Tattler Lids take some getting used to.
If you don't follow the instructions it is very frustrating.
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Tattler Lids take some getting used to.
If you don't follow the instructions it is very frustrating.
I totally agree. That's why I stick with the regular lids that go "pop" when they seal. I've heard of problems with Tattlers, but I know there are some people that swear by them.
For sure. I have some I would use for stuff that I frequently go through and eat on a regular basis. But Plastic is a little more porous than metal. I wouldn't use them for long term.
So you have to process them looser than normal lids and immediately tighten them down when taking them out of the canner.
This video inspired me to get super thick and grippy silicone gloves. I have had this happen (a little bit of siphoning) on one or two jars with regular lids so I feel much better with the gloves that I now use.
What most likely happened is that jar was probably tightened too much prior to being processed and that is what made the lid bulge like that. the gas had nowhere to escape while processing. When you have canned for so long, and you throw in a new procedure, you get into auto-pilot and it is easy as heck to tighten a tattler just like you would a normal jar lid before processing.
Not a fun way to get 2nd degree burns. The one spot on his hand probably was 3rd degree.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5EkoMFGBA8
Sprouts has peaches for sale. $.48/lb. They also have oats in their bulk section for $.69/lb. Jumbo Cantaloupes are $.98 each. Can or dehydrate the fruit, put the oatmeal up in jars or long-term containers.
King Soopers
Northwest cherries for $1.77/lb. Now's the time to grab some cherries, pit them and dehydrate them or can them for cherry pie filling.
Kings also has Cottonelle toilet paper (12 double rolls) or Viva paper towels (6 rolls), 2/$10 (when you buys 2.)
Safeway
24-packs of 16.9 ounce ottles of water for sale for $1.99 each, limit of 4. Refreshe band.
They have boneless skinless chicken breasts for $1.88/lb.
Red or green seedless grapes are $.99/lb- great for freezing and having for treats when the weather does turn hot. You can also dehydrate grapes.
C & H sugar is $1.99/ per 4-lb bag.
Carrots are $.99 per 2-lb bag.
I would highly recommend visiting the farmer's markets in your area- most of them have amazing sizes and varieties of produce and by purchasing food directly from the local farmers, you're supporting them instead of chain stores, and you're almost guaranteed fresher food.
I've never had any luck Canning peaches. Any advice?
Where does it seem to go wrong for you? I have the best luck canning peach halves.
Take a mental note with the Golden Harvest Jars... They are wider than standard Ball or Kerr jars. IE: In my Presto canner I can only fit 18 Pints of Golden Harvest Jars, when normally it would fit 20.Quote:
Originally Posted by TheGrey
Thanks for the Heads up again! I don't frequent sprouts, but I have taken advantage of some good prices several times because you posted them up here!
Pressure canner or water bath?Quote:
Originally Posted by TheGrey
I tried once and when I opened the jar 2 months later, they didn't taste that good. I did try them before canning and they were good.
What recipe were you using?
Hm. Okay- did you use Fruit Fresh on them before you put them in the jars? Did you pack them in a syrup, apple juice, or water? Do you happen to remember if they were hard or soft when you canned them? Did you peel them first? Where did you get them?Quote:
Originally Posted by Madeinhb
I canned mine in a water bath, using Fruit Fresh and a very light sugar syrup I made.
I did't realize that! That's good to know about the Golden Harvest jars. Thanks!Quote:
Originally Posted by rbeau30
I'm glad to hear my posts are helping you save money. :) Sprouts has some awesome deals at times.
