My grandmother was the canner of the family but can no longer do it so here I am. What is the best and most economical setup? I don't want to spend a fortune but what is the best budget minded canning set up?
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My grandmother was the canner of the family but can no longer do it so here I am. What is the best and most economical setup? I don't want to spend a fortune but what is the best budget minded canning set up?
Pressuring canning with jars, or using actual cans like HBRAleatherneck does?
With jars. What does HBAR do?
I know nothing.[Flower] If you do a little search here you should find what you need.
Dry goods in #10 cans.Quote:
Originally Posted by trlcavscout
Quote:
Originally Posted by blacklabel
Process dry goods in the oven.
I have a Presto 23 quart for pressure canning (< $100)
http://www.amazon.com/Presto-01781-2...ressure+cooker
I got one of those enameled pot canners for boiling water bath canning from walmart or Ace Hardware. If you get the pressure canner you can use it for both.
Get the "Ball Blue book of Canning" It has never let me down.
http://www.amazon.com/Ball-Blue-Book.../dp/0972753702
It has recipes and also tells you the basics and how much you need to adjust for high altitude and why.
I've been canning for 20 years.
i have the same canner, just did another 10lbs of Zaycon beef today.Quote:
Originally Posted by rbeau30
http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps4576ec3e.jpg
Just don't use an outdoor turkey-fryer burner to heat the canner. Don't ask me why I know.
...other than it says in the directions which I promptly threw away after opening the box.
How is that Zaycon meat?Im trying to pick anything descent and cheap to stockup on for canning meats.When doing hamburger do you brown first?I have not did HB yet.Right now Im getting jars 16oz from amazon for 37.00 for 48 or 4cases shipped to the house.You guy know a better place?Quote:
Originally Posted by Rooskibar03
I have a Fagor 8 qt pressure canner. I have canning supplies, but haven't tried canning yet. I'm concerned about the weighted pressure valve. I assume it is for sea level and not this altitude. How can I find out? Should I just try and contact the company and order a new one? My mom has had this pressure cooker for 20ish years and gave it to me.
Very good beef. 97/3 and when I drain it there is almost no grease. I brown it with salt, pepper, garlic and then throw a bullion cube in the bottom of the jars. Fill with beef and then hot water.Quote:
Originally Posted by coyote3
When I bought my PC I took it out to the Jeffco fairgrounds CU Extension office and had then test the gauge. It's 10 bucks but I know the pressure is right.Quote:
I have a Fagor 8 qt pressure canner. I have canning supplies, but haven't tried canning yet. I'm concerned about the weighted pressure valve. I assume it is for sea level and not this altitude. How can I find out? Should I just try and contact the company and order a new one? My mom has had this pressure cooker for 20ish years and gave it to me.
There are lots of places that check pressure guages, most places like Amerigas that sell different gasses under pressure, Welding Supply places, etc should be able to test your guage.
When I was at Costco yesterday I didn't see any Ball jars for canning. They move them around or they finally sold out. Glad I got a bunch when they could be found.
The gauge is measuring the pressure of the internal not external. You have 0 at rest and pressure climbs as time/temp increase. 20 lbs of pressure / PSI is 20lbs of pressure.Quote:
Originally Posted by Irving
I have enough empties that I can wait until seasonal sales at Walmart or Ace Hardware or any other place. I also sometimes have luck at thrift stores.Quote:
Originally Posted by roberth
In the book they recommend slightly longer cook times for our altitude. Should I be able to follow that and be good to go?Quote:
Originally Posted by Great-Kazoo
For pressure canning it is more pressure. For water bath it is more time. Your type of canner with the wiggler should have 10-15 lbs on it. Use the 15lb setting for up here.Quote:
Originally Posted by Irving
That's the thing Jerry, I can't adjust it and I assume it came with the 10lb. Do I need the 15lb before attempting to can?
I've heard that canning isn't as effective for long term storage as dehydrating, due to the altitude here. Any thoughts?
