HOME CANNING

I have canned beef and chicken, both hot pack (pre-ccoked) and raw-pack. The chicken comes out too mushy for our tastes, but the beef, done either way, it better than fresh. I don't add salt, still delicious. I don't know why anyone would take the time to pre-cook the meat.
Our local grocery store , Randalls or Tom Thumb for the those in north Texas, is practically giving away really nice roast beef this w/e, as well as pork roast.

Hi honeybee,

roxy wrote: ... the jars will cracked if they are touching in the pot, don't over load the pot ...roxy

Thank you do much, I did not understand having the jars touch during canning would cause them to crack.

Hi Jazzy, thanks!

Its good to see another person popping up - this link has been too quiet for too long!

Jazzy and HotAir (and anyone listening!)
I have been making the canned apple bread all year. I don't know for sure if the claims are right that they last months on end, because it keeps getting eaten here, its so good (lol). But we have eaten it 2-3 months old. I know they are not to be trusted in the very long term because of both the method, and cake contains air. I keep them in an old refrigerator in the basement.

My plan is to try different recipes, then stock the ingredients - when PQ (preventive quarantine) begins I will then bake them all right away before any power problems. That should be a safe plan.

Which leads me to this: I tripped across a recipe that imitates Hanafords Butter Rum Muffins. If not for prepping, something to enjoy now (I will be trying them this coming week). If we like them, I will try baking them in the pint jars and canning.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/recipex/msg1210121627374.html

One last question - do you put the meatloaf in the pint jars while it is raw? Processing it cooks it all? I googled "canning meatloaf" and don't see where anyone says bake it first. Some think you should brown it first.

How do you do it?

ps - I am been advocating one of your recipes in here - i just used hamburger, but mixed it with a can of cream of mush, and put it over wide noodles. Love it!

I also love to fry meatloaf in a small amt of ketchup and eat it as a warm sandwich.

    Great, we eat it with spaghetti anyway so that solves that!

Back to that broken seal - do you still think it was just a fluke, even tho it seemed fine for the first couple of months? No other seal broke yet.

Thank you so much. I needed to hear it from someone else lol.

The problem is that I don't know how long that jar was unsealed - it was downstairs since February. So I dumped it.

The meatloaf idea sounds wonderful. Do you put liquid, like beef broth, in after the meat? I am a big fan of meatloaf, soooo, I want to try that. Can bread crumbs be added? I imagine if so, keep it light weight...

Can sweet italian sausage be canned? I have seen recipes for sausage, but they recommend you do it from scratch because one herb (I forget which one) will become bitter with canning. We adore sweet sausage, and if its just an issue of the herbs, I would have the sauages made to order from our butcher. I imagine I should boil them first to remove the fat, if its at all possible to can them. (if not would it be do-able to cut them up and put in spaghetti sauce before canning?)

thanks for letting me pick your brain!

I just bought an apple peeler (wow $25) - i can see how it peels and cores, but not how it slices lol. Will have to buy a couple of apples and experiment. This is because we tried and loved the apple pie filling.

Another idea I had... the dollar store was selling the instant cheese cake mixes cheap. I thought if I made some fruit mixes and use up my tiny jelly jars with them, we can dump one on the cheesecake mix.

ok - coffee has kicked in and I am chatterboxing lol.

HELP FROM CANNERS!

I found my first jar where the seal had come off. Should I be concerned about the remainin batch?

I checked the glass, no nicks

All other jars have the seal still dented in

It was soup and it did steam out some, so it may have been from the liquid.

I am new to canning and just want to be sure I covered all my bases

TY!

thanks honeybee

I am sorry Bill but don't have the knowledge or experince to answer that. honeybee, thank you again. That is a very detailed description. that is exactly what I have been doing--all except for the 2 minutes to wait to open the lid. I do plead guilty of trying to cool the food down a bit faster.Though not until the heat got way down, though.

Heres more! I found this at a site of the Agriculture School of the Univ of North Dakota.

Its a great description - I can make more sense out of what I am doing...