I thought that would be something important. We had 20 pints sterilized and filled, then we all of a sudden could not fit them into the canner.... They had to wait until the next batch!Quote:
Originally Posted by TheGrey
Yup! We need a narrative of the process you took. I am sure we can figure out alternatives or a different process to make them tasty for you!Quote:
Originally Posted by TheGrey
I don't remember the recipe as it was a year ago. But I did peel them. They were filled with water. And they were more on the soft side than hard.Quote:
Originally Posted by TheGrey
I use many recipes from this site- I've been very satisfied with the results. Here's what I used for canning peaches (again, I used the water bath method. )
http://www.pickyourown.org/peachescanning.htm
One thing I feel I need to share- I know it states that you can use Stevia or Splenda instead of sugar, and you most certainly can do that, as long as the sugar substitutes are for flavor enhancement only (although I personally don't care for the taste of Splenda.) If you're making jelly or jam, use low-sugar/no-sugar pectin and the amount of sugar the recipe calls for. The sugar combines with the pectin and acts as a preservative. The sugar replacements such as Stevia don't have the same preserving properties, and your jellies/jams won't last as long on the shelf.
Sweet. Thanks for that. Will give that a shot when I get some peaches from the farmers markets
I hope they turn out sweet and juicy!Quote:
Originally Posted by Madeinhb
I've come across a few articles on foods that you should never can at home. The articles all used state and county extension offices as sources.
Before I list them, I know some of the people reading this will have experience in canning the items (or will know someone that has) that are considered verboten. I ask that you take into account the fact that food science is ever-evolving, and that something that may have worked for Grandma or Aunt Jenny may not work for your family. Botulism is invisible, tasteless, and odorless. It can take up to ten days' incubation time. It's scary stuff, and you have to weigh the known dangers against what you know or have always done.
1. Pureed pumpkin. You may can cubed pumpkin safely, but pureed pumpkin is simply too thick to be certain of the food in the very center reaching that 240 degrees that is crucial for killing botulism. This includes pumpkin butter.
2. Bacon. I know this will be a bone of contention, but every extension site I've looked at says the same thing: bacon cannot be safely canned at home. There's simply too much fat in it to be able to can it safely. I've also seen recipes online as to canning bacon, and suggest using brown paper bags to fold and wrap around the meat- I'd suggest that brown paper bags aren't really made to cook in. Have you seen how brown paper bags fragment and shred when they are wet? Canning bacon would partially cook it (again, never knowing if you've reached the 240 degrees necessary) but would also wet the bag enough to let tiny fragments of brown paper to get into your food. A double whammy.
3. Butter. I've seen recipes for creating "ghee," otherwise known as clarified butter. Extension sites suggest that butter is too high in fat, and just like bacon, is impossible to reach that temperature of 240 degrees. The good thing is that butter freezes beautifully. Personally, I think that the powdered butter available is all kinds of vile, although it's okay for baking. Really, though. Ick.
4. Eggs. There's just no canning eggs safely. Raw, scrambled eggs swell in a jar, so you can only fill a jar halfway. That's still a lot of eggs. After processing, they turn sort of grainy. And green. And foul. You can preserve eggs far more effectively by freezing them (I like using those little square Ziploc containers; I can scramble two or three eggs per container, and they stack nicely. Just be sure to scramble the eggs first, and freeze them outside of the eggshell) or dehydration. You can also pickle them, but after about three days' time they have to live in your refrigerator (and can do so for a disturbingly long time.)
The King Soopers by me has a sale on canning jars and lids/rings. Jars are $10 for a case and under, lids are $1.79/pack, a dozen rings and lids are $3.99. Check at the Kings nearest you, and take advantage of the sale!
Jar $7.59/case for quarts, $6.59/cs pints at Costco. Best deal around.
WOW! Is that regular mouth, wide mouth or both?Quote:
Originally Posted by hollohas
Yellow onions, 2 lbs for $1, at Sprouts. I'm late getting this sale up, but it goes through Wednesday. I picked up 10# and will slice them and cook them in the crock pot with a little olive oil before canning them in small jars for those times when a little onion would taste good. I have a devil of a time keeping onions from molding and/or rotting. Can't keep the temperature and humidity levels steady in this house.
