Tracking the next pandemic: Avian Flu Talk |
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Posted: May 19 2006 at 7:39am |
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I wanted to start this thread, because I just started to do Home Canning for the first time and had some questions. Home canning is a great way to boost your inventory of meats, veggies & fruits. Much better than store bought and greater variety when you watch sales and take advantage of seasonal fruits! There is the initial cost of the Pressure/canner/cooker and then the jars and some other ingredients for pickling/jellies, if you do those. All the jars, etc. are just getting into the stores now, so they should be readily available.
I thought we could share info on where to find products, books that are useful, suggestions and help each other out with questions that you can't find answers to. There is a great place to call @ the University of Georgia (that was recommended to me by our USDA, when I called them and they didn't know the answer to my question) It's:
the National Center for Home Food Preservation
Phone #706-542-3773
I just canned my first (3) quarts of ground beef and will add beef cubes to that today! This is going to be really helpful to our family, not only as a way to increase our BF food supply, but to have such easy access to meats that can be quickly used for meals when we return home from our many soccer weekends out of town, or summer vacation outings! -k
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Mary
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Mary
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ready mom,
I've been canning for 30 years, both hot water bath and pressure. I started when my mother in law brought over a truckload (so it seemed) of canning jars for me to get started since she was convinced our large family would starve without them . She would come over now and then to check on my progress and left relieved that we would be okay. I haved canned 102 pints and quarts of pork cubes, beef cubes and chicken chunks using the raw pack method since it is less time-consuming to prep the meat. I agree that the taste is far superior to anything else from the store, although I will admit that the chicken more resembles tuna for some reason. .....Good luck with your pressure canning and enjoy |
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Mary ... I'd be interested in knowing how the uncooked canned meats are. I'm still nervous to try my cooked canned meats! Something about doing it yourself makes me think I'm going to end up poisioning ourselves! And working out of a book isn't like having someone standing there saying 'yep, you did it right!'-k
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Mary
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Readymom,
I know how you feel. When I first started using the pressure canner, I was sure I would mess something up. I would go back and re-read the instructions over and over again. Like everything else, after a while it is second nature..... Raw packed meats come out very good and tender. The exception to this is the chicken which ends up very much like canned tuna, both in texture and taste...Chicken does much better hot packed with broth as a soup etc... The other meats (beef and pork) are very good alone as raw pack. The one thing that I don't like too much is the the way the raw packed meats look after they have been processed, since there was no added liquid, the meat sits above the liquid and it has a darker, dry look to it, but this in no way affects the product. When it comes to safety, Pints at 10lbs. pressure for 75min. Quarts for 90 min.. you can't go wrong........BTW I have the All American canner which has both the weight and pressure dial guage, although my last canner had only the dial guage. .. It is probably a good thing to be a bit nervous. Keeps us on our toes.... Keep canning and have fun with it. I told my husband that I am not going to stop till I have used up all my mason jars....Last count several years ago there were 300 something. So I am about half way there.. God Bless (don't know how to use the icons yet) |
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Mary
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ReadyMom,
Just another thought. I have been putting away many, many jars of the canned butter. I had checked all over the net looking for warnings about it and someone on the thread had mentioned a concern about botulism.... I asked DH who works in microbiology (since 1977) if it is something to worry about since I would NOT want to take any chances. He gave me a long rundown on all the conditions it would take to make it a problem and does not have much of a concern. He will eat it without a second thought. I asked him to GO BACK, look it up and check with his co-workers plus the dept. head and make very, very sure. I will keep the butter and use it once I am sure it's safe. It really is soooooo very good. He said he would ask. |
