Jarring and Canning, pressure cookers et al

[SA Friday]

I remember many of my older relatives jarring foods from their 1-3 acre gardens, making preserves, etc, but I was only about 5 or 6 at the time. I remember the foods though. I ate a lot of jarred foods, and they were a 100 times better than industry canned foods. I've started looking into gathering and learning how to jar foods. The biggest initial expense is a pressure cooker. I want a big one and one that will last for many years. As I see it, why have a smaller one and be limited to the amount of jars I can do at one time. I know I could buy a cheap one to learn with, and I might do that, but ultimately, I want to invest in a large pressure cooker that is tough as nails.

Second, I would like to hear from someone who has done extensive jarring. I would like to know the process, pitfalls, shortcuts, etc.

[BigBear]

My wife does a lot of canning, which she learnt from my mom, which she learned from my grandma, etc. You don't need any special machines or anything. Get your glass jars, fill 'em with whatcha need, put some water in it, drop the jar with the seal lid in some boiling water for about 5 min or so or until you hear the "click" of the lip sealing, store for several years. We can tomatoe (sauce and slices), greenbeans, potatoe, fruit, etc. It's great and real saver on the grocery bill. Unfortuntely, now that we are in an apartment... don't really have a garden and haven't canned too much....

[SA Friday]

Bigbear, as I understand it from what I have read so far, what you are describing is called water bath jarring. What I've read recommends to use this with only acidic foods like tomatoes and fruits. I've done this with elderberry and plum preserves with my mom. It's a very powderful tool as it doesn't require any specialized equipment short of jars. The research also recommended lids, but as a kid, we used parafin to seal the tops all the time without problem. The Parafin isn't as stable though and I suspect wouldn't last as long as a sealed lid. We never found out about shelf life with parafin when I was a kid. The preserves just didn't last that long without getting eaten.

Edited to add: Thanks for the jar offer, but I'm planning on getting some this spring and starting to build up a stock of them and lids.

[newracer]

My sister is getting into canning and preserving, I bought her a book for x-mas on the subject. There were several to choose from and they all had a lot of great information including recipes.

You have to be careful with many foods, you can get Botulism if not done correctly, especially with vegetables and meats.

[BigBear]

Well, I offered.

Just don't go crazy on all the pressure cooker/air vaccum/etc machines. They were canning a long time before machines were around.

[jerrymrc]

Bigbear, as I understand it from what I have read so far, what you are describing is called water bath jarring. What I've read recommends to use this with only acidic foods like tomatoes and fruits. I've done this with elderberry and plum preserves with my mom. It's a very powderful tool as it doesn't require any specialized equipment short of jars. The research also recommended lids, but as a kid, we used parafin to seal the tops all the time without problem. The Parafin isn't as stable though and I suspect wouldn't last as long as a sealed lid. We never found out about shelf life with parafin when I was a kid. The preserves just didn't last that long without getting eaten.

Very correct. All low acidic foods must be canned with a pressure canner to kill the bacteria or all your doing is playing Russian roulette with botulism. The first thing I can recommend is buy a book. The ball book is still out there as well as a host of others. The AG dept has pamphlets on canning. Canning time increases for water bath and canning pressure/temp increases for pressure canning.

As to canners. water bath are all pretty much the same. Pressure canners. I have a Presto 21qt dial type from 72 and a Mirro 16qt rocker type from the 60's. Both work very well. Seal/popoff kits are still available for almost any older canner and it is nice to have a spare on hand.

The older ones are built better than the new ones. A new one is $60+ at Wal-Mart. I have been canning food since the 60's. One of the nice things about canning meats is take Turkey. It comes on sale once a year for dirt cheap. Last year I canned 2-22lb birds and then we have cheap turkey dinners for the next year. Chicken comes on sale every so often for $1.29 a lb for boneless/skinless breasts. I just have the one freezer attached to the fridge.

The other thing is the canned meats do not require any refrigeration. One thing that you need to note is you need a cool/dark place for canned goods.

[jerrymrc]

Tonight's dinner is a little bit survival and a little common sense. I can, I store and we use the food that we put away on a regular basis. One of the nice things about canning is that you can buy when it is cheap.

The menu. BBQ chicken on a bed of rice with flavored green beans. Feeds 3 hungry and 4 not so hungry people. Cost? about $3 tops. The chicken was canned last summer after being grilled and then canned with a watered down sauce. Boneless breasts were $1.29 per lb and anytime it hits around $1.50 I will buy. About 1lb of chicken fits in a pint jar.

1-1/2 cups of rice bought in bulk was cooked and the chicken was brought to a boil. 1 pint of home canned green beans were heated with dehydrated onion and some bacon TVP. green beans in season are $1 per lb or less. 1 pint is about 1/2 lb before canning and yields a third more than a normal 15oz can. very tasty.

First pic is the chicken just out of the jar. second is the GB and the final result. Just something to chew on.

And the main thing to think about was that nothing was refrigerated. it all came from the pantry.

[GreenScoutII]

My wife learned to can food from her mother and grandmother. We put up a lot of produce from our garden last year. You are correct in making an investment in a large, high quality pressure canner/cooker. The one my wife has is an All American #921. It was a little on the pricy side, about $200 bucks, but I think it will do something like seven 1 quart jars at a time. It can also be used as a water bath canner as well. It is heavy and well made, built in the USA, and has no gaskets to wear out.

My father, who is now approaching 70 grew up on a farm where they raised and processed their own hogs and cattle. He is going to teach me how to butcher and process hogs into roasts, hams, bacon, and so forth.

Recapturing the skills of past generations is something important to me.

[jason303]

Do get one large enough to process quart size jars. It's better to have more capacity and not need it. I recently got a 23 Qt Presto and have been trying it out quite a bit. Jerry's got it right about buying up when things are cheap. I bought 50 pounds of potatoes a few weeks ago at Sprouts when they were 70 cents a 10 pound bag. A 10 pound bag filled up 7 quart jars which was one batch in the canner. Next I canned pinto beans which I bought at 50 cents a pound from Rancho Liborio. Lastly I just canned a dozen pints of strawberry jam since strawberries have been so cheap lately. Albertson's is selling 4 pound containers of strawberries for $4 limit 2 with the coupon on the ad which you can grab at the front door. Get the case of bottled water for $2 limit 2 while you're there with that coupon. That's a great price.

So what I've learned since you asked, don't pack the jars too tight/full and don't go higher than what the recipe calls for regarding filling the jars. Even when I cooked the potatoes and beans before packing them, they both still did absorb water in the canning process. I would have liked to have a little more liquid in the finished product. Follow the recipes of course. Tighten the bands no more, no less than the recipe calls for. The bands don't make the seal, the vacuum action on the lids as the finished jars cool down makes it. The bands just keep the lids in place. When preparing jams and jellies, be sure to go all the way cooking the mixture prior to filling the jars. I have made more thin syrups meaning to make jams than I care to admit. The best jams have come from the oh crap I forgot about that mixture boiling on the stove batches. Add a tablespoon of white vinegar into the water in your canner. It keeps the jars clean. If you have a sterilize cycle on your dishwasher you work preparing the jars just got much easier. Use it.

[jason303]

Sheesh! I considered myself the cooler when I posted to a thread, but now the whole sub-forum? Wow!