I think regular mouth pints and wide mouth quarts. I think...Quote:
Originally Posted by TheGrey
King Soopers has Ball Quarts for 9.99 /case. It isn't as cheap as Costco right now but all the costco's around me do not have Quarts.
Westminster costco has a pallet left of quart mason jars 5.97 each. They are marked down so this is probably all they have left
River Point Costco still has one pallet of Pints for $6.49/dz. The little asterisk on the price sign means they won't be getting any more.
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09...6eb617e865.jpg
Thanks for the info, guys! Excellent prices.
This is very, very late to post, but King Soopers is having an eggs sale for its "simply truth" brand. 2 dozen grade AA large brown eggs for $5. This sale goes through Wednesday.
This is what I did: I previously bought Ziploc snack containers from Walmart. I think there are 6 or 12 to a pack. They're tiny square containers. BHA free.
Each container can hold 2 large eggs. We go through eggs like nobody's business. I broke 2 eggs into a bowl, scrambled them and put them into a Ziploc container. Now it's safe to freeze them, so they can be thawed and used for scrambled eggs or baking or whatever- as long as you scramble the eggs, you can freeze them safely.
So scoop up! :) Apologies for not posting this earlier.
I am canning chili beans today.
I sorted through some dried pinto beans, making sure there were no rocks or dirt clumps. After rinsing, I dumped them into my large stock pot, filled it with water and set it to boil for 3 minutes. I then removed the pot from the burner, and let it sit overnight.
In the morning, I dumped out the nasty water, and rinsed the soaked beans with cool water until it ran clear. I cleaned and sterilized my canning jars, filled them with beans (leaving a bit more than an inch of headspace) and added a tablespoonful of dried onions, and about a half spoonful of chili seasoning. I then filled the jars with biling water, using a wooden skewer to make sure there were no air bubbles, filling with water until there was an inch of headspace.
I wiped the rims with a cloth dipped in vinegar, and put the jars into my pressure canner.
Pints were processed at 13 pounds of pressure for 1 hour and 15 minutes, quarts were processed for 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Easy peasy!
Thanks! I want to add to my bean storage in this manner. Dry beans take so much energy to make edible. Canned beans are pretty much ready to eat.Quote:
Originally Posted by TheGrey
I was also thinking about changing out my dry bean storage for lentils as lentils take less energy to reconstitute. Taking my dried Pintos and canning them in this manner would be a great way to do this.
Don't tell anybody...but you're my hero. [emoji33] [emoji41] [emoji106]Quote:
Originally Posted by TheGrey
via tapatalk
Glad I could help, guys! :)
Two of my quart jars of chili beans didn't seal, dangit.
For any newbies- if your jars haven't sealed, just pop them into the refrigerator until you decide what to do with them (you can either eat them up over the next couple of days, or you can try reprocessing the food again if you have ore canning to do.) If you decide to reprocess, move your food into a clean jar, and use a new lid.
I've read differences of opinion as to how long you should wait to see if your jars will seal; I've seen some people suggest waiting overnight. I'm a little too paranoid for that. I wait until the jars have cooled down, and I test them by pressing my finger in the middle of the lid. It should not pop up or down. If it does, I wrap my hands around the jar- if it's still hot/warm, I wait until it cools and then put it into the fridge. Do NOT put food that is still warm into the fridge. Bacteria LOVE that.
Tomorrow, we're having Yardbird Chili, made with diced tomatoes, chili beans, chicken and caramelized onions- all of which I've canned!
We have lentils in reserve as well- I'm still learning how to cook them/how not to overcook them. ;) I'll get there one day.
Albertsons has 2 pounds of Tillamook cheese for $6.99 with coupon in their flyer.
This cheese waxes well, and I have been storing this cheese like that for a year now with no issues, and rotating it through. It is a real good premium cheese to store.
Sam's club has entire pork loins for $1.88/lb. The total cost is usually under $20. About a year or so ago, the price skyrocketed to over $2.50/lb.