Yes, Don't play around with botulism. http://www.foodsafety.gov/blog/home_canning.htmlQuote:
Originally Posted by Irving
It is rare, and if you follow the theories and rules while canning it is really hard to get. Like:
- Always process the full extent of the recipe (including altitude adjustments)
- If the pressure dips below the minimum (IE: 15 lbs), I always restart the clock.
- The design of the jar and lid helps you know if a food is bad.
If jar "pops" while being stored... throw contents out.
Don't store with rings screwed on, it may prevent a lid from "popping" and indicating bad food.
Don't stack jars, this may prevent a lid from popping, indicating bad food.
look and smell, if a food smells bad when opening throw away.
- Bring food up to boiling before serving whenever possible.
- The botulin (sp?) toxin is neutralized with heat, so even if there is a very very very very minute amount after all your precautions and the lid does not pop, the botulizm organizm should be made dormant again at 210 (or lower at our altuitude) and the boiling neutralizes the toxin that the organizm makes.
I have successfully eaten items over 5 years old up here (water bath canned jelly/pickles, and pressure canned chili and beef stock) and it tasted like canned food.Quote:
Originally Posted by sellersm
The reason why you need higher pressure here is that it takes more pressure to get the contents of your canner to the temperature where the Botulism organism dies. You cannot kill it with just boiling water, it goes dormant. Water boils at a lower temp here, therefore it never gets above lets say 205 degrees. In order to get it to 240 degrees you need to put it under pressure. It just takes more pressure to get the water to 240 degrees here than at sea level.
Ohhh and OP, if you want to get REALLY cheap with canning you can get reusable lids! I have never used them, and have heard mixed reviews... but perhaps it is worth a try.
http://www.reusablecanninglids.com/
Take a closer look. they come in two styles, round and tree. The round one has 3 holes and the tree type one should be in 3 pieces. If it is only a tree type and is solid those are used for most canners that have a dial gauge as well. They are set to start relieving pressure @15 lbs so the real blow off does not go.Quote:
Originally Posted by Irving
Post a couple of pics.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jerrymrc
Like when you try canning with a turkey-fryer burner.
I have seen some like jerry is describing. The round one is a cylinder with 3 different positions around the rounded edges? Each corresponding to a different pressure.
Attachment 38997
My grandma had an old one with just a weight and no guage... She said she could tell the right temp by the sound it made.
Quote:
My grandma had an old one with just a weight and no guage... She said she could tell the right temp by the sound it made.
I KNOW that got your attention.[LOL]Quote:
Like when you try canning with a turkey-fryer burner.
Most of the single ones were actually 3 in ones. I have seen many that after a few batches do not just fall apart and people never knew. a true one piece solid will start its dance at 15 lbs. And yes they have a particular sound. The 3 piece with all intact are 15 lbs. This was to insure that you got enough pressure no matter what since 15 psi is good to 10000'.
Here are my two cheat sheets I hand out in my canning class. Attachment 39009Attachment 39011
Class??? Do you still do those? Are there free samples? When's the next one?Quote:
Originally Posted by jerrymrc
Ohh it did alright. The bottom of it bowed out and became round just before it blew... good thing I was outside. Everything on the inside of those cans was on the outside and all over the porch overhang... yeah so not fun.
Lesson learned, if you are using high enough BTUs on an aluminum pot, it actually makes it malleable enough for the inside pressure to affect it. I only got like $10 in aluminum recycling money for it. BOO
I need to do another one. I will see about march-april time frame. The last one was a combo class that included Mylar storage as well.Quote:
Class??? Do you still do those? Are there free samples? When's the next one?
I canned 12 jars of plum jelly, 15 pints of salsa, 9 pints of Yukon gold potatoes and 8 pints of green beans.
Keep an eye on the sales at Sprouts- you can really get some good deals.
One thing- don't use the canning lids or jars from Walmart under the "Mainstay" brand. They're crap, and won't hold a seal.