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ReadyMomand Mary, I just picked up a pressure canner and did my first two batches of meat, beef one weekend and chicken this past weekend. I think it made a believer out of my Mom, whom I kidnapped for instruction. I have never had the slightest interest in canning or the like before and I told her why I was learning (for the umpteenth time, she lives with my sister in the next town over and they were not prepping before) to can and preserve. My granmother lived through the 1918 flu and she took care of her sick and dying relations (age 17) until it was over. She always canned, had a garden and had animals for meat while Mom was growing up (they lived through the Great Depression) and was still canning when I got to know her. So I knew I could get Mom to show me how and the great thing that has come out of it is that Mom is now paying attention to BF news and tring to "put up " a little here and there. I attained knowledge I am going to need, and my goal is to now get my grown daughters trained. Maybe they will survive to train theirs. What a nice thought, instead of losing our culture, we are regaining it. Jo
Updated for typos
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Mary
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jo007athome,
Good for you and especially good for your Mom, now that she is on board. There has to be a secure feeling having her near, and with helpful advice. I agree that it seems to be a dying art..30 yrs. ago when I began canning, people, (family) told me canning had gone out with the dark ages.... Well I guess the dark ages are back........(hope not) Take care, Mary |
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Mary, I call it the enlightened age, people are going back to their ancestors ways. Ways that were self sufficient and ecologically sound too. Maybe if enough people go back to basic living the rest will see how well it works and try it too. Sure hope so. I for one intend to make Grandma proud even if it took 45 years to learn this stuff. She was a survivor and that is my ultimate goal. thanks for the post. Jo
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Ready Mom-so glad your canning is going good. Had two different people give jars the past several weeks, we now have 13 extra cases of jars.Hamburger meat is on sale this week for $.99/lb, planning on putting up about 60 pounds. Canned 20 quarts of peaches last week.
Have been using dehydrator, family eats banana chips as fast as they come out of the dehydrator. Looking forward to trying new fruits and veggies.
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ReadyMom,
Which pressurecooker/canner did you get, and where did you order it from? I saw the Presto on Amazon.com, is that the one you got? I have never canned before, but am thinking about learning (when I hear arklatex putting up 60# of meat WOW!). This would be a great way to store meat without the freezer. |
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Mirage
Experienced Member Joined: February 06 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 17 |
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I have canned about 60 pint jars of pork this week (already had around 90 pork/chicken from last month) - some in a veggie/pork broth and others in tomato puree with hot peppers. I don't can meat chunks in water because that's what they'll end up tasting like - you want to can them in a flavorful broth.
I stayed up late last night (til 4 am) and did 40 or so just yesterday, starting at around noon time. The pork comes out flavorful and tender. Normally, 2 large pork loins fill a canner of 16 pints but yesterday I used lots of tomato puree with garlic, oregano, basil and wine vinegar so it made more (I packed it more loosely).
The pork cubes in broth (broth made with salt pork, onions, bay leaves, garlic, celery and a can of tomato paste (sometimes add a little chicken broth, too - if you like, you can strain out veggies, but I don't; and I also don't can the salt pork, just leave it behind in the broth). After canning, I add kale or cabbage, pasta and meatballs to the leftover broth and serve it for that night's dinner.
Pint jars are processed at 75 minutes 10 lbs, but I think this really ends up being much longer because it reaches 10 lbs pressure on the dial longer before the weight vents. The dial seems to consistently read about 14 lbs pressure when the weight is at 10 lbs but that may be because I'm at sea level. It takes about 40 minutes for pressure to drop to 0 and at least that long for pressure to come up (I have a cast iron burner).
I don't start timing til the weight rocks the second time. I'm currently using a 22 quart All-American canner but in past lives I've used 16 and 22 quart Mirros (weight gauge - the big old heavy type canners). I've also had Prestos but don't much care for those.
One year I went overboard and started and grew 200 tomato plants from seed and ended up canning them.
Tip: Use a special tomato strainer like a Vittorio strainer if doing large quantities).
Over the years my family has eaten nearly every type of home-canned food - baked beans, corn, meat pasta sauce, bean soup and other dry beans like lentils and black beans, tomato puree, relish, jams, peaches in brandy and apple rings and piccallilis, beef stew, vegetable soup, canned chickens in broth, canned chicken breast tenders and my new favorite is pork loin. I never found anything "off" but always check and be careful and boil 10 minutes before tasting. I just opened 2 jars from 1982 that I had stored and they seemed fine - nice vacuum, looked/smelled good, but I only wanted the jars back :) There are still more old jars in there for me to deal with.
Canning is a fun way to prep!
