Home Canning Options

[Jstpssng]

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

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.

I think they called those "summer kitchens" around here. I eventually plan to have something similar, where I start the year processing maple syrup, and end it in fall with the cider press
:licking:

 

[Jstpssng]

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

I thought the University of GA site I provided was pretty authoritive. As I stated before, they say that pressure canning results in a better product with higher flavor and more nutrients
It also gives processing instructions and times
The short answer to the OP is that yes, you can use your pressure canner to process your tomatoes

 

[MossRoad]

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

From my experience, a water bath canner is much faster than a pressure canner due to the time you have to wait for pressure to build and pressure to drop before you can open the pressure canner. Once you get a water bath canner up to boiling, you can pretty much continuous can.

With that said, you should only do high acid foods in a water bath canner. See many websites and books for information as to what can and cannot be safely preserved using both methods.

Personally, I bought a large pressure canner and use that for all my canning now just for peace of mind. :licking:

 

[forgeblast]

Most of the canning things I recieved from my gram. Her pressure canner is pretty small I would like a larger one. I just ordered a set of tattler lids and seals. Once I use up my one and done lids ill be moving on to them.
I have the water bath canner on a turkey fryer burner, heats up very nicely and is outside. If i dont put it there I will can early in the morning.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Most of the canning things I recieved from my gram. Her pressure canner is pretty small I would like a larger one. I just ordered a set of tattler lids and seals. Once I use up my one and done lids ill be moving on to them.
I have the water bath canner on a turkey fryer burner, heats up very nicely and is outside. If i dont put it there I will can early in the morning.

The standard pressure canner will handle 7 quarts or 14 pints at a time. The bigger ones stack a second layer on top of the first, and are a real nuisance to get the jars in and out.

A friend of mine had to do a whole tuna once, and happened to have a line on a huge old hospital autoclave with wire racks in it. He could do 140 half pints at a pop. I was impressed.

 

[forgeblast]

Larry that would have been something to see! I was looking through my books on canning I came across a good one.
Its called
preserving food without freezing or canning by the gardeners and farmers of terre vivante

It shows how to preserve by lactic fermentation, oil, vinegar, salt, sugar, alcohol, and the appendix is great tells you what method for each type of food. I have never canned fish or meat, mostly vegs, fruit, and have done a lot of jams and jelly, apple butter, apple sauce. I love opening a jar of jam in the middle of winter and being able to smell summer.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Forgeblast, I make fermented sauerkraut and pickles every year. I love the crunch of the raw vegetable after it is pickled. It has so gone out of fashion that when I mention doing pickles or sauerkraut without vinegar, many people look puzzled.

I have a home food dryer and make pear leather, dried apples and such. My grandmother used to do about 50 lbs. of apples (dried) every year, enough for many pies and sauces. She sulfured hers and put them outside between screens. I use citric acid and do much smaller batches.

I have a friend who makes the most outstanding smoked salmon and steelhead in the world! I would really like a smokehouse, but make do with a Lil' Chief smoker. I helped another friend (the same one who used the autoclave on the tuna) build a cold smoker for lox once. You haven't lived until you have tasted lox made from Pacific salmon.

Now that I'm retired, I may have time for more preserving. I just bought 30 lbs. of sliced strawberries from the local mounted posse fundraiser. They were really great #1 berries, vine ripened, sweet and tasty. I just bagged them in ziploc bags and put them in the freezer, but I should make some uncooked freezer jam, which is the best way to make strawberry jam.

 

[Jstpssng]

Forgeblast, I make fermented sauerkraut and pickles every year. I love the crunch of the raw vegetable after it is pickled. It has so gone out of fashion that when I mention doing pickles or sauerkraut without vinegar, many people look puzzled.

I have a home food dryer and make pear leather, dried apples and such. My grandmother used to do about 50 lbs. of apples (dried) every year, enough for many pies and sauces. She sulfured hers and put them outside between screens. I use citric acid and do much smaller batches. Uw

I have a friend who makes the most outstanding smoked salmon and steelhead in the world! I would really like a smokehouse, but make do with a Lil' Chief smoker. I helped another friend (the same one who used the autoclave on the tuna) build a cold smoker for lox once. You haven't lived until you have tasted lox made from Pacific salmon.

