Canning and Food Preservation

Geezer

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Starting a new Sticky thread for your discussions and helpful hints for canning and preserving food. Personally, I think this is something that needs passed on down to the next generations.
 
Im rustling up some pics and including techniques and tools to assist the process. Thanks Geezer and the admin crew!
Rooster
 
Well good!! Now I want (need in my life) a recipe that pickles eggs all the way through! I can tomato juice and have some pics and recipes if anyone would be interested.
 
maybe I will scan my Presto 1974 canning book since it comes with all the goodies in an easy to read format. Also, includes canning meat which seems to be a lost art nowadays.
And it lists hogshead cheese, wild game recipes, etc stuff that is really invaluable.

BTW if you don't have an electric pressure cooker by now, I would highly suggest getting one. They get up on pressure FAST and are completely automated and pressure is highly regulated. Makes onesy-twosy canning sessions easy and cooks the heck out of a chicken :D
 
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maybe I will scan my Presto 1974 canning book since it comes with all the goodies in an easy to read format. Also, includes canning meat which seems to be a lost art nowadays.
And it lists hogshead cheese, wild game recipes, etc stuff that is really invaluable.

BTW if you don't have an electric pressure cooker by now, I would highly suggest getting one. They get up on pressure FAST and are completely automated and pressure is highly regulated. Makes onesy-twosy canning sessions easy and cooks the heck out of a chicken :D
Electric pressure cooker....dang I am behind the times. I didnt know they made such a critter. Does it have the "dancing weight" on top to regulate the pressure? Some of my fondest memories are from the kitchen and include a pressure pot doing its thing pressure canning.....good times!
Rooster
 
Electric pressure cooker....dang I am behind the times. I didnt know they made such a critter. Does it have the "dancing weight" on top to regulate the pressure? Some of my fondest memories are from the kitchen and include a pressure pot doing its thing pressure canning.....good times!
Rooster
its controlled by a microprocessor. We have one made by Rosewill and it has presets for poultry, etc just like a microwave. You put water in the bottom, set it and forget it.

 
Stockin Apples(preserves)....this recipe can be cut down for a smaller batch if desired. Also, the sugars can be altered for a different taste or stevia can be used if someone has "sugar" and needs to modify. Applesauce can be made by deleting most of the sugar but watch your cook as the apples will burn faster when the sugars are decreased. I will include pics of equipment,View attachment 70888 View attachment 70888 View attachment 70889 View attachment 70888 View attachment 70889 SAM_0164.JPG SAM_0158.JPG View attachment 70892 View attachment 70893 SAM_0162.JPG SAM_0159.JPG View attachment 70888 View attachment 70889 SAM_0164.JPG SAM_0158.JPG View attachment 70892 View attachment 70893 SAM_0162.JPG SAM_0159.JPG View attachment 70889 SAM_0164.JPG SAM_0158.JPG View attachment 70892 View attachment 70892 recipe and other pics to help the process. Lets start with the pics and apologies if the thread is a lil cockeyed with the information.
 

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Well the pics loaded in duplicate...maybe a mod can delete the duplicates and tighten up the text. Here is one more I missedSAM_0163.JPG

I wash apples(all produce) in a 30%vinegar to water solution to help kill anything that may make the jar fail or someone sick. The peeler is a KALI and its the only one I use as its the best manual peeler I have found but its quite pricey unfortunately. The apples are Honey Crisp and the ones you see are from 11/2017 and I processed in early 07/18...about a 30% loss rate. If I had gotten to these before 06/18 they would have been mostly fine but apples dont hold well after 7 months refrigerated. After peeling, I quarter the apples and put into pot with a few tablespoons of water to buffer the heat until they get up to speed heat wise. I usually run a medium heat and "clock" the large pan every 7 minutes and stir, scraping the bottom with a long heat(red) spatula. The large pan covers 2 burners and will create 2 hot spots; clocking(90degrees turning) will prevent product from burning. Stir frequently and they cook about an hour.
Recipe: The COOK
12 Quarts apples peeled and quartered
4 C white sugar
4 C brown sugar(dark or light)
3 C water
2 C citric acid(lemon, lime juice) more of this if you want tart or less if u like
3 cinnamon sticks
4 T salt

Recipe: The CANNING
When your mixture has darkened some and you can cut apple pieces with the spatula you are ready for your jars. By cooking longer, more water will evaporate and you will get a concentrate and stiffer product....also sweeter and your yield will drop off.
I wash my jars and stage on their side or upright in the oven at 230 degrees, light heat on a pan of water with lids(rubbers up) and make sure you handle jars with canning tongs.
Use a large mouth funnel and fill jars to about 1/2" of the top cleaning the jar if you need too where the lid seals. Dont over tighten the rings when assembling
Done....the jar yield you see in the pics is what you will get with this recipe.