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Mary
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Mirage,
I am really impressed. Printed out your post to refer back to. So how about sharing some of those recip's you mentioned,. They really sound good..I am assuming that you do not raw pack anything, since as you mentioned, they don't taste all that good...I am such a chicken (no pun intended) when it comes to getting away from the book. I have looked on the net for some help, but haven't had much luck with anything other than stew. I tried beans once and the jars cracked in the canner. I figure that the product was to dense and caused the breakage..I also never use anything other than real canning jars because I have heard of them breaking on occasion... So if possible, could you share just a few of your favorites.......Just out of curiousity, about how much have you bottled up???? |
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Mary
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Artlatex
Could you let me know how the ground meat comes out. I have not had too good of luck with it. I may have overpacked the jars, because I swear that the juice inside still looked pink. I had 15 pints and didn't want to waste them , so I put them back and did another round. I had used the raw-pak method with them and maybe I should pre cook the meat from now on......I want to be absolutly sure about these things......Garden is now in and will be canning vegtables and fruit till I can't look at them anymore..........Good luck to all of you...... |
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Mirage
Experienced Member Joined: February 06 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 17 |
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It might sound as though I were getting away from the book, but I'm not really, if you investigate a little further. For example, in the newest Ball Blue Book, there is a paragraph on page 58 which talks about Combination Recipes. It says, "For recipes containing vegetables and meat, the length of processing time must be adequate for the vegetable or meat requiring the longest processing." And so I stick with that. Also, they tell you to pack the meat in broth, and broth is made from bones, meats, and veggies - I do that also. If I pack things in tomato puree, that's a plus because it's a high acid ingredient, but I still adhere to the processing time for the ingredient that requires the longest processing in a pressure canner.
There are some recipes at www.cooks.com, and an extensively detailed article about home canning chili at: http://www.cooks.com/rec/story/173/
You're right in not using anything but home canning jars - I usually only use Ball Jars. It must have been scary to have one break in the canner, but it was probably just a defective jar and I wouldn't worry much about it happening again.
Yes, I'll be happy to post a few recipes here. Can't say exactly how much I've canned in the past 2 months but it's overfilling one of those large metal roller carts from Sam's - and there's no room to put the latest batch so just bought another shelf to set up.
Last count was 130 jars meats and about 40 jams. But if you meant over time, I've been canning for over 30 years (started when I was just a kid!). :)
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Mary
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Mirage,
Thanks a lot......will go to cooks,com.. Having read that you were up till 4 a.m. canning meat, I guess I will have to stop feeling sorry for myself and buckle down. Just a few recipes that include peppers, spices etc. should help offset the plain raw packed stuff.. Thanks again
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I got it on line ... Amazon ... for $79.99 (no shipping). They predicted a couple of weeks shipping 'cause I got the free shipping and I still got it in a few days! -k
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roxy
Valued Member Joined: February 27 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 534 |
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mary, the jars will cracked if they are touching in the pot, don't over load the pot roxy P.S. still haven't tried to pressure can, brand new in the box, a xmas present years ago, i told my sister you do it ,and i'll stand back and watch, she's older, she can go first, lol roxy
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Mary, when doing raw pack hamburger it will still have a pinkish to it when done, so don't worry. Anything under 10 lbs of pressure for 60-75 minutes is done. I just did 12 1/2 pints of butter, thanks all for the recipes and encouagement. Finishing up with 5 quarts of chicken that was 20 lbs before processing. Sure is a comfort to look at those jars and know that they will be there when we need them. I am grateful to have started prepping when I did, otherwise I'd really be pulling my hair out now!
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?????- in one of my jars of beef cubes ... the water is just skimming the top of the meat and so it's not 100% covered ... is this a problem?? -k (I love having this link to go to, while learning how to do this! And YES --- to know these jars are here for us is a blessing! THANK YOU!!! -k
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LOL! Now, IF I had a sister ... that's what I would be saying as we open up the first jar to try! I'm acutally nervous about that! Never had it, but hear food poisioning is awful! -k
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ReadyMom,
It won't hurt anything if the meat is not covered completely, there is no oxygen in the jar. The meat is in a vacuum. We try to cover meat with juice in fridge so it doesn't dry out, but it can't in a vacuum. Best bet is to always listen for the "whoosh" when opening the jar, but go ahead and bring to a boiling temp for a couple minutes before consuming for safety. Botulism has no smell or taste and can be fatal. If aseptic tecnique was stringently applied during the canning process, you will have very little to worry about. Hope that eases your mind. Jo
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Another question... I'm interested in making soups. There are several recipes in my canning book and it seems you can pretty much make any homemade soup and then can it. Yes? I'm thinking that when we have leftovers I can use them to make soups to can. -k
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Sue
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Everyone, remember to adjust for altitude. In Wyoming, I have to go with 15 and longer times.