Now that I'm retired, I may have time for more preserving. I just bought 30 lbs. of sliced strawberries from the local mounted posse fundraiser. They were really great #1 berries, vine ripened, sweet and tasty. I just bagged them in ziploc bags and put them in the freezer, but I should make some uncooked freezer jam, which is the best way to make strawberry jam.

Larry that would have been something to see! I was looking through my books on canning I came across a good one.
Its called
preserving food without freezing or canning by the gardeners and farmers of terre vivante

It shows how to preserve by lactic fermentation, oil, vinegar, salt, sugar, alcohol, and the appendix is great tells you what method for each type of food. I have never canned fish or meat, mostly vegs, fruit, and have done a lot of jams and jelly, apple butter, apple sauce. I love opening a jar of jam in the middle of winter and being able to smell summer.

I'm breaking open a new garden spot this year, in a reclaimed field that had 30 foot tall trees this time last year. As I pick roots and stumps I can't help thinking what it was like for the pioneers ; they didn't have escavators, tractors and rototillers; and while they were working the fields they still needed to fuel their bodies until the crops came through. There wasn't a SuperWalmart around the corner for groceries; Mason canning jars were'nt invented yet and they certainly didn't have freezers
The techniques you utilize surely were part of what kept them going. :thumbsup:

PS: how do you do pickles without vinegar? I stopped making them because they were always limp and soggy.

 

[dmccarty]

Forgeblast, I make fermented sauerkraut and pickles every year. I love the crunch of the raw vegetable after it is pickled. It has so gone out of fashion that when I mention doing pickles or sauerkraut without vinegar, many people look puzzled.

I have a home food dryer and make pear leather, dried apples and such. My grandmother used to do about 50 lbs. of apples (dried) every year, enough for many pies and sauces. She sulfured hers and put them outside between screens. I use citric acid and do much smaller batches. ....

Yes, do tell about the fermented pickles and sauerkraut.

What kind of food dryer to you own?

Blackberries must be ripe because I have seen people along the roads picking. :laughing: Blueberries are ready and I was thinking of either buying some from the local growers are going and picking my own so I could dry them. I eat dried fruit for lunch and snacks along with salt less nuts. The dried Blueberries are not cheap.

Later,
Dan

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Start with fermented sauerkraut. It's simplicity itself. All you need is a crock or food grade plastic bucket, a stomper, a plate and a weight. An old plastic milk jug full of water will make a weight, though the traditional weight is a rock. Buy a bunch of cabbage and pickling salt. Shred a cabbage into a big bowl, add a tablespoon or two of salt, depending on the size of the cabbage, toss to mix the salt, and layer the cabbage into the crock or bucket. Don't use too much salt. Stomp it down hard. The end of a short 2x4 works fine for a stomper. You have to get it dense. Shred, salt and layer until the crock or bucket is full. Put a plate over the cabbage and weight it to hold it down. Set it somewhere out of the way, preferably at about 50 degrees, like a cellar, but I just do mine in the garage. Cold temperature will stop the fermenting. The salt will draw juices out of the cabbage. If the cabbage isn't covered by the second day, you can add a little brine to keep the air away from it. Let it work for 10 days or 2 weeks. Feel free to dip test on the way. A scum will form on top of the juices. Just skim it off, it won't hurt you. If you see a red mold, the batch is spoiled, throw it out and start over. A crock of kraut will last in a cool place about 3 months, getting more sour as time goes on. It is nothing like the stuff they sell in jars. It's raw cabbage, crunchy and flavorful.

Pickles are the same deal, but you have to snip the blossom end off of the pickle or they get mushy. A little alum will also make a crispier pickle. You just wash the pickles, fill a crock, add whatever pickling spices you want, in a cheesecloth bag if you want to contain the spices, brine them and wait. If you use the Ball Blue Book recipe, it uses far too much salt. You can add peppers, garlic, dill, mustard seed, whatever you like. Peppers will pickle right along with the rest and are a tasty change.

I don't know what kind of food dryer I have. It is a round plastic thing I bought at Bi-Mart about 20 years ago. It has a motorized base and you can add 2 or 3 additional levels of trays if you like. It works good.