ADDITIONAL: For long storage I remove the cinnamon sticks as they keep adding flavor and after 10 or 20 years will yield a medicinal taste. Raisins can be added if you wish but I would avoid nuts as the lipids(fats) may spoil and ruin your jar content. As with all home canned products, if the lid "springs" up and down when depressed toss the content! Keep the jar though!

Rooster
 
Stocking Tomatoes, Italian "gravy" or marinara. This recipe is for 1 bushel (2x .5 bushels) of ripe(lil soft is best) tomatoes, cored and cut up without pushing all the juice out. Smaller pieces will speed up your cook but a dull knife or fiddlin with the cut pieces to much will make a mess. Learn to work your knife and develop a technique; I cut a slab off the fruit beside the core first, then a "V" to excise the core and toss it in the compost pile. Then cut the fruit down and toss in pot....simple as that. Ill add the pics next then the recipe... SAM_0165.JPG SAM_0166.JPG SAM_0169.JPG SAM_0170.JPG SAM_0168.JPG SAM_0171.JPG SAM_0172.JPG SAM_0173.JPG
 
Wash the tomatoes in a 30% vinegar to water solution for decontamination and safety. The food mill is a larger model and can be found on auction sites for about $125 or used for much less. If you buy used, make sure it has all the dies. I use the smallest hole die(pic) to catch the seeds as we dont want those in our sauce for many reasons. Notice I have 3 pans. The larger pan straddles 2 burners and needs to be stirred/clocked for the cook every 7 minutes...set the timer and make it a habit. The large and medium pan hold the tomato mixture for the cook and the smaller pan I place the mill on; notice there is a smooth lip(no ledge) so you dont shave pieces of the mill into your food(see pic). The large pan has a ledge for a lip and any pan the mill rides on should be smooth as you can see in the pics where the mill was placed in a ledged pan and shaved.

Recipe:
1 bushel of ripened tomatoes, remove core and most of the pith(white)
1 lb of peeled garlic

Cook down tomatoes and garlic until soft, usually about an hour on medium heat; A little water in pans to start will help with scorching if you wish;fruit will want to char a lil until tomatoes release moisture. Low temps at first! If you happened to feel a burn spot in bottom of pan dont fiddle with it and it will clean up when you wash the pans. If you scorch the thing you will taste it and need to toss mixture in the compost pile. When mixture has softened and the garlic crushes with the stir spoon you are ready for the milling. Stage your clean jars in the oven at 225 degrees...I stack mine on their side as you have to handle them with the canning tongs. Place the medium pan of product beside the mill and get to it.
I do (2) 4oz ladle scoops at a time and move fairly quickie as the liquid keeps everything moving as you work the mill. 10 revolutions pushing, reverse for 1 revolution, 5 or more revolutions pushing, scoop the milled skins and seeds into a scrap bowl. Keep up this process until the pot is empty or dump overage into one (large) pan. I free up my medium pan to hold milled sauce for the canning step; make sure to get all the skins/seeds out but it doesnt need to be spotless. Your small pan will fill until it meets the bottom of the mill and the liquid will need someplace to go(medium pan)**Lift mill, clean spoon, and scrape the bottom of the mill blade into the sauce. Dump small pan into medium pan to hold for canning process. Continues this process until you have milled all product and have consolidated sauce into the medium pan; if your batch is a little large just leave it in your small mill pan until you need it and dump it in medium pan when you have room(see pics).

Canning:
Add to milled product....
.5C of citric acid(lemon juice)this helps with the preservation
.5C kosher coarse salt(any salt will do and TASTE)

Put lids rubber side up into pan of water on low heat.
Bring sauce to a boil and be careful stirring as the bottom of pan is hotter than the rest and when you run a spoon around it will tend to spit.....slow stir!
Ladle sauce into heated jars leaving about 1/2" of head space. Clean lid of jar and apply boiled lid and ring but not too tight. Done....

Additional: I dont add any aromatics(spices) to my canned sauce but I do when Im ready to prep a meal. I find spices can get strong over time and I like my marinara "all stock". You will notice a large amount of garlic and you can cut back if you wish. If you look at the pics you can see garlic pieces in the jars....not seeds. I have modified the mixture before canning by adding BBQ sauce, meat, etc and it turns out just fine. You can buy bagged, peeled garlic and that is what I use to save time. If you add a protein to the mix adjust the salt up and always taste everything for your satisfaction before putting up your jars.

Rooster
 
I've made chow chow, bread and butter pickles, grape jam, and pickled jalapenos so far.
 
