Home Canning Options

[margaritaman]

I have both a pressure canner and a water bath canner. However since it is so hot I would prefer not to use the water bath canner which takes so long to come to a boil. Can I put high acid foods in the pressure canner, say at 5 pounds pressure instead of the 10 normally iused, and only process for a short time? Sure make the batches go faster and saves a lot of propane. Thanks

 

[Larry Caldwell]

If you hot pack, water bath canning doesn't take long at all. The jars go into boiling water with no thermal shock, because the contents are already hot.

You might think of moving the canning operation outside. A one burner propane hot plate will run a canner just fine. I have one with a large base that will support a large canner solidly.

 

[jem041279]

I to have both and have wondered the same thing so I will be watching for answers to your question as well.

 

[Jstpssng]

I have both a pressure canner and a water bath canner. However since it is so hot I would prefer not to use the water bath canner which takes so long to come to a boil. Can I put high acid foods in the pressure canner, say at 5 pounds pressure instead of the 10 normally iused, and only process for a short time? Sure make the batches go faster and saves a lot of propane. Thanks

National Center for Home Food Preservation | How Do I? Can Tomatoes According to this website, you will end up with a better product if you use the pressure canner.
(Something which I didn't realise) Something else which I didn't know: they now say to add vinegar or lemon juice to increase the acidity of tomatoes. Guess it's time for a newer Ball book.

 

[dmccarty]

National Center for Home Food Preservation | How Do I? Can Tomatoes According to this website, you will end up with a better product if you use the pressure canner.
(Something which I didn't realise) Something else which I didn't know: they now say to add vinegar or lemon juice to increase the acidity of tomatoes. Guess it's time for a newer Ball book.

You can also add citric acid aka Vitamin C.

I have a pressure cooker but I wonder if a hot bath would be quicker. While the time under pressure is short, the time to generate the proper pressure and then slowly allow the pressure to drop, takes quite a bit of time. I think a bath would be quicker if the food can be done in a water bath vs pressure cooker. Having said that I just use the pressure cooker. :laughing: But I do wonder.

Later,
Dan

 

[Jbbies]

I do all my canning in my garage with the door open... but ill be interested in the answers here!

thanks

 

[edlegault]

When I was growing up in western Washington state (a long, long time ago -- some neighbors still had outhouses and didn't have electricity, yet) our grandparents, and aunts & uncles near us had outdoor canning buildings. Basically they were a small building, probably 16x20 or so, that had large screened windows, a roof, screen doors, a wood cook stove (with a water heater jacket), sink with hot & cold running water, lots of tables, and a propane cook stove.

I have many memories of helping to shuck peas, snap beans, turning the handle on the Foley Food Mill, etc., while all the family helped to put the garden's crops for the winter into jars. In the fall, during hunting season, we even did venison, elk and some beef into canning jars. All hot pack. My mom even made grape juice by canning a cup of slightly crushed grapes into a quart jar, filled with hot water and a little sugar, and then hot packed.

Lots of memories. Not sure I want to do it all again. No one had freezers yet. Some fresh veggies and fruit went into the underground root cellars and all of the jars of canned goods were locked up in the oversize water well pump house (same place we hung our beef or venison and elk because of the cool temperature. Our pump hour was actually very insulated and stayed pretty much the same temperature year around -- cold, but not freezing.

 

[forgeblast]

We just put up 24 bottles of strawberry jam (the upick place opened sooner this year). I have used these two sites they might help.
Canning | Canning Jars | Preserving | Ball Jars
nchfp.uga.edu/

I cant wait to do blueberrys. We also normally do some salsa, and bread and butter pickles.

 

[NorTracNY]

I saw your post yesterday. I figured someone would have answered it with authority. I'm fairly certain you can do it. I have a very good canning book which explains very well what you need to do and WHY. I don't have a pressure canner yet, so I can't say for certainty. I'd suggest buying the book, Putting Food By. Amazon.com: Putting Food By: Fifth Edition (9780452296220): Ruth Hertzberg, Janet Greene, Beatrice Vaughan: Books

 

[Larry Caldwell]

When I was growing up in western Washington state (a long, long time ago -- some neighbors still had outhouses and didn't have electricity, yet) our grandparents, and aunts & uncles near us had outdoor canning buildings. Basically they were a small building, probably 16x20 or so, that had large screened windows, a roof, screen doors, a wood cook stove (with a water heater jacket), sink with hot & cold running water, lots of tables, and a propane cook stove.

I have many memories of helping to shuck peas, snap beans, turning the handle on the Foley Food Mill, etc., while all the family helped to put the garden's crops for the winter into jars. In the fall, during hunting season, we even did venison, elk and some beef into canning jars. All hot pack. My mom even made grape juice by canning a cup of slightly crushed grapes into a quart jar, filled with hot water and a little sugar, and then hot packed.

Lots of memories. Not sure I want to do it all again. No one had freezers yet. Some fresh veggies and fruit went into the underground root cellars and all of the jars of canned goods were locked up in the oversize water well pump house (same place we hung our beef or venison and elk because of the cool temperature. Our pump hour was actually very insulated and stayed pretty much the same temperature year around -- cold, but not freezing.

Outdoor canning kitchens were once very popular before electricity, because wood stove canning was so hot it would make the whole house uninhabitable. Farms also used the outdoor kitchen to feed harvest crews, when people came and lived on the farm until harvest was over, and it was handy for heating water for laundry.

My grandmother had a great recipe for canned meat. She cubed it, dredged it in flour, browned it, and added a couple tablespoons of vinegar to each jar, then water bathed it. The result made fabulous soups, stews and sauces. I suppose the vinegar saved us from botulism, or maybe just the thorough cooking after the jar was opened did that.

Farmers used to put milk in metal milk cans and set them in cold water in the well house or spring house to cool the milk before it spoiled. And of course, there were smoke houses for preserving meats. If you brine a ham thoroughly, then hang it to cure and smoke, you can wrap it in cheesecloth and bury it in wood ashes. It will keep for 3 months.