Here is their link:
http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/yf/foods/he188w.htm#general


Using Pressure Canners
Follow these steps for successful pressure canning:

Put 2 to 3 inches of hot water in the canner. Place filled jars on the rack, using a jar lifter. Fasten canner lid securely.
Leave weight off vent port or open petcock. Heat at the highest setting until steam flows from the petcock or vent port.
Maintain high heat setting, exhaust steam 10 minutes, and then place weight on vent port or close petcock. The canner will pressurize during the next three to five minutes.
Start timing the process when the pressure reading on the dial gauge indicates that the recommended pressure has been reached, or when the weighted gauge begins to jiggle or rock.
Regulate heat under the canner to maintain a steady pressure at or slightly above the correct gauge pressure. Quick and large pressure variations during processing may cause unnecessary liquid losses from jars. Weighted gauges on Mirro canners should jiggle about two or three times per minute. On Presto canners, they should rock slowly throughout the process.
When the timed process is completed, turn off the heat, remove the canner from heat if possible, and let the canner depressurize. Do not force-cool the canner. Forced cooling may result in food spoilage. Cooling the canner with cold running water or opening the vent port before the canner is fully depressurized will cause loss of liquid from jars and seal failures. Force-cooling may also warp the canner lid of older model canners, causing steam leaks. Depressurization of older models should be timed. Standard-sized heavy-walled canners require about 30 minutes when loaded with pints and 45 minutes with quarts. Newer thin-wailed canners cool more rapidly and are equipped with vent locks. These canners are depressurized when their vent lock piston drops to a normal position .
After the canner is depressurized, remove the weight from the vent port or open the petcock. Wait two minutes, unfasten the lid, and remove it carefully. Lift the lid away from you so that the steam does not burn your face.
Remove jars with a lifter, and place on towel or cooling rack, if desired.
Do not retighten lids after processing jars.

Cooling jars
Cool the jars at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours. Jars may be cooled on racks or towels to minimize heat damage to counters. The food level and liquid volume of raw-packed jars will be noticeably lower after cooling. Air is exhausted during processing and food shrinks. If a jar loses excessive liquid during processing, do not open it to add more liquid. Check for seals, wash jars, label and store.

Reprocessing unsealed jars
If a lid fails to seal on a jar, remove the lid and check the jar-sealing surface for tiny nicks. If necessary, change the jar and add a new, properly prepared lid; and reprocess within 24 hours using the same processing time. Headspace in unsealed jars may be adjusted to 1-1/2 inches, and jars could be frozen instead of reprocessed. Foods in single unsealed jars could be stored in the refrigerator and consumed within several days.

There are lots of interesting recipes out there, but they all seem so frivilious when you are thinking like a prepper... I do want to make Apple Pie filling - can be eaten straight from the can if things are at their worst, made into pies, or put on top of a pan cake - so am planning on that along the way.
    

HotAir,
Here is an interesting tid bit I found while looking for cannig recipes:


...Fasten lid and turn on heat. Steam, mixed with air, will start to flow from the vent and then This is about 8 to 10 minutes after the first sign of steam. As the air is driven out from the canner the steam will change from a white vapor or cloud to nearly invisible.


Now I know what to watch for.

I don't know...I have to screw mine on. Maybe I can find something to brace it open and pull it away.

I already have been burned once. Yikes! It was the vent that pops up to tell you its under pressure. I was at the cooling stage luckily, and reached over it, hit it with my arm. Two cotton sweaters, one heavy and I still have the mark on my forearm from 2 months ago!

I am a little skittish lol.

How long do you vent? (your pot, I am assuming is 23 quarts because that is how much water it will hold) and mine is only 10. hmmmm

I would feel safer venting a little.

This weekend I am going to eat my oldest hamburger soup, 3 months on the self. 2 months were fine. So if 3 passes the test, I will calm down on this issue.

Thanks for the input!

If you vent with the weight off, how do you get it on without burning yourself?

Silly question I'm sure...lol
    

Hello Hot Air,

I apologize for the delay. I had minor surgery on my foot and have been laid up. All is well now

When I was told this, the information I was pointed to was at the National Center for Home Food Preservation. Sure enough that was their statements, which were a reflection of the FDAs.

I wrote asking them to explain the issue more, since I seem to be having success. Sometimes these articles are old, or have a very specific concern.   

Their response is below, along with a link to a more detailed explanation of the issue found on their site.

But first, I should have been more clear with my question, I misled you.

THE ISSUE IS: I am processing food with a 10 quart electric pressure cooker. If I use quart jars, I can only fit 3 inside of it. I was told, and it turns out to be true, 2 things. (1) The FDA does not recognize that size as a canner. (2) My manual does not say canner, only pressure cooker; but it does give detailed instructions on canning all foods – none of which contradict the Ball Blue Book.

