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Canning help please!

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T O P I C R E V I E W
Farmgirlheart	Posted - Mar 08 2009 : 10:41:15 PM Hey ladies! sooo, i just got my canning set and i can't wait to start! I would probably start right now if the farmers market were open! i was think of trying to can tomatoes for my first project. Good idea or bad idea? Any suggestions? If I do the tomatoes what type is best, roma?
25 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First)
K-Falls Farmgirl	Posted - Mar 18 2009 : 3:39:59 PM Kay , it will depend on what you are canning.. Check the Blue Ball Canning book or on line? Cheryl Farmgirl #309 Klamath Falls "Charming Chicks Chapter" Mother Hen Almost daily posts at: http://www.k-fallsfarmgirl.blogspot.com/ Come visit the barn at http://barndoorcreations.blogspot.com/ You never know when what you say or do will make a difference...Kerry Kennedy
KayB	Posted - Mar 18 2009 : 1:36:42 PM I'm getting ready to can for the first time ever. My daughter-in-law knows how to do it and says I need a pressure cooker. I am really afraid of those things, so do I really need one or can I do it with the water bath? Life's a dance you learn as you go
Contrary Wife	Posted - Mar 17 2009 : 5:48:30 PM There is nothing like the feeling you have at the end of fall, looking at all your shining full jars full of good food. It is very satisfing! Teresa Sue Farmgirl Sister #316 Planting Zone 3 "Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly." The Dalai Lama
Bellepepper	Posted - Mar 17 2009 : 5:00:51 PM Toni, I have never used frozen veggies. If I don't have home canned, I use a "can" of. I rarely have canned corn or peas so I use store bought canned. I absolutely can not stand frozen green beans. But corn or peas would be OK with me.
K-Falls Farmgirl	Posted - Mar 17 2009 : 4:05:02 PM I have canned for years... Using the Blue Ball Canning book .. I have water bath canned & pressure cooker canned. Once you do it you will love it. Cheryl Farmgirl #309 Klamath Falls "Charming Chicks Chapter" Mother Hen Almost daily posts at: http://www.k-fallsfarmgirl.blogspot.com/ Come visit the barn at http://barndoorcreations.blogspot.com/ You never know when what you say or do will make a difference...Kerry Kennedy
antoinette	Posted - Mar 15 2009 : 09:18:00 AM Hi Belle, Thanks for recipe, guess what I will be making this week, one question, can we use frozen vegetables, I don't have any veggies canned yet. Toni
Bellepepper	Posted - Mar 14 2009 : 1:58:59 PM We call our veg soup, Stone Soup. When the kids were little, Captain Kangroo had a story about stone soup. Long story but here are the ingredients. Big stone (Soup bone) Boil for a couple of hours to make a rich stock. Remove bone. To stock add: Aprox 4 potatoes 6 carrots 1 lg onion 2 stocks celery 1/2 head cabbage finely chopped Get that to cooking and add: 1 can greenbeans 1 can W K Corn 1 can peas 1 can diced tomatoes 1 big can tomato juice 1 cup barley Simmer for an hour or so. Better the next day. I can 7 pints of the soup as soon as it is done and still boiling. Just the two of us, there is plenty left for at least a couple of meals. I can the soup fairly thick. When I open a jar of soup, I add a cup or so of tomato juice and simmer a couple of minutes. That makes about 3 cups of soup, enough for 2. Unless you are one of my boys, they get a pint plus tom juice each. I don't add meat to my soup before canning. If I have left over roast or hamburger (from the grill) I'll add it after canning. I have even put in chunks of grilled steak.
antoinette	Posted - Mar 14 2009 : 10:42:39 AM Hi Belle, Any chance I could get your recipe for the homemade veg soup? Toni
Bellepepper	Posted - Mar 14 2009 : 08:16:37 AM Steph, yes, I do. I pressure everything except salsa, jelly and pickles. They all get the boiling water bath. Oh, and I forgot. I water bath my apple pie filling. I have canned about everything you can think of. Not fond of canning meat because it takes so long and the freezer is too handy. I love to can and like canning new (to me) foods. Last year, while canning greenbeans, I canned 3 bean salad. I put yellow string beans/store bought kidney beans(drained) and green beans layered in the jar and canned it according to greenbeans. It made the most beautiful jars. I entered a jar in the fair and won a grand champion. When I fixed the salad I drained the water off and added fresh onion, pepper, celery and Italian dressing. I'll be doing that again this year. I also like to can homemade Veg soup.
