Canning

[SheilaT.]

Got a nice ham hock while I was out at the weekend and just canned 5 quarts pea and ham soup. One failed to seal..grrrrrr. Never mind we'll have it for dinner thursday.

 

[jimLE]

thats when i love my cooking the most..on account i get to eat some of it,with good reason..

One failed to seal

 

[Danil54grl]

Even when not sealed, never goes to waste. Love split pea soup with ham hocks, little bit of cornbread makes a hearty mealy on a cold day! Ham hocks make a good seasoning for any type of bean for sure.

 

[Danil54grl]

Have you tried to invert jars while they are still coo!ing down? I check the lids when they first come out & pretty much know if they are going to seal by the feel of then. If they don't feel right, I'll turn them upside down. . . sometimes works.

 

[SheilaT.]

Have you tried to invert jars while they are still coo!ing down? I check the lids when they first come out & pretty much know if they are going to seal by the feel of then. If they don't feel right, I'll turn them upside down. . . sometimes works.

I knew this one wouldn't seal as soon as it came out of the canner. Normally when I take jars out the contents are still happily bubbling away, this one wasn't so I pretty much knew we'd be eating the contents!

 

[jimLE]

i do 2 things when i take them out of the canner/cooker...1st i check to see if it's still bubbling or not..2nd is i make sure i check the lids and rings,just to make sure both are still snug/tight enough...

 

[Brent S]

Most of my issues come from trying to cool down the canner to quickly for the next batch. I've had them boil some of the contents out into the canner, making a mess that I have to wash all the jars down from.

 

[jimLE]

I've had them boil some of the contents out into the canner, making a mess that I have to wash all the jars down from.

what i do when i have 2 or more batches,is,i go ahead and get the 1st batch done.then i start all over.by dumping the water out.then i put the 2nd batch in as im refilling it with hot water stright from the facet..then onto the stove once ready...

 

[jimLE]

ok,it's official..my home canning capabilities are good..mom just ate some beans n spam that i canned 12/12/2016.and i ate some beans n ham that i canned 11/17/2016..and we're still living. ..it sure is nice to have something like that to eat.on days like this..and not to actually have to cook it..

 

[Brent S]

ok,it's official..my home canning capabilities are good..mom just ate some beans n spam that i canned 12/12/2016.and i ate some beans n ham that i canned 11/17/2016..and we're still living. ..it sure is nice to have something like that to eat.on days like this..and not to actually have to cook it..

I think it's awesome to look in the pantry and know I could feed my family for 6 months or better. It is a skill that's realitively easy to learn, but really increases your ability to weather most of life's 'disruptions'. Wether a layoff from a job, a natural disaster, or just tough times, canning is something any serious prepper needs to learn.

 

[jimLE]

even as a non-prepper.it's a great thing to know and do..especially during a job lose or natural disaster.pluss im thinking the home canned foods is better for a person,for a number of reasons.i've been eating home canned chilli that i canned 11/21/2016..id rather eat it,instead of store bought canned chilli..

there's someone on a diff site.in which she lost her job..their not only appreciateing the home canning that she's done.but her husband is now all for it,instead of some what against it..

 

[Brent S]

even as a non-prepper.it's a great thing to know and do..especially during a job lose or natural disaster.pluss im thinking the home canned foods is better for a person,for a number of reasons.i've been eating home canned chilli that i canned 11/21/2016..id rather eat it,instead of store bought canned chilli..

there's someone on a diff site.in which she lost her job..their not only appreciateing the home canning that she's done.but her husband is now all for it,instead of some what against it..

You never know when life will throw you a curve ball. I look at it as kind of an insurance policy. One of the best things to me about canning is being able to preserve what you grow to last all year. I used to give away loads of veggies as you can only eat so much while its ripe.

 

[WGregMiller]

Y'all are making me remember my Mom (and grandmother and aunts) canning during picking season. TONS of green beans and such from the gardens and tons of peaches from the orchards nearby. Man, we'd have enough soup made up over the summer to last all winter. When my Mom passed away in 2012, I made sure all the jars got a good home (here).