The reason USDA recommends that canner needs to hold 4 quart size jars to be considered a canner is because the time it takes to heat up, pressurize, and cool a canner is part of the total heat needed during processing.   If the "canner" gets too small, then it could heat up and cool down faster than expected and thereby result in an under processed food. When USDA processes were developed, standard size canners that hold a full canner load of 8-10 jars were used in the research. So in more recent times (1980s) a decision was made among a group of thermal processing (canning) experts that there needed to be a cutoff on canner size somewhere so this effect would not result in too much of a significant change from the research conditions. It could be that even a canner holding 4 quart jars reduces the value of the canning process more than would be desired. Until research data is collected with appropriate techniques and processes calculated for the smaller cookers (and apparently the canner you describe as a canner), we cannot tell you that our process times are adequate for the smaller appliances. I am not aware of anyone doing such research at this time.

http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/nchfp/factsheets/pressurecookers.html

I have made a choice to remain comfortable with my pressure cooker. I must say before I explain my reasoning that I am not arguing for this, and welcome any comments from those who think I am crazy; and for those who are not sure what to think, remember that, like the canned quick breads,

The FDA does not recognize this method

I do not have gas available where I live. While researching canning last summer, I read where people have trouble with electric stoves. They must be constantly moving the canner because turning the temp up and down does not have an immediate reaction as with gas. This is what lead me to look for an electric canner. They seem to stop being electric after 10 quarts. Since I am prepping for two, maybe three, I saw no real problem with the size. I intend to continue purchasing canned veggies, etc. This is primarily for spaghetti sauce, soups, other favorites that we can enjoy.

IMHO, canning plenty of soup, with lots of broth will help if water becomes an issue

I keep thinking the pressure cooker can't be any less safe than trying to manipulate the temperature up and down during the whole process on an electric stove? The temp would surely fluctuate then.

When you read the link, it speaks of concerns of proper start up time, cool down time, etc. Being the pans are thinner and less water is used. It also made mention of this method becoming popular in the 1940s...And the information itself is dated in the 80s.

I read that the canner should vent for about 10 minutes before putting on the weight to be sure the air is out. With the electric cooker, you begin with the weight on. It takes 7-10 minutes of venting before it reaching the point of rocking 2-3 times a minute, this is when I begin timing it for 90 minutes. So it seems to be the start up time matches what i read about canners. Cool down take about a half hour, and they are still boiling when I remove the lid. This seems normal also. I leave them in the cooker to cool down for a while before removing them.

We have eaten spaghetti sauce, chili and hamburger soup that is a month old and it was fine.

It would be real hard to say goodbye to this method; but I will if I feel it is wrong.

The beauty of this cooker? You set the temp to 350, and let it heat until its rocking its heart out (usually before it reaches 250). Reduce the temp to 250 and after a couple of minutes it starts rocking the required 2-3 times a minute. It maintains it perfectly until I shut it off.


    

HELP - IS MY CANNER OK TO USE?


I just had someone challenge the use of my canner as being safe. I need some advice!

I purchased a 10 quart pressure cooker for canning and followed their canning instructions/recipes that came with it - because in no way did it contridict the Ball Blue Book. It uses a weighted guage, and works as expected.

Due to the size, I can only can 3 quarts jars at a time.

I was told, and shown a link to a cooperative extension that says the canner should be able to hold at leaset 4 quart jars to be correct.

I have been successful so far -- and eaten hamburger soup that was on the shelf for two weeks.

Should I be worried? Should I put this aside and buy another?

I appreciate all you input! Thank you.


    
    

    Hello Everyone!

I am back after a long departure. I am also back to preparing for the pandemic, so have a few canning questions.

ILKAY!!! My hard drive crashed and I cannot find your address - if you still have mine, please write; life is back on track now, I apologize if I sounded like I ignored you...

I have begun canning again. There are a couple of things I would like to can, but have not seen recipes with them, so need opinions!

We have a recipe for holiday dressing that includes meat, and I am wondering if it can be pressure canned. Its more of a meal than a side dish.

Contains mostly sausage, potatoes and a smaller portion herb stuffing. I was thinking if I drain and rinse the sausage, mix it and let it sit awhile so that all the "swelling" occurs in the bread (potatoes are already boiled up). Then, size a chuck to slide into a wide mouth pint jar and add some turkey broth. Can for 90 minutes and 10 lbs. This stuffing is great fried up for breakfast. Hope it can be canned.




   
    

Thanks sp much HappyCamper! I was wondering if it would be easier to just can the fruit. I will use the water-bath method as opposes to the pressure canning!

I saw a way to can lemons in the ball blue book...I'll see if I can get you the directions tomarrow...

mine does 5 to 15psi i am at sea level tho.

mary,

get yourself a pressure canner its a big cost up front but you can do so much more with it.i bought an american think with everything i have under 300 into it

Referring to an earlier topic re: canned butter, I processed 12 1/2 pints of butter on Sunday with my canner and they turned out perfect. I did it at 6 psi for 13 minutes and, after shaking for awhile, they looked just the same as the bunch I did before without the processing. Yay! I know ther is no botulism in this batch!