This is quite easy to do, and when the jars are this hot anything really can set them off. Even a stiff wind, no really. I used to can outdoors when I was using a turkey fryer burner. Yeah don't do that.Quote:
Originally Posted by TheGrey
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This is quite easy to do, and when the jars are this hot anything really can set them off. Even a stiff wind, no really. I used to can outdoors when I was using a turkey fryer burner. Yeah don't do that.Quote:
Originally Posted by TheGrey
I didn't bother with the rack because the jars won't stand up straight with it in there anyway. There were only 3 pint jars in there to start, then one broke. When I put the last one in, I immediately started seeing stuff that was in the jars floating in the water of the pot. I went back in with the jar holder because I thought I had a lid on wrong or something, and everything poured out of the bottom. I strained out the the jalapenos and just kept boiling.
Now that the jars have been cooling, they both have sealed, so that's good. On the plus side, I'm trying a cheddar, jalapeno version of my no knead bread.
Awesome!Quote:
Originally Posted by Irving
I think the culprit was the absence of the rack. My G'ma said to never can without the rack at the bottom. The heat is too intense on the other side of the pot of the burner.
However, since it broke immediately; It could have also been that the contents of the jar were either too cold (the liquid you used to fill the jar was cold and you put it in hot water) OR the contents of jar were too hot (you hot-packed the contents and put the jars in cool water)
I had the bad luck with 16 quarts of chicken stock Thursday. I decided I was going to try out some Tattler reusable lids and not read the directions. Had to reprocess ALL of them.
Probably a bad jar. None of the jars I used were brand new, and everything was hot inside and out.
Always use a rack- they sell racks separately as well. They keep the cans from the direct heat.
I'll have to grab a rack to go into this thing. It's so large I had to use a cutting board and a crock pot lid TOGETHER to try and make a lid to keep the heat up. It worked perfectly, but was less than ideal...
I have also successfully used my tamale steamer to hot water bath can. Usually they have a rack a few inches above the bottom. A great multitasker. It has been a brew kettle (6.5 gallons), stock 'simmerer' (6.5 gallons), tamale steamer, and a hot water bath canner. It also holds more jars than my blue canner like you got there.
This one can hold 7 quart jars in the rack. I can't imagine making that much food at once, but maybe one day I will.
I put a turkey carcass, as well as extra roasted bones, veggie trimmings, etc into my roaster oven, added water and stock and simmered it for 24 hours. I canned seven quarts of stock, and have three more quarts to can tomorrow. :)
Once you start, you'll be amazed at how much food you can put up.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Irving
Shoot! This sale lasts only through the 24th, but it's still a good one!
Sprouts has pineapples on sale for .98 each.
Asparagus is $1.98/lb
Certain brands of apples are .88/lb.
Time to break out the Canners and the dehydrators!
Sub!
King Soopers has their "buy 5, save $5" sale this week (January 1 - January 6). Skippy peanut butter is $1.79 each. when you buy 5. Peanut butter is an item that has a long shelf life, and as long as you and your family members aren't allergic to peanuts, there are numerous benefits to having peanut butter as an item in your supplies.
Pineapple is again $1 each. This is an easy product to can or dehydrate.
There are several more items on sale- as long as you have a King Soopers card, you can take advantage of the deals.
Just a quick info that Kwando shared with me last night...
$20/year SAMs membership:
1-Year Sam's Club Membership + $25 Sam's Club Gift Card $45 (In-Store Only) - http://slickdeals.net/share/iphone_app/fp/141662
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I've been busy. I bought Roma tomatoes at Sprouts when they were .44/lb- I bought a case of 25#. After washing them, I shoved them into a bunch of gallon Ziploc bags and put them in the chest freezer until I could devote ore time to them. Freezing the tomatoes makes them a snap to peel...but next time, I'm going to wash and core them (not a full core, but basically twisting the knife around the stem, and removing the white core) before I freeze them.
Peppers went on sale about a week after that, so I seeded them and froze them, too. I bought 5# of sweet onions and 5# of purple onions.
Today I finally had time, so I roughly chopped the onions and dumped them into my 18-quart electric turkey roaster along with the frozen pepper pieces. I realized then that I forgot to pick up garlic, but I had some minced garlic in the fridge so I threw in a heaping spoonful as well. I put my biggest pasta pot on the stove with water and set it to boil, scrubbed the sink clean and plugged it. I dumped in the frozen tomatoes, and dumped the boiling water on the tomatoes. The skins slicked right off! I tossed the skinned tomatoes into the roaster whole, set it on 375 degrees for about 5 hours, stirring occasionally. At the end of five hours, things had roasted and broken down to very soft pieces. I used my immersible blender to turn it into a chunky sauce, transferred it into wide-mouth pints with 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice and water-bath processed it for 25 minutes. I got 14 pints of tomato sauce that can be used for anything from chili to spaghetti sauce, depending on the spices I choose. Not bad for an afternoon!
One more thing: Zaycon foods (http://www.zayconfresh.com) is having an incredible sale on their chicken breasts- $1.67/lb. Most grocery stores will say they're having a good sale at $1.99/lb, and this is often chicken that has been processed in China. Zaycon bypasses all of that. If you're so inclined, PM me for a referral link (I get a little bit knocked off my next order) but there's no obligation. Don't wait for long, because the chicken will sell out fast at this price! The pick-up date is June 27.