I usually buy one, chop off the ends for pulled pork in the crock pot, and slice pork chops out of the middle.
Otherwise, I chop the loin into chunks, add some dried onion and a little salt, and stuff it into jars and can it. No need to add water or broth; the meat will provide its own.
Tillamook cheese is SO tasty.Quote:
Originally Posted by rbeau30
King Soopers has the same cheese blocks for $6.99 without a coupon currently. I grab the Medium cheddar, chop it in half, and wax it. A year later it seems not all that much "sharper" in flavor. I have a double-boiler dedicated to cheese wax. When it is time to use a block of cheese, peel the wax off the block of cheese and put in fridge. Wash removed wax, air dry, and melt next time I wax more cheese blocks.
I store them in the basement pantry (66-70 degrees on average) on cookies sheets with parchment paper. Rotate them every few months to combat gravity.
Only problem I have ever had in the last year is a block came in contact with another block and the wax stuck to each other. When I tried separating them the wax cracked. And another block had an air bubble trapped and allowed a bit of mold to start under the wax. I un-waxed the cheese, and cut off the mold, and ate it. Yum.
Is waxing cheese as easy as it seems?
I think so. However I have not waxed any cheese like Swiss with little holes in it. I purposely chose cheddar for its versatility and smooth surface. I also chose Tillamook, because it is a premium cheese and I am probably over-cautious, but I just trust it better than a store brand for example. (and like TheGrey just said, it is friggin' delicious!) If I was back where I grew up, I would be buying the cheese I store from the cheese factory where I know it is literally just cheese.Quote:
Originally Posted by Irving
Get a double boiler from a thrift store or a super cheap one from walmart (had to seriously spend a day trying to find one). You will never use the top pot for anything else as wax is hard to clean out. I bought true cheese wax from my neighborhood home brewing store as paraffin is not flexible enough.
I didn't really bother with leaving the cheese out for a day to "sweat" the cheese. So far I haven't had negative results.
Once wax is melted, I grab the block of cheese and lower it (corner first!) into the wax just over half way (beware of displacement! you don't want wax flowing onto burner!) and set it on the parchment wax side up.
I dip the wax a total of 4 times. And store like I said above.
The purpose of waxing cheese is to get air away from the cheese. As long as there is no air, there is no mold!
The article I read about waxing cheese was talking about using a brush to apply the wax. You've already had cheese last at least a year with your technique?
Can you talk a little about wax temps? I know with candles, if you get the wax too hot, it goes into a thin liquid form that won't coat things (I was making fire starters) and will just soak into material. I imagine heating cheese wax is similar.
Successfully ate and survived the 1 year old cheese. It actually tasted just like it did when I got it from the store. I bought Medium Cheddar and It may have been a little sharper, but I could not really tell. I also (as an experiment) waxed some Colby-Jack in the same first ever batch, and it turned out just fine as well.Quote:
Originally Posted by Irving
The brush, folks use to get in the nooks and crannies of cheese with holes in it and waxing larger wheels, that you cannot fit in your pot to dunk in the wax. The trick with that from what I have read is to use a natural bristle brush. They should have them at kitchen stores.
I chop my 2 lb blocks in half so they fit in my double-boiler so all I have to do is just dunk them in there, and it leaves a air tight coating of wax. let cool for 30 seconds, flip over and coat the other side. let cool for 30 seconds, and coat the opposite side. 30 seconds and coat the last side. you can coat them more, and some folks dip them 4 to 6 times more.
Temperature is precisely why I use a double boiler, water boils at 210 degrees (203 degrees in Denver because of altitude) The wax will never get above that temperature unless you boil it dry. This is why you melt chocolate, temper eggs, etc in a double boiler because it is a much more gentle way of heating the material inside the pot. And prevents scorching like what you are describing. If the wax gets too hot it separates.
Seems like dunking is a waybetter method for cheese with holes. Do you find you can save money by purchasing in bulk then saving in dry storage?