Canning thread

[firebroad]

Just found this thread - awesome! Do you guys all follow proper canning rules re: acidity, temp, time? Where do you get your recipes from? I did some wild-harvested jams (salmonberry jam and syrup, Oregon grape & salal jam) & salmonberry pie last year. Didn't have time to do any canning this year with the cabin reno. I'm a bit scared to do more and get into pressure canning, although my mom does turkey soup base and canned fish. Her salsa hasn't worked too well - it gets mushy.

a(broken image removed)

Pressure canners are nothing to be frightened of. You follow directions, your food is safe, and they do not explode. Don't fear the canner.
Looks like you have a couple of tasty jams and one HECK of a tasty pie, there!!

 

[becasunshine]

THERE'S A CANNING THREAD AND NOBODY INVITED MOI?

WELL I NEVER. *flounce flounce flounce*



Gonna go read entire thread now.

 

[UncleJoe]

WoW! You got it, allright! Good for you. When we can our own food, we know what is going into it, and our bodies!!
How many are you feeding?

That's a big one for us. A lot of what I can ( and yes, I'm the one who does it) comes from our own back yard. Some comes from the local farmers market but the cranberries come from Ocean Spray. They just don't grow around here but I love fresh cranberry sauce. Back in the 80's I went to my now ex-inlaws for Thanksgiving. On the table they had this round red thing cut into slices. I honestly didn't know what it was. I only ever knew the stuff my mom made.

Anyway. Canning = food security. We like to have enough canned to last us to the next harvest. There's a certain comfort in having the grocery store in your basement. Each year I focus on 1-2 items to plant a lot of. This year it was cukes (for pickles) and wax beans. We're starting to get a little low on tomato sauce and peas so that's the big ones for spring.

That chicken in the first pic; that's our chickens hatching out too many roosters.

I also dehydrate quite a bit as well. Last fall I was experimenting and came up with an apple-cinnamon fruit roll-up that's to die for.

Oh yeah. We're feeding the 2 of us and sometimes DW's son.

 

[Cynnergy]

UncleJoe you are an inspiration. I would love to have a grocery store in my basement!

 

[becasunshine]

Just dropping back into this thread to post this link- I've found it quite useful. The National Center for Home Food Preservation out of University of Georgia is doing the current research. They have a wealth of information on all sorts of food preservation. This is one of my first go-to sources, along with the Ball Blue Book.

http://nchfp.uga.edu/

 

[UncleJoe]

the Ball Blue Book.

That's how I learned to can; well that and a bunch of youtube videos.

 

[becasunshine]

I love the Ball Blue Book. There is also another Ball recipe collection: The Complete Book of Home Preserving. http://www.amazon.com/Ball-Complete...keywords=the+complete+book+of+home+preserving

It's heavy on high acid/water bath canning recipes (fewer pressure canning/low acid recipes) but oh, what a glorious variety. I recently made up the apple pie filling from that book. I did a careful calculation to make sure that I was coming out at least a few pennies ahead by canning my own pie filling. It was less expensive to can my own, priced per ounce, but in the end, that didn't matter.

The recipe uses cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice and unsweetened apple juice. I used Saigon cinnamon from Costco, which is particularly nice. This pie filling is divine- it will be part of my repertoire from now on. I'm serious. This recipe turned out so tasty that it's difficult not to eat it from the jar.

Also, this recipe uses Clear Jel as a thickener. ClearJel is the approved thickener for home canning. It doesn't get too viscous during processing so it doesn't prevent the food in the center of the jar from reaching the appropriate temperature. I've not found ClearJel on store shelves around here. I ordered it from Barry Farms. (broken link removed to http://www.barryfarm.com/nutri_info/thickeners/clear_jel_regular.htm)

 

[Cynnergy]

The Bernardin people are the go-to standard up here in the great white north - http://www.bernardin.ca. They're great for the classics. I also have a Canadian Living preserving book which is a bit more exotic - I can't wait to try some of their recipes. But I like to think of canning as a way to preserve your own, so I tend to avoid all of the mango and pineapple recipes.

I also have a book of traditional British preserves from my mum-in-law, but they don't seem to do canning on that side of the pond - more pickles, chutneys and pickles that keep for just a few months.

 

[UncleJoe]

I recently made up the apple pie filling from that book. I did a careful calculation to make sure that I was coming out at least a few pennies ahead by canning my own pie filling. It was less expensive to can my own, priced per ounce, but in the end, that didn't matter.

The recipe uses cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice and unsweetened apple juice. I used Saigon cinnamon from Costco, which is particularly nice. This pie filling is divine- it will be part of my repertoire from now on. I'm serious. This recipe turned out so tasty that it's difficult not to eat it from the jar.

Also, this recipe uses Clear Jel as a thickener. ClearJel is the approved thickener for home canning. It doesn't get too viscous during processing so it doesn't prevent the food in the center of the jar from reaching the appropriate temperature. I've not found ClearJel on store shelves around here. I ordered it from Barry Farms. (broken link removed to http://www.barryfarm.com/nutri_info/thickeners/clear_jel_regular.htm)

Never tried pie filling, just jellies and jams. Maybe I'll try that next year when the blueberries come in. It's their fourth year so I'm hoping for a decent harvest.

I've had pretty good luck using "sure-gel" but you have to follow the recipe to the letter or it won't set.

 

[becasunshine]

Never tried pie filling, just jellies and jams. Maybe I'll try that next year when the blueberries come in. It's their fourth year so I'm hoping for a decent harvest.

