Canning with a Pressure Cooker Questions

[FarmerJamie]

I've been reading a lot lately about vacuum canning dry goods with a Food Saver machine or similar machine or device. It seems tremendously easier than canning cooked beans for convenience. Put the beans in the jar, put the lid on, loosely screw the ring on, vacuum out the air, and that's it. It's supposed to extend the shelf life for years. Much less chance of spoilage that way. (dry) You can vacuum can flour, wheat berries, sugar, beans, corn, anything dry, basically. I'm going to check it out further. I think it's a way you can drastically increase your food storage.

Do you need a special container/lid for that? We have a vacuum sealer and I thought you needed them?

 

[farmerlor]

Just an aside but if you're canning beans you do NOT have to soak them first. Fill the jar to a little less than half full, put in water to one inch from the top, add your salt and pressure can. They're perfect.

 

[Veggie PAK]

I've been reading a lot lately about vacuum canning dry goods with a Food Saver machine or similar machine or device. It seems tremendously easier than canning cooked beans for convenience. Put the beans in the jar, put the lid on, loosely screw the ring on, vacuum out the air, and that's it. It's supposed to extend the shelf life for years. Much less chance of spoilage that way. (dry) You can vacuum can flour, wheat berries, sugar, beans, corn, anything dry, basically. I'm going to check it out further. I think it's a way you can drastically increase your food storage.

Do you need a special container/lid for that? We have a vacuum sealer and I thought you needed them?

Food Saver has a "top" that is used for this. I think you have to order it from them, and there are probably two sizes. Wide mouth and regular. I haven't researched it that far yet. You simply put the "top" over the ball jar with a lid with a loose ring on it, hook up the hose to the "top", and turn the machine on. When it's done, the machine shuts off.

Now I haven't actually seen that done. I just read about it, but it sure sounds good.

 

[FarmerJamie]

I've been reading a lot lately about vacuum canning dry goods with a Food Saver machine or similar machine or device. It seems tremendously easier than canning cooked beans for convenience. Put the beans in the jar, put the lid on, loosely screw the ring on, vacuum out the air, and that's it. It's supposed to extend the shelf life for years. Much less chance of spoilage that way. (dry) You can vacuum can flour, wheat berries, sugar, beans, corn, anything dry, basically. I'm going to check it out further. I think it's a way you can drastically increase your food storage.

Do you need a special container/lid for that? We have a vacuum sealer and I thought you needed them?

Food Saver has a "top" that is used for this. I think you have to order it from them, and there are probably two sizes. Wide mouth and regular. I haven't researched it that far yet. You simply put the "top" over the ball jar with a lid with a loose ring on it, hook up the hose to the "top", and turn the machine on. When it's done, the machine shuts off.

Now I haven't actually seen that done. I just read about it, but it sure sounds good.

maybe I'm confused or missing something. I thought you needed to buy one vacuum lid per jar. From reading the product description it looks like it replaces the ring and lid on one jar. We have several containers/units, but I'd like to learn more if you have a link or something that explains it with canning jars. I'm really curious now.

 

[ORChick]

FarmerJamie, I think there are several different systems. I have one of the food saver gadgets that goes on over the jar - you put on a flat lid (can be a used one, if in good condition), put the device over it, connect it to the food saver with a tube, and pull the air out, and form a vacuum *and then remove the gadget, and store your sealed jar*. You can get one to fit either the regular or wide mouth jars, and they cost about $10. I believe there is another device - a large canister, where you put your lidded jar inside, hook up the thing to the food saver and draw out the air, and then remove your sealed jar from the canister; I've seen a youtube with this. And I think there are also specially made foodsaver canisters with special tops that can be vacuum sealed; perhaps that is what you were thinking of?

ETA - *

 

[FarmerJamie]

We have the canister with the special tops. On the Foodsaver website, they have a special top that fits over canning jars, but it looks like functions like the special canister tops.

Pictures or links to how this works? I'm having a hard time getting my head around this. thanks

 

[TanksHill]

Caution.

On using the vacuum seal on powdery stuff. I found that Food Saver wide mouth top last week. I tried to vacuum seal some cocoa.

It got sucked right under the lid and up the tube.

I need to practice some more I think,


g

 

[ORChick]

Caution.

On using the vacuum seal on powdery stuff. I found that Food Saver wide mouth top last week. I tried to vacuum seal some cocoa.

It got sucked right under the lid and up the tube.

I need to practice some more I think,


g

I had the same thing happen, also with cocoa . I believe that you might have better luck putting something like a piece of coffee filter between the cocoa (or whatever) and the lid, but I haven't tried this.

 

[TanksHill]

here ya go FJ.

I practiced on some bananas and peppers I dried yesterday. Oh and this tube is from the canister like you have. I still need to clean the one filled with cocoa.

In the last pick I am pulling on the lid really hard.

 

[ORChick]

We have the canister with the special tops. On the Foodsaver website, they have a special top that fits over canning jars, but it looks like functions like the special canister tops.

Pictures or links to how this works? I'm having a hard time getting my head around this. thanks

I found a youtube describing the device that I have. I haven't watched the whole thing (it's 9 minutes long! What is she saying? ), but it should give you an idea. And there are other videos listed alongside.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DtlcfKNERk