I've always missed out on the chicken breasts for whatever reason, they usually sell out quick. I was able to get in on this order, got 80lbs coming. Thanks for the reminder, I've read reviews that this chicken is super good quality.Quote:
Originally Posted by TheGrey
You've got a PM coming.Quote:
Originally Posted by TheGrey
Got the PM, crays!
I'm glad you were both able to take advantage of the chicken deal. I don't think you'll regret it.
I told crays this in a PM, but I'll put it out there for everyone: 40# of chicken needs a fair-sized space to store, and you're going to want to process it (chop it up, freeze it, can it, whatever) within a day of receiving it. The chicken itself is placed in thick blue plastic bags, and the whole thing is in a sturdy waxed cardboard box, but it was not meant to be stored like that. When I order chicken from Zaycon, the day I'm to pick up my order is the day that I clear my sideboards and my schedule, and have my pressure canner/jars/Food Saver at the ready. This isn't your average supermarket chicken that's been doused in preserving chemicals.
Been wanting to get the Zaycon chicken breasts, I just don't have the space to store 40 lbs right now. I did get their wings once and learned that the bags they package in are not sealed so I had to scramble to get my vacuum sealer ready. I also like their ribs which I go through all 12 racks rather quickly and just grabbed a case of kielbasa that are tasty and fit 6 to a quart size vac sealer bag. For the ribs I cut the racks in half and seal into gallon size vac seal bags.
Just ordered a pressure canner the other day. Should be here Tuesday.
Well it's ABOUT TIME, Pickles. I thought you were NEVER going to get one. ;)
It's been sitting on the want list in my Amazon for most of a year now I bet. I just added it to another order for the heck of it.
This deal is a really good one. Do you know anyone with extra freezer space? Have you thought about canning it?Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave
What kind did you order? How big? What brand?Quote:
Originally Posted by Irving
I don't know, some big Presto.
I've got a Presto. It's a good brand.
Looks like it was this one.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Yep, that's the one I use. It's a good one!
Let me know if you need help or have questions. And when you're pressure-canning, add 2 Tbsp of white vinegar to the 3 quarts of water, or you'll get a white film on the outside of your jars.
No one at work is willing to go in for a case, and I don't have canning equipment yet.Quote:
Originally Posted by TheGrey
Do you have a foodsaver?
If all else fails, you could wrap them in tinfoil and put them in the freezer. You can flatten each one so it doesn't take up too much space...Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave
The nice thing is that you have a little bit of time yet.
I'll go halfsies. Cant make the pickup, but can meet you soon after. I drive along 225 from the tech center 5 times a week just after 6 pm.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave
Hell, I may be able to go for 1.5 case...
Then the gov wouldn't know you had preps!Quote:
Originally Posted by TheGrey
JK. Lots of ways to freeze. Good protein to deal with the potential T2 onset.
I do have a foodsaver sealer, it's what I used for the other items I purchase through them. I just have quite a bit in the freezer right now between Zaycon orders and King Soopers having recent sales on whole chickens and pork shoulders. Though with bird flu threatening poultry supplies I probably should just grab a case so I'm not having to pay $4 a pound in a few months.
I understand- my freezers overfloweth right now too. :) Do you plan on getting a pressure canner in the next few weeks? I've heard a rumor that Target is having a sale on canning jars right now, although I haven't validated it- you could get a canner and a couple of cases of pint jars (I've found widemouth jars are easiest for canning meats) before the Zaycon pickup date of June 27th. Canning chicken breasts is about as simple and straightforward as you can hope for, and pressure canners are no longer the scary "my aunt's best friend had one explode in her kitchen" devices that used to be the stuff of urban legends.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave
That being said, Zaycon normally has chicken for sale about three or four times a year. This is the lowest price I've seen, though (it's usually anywhere from $1.89/lb-$1.99/lb) and I am not sure how the bird flu is going to affect future offerings.
We don't have any canning supplies yet. We are in the process of trying to move more to the west side of town and after we do we plan on setting up a canning process. We'll probably start with water bath canning jellies and high acid foods since I have an old brew pot from my stove top extract brewing days we can use for that. Neither of us have real experience in canning yet except the times I helped my mom when I was a kid, but that was 20+ years ago. I thought someone in CO Springs was going to have a class, but I think the thread disappeared.
I'm ordering a case anyway to vac pack, I'll stuff my hops freezer with them if I have to.
That is why I bought a case. Since I am no longer going to Germany I have lots of canning jars in need of stuff to put in them. We will freeze some but also looking at the sausage links to can as well.[Flower]Quote:
Originally Posted by TheGrey
You know, I seem to remember you posting something about your moving. I forgot! Mea Culpa. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave
Jerry was going to give a class, but that was before he was going to TDY/PCS. I may try and do a class sometime, but it would be mid-to-late summer.
Whoa- you're not? I didn't realize that.Quote:
Originally Posted by jerrymrc
Not a canner. There is a canner , up here, that covers most all of my southern pepper/vinegar tasties (okra, peach salsa, corn salsa, relishes). One thing she doesn't do is chow chow. I loves me some chow chow.
http://www.mtnlaurel.com/recipes/752...ow-relish.html
http://www.cooks.com/recipe/in0e62id...ow-relish.html
Chow Chow! Everyone's got their own special version of chow chow. :)