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TxCowboy
V.I.P. Member Joined: June 04 2006 Status: Offline Points: 69 |
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I'm new to the forum. This thread is of great interest to me. I have never canned before but I am really interested in learning how. Specifically I would like to learn how to can butter and ground beef. My research on the internet seems to be pretty self-explanatory but any tips on these two canning procedures would be greatly appreciated.....(in respect to canning butter, afterwards, does it have to be refrigerated or can I just put it in my pantry and for how long???).
You guys have been so much help to me!!!
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ToniD.
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Hi TxCowboy'
Glad you are here. To can butter all you need is jars (I use jelly as if we have no refridgeration a 1/2 pint doesn't take long to use) and butter and an oven. I just did 12 one half pints today myself. wash jars, put on cookie sheet into 250 degree oven. Put butter in pan on medium heat (butter will scorch ) until melted stirring frequently. Bring to a gentle boil by increasing heat in small increments once melted (keep stirring) simmer for 5 minutes or so and remove, ladle into jars being careful not to get any on the rims Also boil apot of plain water to dip lids in just before sealing. Put lids on hand tight and I put the jars back in the oven for 10 minutes. After that , set them on a towel to cool (make sure no fans are blowing, change in temp quick can break jars) check often and once sealed, begin process of gently shaking each jar every few minutes. This is what brings the milk fats and the liquid portion back to a uniform state. It sounds like a lot of work, but it's not and it sure is worth it. Once cool, store anywhere.These should be fine for use for between 5 & 10 years from what I have been told. Good luck. Also, have you thought about drying your hamburger? it stores in a much smaller space (for years if stored airtight) and it requires no extra equiptment. Google hamburger rocks for recipes. Jo
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Rocky
V.I.P. Member Joined: January 07 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 219 |
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I have been trying to get up courage to can butter. I have read cautions regarding boutulism. Do you feel good about your technique, that it will be safe. I hadn't heard of that method before. Sounds do-able.
I would also love complete instructions as to how to can pre-cooked ground beef. That would be the only meat (beside our beloved tuna fish) that makes sense for a large group of family members. So much could be done with jars and jars of ground beef. Thanks for your ideas. I have been experimenting with a technique I read about storing unrefrigerateed butter in a jar filled with highly salty water (it should float an egg, and assuming I won't have any eggs, I have found it takes 3 Tablespoons of salt to a quart jar of water to do this). So far I have been successful in keeping butter for several weeks at a time in this way. Of course, if I go into this seriously, I would have to do many more lbs and keep the butter much, much longer in the salt solution. Thought I would start out conservatively. I just rinse the butter with clear water when I take it out of the salt water and it tastes great! Then I just put it into a butter saver (butter dish with water in the lower level (kind of like a butter dish "double boiler") and keep it on the counter. Rocky
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Rocky |
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Mary
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A variation on the butter method. Once the jars have almost cooled, I put them in cold water and shake them every few minutes until they set. Then I re-fridgerate them overnight. This seems to help speed the process and has worked well for me. Good luck to all.... |
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Rocky, I have done 24 of 1/2 pints plus two that didn't fill (we ate those) and I feel very confident that they wil be fine for consumpsion in 5 or 6 years even. The biggest thing about canning is keeping everything sterile. When you wipe the lips of the jars before you put the seals and rings on, always use a clean piece of paper towel for each jar. I read the warnings about botulisim also and it prevented me from trying to can butter for months. I am extremely careful to keep everything as sterile as possible, even when I pressure can, it's a good habit to get into for more reasons than just canning.