 

[SheilaT.]

I think it's awesome to look in the pantry and know I could feed my family for 6 months or better. It is a skill that's realitively easy to learn, but really increases your ability to weather most of life's 'disruptions'. Wether a layoff from a job, a natural disaster, or just tough times, canning is something any serious prepper needs to learn.

We would have been in much worse financial state had we not had all the home canned food to keep us gong when we moved and I couldn't agree more with the serious prepper needing to learn canning, I would go further to say home preservation in all it's forms is a no brainer. Some foods lend themselves better to one method than another. Canned Cabbage is bleugghh, but Sauerkraut is delicious.

 

[Brent S]

Y'all are making me remember my Mom (and grandmother and aunts) canning during picking season. TONS of green beans and such from the gardens and tons of peaches from the orchards nearby. Man, we'd have enough soup made up over the summer to last all winter. When my Mom passed away in 2012, I made sure all the jars got a good home (here).

It really surprises me how many people I have talked to that said, I had an aunt or grandmother that canned, but we just never did. This was a basic home skill for so many generations that's just gone by the way. Truly worth learning and doing. There is an initial investment of the pressure canner, close to 100 bucks, then getting jars and lids. At least the jars will last for years, getting used over and over. I even use the jars as drinking glasses now as I like the country style anyways. I try to pick up a case of jars and extra lids about every other time I go to the grocery. That way I don't feel the pain of buying it all at once! Over the last year or so I've collected enough lids to can for three or four years. I even bought some tattler lids, which are reusable, but have not tried them out yet. Danilgrl here is the chief canner on this forum and has always been happy to share tips with people learning, as I am as well.

 

[jimLE]

i've been eating the jars of chili that i canned..so i figure that i'd try a diff chili recipe,other than the store bought chili kits,this time round.

 

[Arcticdude]

The wife has everything she needs for canning, but until the house is built we can't actually do any canning. Eventually I'm going to build an outdoor kitchen so we're not heating up the house in summer. In the meantime we'll keep stocking up on supplies and storing them in the barn. We already have cases and cases of jars and lids stored away. How much is enough? I'm still hopeful the kids will come back someday and want to take part.

 

[WGregMiller]

It really surprises me how many people I have talked to that said, I had an aunt or grandmother that canned, but we just never did. This was a basic home skill for so many generations that's just gone by the way. Truly worth learning and doing. There is an initial investment of the pressure canner, close to 100 bucks, then getting jars and lids. At least the jars will last for years, getting used over and over. I even use the jars as drinking glasses now as I like the country style anyways. I try to pick up a case of jars and extra lids about every other time I go to the grocery. That way I don't feel the pain of buying it all at once! Over the last year or so I've collected enough lids to can for three or four years. I even bought some tattler lids, which are reusable, but have not tried them out yet. Danilgrl here is the chief canner on this forum and has always been happy to share tips with people learning, as I am as well.

We tried the reusable lids but didn't have much luck with them working a 2nd time. We just dropped back to the old school lids after that.

I don't have a clue how many jars we have now, but after I gathered up what was at my Mom's house it has to be well over 100 of them.

 

[WGregMiller]

The wife has everything she needs for canning, but until the house is built we can't actually do any canning. Eventually I'm going to build an outdoor kitchen so we're not heating up the house in summer. In the meantime we'll keep stocking up on supplies and storing them in the barn. We already have cases and cases of jars and lids stored away. How much is enough? I'm still hopeful the kids will come back someday and want to take part.

The Amish near here have indoor and outdoor stoves. I can't imagine them cooking inside when it's in the 90's and humidity almost high enough to rain without air conditioning. This past summer was brutal.

As for how many jars, etc to keep, I don't know. We have a ton of them and a lot more lids than jars. Probably going to add more especially since the garden should produce - hopefully.

 

[Arcticdude]

i've been eating the jars of chili that i canned..so i figure that i'd try a diff chili recipe,other than the store bought chili kits,this time round.

I love chilli. It's one of my favorite meals. I have several good chilli recipes that I like to use. Only if I'm in a rush will I use one of the store bought kits.