumpkin puree before so I will probably do that again. : )

 

[jomoncon]

This sounds delicious, especially with the cooler weather coming on. Do you have a recipe you could post?

Don't really have a recipe, just made the soup as if I were going to eat it. Smoked a large pork but for about an hour with apple wood chunks. Cut the roast in several large chunks & pressure cooked it for about 1/2 hour until it was very tender. Let it cool & cut it into soup-sized pieces, about 3/4". Put it in a large pot & added a lot of chicken broth. Added about 3 chopped onions & 2 handfuls of my own dried parsley. Started adding the frozen mixed veggies & canned mushrooms until the mixture looked about right. Needed more broth, but was out of chicken, so I added beef. Adjusted seasonings, especially pepper. DH likes a dark colored soup, so in went the kitchen bouquet. When it looked & tasted right, I pressure canned for 90 minutes. Pints at sea level.

I do this recipe with pork or beef - whichever happens to be the cheapest when I need to make some more. If I want to make a stew out of it, I just add a little cornstarch when reheating & serve it over rice.

 

[jomoncon]

I have just been in a pressure canning mood lately. Maybe it's because the weather has finally started to turn cooler & I don't mind the heat in the house. Yesterday, did 25 pints of of spaghetti meat sauce. 3 didn't seal & that gets DH so mad! He spends forever trying to figure out what happened. Did we fill to much? Did we not wipe the rims completely? Were the rings on not tight enough? I say it just happens. Either put the jars in the fridge or dump the contents in zipper bags & freeze.

Today, it's going to be red beans & sausage and a little tasso. I picked up a 4 pound bag of red beans. I've never canned beans before, but I'll follow the instructions in the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving. I hope they come out OK & not be too hard or soft after canning.

 

[akelley]

I have just been in a pressure canning mood lately. Maybe it's because the weather has finally started to turn cooler & I don't mind the heat in the house. Yesterday, did 25 pints of of spaghetti meat sauce. Today, it's going to be red beans & sausage and a little tasso. I picked up a 4 pound bag of red beans. I've never canned beans before, but I'll follow the instructions in the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving. I hope they come out OK & not be too hard or soft after canning.

When I can beans at home, I put the raw beans in the jars (1/2c. per pt. if I remember right) and cover with hot water to 1/4" headspace, then process them. It keeps them from getting too mushy, and cuts down on cooking (and the accompanying dirty pots and pans). I have done beans the BBB way, and they were a little mushy, but not inedible.

 

[donrae]

I have just been in a pressure canning mood lately. Maybe it's because the weather has finally started to turn cooler & I don't mind the heat in the house. Yesterday, did 25 pints of of spaghetti meat sauce. 3 didn't seal & that gets DH so mad! He spends forever trying to figure out what happened. Did we fill to much? Did we not wipe the rims completely? Were the rings on not tight enough? I say it just happens. Either put the jars in the fridge or dump the contents in zipper bags & freeze.

Today, it's going to be red beans & sausage and a little tasso. I picked up a 4 pound bag of red beans. I've never canned beans before, but I'll follow the instructions in the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving. I hope they come out OK & not be too hard or soft after canning.

I follow the BBB rules and have canned tons of beans. They come out just fine, not mushy at all but nicely cooked. I'll tell you, for the price and convenience you can't beat canning your own!

 

[jomoncon]

When I can beans at home, I put the raw beans in the jars (1/2c. per pt. if I remember right) and cover with hot water to 1/4" headspace, then process them. It keeps them from getting too mushy, and cuts down on cooking (and the accompanying dirty pots and pans). I have done beans the BBB way, and they were a little mushy, but not inedible.

This morning, I had to pressure can a few remaining jars of spaghetti meat sauce and thought I'd try canning a few jars of beans using both methods, the precooking from BBB and the raw pack. After canning & letting them cool, I had a taste of both methods. Honestly, they were very, very close in both texture & taste. I think the raw pack had a slightly better texture, just a little firmer. Of course, the raw pack is quicker & has fewer pots.

The one thing is that the raw pack jar did not seal. I know sometimes not sealing just happens, but I'm wondering if I did something basically wrong and would wind up with an entire canner full of unsealed jars. akelley, I just reread your post & you fill your jars with hot water to 1/4", I filled mine to 1". That shouldn't effect sealing, should it?

 

[akelley]

This morning, I had to pressure can a few remaining jars of spaghetti meat sauce and thought I'd try canning a few jars of beans using both methods, the precooking from BBB and the raw pack. After canning & letting them cool, I had a taste of both methods. Honestly, they were very, very close in both texture & taste. I think the raw pack had a slightly better texture, just a little firmer. Of course, the raw pack is quicker & has fewer pots.

The one thing is that the raw pack jar did not seal. I know sometimes not sealing just happens, but I'm wondering if I did something basically wrong and would wind up with an entire canner full of unsealed jars. akelley, I just reread your post & you fill your jars with hot water to 1/4", I filled mine to 1". That shouldn't effect sealing, should it?

I don't think so, and my headspace measurement could be wrong; I'd have to double check my notes. The extra water is for the beans to absorb, instead of soaking them or cooking them.

Every once in a while I will have a jar not seal, but I haven't had a noticeable issue with failed seals on raw packed beans.