Are these recipes not pressure canned?
Hey Basil, these are a short cut method that I have used for many years. The content is heated to a slow boil and the jars are about 225....they pull down sitting on the counter.

Rooster
 
I had some of your apple on toast just a day ago.
I want some more;):)
We don't have much left.
 
maybe I will scan my Presto 1974 canning book since it comes with all the goodies in an easy to read format. Also, includes canning meat which seems to be a lost art nowadays.
And it lists hogshead cheese, wild game recipes, etc stuff that is really invaluable.

BTW if you don't have an electric pressure cooker by now, I would highly suggest getting one. They get up on pressure FAST and are completely automated and pressure is highly regulated. Makes onesy-twosy canning sessions easy and cooks the heck out of a chicken :D
Finally
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Nice to see the pressure canning of animal proteins....thanks for the addition Ikarus. We stored our meats mostly like this: Original VA Country Ham...and friends!

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Rooster
 
Nesco slow cooker for your tomato sauces. No stirring required. Strain your maters, fill it up and let it cook down overnight. We usually reduce 18 quarts down to 10 or 11 quarts. Get the stainless steel pans if you want to.
https://nesco.factoryoutletstore.co...pr.html?category_id=49837&catalogitemid=80022
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I like this for smaller batches! I have seen many recipes that "strain" or process the tomatoes first and then cook or "reduce". This is a way to do it but you lose the flavor of the seeds and the peels during you cook hence and absence of the whole flavor. The only thing I remove from the cook is the core as it will add a bitterness.....the skins and guts cook as well for a fuller flavor.
Rooster
 
I was making bee food for my upcoming apiary adventure and figured I would use the scraps from making the apple preserves, you know, the seeds, core and peels. I took these and added a tablespoon of water to get it going and covered and steeped for 2 hours over medium heat. Then I ran the product through the food mill with the small die and DANG.....there was some of the best applesauce Ive had! I added a little sugar to suit and stuck it in the freezer for its intended purpose....bee food.
I started with cutting 14qts of just apples for the preserves but the "scraps" yielded a full 4 quarts of apples sauce.....that is substantial and I will be using this process going forward to bump the apple yield. Make 14 qts of preserves and get 4 qts of sauce for free...sounds like a deal to me

Rooster
 
Just FYI 220ish degrees will not kill botulism. Boiling water canning is only for very acidic stuff like pickles.

Tomatoes, Fruits, etc aren't acidi enought and can grow botulism even after being boiled.
That's what the 10psi of pressure is for, it bumps up the boiling point of steam / water to over 250 degrees that will kill it.

That's another reason I don't waste time with any other type of 'sanitation' for canned vegetables. Any respectable canning guide will tell you the same
 
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We made our first attempt at canning yesterday with some strawberry lemonade concentrate. We’re hoping to make pickles and salsa when the garden starts producing and maybe moving on to other things later.
 
We are sooo far behind the curve here... as in nothing of canning had been bought. We need to remedy that, But I don't want to buy full retail for it either.
Cant go driving around to the yard sales/ flea markets either.. We're screwed.. lol.
 
Craigslist is the place to look under normal circumstances for canning supplies. If you find one box(even at $15) buy it and get started. Its addicting and satisfying.

R
 
Your local Dollar Store will have the best deals on jars and lids. Talked to a lady at Pressure Cooker outlet and she was very helpful.
 
Your local Dollar Store will have the best deals on jars and lids. Talked to a lady at Pressure Cooker outlet and she was very helpful.
Aldi has canning supplies seasonally and Big Lots also. Im always adding cheap jars to th4 stash when I can.

Got some old ones too...lots of 80s era Ball and older Mason and Atlas jars.

My 19 year old broke one of my 50+ year old Atlas 1.5qt jars and I about lost it
 
Can foods that would be hot water canned be pressure canned? In other words can something like pickles be processed in a pressure canner?
 
Can foods that would be hot water canned be pressure canned? In other words can something like pickles be processed in a pressure canner?
Yep, and in less time. Usually makes for mushy pickles if you dont reduce the time it spends in the steambath
 
Can we pick strawberries this year or have they quarantined the farms? My wife makes Peach, Strawberry and Blackberry preserves that are the best i have ever had. She water bath cans some stuff too. We need to buy a pressure cooker.
 
Can we pick strawberries this year or have they quarantined the farms? My wife makes Peach, Strawberry and Blackberry preserves that are the best i have ever had. She water bath cans some stuff too. We need to buy a pressure cooker.
Not sure about the farms but I bought 8 quarts from a road side stand Monday. Best berries I have had in a long time. Cottle farms I think is who was running it. I’ve seen them in several places around Raleigh.
 
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