I've had pretty good luck using "sure-gel" but you have to follow the recipe to the letter or it won't set.

Uncle Joe, Sure Gel and ClearJel are two different products. Lots of people get them mixed up before they actually use them in specific applications. (I know I did.)

Sure Gel is pectin, used to gel up jams, jellies, etc. and you are absolutely right- if you don't follow the recipe to the letter it won't set. Sometimes when you do follow the recipe to the letter, it won't set. Just depends on the amount of natural pectin in the fruit that year... But it's a good product, and even if homemade jams don't set firm they are still very good.

Clear Jel is a thickener, similar to corn starch but unlike corn starch or flour which are not recommended for home canning, Clear Jel is approved for use in home canning.

 

[UncleJoe]

Uncle Joe, Sure Gel and ClearJel are two different products. Lots of people get them mixed up before they actually use them in specific applications. (I know I did.)

Sure Gel is pectin, used to gel up jams, jellies, etc. and you are absolutely right- if you don't follow the recipe to the letter it won't set. Sometimes when you do follow the recipe to the letter, it won't set. Just depends on the amount of natural pectin in the fruit that year... But it's a good product, and even if homemade jams don't set firm they are still very good.

Clear Jel is a thickener, similar to corn starch but unlike corn starch or flour which are not recommended for home canning, Clear Jel is approved for use in home canning.

I did not know that. Thanks.


Picked up a bushel of apples yesterday. Raining again today so I think I'll make more apple butter.

 

[firebroad]

Here is some of the apple pie filling I made.

 

[becasunshine]

Are those quarts? The recipe that I used from Ball's Complete Collection only gives processing times for pints. I wish it gave processing times for quarts because I'd sure put up quarts of that pie filling. I made an apple pie from the home canned pie filling for Thanksgiving with the fam. It was a deep dish and I made it generously, but I used 4 (FOUR) pints of apples in that pie!

That looks DELICIOUS, Firebroad! NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM!

 

[firebroad]

Are those quarts? The recipe that I used from Ball's Complete Collection only gives processing times for pints. I wish it gave processing times for quarts because I'd sure put up quarts of that pie filling. I made an apple pie from the home canned pie filling for Thanksgiving with the fam. It was a deep dish and I made it generously, but I used 4 (FOUR) pints of apples in that pie!

That looks DELICIOUS, Firebroad! NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM!

Thanks!
Yes, they are quarts. 25 min. in a waterbath canner. I am going to make some more next weekend for holiday presents

 

[becasunshine]

I did not know that. Thanks.


Picked up a bushel of apples yesterday. Raining again today so I think I'll make more apple butter.

Joe, if you have any of those apples left, and if you like the flavor of cranberry, Ball has an *excellent* recipe for cranapple butter. I *love* the flavor of cranberries so when I saw this recipe, I had to try it. OMG it's AWESOME. I *love* it. It's really easy, too- the cranberry flavor comes from cranberry juice cocktail. Both the Ball Blue Book and the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving contain the recipe.

 

[UncleJoe]

Joe, if you have any of those apples left, and if you like the flavor of cranberry, Ball has an *excellent* recipe for cranapple butter. I *love* the flavor of cranberries so when I saw this recipe, I had to try it. OMG it's AWESOME. I *love* it. It's really easy, too- the cranberry flavor comes from cranberry juice cocktail. Both the Ball Blue Book and the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving contain the recipe.

HaHa, I haven't even started on the apples yet. Other things got in the way.

That does sound tasty. I'll have to see if I can find that book. I kept it close at hand for the first couple years but as I got more comfortable with canning I just started throw things together instead of following recipes.

 

[DevilsBrew]

Does anyone can with a foodsaver?

 

[firebroad]

Does anyone can with a foodsaver?

What is that?

 

[DevilsBrew]

Here:

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[firebroad]

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Interesting! But it's not canning, it's for storage, right. Be good for dried foods

 

[DevilsBrew]

Darn.

 

[UncleJoe]

Darn.

Don't be too disappointed. The food saver is great for a lot of other things. I dehydrate a lot of fruit when it's in season. The food saver keeps it fresh a lot longer than just throwing it in a ziploc. I have apple slices from last year that are still delicious. This years peaches, pears and strawberries that will last me till they are in season again next year. I also make powdered egg from our own eggs and vacuum seal them. Now that the chickens aren't laying as much, I still have egg to use; unless of course I want sunnyside.

But for canning, you need the heat.

 

[Cynnergy]

My mom packs all of our fish for the freezer in her food saver using the plastic rolls - it's great for keeping out freezer burn, although you do have to be a bit careful to make sure it all seals properly.

 

[Morgan]

I have canned a bit it the past, but didn't dust off the pressure canner once this year unfortunately, my 3 year old and work(and then side work) kept getting in the way. Here is a picture of some PEI bar clams I did up last year in my All American Canner, it can do 17x500ml bottles at once(I have a middle of the pack model, they make larger units as well!! Very well built and should last several generations of use. I have done clams, quahogs, beef, pork(roast and ham) and chicken, still have a supply of meat in the cupboard that has to get eaten sooner than later. For all my recipes I use what is laid out in the USDA Pressure Canning guide.

 

[UncleJoe]

I looked at the All American when I first started canning but ended up with a presto. Maybe some day.

Looks like you've got the same glasstop stove we have. People told me I couldn't use a pressure canner on it because of the weight but I've never had a problem. You just need to be a bit more gentle.

I have 10 pints of apple butter processing right now.