Hamburger can be canned, but you will need a pressure canner (All meat should be pressure canned). Fry it up and drain into a bowl, then rinse burger with hot water. Strain the grease off of the broth in bowl to put a little in each jar with the meat. You can do raw pack, but hamburger is a very greasy meat and you will more than likely run into it going rancid (the fat sours) in several months. I use a lot of burger too, half of my meal plan is hambuger helper. But I wanted to be able to put mine in a smaller space, so I opted to dehydrate (I fixed a meal with dehydrated burger for 9 people and asked them how it was-I didn't tell them before hand that it was dehydrated- and every one raved) You may want to can yours as you can keep the broth with the burger, I have to rehydrate mine with beef broth.
I am going to can ribs next, I have a wonderful cookbook by meta givens called the modern encyclopedia of cooking (It was my grand mothers and tells you anything you want to know about food) and the sheer variety of what can be canned is amazing. Good luck with yours. Jo
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honeybee
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To ReadyMom - one advice I read on canning soup is to add pasta or rice until you actually go to eat it, since it will turn out mushy. It might be a good idea to have Minute Rice on hand, since it won't require long cooking when the power goes out. Boil the soup, add the rice, and cover for 5 minutes. Or maybe soak pasta for a few hours before heating in the soup?
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Honeybee
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honeybee
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QUESTION ABOUT CANNING BUTTER
I think this is a great idea. I have raspberries that I make jelly from, so am familiar with the sterile process.
The concerns about bacteria and boutulism... If the jar is bad, won't the lid eventually pop back up from the growth? And if so, does anyone know how long it would take for that to happen?
It would be great to know that I can still make bread while there is power.
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Honeybee
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Botulism is an anarobic bacterium, meaning it does not need oxygen to grow. It has no taste, smell or other indication of being present. But the good news is that it is RARE when aseptic tecnique is used. You should check your jars carefully each time you use them, run your finger around the rim and you will feel any chips. You can visually inspect for any cracks. Check out the solar cooking thread, you can still make bread without power, but get familiar with it now, you won't want to be trying to learn in a crisis. Good luck, Jo
Whoops, Botulism is a Toxin, not a bacterium, don't know where my mind was at that moment!
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This is all such great advice! THANK YOU!!! I don't add rice/pasta till ready, so that's not a problem. I would really like to know how to can the breakfast Jimmy Dean style sausages. Still haven't seen how to do that, yet. Can you/anyone help with that? That would be a great additon to the canned meats. Can you can regular sized sausage links (cut in small 'chunks', as well? So, pork, too??? Can't wait for the summer fruit season to start! -k
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Rocky
V.I.P. Member Joined: January 07 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 219 |
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Thanks for all the great advice. I does sound safe for me to go ahead and can butter. A few questions:
I live at 4,700 feet so wonder if that adds some time to any of the processes? I would love to dehydrate ground beef. Any advice or links where to find info. I own a pressure canner but have never used it (cluck, cluck, cluck). Someone told me to take it someone to have the pressure checked. I did that when I first got it, but that was probably 5 years ago. Does this need to be done every year? Do I need to buy a dehydrator to do ground beef or do you just have to run your oven a long time? Thanks. Rocky "Also, have you thought about drying your hamburger? it stores in a much smaller space (for years if stored airtight) and it requires no extra equiptment. Google hamburger rocks for recipes. Jo" |
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honeybee
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ReadyMom:
I don't know about canning meat, etc, but would like to add another layer to your question.
I have discovered "Gimme Lean" - intentionally named to mimic Jimmy Dean. It was located in 1 lb tubes in the produce department and was made with soy, not meat.
It certainly proved to me that breakfast sausage is all in the spices. I honestly could not tell the difference in taste, texture and enjoyment; others agree with me. It is a healthy choice for pork lovers. (you do have to add fat to the pan, as it contains none).
Unfortunately, I haven't used it in a while and do not know about shelf life, etc. Perhaps someone here does. Also, someone might know if that is easier to preserve than meat based sausage.
