Are you canning?

I am not canning, basically because I do not trust myself, LOL. I am afraid something will go wrong. I have made jelly and jam in the past, but that is not quite the same as canning food.  For me I have added it up and by the time you purchase the canning jars then if you have to also purchase the food to can, it seems just as cheap to purchase a few cans of food on sale and it takes a whole lot less time and extra time is something I don't have alot of. I am glad this works for alot of people, but I am just not one of those people.

I like to can because I am a great cook and love to preserve my food. It tastes soooo much better then store bought. I am meticulous about pressure canning and have eaten several things that I have canned. And it all seems fine. The big commercial industries do it  and I can do it better. And the canned butter is my favorite of all that I have canned. I just opened a new one today  and I am still alive! I think you need to be super careful but, if you are, you reap the benefits.

Posted on your other thread, but fruit does dehydrate well.  I soak my fruit in water and fruit fresh before putting it in the dehydrator.  Holds the color better.

I believe I read on a canning list that for sealing jars of water all you need is a 10 min BWB.  The idea being that in 10 minutes everything should be sterilized and that would be long enough to heat things up and cause the jars to seal.  Sometimes I put some empty jars of water in my pressure canner when I'm doing a batch that doesn't fill the whole canner, but I think that it is overkill to pressure can water from a safety/storage standpoint

it was not very practical for me to can say green beans, when they are so cheap at different times. But I did can chicken, ground hamburger, home-made spaghetti sauce, and 65 qts of stewed tomatoes. The tomatoes i bought from a vegetable stand that i normally purchase my fruits from. They sold me 25 lbs. of canning (bruised, not really pretty) tomatoes for $2.00-$5.00 a box. Of course i had to process this all in one day, but the taste is the best. The chicken i purchased on a big sale, and processed and cooked all of the chicken at one time, canned w/chicken bouillon jucie and celery and onion (do not use juice chicken is cooked in , to greasy, save in plastic container and freeze for stock later). I have used some of this canned chicken numerous times for many different meals alreads. Canning is very easy, just check out or better yet purchase th Ball blue book of canning, it explains everything. Believe me, i was terrified when i first started, but now i love it.

muskrat877 wrote: I am just learning how to can ....I fill them with rice flour or sugar and brown sugar...

Be sure to freeze your dry goods over three days. Okay to freeze in your "canned" jars. The verman will still be alive in your jars if you don't freeze your dry goods such as flour, rice, and cereal.
    

I just got finished canning tomatoes, peaches, strawberry, raspberry, and blueberry jam. I need to get nectarines canned. In the past I have canned, beef, chicken, tuna, green beans, corn, pears, all varieties of dry beans etc. I love the taste of home canned Blue Lake green beans. They are so much better that what you but from the stores. I too have purchased the store bought green beans because of the low price.

    Any reusable jar you get from the store is a resource. I'm reminded of dungeons and dragons, any physical object, even if not "treasure" can be used creatively. I was taught to bottle water, you fill it all the way up and it there is no air, it can't spoil. So if you're planning to can food, if there is no air in the can it shouldn't spoil for a very long time. My advice though is that canning ourselves is pointless, because in order to can you'd have to go to the store to get foodstuffs anyway. Foods that do not need cooking, like tuna and peanut butter, are the best. Peanut butter will only last for about a year though. Budget at least 100 dollars a year to keep your food up to date.

Remember, bird flu causes conjunctivitis, which is an eye infection. If you get a severe eye infection you could be infected with BF. Flu season is between October and March generally.

I no more eat chicken, I prefer not to eat it nor do I canned anything...I am so afraid of this bird flu,in fact, I am eating mostly vegetable...

jonesie, we pressure can big time, if you put up beans, peas, etc. (dry in mason quarts) get yourself a vacuum sealer. i test my vac lid seals every six months. have plenty of quarts put up since 1998 for y2k it's all still good. we put all our canned quarts/pints back in their cases stacked two high and three deep. essentials like salt and sugar, are stored in their bags/boxes and placed in new galvanized 30 gal. metal trash cans. eight 25# bags of sugar to one can. 150 one pound boxes of IODIZED salt per can. if hardened use hammer first then mortar and pestle to make granular or grind to powder. your right , salt,sugar, and honey will last indefenitly. the essential for canning is lids, can never have enough. cheap now , priceless a.t.s.h.t.f. we have a wood cook range with oven and water reservoir a beauty all ready to use. going to cook and pressure can just like my granny did.