I use the mainstay stuff all the time, no problems. Make sure you aren't overfilling the jar as the contents will spooge into the seal area during process and prevent a good seal. But that issue can flaw up any brand lid.
Talk to me about potatoes. I always end up tossing half a bag because we don't use them that often and they rot. Can you only do yukons or can small reds be done as well?Quote:
Originally Posted by TheGrey
You can preserve pretty much anything.
For most veggies, I just packed the sliced/diced/whole veggie in the jar (wide mouth jars work good for long veggies) add water to recommended headspace, and about 1/4 teaspoon of salt in each jar, and process them. I don't have my book handy so I couldn't tell you the exact processing time.
Edit:
Ball Blue Book of Canning says:
Boil quartered potatoes for 10 minutes.
Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt per packed pint jar and ladle hot boiling water into hot/sanitized jars leaving 1 inch head space.
Pints process 35 minutes/quarts 40 minutes at 10 pounds pressure (15 up here at altitude)
FYI, for hot/sanitized canning equipment, I usually run the jars/ring/canning utensils through the hottest or "sanitize" dishwasher setting with no soap/rinse agent.
I'm so proud that I was able to can them! Mine were always rotting away before I could use the whole bag.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rooskibar03
We have diabetic issues in the family so we use the lower-starch potatoes, such as Yukon Golds or the Red Skinned varieties.
I peeled them and cubed them, and pressure-canned them in pint jars. Easy-peasey!
I missed the middle of this thread with the picture request. I happened to take some tonight as I was emailing Fagor. My unit was made in 2/1993 according to the date on the bottom.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-S...28HDR%2529.jpg
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-f...28HDR%2529.jpg
There are two settings, pushed on all the way to build pressure, and pulled up to the groove to relieve pressure without taking all the way off.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_...28HDR%2529.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0...28HDR%2529.jpg
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-B...28HDR%2529.jpg
Prehaps the other side is adjustable? I believe that is the safety release though. It has four evenly spaced holes.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-K...28HDR%2529.jpg
Bump for day crew.
Looks like the other side is the safety blow out or it could be the indicator for pressure, some cookers have an indicator that pops up or does something when it is at cooking pressure. I haven't used one of those before, looks like it may just have one pressure setting.Quote:
Originally Posted by Irving
Looks like it may be part of the classic model.
http://www.fagor.com/web/internation...njunto/11206#3
You can download the instruction manual there. The pictures look like what you got.
Thanks, I'll look when I get home. That safety valve defonitely doesn't do anything.
It looks like that may be a pressure cooker mainly created for cooking. Without knowing at what pressure that regulator of sorts releases pressure (I looked at the manual and it doesn't say) to maintain a certain pressure I probably would not use it for canning.
The safety valve (what I think it is) probably blows out at 20 psi or something kinda like mine. Except I have just a rubber plug that is in the lid of mine. (And when it goes, it got my attention!)
The manual I was looking at, has some recipes in the back. Of course the englisgh version of the instructions are in back as well.
It is advertised as a Super Cooker pressure fryer. I have the cook book and it just lists longer cook times for altitudes and says the recipe book is only for that cooker. I know I can cook white rice in 8 minutes though.
That makes sense it looks like a small version of a pressure fryer at a grocery store I worked at when I was a teen.
Just opened my first batch of chicken from October. Tastes just like something you'd get at grocery store in the can, ie like tuna. Was tasty, moist, and broke apart nicely.
Zaycon chicken sale is next month so I just ordered 40 pounds to can up when it arrives. 74 bucks for 40lbs of awesome chicken breasts, can't beat it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rooskibar03
YUM! and that is a real good price
Me too!Quote:
Originally Posted by Rooskibar03
I also got in on the pineapple sale at King Soopers, so I'll have 10 pineapples to chop up and can. I'm going to have to scour yard sales in the spring for more canning jars.
Sprouts has roma tomatoes for .48/lb.