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Honeybee
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Hi Rocky! My little book that came with my new canner says:
The idal gauge is a delicate instrument which must be handled with care. .....needs to be checked for accuracy prior to each cnning season and if ay of the following conditins exist: cover has been submerged in water or dropped, gauge glass is broken or has fallen out, parts are rusty, pointer is not in the '0' block, or ir you believe the gauge may not be accurate. The gauge can usually be checked at your local county extension office or send to your dealer.
(now, after reading that ... I have to ask my DH, who usually cleans up after me if he submerged my pot lid in water!!)
Re altitude: if you go to the website I posted on the first entry, here, there is the national website for canning that should have the answer for that. -k
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Rocky
V.I.P. Member Joined: January 07 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 219 |
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Hi ReadyMom, thanks for the info. I got my pressure canner at a garage sale, so no booklet. But your booklet info does reinforce what I have heard, that you should get your gauge checked before canning each season. Will contact my county extension office right away.
I will call the number you posted for more questions. However, I am still wondering if, since I am iffy about canning meat, how I could dehydrate ground beef. Thanks to all. Rocky
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Rocky |
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TxCowboy
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Hey Jo,
I bought my 1/2 pint jars this morning and some butter. I've read and re-read everything about canning butter that you guys have said. My question now is how is the best way to sterilize the jars? I was thinking washing them in very hot soapy water and then following your advice about putting them in the oven. Am I on the right track?
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ToniD.
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TxCowboy
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ReadyMom - you're online....can you help me? |
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ToniD.
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Yes, wash & rinse well, then heat in the oven. I always start my jars heating and then melt my butter. Butter has to be melted slowly so it doesn't scorch (if it scorches, you'll throw it out) My recipe calls for 15-20 minutes in the oven, but it takes longer than that to melt the butter. 250 will boil water, so they will be sterile. Then put your boiled still hot butter in, carefully wipe rims and back to the oven for 10 or 15 minutes. Then after they seal, start gently shaking them every 5-10 minutes until they rehomoginize. Hope yours are as pretty as mine! Little jars of sunshine. Jo
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TxCowboy
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Thanks so much Jo!!....I've just started and I do hope mine turn out. Just practicing with 6 sticks of butter for now.
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ToniD.
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Hi All, Been reading this thread with interest and i have a question or two. I can see the desire to can foodstuffs, especially if ya have a large family, but it's just Mom and Me at home, and we tend to buy in smaller quantities. So, for instance, you mentioned canning butter in 1/2 pint jars...how long will that keep after you open the jar, especially if there is no refrigeration available?
We have lots of fruit trees and I will be running my dehydrator fairly shortly to take care of all that fruit, but i would like to can some of it. We have papaya, guava, and peach that are producing fruit and grape, citrus, persimmon, mulberry, pomegrante, fig, and olive that haven't started to produce yet. Any tips for canning these? Can they be canned?
Also, has anyone here ever heard of a tree called anacahuita? It's also called Mexican Olive. The fruit is like a tomatillo in that it has a husk, but the inner fruit is about maybe golfball sized and totally white. I've read that it has to be cooked into jelly before it is edible. Our trees are producing several pounds of these 'fruits' and i was just curious.
We also have a few exotics: coffee, saffron, jaboticaba, star fruit, and black pepper.
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TxCowboy
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Wow FW, you do need a lesson on canning if you have all that going on at your place. Sorry I can't be of much help since I'm new to it as well. You've got that nice 'greenhouse effect" in your part of Tx that makes it ideal to successfully garden.
I just finished canning four 1/2 pint jars of butter. I hope I did it correctly. They are in the oven now for the final countdown. Hopefully we won't survive the BF just to die from my canning! Good luck with your canning progress!
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ToniD.
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TxCowboy
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Oh yeah, I do remember reading from Jo or another that if done properly the canned butter can last up to 5 years on the shelf. That's what I'm hopin' for... |
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ToniD.
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The fruit can be canned in what is called a water bath, you don't need a pressure canner unless you plan on canning meat or green beans. Basically you are using the water and steam to create the seal, but at a much lower temp. I will look up in my book how to do water bath canning and post it. My grandmother once said you can can anything, it's just a matter of knowing which way to do it, so I imagine that all the things you mentioned can be canned. Jo
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