sjs	Posted - Mar 13 2009 : 10:06:56 AM Belle, can you use a pressure canner with every kind of food in case you're unsure of its acid levels? -------------------- Learning to live is learning to let go. Visit my food blog! http://www.wasabimon.com - natural cooking to live for.
Bellepepper	Posted - Mar 13 2009 : 08:46:19 AM There is a difference between a pressure sauce pan and a pressure canner. I have both. The sause pan is for preparing food, not for preserving food. I have 4 canners. Actually use 2. One will can 7 pint, it has a twist on lid with a rubber gasket. The pressure gage is a round disk that sits on top and you select the # pressure and it giggles as it processes. The other will hold 7 qt jars. It's lid clamps on with 7 (I think) clamps. It has no gasket. The pressure gage is built in the lid and you read it and adjust your heat according. There are so many low acid tomatoes that I pressure can all my tomatoes and juice. The exception is salsa. There is vinegar and or lemon/lime juice in the recipe and have not had any problem with them. Have no idea how long they will keep. Can't KEEP them long enough to find out. I have been canning for 60 years. Started out helping my Mom. I have had a broken jar a couple of times. Both times they were Ball jars. So I only use Kerr. Now I see that they are the same company. I'll have a jar now and then that dosen't seal. I put it in the fridge and we eat it like the next day. I have never had a jar of anything spoil. Woops, go back 30 years, I had problems with my tomato juice spoiling. (boiling water bath). That is why I pressure tomatoes and juice.
farmmom22	Posted - Mar 12 2009 : 10:49:59 AM Definately don't use a pressure cooker for canning. Pressure ccokers and pressure canners are two different things. Water baths are good for things with lots of acid and pressure canners are for neutral ph foods. A good book to read is Canning & Preserving For Dummies by Karen Ward. http://afarmgirljourney.blogspot.com/ Farmgirl Sister #492 Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending. -Carl Bard
Suzan	Posted - Mar 12 2009 : 07:18:15 AM Do not use a pressure cooker for canning! Here is a link with alot of info for home canners: http://bedford.extension.psu.edu/nutrition/foodpreservation.htm
Lanna	Posted - Mar 12 2009 : 12:12:12 AM All American 921. Ours might be the generic one by Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry that doesn't have the fancy name but has huge, giant orange warning stickers, but it's the same darned thing. Hubby found a killer deal on it a few years ago for Christmas for me. :) I can fit 7 quarts and 7 wide-mouth half-pints in at a time, or 14-19 pints (depends on whether you've got wide mouth or not). Works for me, because picking, washing, cutting more than 7 quarts of pretty much anything in one day with 3 kids underfoot is about all that's going to happen. Plus the 921 is heavy and big enough - have to lug it up and down from the kitchen to the basement since it can't fit into any of my kitchen cabinets when I'm not using it for a few days. The bigger one (a 931?) would be even harder to find a home for in my house. I honestly find myself reaching more for the Complete (Ball) book of Canning or whatever it's called. It's a hardcover - which holds up better in my house - and it's got all the blue book recipes and a bunch others, including pressure canning recipes. But that's just me - I jumped in with both feet and went insane the second year I had my canners. Don't think it's wise to use a 6qt cooker for pressure canning. My pressure canner has all kinds of safety features just in case a jar explodes/breaks (and yes, I lost a quart or two of green beans last year, but didn't even know it until the next morning!), plus the weighted gauge and metal (not rubber) seal. But I don't own an actual pressure cooker myself, so I could be wrong. ***************** Lanna, mama to three little monkeys
5 acre Farmgirl	Posted - Mar 11 2009 : 8:47:01 PM Canning is sooooo fun! Been canning for almost, lets see, 40 or so years....It is almost second nature, and in 15 yers or so, you will look back and say the same thing...The ball blue book is it.... Farmgirl Sister #368 BRAND NEW PAGE>>>>> PLEASE go to.... http://blogonthefarmandgarden.blogspot.com http://froccsfrillsfurbiloesandmore.blogspot.com
MarciM	Posted - Mar 11 2009 : 4:19:09 PM Can I use a regular pressure cooker for pressure canning? i have a 6 qt. cooker that I love and don't want to have to invest in another pressure cooker.
Ms.Lilly	Posted - Mar 10 2009 : 4:19:09 PM Stephanie- I am choosing the 921 because my youngest will graduate this year and I won't be needing to as many quart jars in the future. The 921 will process 7 quart jars or 19 pint jars and I feel that is a suitable size for us. Lillian
Farmgirlheart	Posted - Mar 10 2009 : 1:34:02 PM thank you thank you all for the canning advice! it really helps! I'll let ya'll know how it goes!
sjs	Posted - Mar 10 2009 : 09:56:40 AM Lillian, which size would be the most appropriate for a home canner? There are several there to choose from... Stephanie, Farmgirl Sister #513! -------------------- Learning to live is learning to let go. Visit my food blog! http://www.wasabimon.com - natural cooking to live for.
Ms.Lilly	Posted - Mar 10 2009 : 09:51:28 AM Mandy- I have been canning for years and decided last summer that by this canning season I would be investing in a pressure canner too. I have asked around to friends and different forums out there in the cyber-world and have decided to invest and I do say invest in the all-american 921. You can check it out on their page at: http://www.allamericancanner.com/allamericanpressurecanner.htm Good luck on your decision. Lillian
MandyC	Posted - Mar 10 2009 : 09:39:30 AM For you experienced canners -- I am considering investing in a pressure canner but wonder what you ladies recommend. I certainly don't want to spend $$ on junk, but am not sure what to consider when weighing cost, brand names, and function. There is a huge disparity in the cost of the various pressure canners that I have found.
urban farm girl	Posted - Mar 09 2009 : 7:43:19 PM Valerie I have canned dilled green beans which is pickled in the regualar canner. Very good... I use them in salads. I also bought a pressure canner at Walmart it did the trick...canned some green beans and spaghetti sauce.... I want to get the steamer canner ...uses less water...because it sure gets hot in the kitchen when your canning. I enjoy having food from the garden all year long.
nubidane	Posted - Mar 09 2009 : 1:30:14 PM Valerie Be sure to pressure can whatever the book recommends. Water bath canning will not sufficiently heat up the low acid foods to kill all bacteria. Green beans for sure have to be pressure canned. Tomatoes & most fruits & jams & jellies etc are usually OK with water bath, so you could learn the process on those items & save up for the pressure canner. It is an investment, but well worth it. I even can meats. I LOVE canning!
sjs	Posted - Mar 09 2009 : 1:07:01 PM Yes, the Blue Ball book is the best I've come across... and I have like ten canning books at this point. Once you've got some experience under your belt, check out Mes Confitures by Christine Ferber. It is hands down the most beautiful jam book I've ever seen! Haven't made anything from it yet as it's not a beginner's book, but some of these recipes look like they're to die for. black cherry with pinot noir? Yes, please. Here's a link (for some reason the forum won't allow me to create a text link? weird): http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0870136291?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwwasabi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0870136291 If you're in LA there's probably still lots of citrus around (there certainly is up here in SF). Have you thought of orange or lemon marmalade? Stephanie, Farmgirl Sister #513! -------------------- Learning to live is learning to let go. Visit my food blog! http://www.wasabimon.com - natural cooking to live for.
Farmgirlheart	Posted - Mar 09 2009 : 1:03:27 PM Thanks a bunch all! The Ball Blue book is the one that came with the set so I will be using that! Today I'm going to find my tomatoes!!! Also, I noticed but have not yet read why is it better to use a pressure canner for low-acid foods like green beans and such? I don't want to turn around and buy the pressure canner, I can't afford it!

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